MANCHESTER, N.H. – In the first two rounds of the Calder Cup playoffs, the Hartford Wolf Pack delivered the first punch in their series, and it worked, beating Providence in the Eastern conference quarterfinals and later Hershey in the semifinals.
But if the Wolf Pack win the AHL's Eastern Conference championship and advance to the Calder Cup for the first time since 2000, they will need to bounce back from their first Game 1 loss this postseason.
On Thursday, Michael Mersch scored twice and Jean-Francois Berube made 24 saves as the Manchester Monarchs defeated Hartford 3-2 at the Verizon Wireless Center to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.