Chris Rutsch/Hartford Wolf Pack

Jordan Owens scored the lone goal of the game for Hartford in the Wolf Pack's 4-1 loss to Manchester.

The Wolf Pack fell behind on the game's first shift when Elkins opened the scoring for Manchester at the 36-second mark. Juraj Mikus pushed the rebound of Andrew Campbell's point shot in front to Elkins, who slid it past Hartford goaltender Matt Zaba.

The Monarchs then upped the lead to 3-0 with a pair of goals within in 17 seconds midway through the opening frame. First, Tom Cavanagh scored a power-play goal at the 10:34 mark. Then, at 10:51, John Zeiler put in a wraparound to make give Manchester a 3-0 advantage.

Jordan Owens got the Wolf Pack on the scoreboard at 13:17 with his sixth goal of the year, assisted by Evgeny Grachev and Nigel Williams. Grachev, headed behind the net, banked the puck off the outside of the goalpost to Owens at the left side of the slot, and Owens beat Bernier over the catching glove.

The Wolf Pack picked up their play significantly in the second period, outshooting Manchester 14-6, but could not solve Bernier, who came into the game with the AHL's second-best save percentage (93.8) and fifth-best goals-against average (2.05).

The third period also favored Hartford, which enjoyed an 11-3 shots advantage, courtesy of five power plays. Bernier held strong, however, and Bud Holloway provided the final margin with a goal at 1:04.

The Wolf Pack went 0-for-7 on the power play and fell to 2-3-0-0 in the season series against the Monarchs, who lead the Atlantic Division at 26-13-1-4 for 57 points. The loss was only the Wolf Pack's fourth in regulation in the last 15 games (9-4-0-2) and dropped the fourth-place Pack to 22-16-1-4 (49 points) for the season.

After taking a four-day rest for the All-Star break, the Wolf Pack return to action on Friday night when they host Manchester at the XL Center. First puck drops at 7 p.m.