Sporting custom pink uniforms for the occasion, the Express came out flying in the first period with a number of quality scoring opportunities on Wolf Pack goaltender Andrew Begg. Cody Armstrong scored with just over two minutes remaining in the period when he backhanded a goal-mouth rebound off an Austin Grosvenor shot to give the Express the lead. Ben Oskroba picked up the assist.

Unfortunately, penalty trouble caught up to the Express in the second as Hartford got the equalizer at 15:26 on a tip from a point shot. But, the score didn’t remain tied for long as the Express rattled off three unanswered goals to cap the second period. Matt Venoit contributed a backhander from the slot off a behind-the-net pass from Steve Charest. Chris Comprosky widened the lead three minutes later on the power play with a wrap-around goal assisted by Venoit and Lou Malvasi. Brian Greene put the Express up by three with just over four minutes remaining when he took a Matt Harrington centering pass and one-timed it past Begg.

In the third, the Express took advantage of a Hartford major penalty, scoring twice. Austin Grosvenor tipped in a Greene shot to make it 5-1 and Charest finished out the scoring by hammering home a rebound from a Jake Brightbill point shot. Derek Kump continued his excellent play between the pipes making 23 saves and securing his eighth win of the season.

“It’s nice to see the offense and the power play break out this weekend," said Coach Mark Kumpel. "I was most impressed with our third and forth lines -- Ed Rohaly, Michael Woods, Will Harrop and Donovan Minutolo -- guys who gave us big minutes. And, of course, the top two lines made it happen on the score board which is always nice to see.”

The same two teams squared off the night before with the Express gaining an impressive 3-1 win. The line of Wes Heinle (2 goals), DJ Dinnison (1 assist) and Ryan Eaker (2 assists) led the way with two goals before Malvasi put the game out of reach in the third with a labeled wrist shot from the high slot. Zach Andrews was again stellar in net making 26 saves and providing the Express with a 1-2 punch between the pipes.

“We played to our strengths once again, " said Coach Tony Dalessio. "We have preached defensive responsibility and with the great goaltending Derek and Zach have given us we haven’t been giving teams much, especially 5-on-5.”

The Express have a few days to rest before they guys back to work for a busy weekend when they host the Northern Cyclones on Saturday at 8:30 pm and the Boston Bulldogs on Sunday at 1:00 pm, both at the Iorio Arena. With the four points this weekend Walpole is tied with the Cyclones for the top slot on the AJHL North Division leader board. Both teams have 24 points.