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On a cool October night in Hartford, with the roof closed and the tension wide open, the Hartford Whalers reminded everyone why postseason baseball — or in this case, postseason hockey’s most improbable crossover — so often hinges on a single swing, a single moment, a single star stepping forward.
Tonight, that star was Gianfrancesco Arriola.
The Whalers’ third baseman didn’t just play a good game. He commanded it. Three hits in four trips to the plate. Three runs driven in. A booming home run in the seventh that tilted the balance of Game 2 and tied this best-of-seven series at a game apiece. In a 7–4 win over the Edmonton Oilers, Arriola was both spark and hammer.
The Oilers, who a night ago authored a comeback worthy of springtime folklore, struck first. A solo home run off the bat of Wayne Gretzky in the opening frame gave Edmonton early hope. But in Hartford, where the echoes of brass bonanzas and long-lost banners still hang in the collective sporting memory, the Whalers were not going quietly.
In the third inning, back-to-back triples from Dineen and Sainsbury ignited a rally. By the time the inning closed, Hartford tied the game 3-3, the crowd of 43,799 on its feet — a rare, raucous symphony for a franchise once left behind but never forgotten.
Edmonton clawed back, as good teams do. They tied it. They pressed. But this night belonged to the Whalers. In the seventh inning, with two outs and the score hanging by a thread, Arriola and Mike Zuke delivered. First Arriola, with the calm and craft of a seasoned postseason hitter. Then Zuke, with a swing so clean it seemed to split the night in two. The ball soared into the right-field seats, Hartford’s lead swelled to 7–4, and the noise in the building became something more than cheering — it became belief.
For Edmonton, there were bright spots. Gretzky’s bat remained loud. M. Yamada chipped in three hits. But the bullpen faltered at the wrong time, and the Whalers seized the opportunity with the precision of a team that knows these chances don’t come often.
“We’re just doing what we’re supposed to do,” Zuke said afterward, a smile hiding the weight of a win that meant more than the box score will show. For a franchise once synonymous with departures, this was a night of arrival.
As the series shifts west to Edmonton’s Rogers Place, the stage is set. One game apiece. The ghosts of Hartford stirred. The Oilers reminded that nothing comes easy in October.
Final Score: Hartford 7, Edmonton 4.
Player of the Game: Gianfrancesco Arriola.
Attendance: 43,799.
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