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mitchbeck · 3 years

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CANTLON: ALL BLACK NHL LINE FOLLOWS A STRONG HISTORY

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Hockey's continued growth in non-traditional communities received a big boost with the line of all-black players deployed by the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Head Coach, Jon Cooper, at the end of the NHL's regular season against their in-state and soon-to-be playoff rival, the Florida Panthers. Tampa Bay suited up Gemel Smith, the older brother of Detroit Red Wings' Givani Smith, Mathieu Joseph, whose younger brother Pierre-Olivier is with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and ex-Hartford Wolf Pack, Daniel Walcott on Tuesday night.

HISTORY OF ALL-BLACK LINES

In hockey, there have been six all-black line combinations who've played together at various sports levels. The first known line was sent out on the ice in 1948-49 in the Quebec Senior Hockey League (QSHL). Brothers Herb and Ozzie Carnegie took the ice with Manny McIntyre for the Sherbrooke St. Francois. It wasn't until February of 1970 when the St. Mary’s University Huskies (Halifax, NS) had a game against Mount Allison University (Sackville, New Brunswick) in a Canadian college contest in the Atlantic University Athletic Association (AUAA) as it was called then. The school’s beloved and revered head coach, Bob Boucher, put together a trio of Percy Paris, Darrell Maxwell, and Bob Dawson. Skip ahead to the next known example in 1998-99 when the United Hockey League's Flint Generals sent out Kahil Thomas, Jayson Payne, and Nick Forbes to skate together. That team also featured ex-New Haven Nighthawk, Ross Wilson, and ex-New Haven Senator Lorne Knauft. Thomas reprised his role again with the Jacksonville Barracudas (SPHL) in 2006-07, skating alongside Hamden's Dan Hickman and a goalie turned forward for Ty Garner. Garner had suffered a serious groin injury in Norway the year before. He was advised by doctors not to play at all, let alone goalie, for a year, so he played as a forward instead and made history.

HAMDEN'S HICKMAN

Hickman played for one of the state’s premier public school programs, the Hamden High School Green Dragons. He would play Division-III college hockey with Southern New Hampshire University (Northeast-10) (formerly known as New Hampshire College). The Barracudas would be his second pro season of the four he would eventually play. Hickman skated for three teams that season having been traded late in the season by the Pee Dee (SC) Cyclones to Jacksonville. “Our coach put the line together. I think he and Ty might have been chatting,” remarked Hickman in a phone interview. ”The really neat thing is we had great camaraderie off the ice. We hung out on the beach, hit the arcades, and to be honest; I had never played on a team with three black players before at any level.

HICKMAN'S THOUGHTS

"We were a good line, too, because Khalil was a shifty quick player. I was kind of an in-between player with finesse and physical play, and Ty was a beast out there. We were together a few games, but I think we helped spark the team. We went all the way to the championship finals that year.” When asked if he realized at the time how unique and rare it was at that point to have an all-black line skating together, he replied, “We had talked about it, and Khalil had done it earlier. We really wanted to do it and, but I didn’t realize how rare it really is at the time.” In his first year, Hickman skated with four different teams in four different leagues before concluding his minor pro career in the Nutmeg State, playing for the Danbury Mad Hatters of the Eastern Professional Hockey League (EPHL). On March 22, 2021, Thomas’s son, Akil, was united with the LA Kings' top draft pick last season, Quinton Byfield, and NHL vet Devante Smith-Pelly. They played on a line for the AHL Ontario Reign against the Bakersfield Condors in a 5-4 shootout win.

WILLIE O'REE

In minor league hockey, the great NHL Hall-Of-Famer, Willie O’Ree, played in the AHL for the New Haven Nighthawks in their first season in 1972-73. He played fifty games before heading back to his current home city of San Diego. He also played for the old Western Hockey League, San Diego Gulls, for five seasons in the late 1960s and early 1970s. O’Ree was drafted by the WHA's Los Angeles Sharks on February 12, 1972, in Anaheim. Despite living in the area, he never received a contract offer. When the WHA's San Diego Mariners came to town (1974-1977) with his old New Haven Nighthawks teammate, Kevin Morrison, there were some discussions, but not much came of it.

BREAKING THE COLOR LINE

O’Ree broke the NHL color barrier on January 18, 1958, to play for the Boston BruinsCanada against the Montreal Canadiens. He would score his first NHL goal nearly two years later, in 1960, with the Bruins against the Canadiens. O’Ree has stated that at the time, he was not aware he had done anything of significance.

MEETING JACKIE ROBINSON

O’Ree followed in the footsteps of Jackie Robinson, whom he met first on a youth baseball trip to Ebbetts Field in Brooklyn at age 14 in 1949, two years after Robinson had broken the color barrier (April 15, 1947) in baseball. They would meet again at an NAACP luncheon in 1962. O'Ree was skating for the minor pro WHL, Los Angeles Blades, at the time. Robinson was a fixture in the city of Montreal where O’ Ree broke the NHL color barrier when they had a Triple AAA farm team called the Royals in 1946. The first game for Robinson was on the road on April 15, 1946, in Jersey City, NJ, at Roosevelt Stadium before an SRO crowd in a 14-1 win. Robinson helped his team win the International League championship later that season in Montreal.

BLIND IN ONE EYE

O'Ree played his off-wing side because he was blind in one eye. The accident was suffered in 1955 playing for the Kitchener Canucks (OHA) when he was hit by the puck in his right eye. He never divulged it to anybody but still managed to have a productive minor pro career.

OTHER HISTORICAL CONTRIBUTORS

The first black professional player in the United States was Art Dorrington. Like O'Ree, he was a fellow Canadian Maritimer from Truro, Nova Scotia. Dorrington is 91-years-old and played in the old Eastern Hockey League in the late 1940s and 1950s. The New Haven Nighthawks had two other black players of note. Dave Nicholls played one season with the 1985-86 Nighthawks and just six games the following season before being sent to Flint (IHL). The 6’7 tough-as-nails, Peter Worrell, played sixty games in a little over a season from 1997-1999 with the Beast of New Haven. In roller hockey, the Connecticut Coasters, who graced the concrete of the New Haven Coliseum for a summer in 1993, had a player. He was a former Middletown resident, Berkley Hoagland, who got his hockey baptism at Wesleyan University. Hoagland had been an assistant coach with Huntington Beach (CA) H.S. However, he stopped two years ago, but has been involved in ice and roller hockey in California for over twenty years and owns a local LA BBQ restaurant chain catering business.

THE FIRST FOR HARTFORD WOLF PACK

The Wolf Pack have had many minority players in their team history. The first edition featured defenseman Jason Doig, and later, Donald Brashear. Ryan Constan is a full-blooded Cree Indian, while goalie Al Montoya is a Cuban-American. Perhaps their most successful player is Maple Leafs' assistant coach, Manny Malhotra, of Indian-Canadian descent. The CT Whale had one minority player in Andre Deveaux. The Wolf Pack 2.0 has had Akim Aliu, Boo Nieves, Charles Williams, James Sanchez, and Walcott.

SOUND TIGERS

The former Bridgeport Sound Tigers, who have been re-christened as the Bridgeport Islanders, have had their share of minority players. Rhett Rakhshani grew up in California, learning hockey on the streets and in roller hockey leagues. Interestingly, Hoagland was one of his coaches. He is a second-generation Iranian-American. Joey Haddad played eight games with the Sound Tigers. He was a second-generation Lebanese-Canadian who comes from a very fertile Middle Eastern hockey community of Lebanese-Syrian heritage. It's located in Sydney, Nova Scotia, known locally as the ”The Gaza Strip.” Alaska's Justin Johnson is one of 14 Alaskans to play in the NHL that includes ex-Pack, Joey Crabb. Another Alaskan is New Haven Blades legend Kevin “Squid” Morrison. His mother was Lebanese, and his father of Scottish background. He's Haddad’s first cousin, as his mother’s maiden name was Haddad. Morrison loves being part of this niche part of hockey history.

OTHER MINORITY PLAYERS

The Hartford Whalers had Ray Neufeld and Scott “Chief” Daniels, a full Cree Indian, plus assistant coach Ted Noland, a full-blood Ojibway Native Canadian. Blair Atcheynum, a Whalers draft pick, never played for the team but did play for the New Haven Senators (AHL). He was also a full-Cree Indian like Daniels. The New England Whalers had one player, Henry Taylor, on their 1976-77 team. He played in some exhibition games but played for two years with the famous Johnstown (PA) Jets in the old North American Hockey League (NAHL). The New Haven Blades of the old Eastern Hockey League in the 1950s and 1960s. They had two players in Alf Lewsey who skated for two years and played on the 1955-56 championship team. The following season, Ray Leacock, played on the 1957-58 team for his last pro season. Lewsey was from Winnipeg and Leacock from Montreal. A new chapter could be written as the all-black college Tennessee State University is actively looking into making hockey a Division-I varsity sport and could become the first all-black college to do so in US history. Credit former Meriden Record-Journal sports reporter Geoge Dalek, who covered pro hockey for 30 years, for this info. Credit to Aubrey Johnson and John Gibbons from the Eastern Hockey League Facebook page for their information on the New Haven Blades. NHL HOME Read the full article

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itmbookawards · 3 months

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This collection of books spans various important and sensitive topics such as racial injustice, juvenile justice, cultural identity, and social advocacy. From the memoir of a Brixton reggae-head to a graphic memoir of a Ukrainian-Nigerian-Canadian hockey player, the books provide diverse perspectives on personal struggles and societal challenges. Each narrative serves as a lens into the complexities of modern society and individual experiences, confronting issues of race, justice, and identity with honesty and depth.

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mitchbeck · 4 years

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CANTLON: (WED) PACK KNOCK OFF SPRINGFIELD IN HISTORIC WIN

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The Hartford Wolf Pack got two goals each from Patrick Newell and Vinni Lettieri and outlasted the Springfield Thunderbirds, 7-4, for the team's 27th win of the season and the 500th in franchise history. The game featured five lead changes and 64 shots. The game-winner came as a result of hard work and a little bit of luck as Newell easily deposited his sixth of the season and second of the game into an open net. While on a shift change, Newell found himself on the receiving of a Nick Jones pass from the left-wing circle “I got a fortunate change on that second one. I was (lucky) to be on the ice with (Jones). The puck was just sitting there for me, and I was able to put in,” Newell, in a laconic, low-key, So-Cal speaking style said of the goal that gave him his first professional multiple-goal game. The first place Wolf Pack has a record of 27-11-4-5 (63 points) and pulled ahead of the idle Hershey Bears by two points. The team continues its red-hot home record of 20-1-0-2. They have won 12 straight. The team's record when leading after two periods remains unblemished at 19-0-1-2. “We didn’t talk about too much before the game actually. Just a couple of items. We're much better on those (than Saturday) in Springfield. Our D corps played so very well and our scoring did so well. It's because of our D corps.” The Wolf Pack had 11 different players pick up points. “We do so much better when we have four lines contributing like they did tonight. Everybody had a hand in it tonight. We just gotta keep it rolling into the weekend,” remarked Tim Gettinger, one of the 11 previously mentioned. In the third period, the Pack was able to pull away on a right-wing rush by Vitali Kravtsov, who put a smooth pass beyond the reach of two Springfield d-men, Tommy Cross and Brady Keeper. Lettieri with a wide-open net didn’t miss and tallied his second of the night and 21st of the season. Jones had another quite effective night and made himself the fourth Wolf Pack player to have multiple points in the game with an empty netter with 17.4 seconds left. Adam Huska earned his first pro point with an assist to close out the Thunderbirds at 7-4. “We rely on him for his defensive play a lot, winning key faceoffs, penalty kill work. It’s really nice to see guys like that get rewarded. They deserve it because they’re playing the right way. Jones played an excellent game tonight,” said Pack head coach, Kris Knoblauch. Huska (26 saves) was not perfect, but in the third period, he made terrific saves that kept Springfield from tying the game. “Credit to Huska in the third period. We needed him, and he stood strong making big saves and playing the puck strongly.” Knoblauch said. In the second period, the Thunderbirds head coach, Geordie Kinnear, switched goalies bringing in Philippe Desrosiers for Ryan Bednard. The two teams managed just five shots in the list 7:40 missing the net several times as well. Springfield managed to tie the game at three. Daniel Audette collected his second goal of the night taking a short pass from Jack Rodewald. He moved in the slot put the puck through Gettinger's legs and under his stick. Audette collected the puck and lifted a backhander and deposited it on the top shelf at 10:42. At 12:13 the Pack answered back to restore the lead at 4-3. After missing the net seconds earlier, Steven Fogarty didn’t miss the second time. Fogarty got a perfect short pass from Kravtsov and got inside position on the Thunderbirds' Rodrigo Abols and lifted his 12th goal of the season with the backhand past Desrosiers. The goal and the captain scoring it was big for the Wolf Pack. “Fogarty is a big part of why we have success. He pushes everyone to do well and leads by example,” Lettieri said in speaking of the team captain. Ethan Prow got the puck off the right-wing boards on a cross-ice pass on a break-in as the Thunderbirds Jonathan Ang took Libor Hajek out, leaving a wide-open lane. Prow’s shot cleanly beat Huska to the far side for his sixth goal matching his jersey number. The Wolf Pack struck first in this game. Danny O’Regan won a faceoff from Springfield’s Alexei Saarela and Newell, his new, old linemate, picked up the puck and circled around the linesman using him as a pick then fired off wing a high-shot. The puck hit Bednard in the arm and went over the goal line for Newell's fourth goal of the season at 2:35. “I was happy for Newy he played well and didn’t surprise us that’s what we expect of him. He and Danny have a thing together back in November and December when we had them together so we reunited them and they played well together. Ski’s (Matt Beleskey) complimented them well. O’Regan's veteran value was shown on that play before it started. “Not only is Danny a good faceoff guy, but he's a good coach. Before they went out on the ice, Danny told Newell what they were doing and they got the goal. Maybe we'll have Danny call up more plays,” Knoblauch jokingly said of his “new” would-be assistant coach. The Thunderbirds tied the game at one converting an offensive zone turnover into a scoring play. Fogarty had a left-wing shot stopped and Lettieri retrieved the loose puck. Fogarty cut to the middle and Lettieri’s pass went the other way. Tommy Cross (Simsbury/Westminster Prep) got the puck put a quick pass on Saarela's stick, the former Rangers draft pick came across the Wolf Pack blue line at full speed. Saarela made a nice move on Vincent LoVerde at the blue line and had two wingers open on the left side. He hit Danielle Audette, the son of former NHL’er Donald Audette with a perfect cross-ice pass. Audette wasted little time putting his 11th of the season into the back of the net at 10:05. The Wolf Pack answered back 2:42 later. Gettinger got to a loose puck and snapped a hard wrister from 35 feet out that cleanly went between Bednard's left arm to regain the lead at 2-1. Springfield answered back in kind to tie the game at two. Henrik Bogstrom won a one-on-one battle along the right-wing boards and shuffled the puck to Matt Mangene at the right point. He sent a shot that kept rising and eluded Huska at 13:01. It was Mangene’s first of the season. The Wolf Pack came back yet again as Lettieri pocketed his 20th of the season at 16:27 to make it 3-2. Jeff Taylor at the left point took Joey Keane’s pass put a short pass on Lettieri's stick blade as he cut to the middle the lane was blocked. Lettieri curled back into the left-wing circle and then with Fogarty at the net he used Springfield defenseman Thomas Schmetisch as a screen and fired the shot that Bednard never saw beating him short-side. Lettieri’s goal made it 23 straight seasons the Wolf Pack have had at least one 20 goal scorer. “Taylor had the patience of a kindergarten teacher waiting to find me,” joked Lettieri with a wry smile. “He made a great pass.” Now it's on to Charlotte for a pair of weekend games. Gettinger, with his hoody shading his eyes, set the tone for the weekend as the team seeks redemption for a lost weekend in December with two tough losses. “We're going down determined on Friday, we know what happened last time down there. We have some unfinished business." LINES: Fogarty-Kravtsov-Lettieri O’Regan-Newell-Beleskey Jones-Gropp-Gettinger McBride-Dmowski-Zerter-Gossage Hajek-Raddysh Keane-Geersten Taylor-LoVerde SCRATCHES: Nick Ebert (Lower-body, still day-to-day) Boo Nieves (Flu, day-to-day) Yegor Rykov (Healthy) Ty Ronning (Healthy) Gabriel Fontaine (Shoulder-surgery, Season-ending) NOTES: During an ice cleaning timeout, Jared Doyon of Meriden who handles a lot of game night operation duties, including as a fill-in PA announcer, slipped and fell on the ice. He suffered a concussion but seemed to be OK giving the thumbs-up sign to the crowd while being wheeled off on a stretcher. 1,807 was the announced attendance, though it appeared to be quite smaller based upon observation. It was the 24th worst-attended crowd in Wolf Pack history. 28 of the 39 times the crowd has been under 2,000 for Wolf Pack games have come on Wednesday nights. Next Wolf Pack home next Wednesday against the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins. Lias Andersson was scoreless in his debut with HV71 (Sweden-SHL). Ex-Pack, Akim Aliu, has a goal and an assist for HC Litvinov (Czech Republic-CEL) in four games. Logan Roe (Kent Prep) of the Florida Everblades (ECHL) was named ECHL Player of the Month. He was loaned to the Syracuse Crunch (AHL) and signed a PTO deal. Ex-Pack goalie, Brandon Halverson, was suspended and taken off the roster of the Norfolk Admirals (ECHL). This season he was a weekend emergency recall backup for Providence and had a poor two-game recall to the Tucson Roadrunners (AHL) posting two losses and a 7.90 GAA. The Sound Tigers lose forward, Kieffer Bellows, to recall but get back defenseman, Sebastien Aho. Ex-Sound Tiger goalie, Kevin Poulin, was released from his PTO deal with the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL). Ulf Samuelsson, a former Whaler great, Rangers player, and assistant coach, as well as a Wolf Pack assistant coach and Avon Old Farms assistant, has taken the head coaching job with Leksands IF (Sweden-SHL). His eldest son, Philip, and ex-Pack, Marek Hrivik, are currently playing there. He coached Philip when he was Charlotte’s head coach. The team is in dead last place in the SHL with an 11-24-3 record. He started his pro career with the team (1981-1984) and was granted permission by Seattle, and long-time friend, and another Whaler great, Seattle GM, Ron Francis. In addition, he is still being paid by the Blackhawks and had to seek permission from them as well. Samuelsson was just named a pro scout for expansion NHL Seattle team just a few months ago. Jordan Samuel-Thomas (Quinnipiac University/Canterbury Prep/Hartford Jr. Wolf Pack/West Hartford) leaves Worcester (ECHL) where he had 29 points in 33 games and was a minus-21 for Heilbronner (Germany DEL-2) for the remainder of the year. Ex-Pack, Kale Kerbashian, goes from HK Nitra (Slovakia-SLEL) to Lausitzer (Germany DEL-2) for the rest of the season. Two ex-Packers switched places. Casey Wellman has left SC Rapperswil-Jona (Switzerland-LNA) and signs with SC Bern (Switzerland-LNA) for the rest of the season. Tom Pyatt has taken his spot with Rapperswil after leaving Skellftea AIK (Sweden-SHL). Ex-Pack, Malte Stromwall, had 19 goals in 44 games, the highest-scoring Swede that was selected to the KHL All-Star Game. He's representing HK Sochi, but due to his illness, he was unable to play in the game. Stromwell is a prime example of how some Europeans are unable to make the adjustment to the North American game/rinks, but that still thrives playing in Europe. In ex-Pack news here is an article on Marek Mazanec. Read it HERE. Wonder what former goalie Mackenzie Skapski is doing showing off his hockey den. Read about it HERE. Wolf Pack fan jersey of the night: #3 that was worn by both Terry Virtue and later, Pat Aufiero, who wore it for 35 games after Virtue left to return to Worcester. #25 Mathieu Dandenault who played his last 19 pro games in Hartford. The all-time classic #20 P.J. Stock. Of the four, only two are still involved in hockey. Stock is an assistant coach for Lac-St. Louis Warriors, a local girls program in Quebec. Virtue is the head coach for Shrewsbury High Colonials, a Massachusetts Division I MIAA public school program. One of his two assistants is former UCONN Husky (last two Division III teams and first two AHA teams), Marc Busenburg. He played for Springfield and Worcester in the AHL in his pro career. Read the full article

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mitchbeck · 4 years

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CANTLON'S CORNER: DR. JEKYLL AND MR. WOLF PACK

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings CROMWELL, CT - The sprint toward the end of the season normally starts after the AHL All-Star break as well as the February 24th NHL Trade Deadline. It increasingly looks like the Hartford Wolf Pack will still be playing hockey when the calendar flips over to April. However, the past performance over two weeks losing four road games in varying different ways does raise some red flags. The "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" routine is coming not only game-to-game but period-to-period over this stretch. Head coach Kris Knoblauch showed his displeasure over the first loss against Wilkes Barre/Scranton in their second shutout of the season 3-0 as they headed out last weekend. His mood improved a little. The games in Utica, two of them and the finale of the road trip in Hershey point to some underlying problems that need to be addressed. The first period of the first game in Utica the team went down 5-0 easily the worst period of the season as "Dr. Jekyll" showed up. Knoblach pulled starter Adam Huska for just the second time this season he was not alone in the first period debacle, but can’t pull all your players off, although it might have been an improvement. “Yes, it was five nothing, but it wasn‘t five nothing, It wasn’t the full indication of how we played,“ remarked Knoblauch. “It wasn’t a good period. We were turning pucks over and give high marks to Utica, they turned our mistakes into goals. We have to balance our play better an show more urgency.” Then "Mr. Hyde" appeared as the Wolf Pack recovered and roared back to tie the game at five starting with Vitali Kravtsov’s second goal just 10 seconds into the second period and Vinni Lettieri’s goal with 14.8 seconds left in regulation to knot the game and put all the momentum on its side. Kravtsov’s play has markedly improved and Knoblauch thinks brighter days are ahead for the Russian rookie. “He is in a really good spot right now. He is cheerful and working hard getting used to the North American rink. He's realizing there is not as much room out there. It's tighter space. The rinks are smaller and he will get hit more often. When you make the turn there isn’t that extra space, it just the boards. He understands it better now (systems and playing style) and is starting to make a positive impact on our lineup. He’s played both the left and the right side. With Fogarty back, he has shifted to the right side.” The Pack gained a point but lost the game in the three-on-three OT with 34 seconds remaining. Knoblauch, in Charlotte two months ago, after 1,625 Wolf Pack franchise games, pulled starting goalies in back-to-back games. He would shorten that time span in doing it again just 11 games later, as he lifted starter Tom McCollum and inserted Huska. Utica’s Jason Bailey, the ex-Sound Tiger recorded his second hat trick in as many games becoming the first player since Mark Mancari, then of the Portland Pirates on January 22-23, 2011 against Providence and Worcester, to record that feat. Bailey earned the AHL/CCM Player of the Week (primary assist goes to AHL VP of Communications Jason Chaimovitch for providing that great stat on Mancari). The Wolf Pack has been outscored 20-12 in this stretch. “We're giving up too many chances. We have to tighten things up right now,” said Knoblauch. Defensive combinations are being contemplated. “We're looking to change things up. We tried several things in practice. For the first time, we have now three lefties and three righty shooting defensemen, but we haven’t made a decision yet. I’ll have to have something ready by 7 pm tomorrow night.” Then in Hershey again the team's lackluster defensive play cost them dearly with the player suffering most being Libor Hajek, in Hartford on a conditioning stint, was a minus-4 in three games. Certainly not the direction the Rangers were hoping for in this rehab stint with the Wolf Pack. “We all have to realize Libor has missed a significant amount of time with injuries, I wouldn’t call them struggles. He is getting back into game shape, getting the feel and flow of a game. Its not an easy thing to do. It’s a progression for him. It’s a matter of getting his timing down and feeling comfortable,” said associate head coach Gord Murphy. All-Star Joey Keane had a tough night in Hershey too, getting beaten on a one-on-one in front of the net that led to a goal. “You don’t want guys running around trying to make hits, bumping into each other either. To put yourself in the proper position, you've got to move your feet and skate on the right side of the puck. We got away from that a little bit. We have had a couple of good days here to get our skating legs back I think it's going to help us this weekend,” commented Murphy. The team defense took it on the chin as the opponents outscored the Wolf Pack 20-12 “We have a good defensive corps to start. We have to work on the fundamentals that were first looking out for our own zone on out, “ remarked Murphy in charge of the defense “ We gotta box people out better, watch their sticks and keeping them (opponents) to the perimeter. Maybe we’re a little fatigued on the road, back-to-back games. We probably sat back more than we should have and weren’t aggressive enough.” Up-front, Letteri, and in Hershey, Boo Nieves, have maintained their point-a-game pace of late, but the secondary scoring has been spotty. Shawn McBride has been the exception picking up his first pro goal against Utica and then picking up an assist in Hershey. The team has also been snakebitten as Nick Jones with an open net in Hershey managed to hit goalie Phoenix Copley in the mask as he was getting back to the net. NOTES: Huska was reassigned to the Maine Mariners (ECHL) after practice to continue getting playing time while Igor Shesterkin and Tom McCollum are in Hartford. He will be return next week when Shesterkin is recalled when the Rangers season starts up again when the NHL All Star break ends. A logical move. In a curious move, Maine goalie Francois Brassard, who played in just seven games, and was a training camp invitee this year, signed to a PTO deal. The Rangers assigned him to Hartford. In addition, they sent forward Lewis Zerter-Gossage back to Maine. Talk continues of a possible deal to be announced when the NHL All-Star break ends involving Alexander Georgiev possibly? The Wolf Pack’s leading scorer Vinni Lettieri (42-18-17-35) was rewarded as the Shesterkin replacement in the AHL All-Star Classic in Ontario, CA. “I am obviously very grateful. I appreciate my teammates, the coaching staff, the training, and equipment staff; they all helped me and are part of this too." Knoblauch is his regular season and now All-Star coach. He praised his top point-getter. “He was a possibility of an All-Star, but his play over the last four weeks clearly earned him the honor and unfortunately Igor won’t be going.” Knoblauch was his ever-gracious, self-taking no-victory laps on being named the coach of the Atlantic squad. “The only reason I’m going is because of the guys in that locker room. Joey and Igor were deserving of their selections and we're only limited to two players, but they’re several others in there, in my opinion, who are worthy of being there.” Shesterkin and forward Di Giuseppe were reassigned to the Wolf Pack Wednesday. Di Giuseppe was scratched all four games he could have played since his recall. Meet the new Rangers, same as the old Rangers when it comes to recalls. The Wolf Pack recalled defenseman Jeff Taylor from Maine. He played in three games (now 10 in total) in Maine and scored a goal and an assist after playing just eight of a possible 30 Wolf Pack games. Mason Geersten helped Utica’s Vincent Arseneau earn an unpleasant hat trick. Aresenau, who lost a majority decision in a Hartford scrap two weeks ago to Geersten, got pushed down late in the game last Friday, in Utica. He decided he wanted another crack at Big Gert with nine seconds to go. It was a big mistake getting knocked out with a thunderous right hand from the 6’4 225 lb. Geersten, a defenseman playing left wing. He lost the fight decisively and got an instigator penalty. He was suspended by the AHL for getting the instigator in the last five minutes of a game. See the fight HERE The Islanders sent Bridgeport defenseman Sebastien Aho and sent rearguard Ryan McKinnon to Worcester (ECHL) for the break. Ex-Pack Jordan Owens is playing Canadian senior league hockey with the Brantford Blast (ACH0) that’s Allan Cup Hockey Ontario. Last year he with the Sheffield Steelers (England-EIHL) in Melbourne, Australia (Melbourne Mustangs AIHL) playing hockey. Ex-Pack, Akim Aliu, who made headlines across the US and Canada regarding two months ago about a 10-year-old racially charged pair of incidents with his then, head coach, Bill Peters in Rockford (AHL) in several tweets on Twitter. The firestorm led to the dismissal of Peters by the Calgary Flames. Aliu gave his first full interview with Hockey Night In Canada host, Ron McLean this past weekend. See it HERE. Aliu was signed on Tuesday to a deal to play defense by HC Litvinov (Czech Republic-CEL) for the rest of the season. Ex-Pack, Robin Kovacs, was traded from Lulea HF to Orebro HK (Sweden-SHL) and as expected the team announced, a three-year deal that he was going to get after the season ended. In a sign that we're all getting old, congrats to Easton Armstrong, the second son of the Wolf Pack's original founding member, Derek Armstrong and his wife Shannon. He played for the Los Angeles Jr. Kings U-16 team (TIEHL) signed a standard WHL player agreement with the Regina Pats (WHL) who drafted him as their 10th pick 214th overall in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft. He could play this weekend in the two Pats home games, Friday night against the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Sunday afternoon against the Saskatoon Blades. Easton will be wearing jersey #37 as jersey #17, Dad’s old Wolf Pack number is retired (Bill Hicke). The Pats GM and VP of Hockey Ops is the father of Derek’s former coach and Wolf Pack great, John Paddock. Older brother Dawson, who was born in Hartford currently plays with the Utah Outliers (WSHL) with 26 points in 28 games. Derek played junior hockey with the OHL Sudbury Wolves and next weekend will be an honorary captain at the AHL All-Star Classic in Ontario, California. He will be joined with former Wolf Pack teammate and former New Haven Nighthawk, goalie Robb Stauber as the other honorary captain. Lukas Sillinger, the middle son of ex-Sound Tiger Mike Sillinger announced his commitment to Bemidji State (NCHC) to join his older brother Owen. Younger brother Cole is with Medicine Hat (WHL) while Dad is a scout with Regina (WHL). Read the full article

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mitchbeck · 5 years

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CANTLON'S CORNER: (FOR THE FANS) PACK SEASON COMES TO A MERCIFUL END

BY: Gerry Cantlon, HOWLINGS HARTFORD, CT- The 2018-19 season has mercifully ended for the Hartford Wolf Pack and thus begins another long spring without having playoffs in the Connecticut capitol and a summer of big questions for the New York Rangers' AHL franchise. The locker room was silent. The ice surface is gone as scrubbers cleaned up any residual water left over. Wolf Pack players received their exit interviews and left for various different ports in the US, Canada, and Europe. On a day the world mourned the burning of the 870-year-old iconic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, the Rangers were completing the immolation of the latest edition of the Pack. The Rangers relieved head coach Keith McCambridge and his assistant coach, Joe Mormina. The team chose not to renew their contracts. This hardly came as a surprise given the team's performance these past two years. They became the first AHL coaching casualties of the 2018-19 season. Pack GM, Chris Drury, declined to be interviewed as he was conducting the exit interviews. Calls to McCambridge were not returned. Three weeks ago, Cantlon Corner was told by an NHL source that McCambridge had been informed his tenure was up. Out of respect for McCambridge, an honorable man, we declined to publish that. “It’s tough. You feel really bad, and you wish you could have done more for the team as a whole. It’s not fun for anyone,” Shawn O’Donnell said. The 30-year-old completed his third tour of duty in Hartford. “One thing is we had a lot of (personnel) turnover and it’s a part of the league. You look at Hershey. They had very few changes in the second half of the season. We had changes on an almost a weekly basis.” One of the assistant captains, Rob O’Gara, was sidelined for much of the second half with back spasms was very disappointed. "When you work with someone who has helped you and you develop a relationship with them, it's never fun to see them go through something like this. We do develop a family atmosphere and (McCambridge) was very honest with me, which I appreciated, and he helped me because I struggled a lot early on trying to do too much. I got to be in a good spot where I was playing some good minutes, and then I got injured, but I appreciate he gave me a leadership role this season.” The season result was not all McCambridge’s fault, nor was it his predecessor, Ken Gernander’s, fault either. Asking a head coach to turn lemons into lemonade is what was asked of both men. The Wolf Pack have hit bottom and have been cresting at the bottom of the division and the entire AHL for almost five years. They have not made the playoffs in six of the last seven years. That's an organizational failure, not just a coaching problem. There have been some moments to celebrate the signs of player development, but those are few and far between and what has seemed to become a trend, change is in the air again. The team’s break up day process was shifted until Tuesday despite ending on Sunday with a 3-1 loss in Hershey. Many of the players who ended the season with Hartford now will clearly not be here for training camp next fall. Sunday’s loss saw the Bears sweep all the Pack in all six games they played this season. On January 14th, the Wolf Pack (40 pts) were four points ahead of the Bears (36) and just three points out of the fourth and final playoff spot in the Atlantic division. At the conclusion of the season, the Pack finished 25 points behind them! Give some credit to the Bears, who played .789 hockey from that point and amassed 56 points. They will deservedly be in the playoffs while the Wolf Pack will look back to see that they won only TEN games in the final three months. January 14th was the day the Rangers made the fateful decision to trade Pack captain Cole Schneider to Milwaukee for Connor Brickley. The Wolf Pack simply never recovered. “It was rough no question," O'Donnell said. "Cole was a good hockey player, a good leader, and was an all-around good guy. We lost guys to the NHL and a couple of other trades. It was different that’s for sure.” Schneider was the fourth captain in a row that was traded. For this Wolf Pack team, the self-inflicted pyromania by the Rangers continued with the subsequent trading of their goaltender, Marek Mazanec, who was the team's first off-season signee. Then came the departure of their leading goal scorer, Peter Holland. All of this went down in a three-week span as the Rangers made it clear they had thrown in the towel, not only in New York but in Hartford as well. “I had no idea that three other captains had been traded before Cole," O'Gara said. "His going was tough enough. He was the backbone of this team and it was a lot harder than I thought it would be because we won the first game after the trade, 6-5 in OT, in Lehigh Valley. We weren’t consistent enough. We would win five in a row, then turn around and drop five in a row. In some games, we struggled to be consistent. We would have a bad five-minute segment that would kill us. Just before Christmas we were above .500. We never got back to that level the rest of the way.” O’Donnell is at a playing crossroads and enjoys Hartford. “Hartford has become a second home. I like it here, but this is still a business. What comes my way this summer, and my second year when we went to the conference finals, I will look back at the years here were one of the best of my life in hockey and it's great to go on a playoff run like that. I just wish we could have had a few more of those here." The scoring on Sunday by Hershey was all done by ex-Pack, Chris McCarthy. He tallied a goal and two assists, while Joey Leach, who was just recalled from the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL, scored his first of the season. Joe Snively, fresh out of Yale, also tallied a goal and two assists. Hershey’s Aaron Ness had two assists on Friday night in Hartford’s home finale. That production allowed him to surpass the Pack's John Gilmour 55 to 54 points and capture the AHL defenseman scoring title. The on-ice carnage is best reflective in the plus/minus numbers. While plus/minus can be skewered by individuals making a faux pas that reflects on the rest of their teammates on the ice, but once a player gets into the deep teens or to over minus-twenty, that reflects far more on a fundamental flaws that extend from the forwards to the defensemen and possibly even the goaltender. Six Pack players were a minus-20. In that category, Bobby Butler and defenseman Libor Hajak were both a minus-26. Lias Andersson was a staggering minus-24 in just 36 games, breaking Matt Gilroy’s record of minus-16 in 31 games mark, yet he was recalled to NY. Sean Day was a minus-23 in 47 games. Steven Fogarty, the team MVP, was also over 20 with a minus-21. Rookie Tim Gettinger was a minus-20. The best players on defense ended their season on the injured list, Chris Bigras (ankle) was a plus-5, assistant captain Rob O’Gara (back spasms) plus-3, Ryan Lindgren (concussion) with two Rangers recalls at minus-1. Only Binghamton, Ontario, and San Antonio had numbers like that. Daniel Brickley, Ontario's Jake Walman, John Gilmour’s collegiate defense partner were tied for the worst at minus-31. The Rangers are on the hook here as they await the naming of a new president of the team to succeed Glen Sather. That fortunate soul will have to pick through the debris in New York and Hartford and try to plot a forward course. The Rangers clear indifference to Hartford has to end. Winning and the playoffs were once synonymous here. Over a 14-year consecutive stretch where the team made the playoffs and competed at the top end of the AHL. Winning and playoffs still matter. The Rangers have to decide if they care to accomplish that objective here. Cantlon’s Corner has learned that the Rangers have had a preliminarily interview with at least one Hockey East coach about the Hartford opening, However until a new President is named, these preliminary interviews will likely be done to present the new person a list of candidates to come for second interviews. Director of Player Development, Jed Ortmeyer, was on the bench during three games this season. He also conducted several practices last week and is likely on an initial short list. Clearly, the Rangers talent evaluation process is broken. A major shakeup is needed to achieve better results so necessary changes in the scouting department will likely happen. About seven years ago in Worcester, a former high-ranking AHL official in a profanity-laced tirade lamented at how poorly Hartford had become both on-and-off the ice. Since then, it has only gotten worse. Too many average skilled players have been sent to the Connecticut state capitol. Others were picked off the waiver wire scrap heap, or they were traded for, have all dotted the lineup over the past five years. Many of the present Wolf Pack need to excise a set of words from their vocabulary how good, great or talented they are. The team's record demonstrates the team's reality and other teams that used to fear the Wolf Pack over the years, have, over the past several seasons, feasted on the Wolf Pack. The Rangers have an abundance of selections coming up at the Vancouver Entry Draft this summer and that's all fine and dandy, but they need to make sound choices and sign genuine quality AHL free agents to help nurse them along the path. The days of bringing in the likes of players like Akim Aliu, Cody Beach, Andre Deveaux, Dustin Tokarski, and Bobby Butler have to stop. The organization must stop the goaltending madness. This year with simply a redux of years past with a refined packaging of rotating people to be Henrik Lundqvist’s backup. Remember the Cam Talbot-Chad Johnson saga when the Ranger's rotated them up and down the Merritt Parkway like a relay recall race? Both players went elsewhere to find NHL playing time in other NHL cities. This year Alexander Georgiev was dispatched to play in Hartford while Lundqvist went one of his playing tears. Tokarski and Mazanec went to New York to be well-paid practice goalies and fatten their bank accounts but didn't help either team. If the Rangers choose to name a captain or to sign a player next season to assume that role, that agent must extract the first AHL NTC-No Trade Clause. A franchise that set the standard of what a captain should be and that had his number retired as his should have been, that indifferent approach to the captaincy has to end. The Schneider situation demonstrates so clearly that it can have a truly devastating consequence to the team's in-season plight and the growth and development of their prospects. The Rangers have to make choices in Hartford. You don't need to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce that the status quo is not good and not working. Read the full article

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mitchbeck · 5 years

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CANTLON: (FEB 8) SYRACUSE SPANKS PACK - HARD, 6-0

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - With three goals in the second period, the Syracuse Crunch took control and never looked back en route to a 6-0 whitewashing of the Hartford Wolf Pack. The Crunch is chasing the Rochester Americans for the top spot in the North Division and increased their record to 29-13-2-1 (61 points) and hold on to second place. The Pack is now two games short of matching the franchise record of an eleven game losing streak. It was set in 2012 and ran from January 1-28 when they were 0-6-3-2. The Pack record falls to 19-24-3-3 and they have now gone nine games (0-7-1-1) and find themselves eleven points behind the fourth-place Lehigh Valley Phantoms, who they will face twice this weekend in Pennsylvania at the PPL Center and then Sunday afternoon at 3 pm. At this point, it's quite clear that the ship is taking on water and sinking. The hope for a post-season invite slipped further under the shadow of the horizon. The performance, with the exception of the third period, was another non-sixty-minute effort. The outcome was never in doubt. “Syracuse carried a majority of the game," Pack head coach Keith McCambridge said. "You recognize they’re a really explosive team. They are number one in the league for goals (172) and when you turn the puck over, there is a good possibility it will be in the back of the net. Many of the chances we gave them were mismanagement of the puck and the momentum swung completely in their favor.” Following his comment, McCambridge fielded a call from Pack GM, Chris Drury. One can only imagine that it was a pleasant chat. There is no escape for things in the locker room, and the silence was deafening. “Today is the epitome of what has been going on here the last two weeks,” intoned a very somber assistant captain, Steven Fogarty. “All facets of the game were bad. We didn’t do anything to make it hard for them.” Two weeks ago, the Wolf Pack were three points out of fourth place. Since the trade of captain Cole Schneider, they've won just twice was traded. The did fine in the first two after the trade, but since that time, it's been all downhill. “He was a big part of the room," Fogarty said. "(He was) a big voice and everybody has to step up and lead by example on the ice. We have been doing a whole lot of talking and not too much on the ice.” The head coach was in agreement with one of his assistants. “Cole Schneider was a big part of our team, our dressing room. However, this is the American Hockey League, and trades will happen. You have to find a way to get over it. The team added some depth to the organization (Connor Brickley) and that’s a part of pro sports.” Syracuse closed out the scoring with two shorthanded empty-net goals late off a double minor to Brady Brassart. Mitchell Stephens got his second of the game and Dominik Masin got his second of the season. The second period the Wolf Pack got crunched for three goals and with that, the party was over. Right off the bat Ross Colton, a one time Taft Prep (Watertown, CT) player, zoomed down the right wing. The left-handed shot snapped a wrister far to the glove side for his eighth of the season at 2:02. The goal made it a 2-0 Syracuse lead. “The first two minutes of a period are as critical as the last two, and they were able to get momentum early and kept it." After killing a penalty, the Crunch made it 3-0. Ben Thomas was at the right point and gathered a loose puck that had gotten away from the Pack's Shawn O’Donnell. The Pack forward gave chase, but Thomas, a defenseman, was able to veer away unchecked off the right wing to the front of the net and slipped a backhander past Pack netminder, Marak Mazanec. For Thomas, it was his first of the season. “We were too light in our own zone tonight. We didn’t win battles for loose pucks and you have to limit the time you're defending in your own zone and we were generating only one or two good shifts." The Crunch got their fourth goal as the passive Pack defense, again, was willing to give Syracuse as much time and space as they wanted. Mazanec made a splendid left pad save on a redirect from Cory Conacher in front of Cameron Gaunce’s point shot, but the rebound went right to the stick of Taylor Raddysh who easily deposited his eleventh goal of the campaign into the open right side of the net 10:13. The only battle, as the frustration was beginning to show, came from the Wolf Pack in the form of two scraps. The first by Ryan Lindgren with Andy Andreoff. The second involved Matt Beleskey, who fared better against Dominik Masin. The Wolf Pack had three breakaways. Fogarty was shorthanded on a nice steal at the Wolf Pack blue line and was stopped. Ryan Gropp on his bid was denied by Eddie Pasquale (21 saves) and Sean Day missed the net entirely. “I would have been nice to get a goal, get some energy in the building from the crowd. Their goalie had a good game and he had a nice save on Ryan Gropp’s breakaway. The chances are few and far between against a team like Syracuse. We need to finish them,” said McCambridge. The Crunch was able to gain the first goal of the game when Libor Hajek's backhanded clearing attempt went around the boards from left to right wing. Ville Meskanen went to clear it out, but ex-Pack Hubert Labrie came down the right wing wall and blocked it. The puck came to Alex Barre-Boutet. He gained steam quickly and headed to the net. Barre-Boutet sent a perfect pass to Mitchell Stephens in the left circle. He snapped his third of the season by going high to the stick-side on Mazanec at 11:01. It was Stephens' first game back after missing 23 due to injury. SCRATCHES: Rob O’ Gara (Week-To-Week, lower body) Brandon Crawley (Healthy) Matt Petgrave (Healthy) Shawn St. Amant (Healthy) LINES: Anderson-Brickley-Meskanen Holland-Beleskey-Butler Fontaine-Leedahl-O’Donnell Fogarty-Gettinger-Gropp Gilmour-Lindgren Hajak-Bigras Day-Tolkinen NOTES: The Pack weekly roster merry-go-round continues with Vinni Lettieri recalled after Cody McLeod was traded by the New York Rangers to the Nashville Predators which opened a roster spot. Goalie, Brandon Halverson, was recalled again from the Maine Mariners (ECHL). He will likely see action in one of the games in against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. With the trade deadline coming, he may be being showcased as a part of a larger deal that could possibly be in the works. The Pack signed defenseman Matt Petgrave from the Brampton Beast (ECHL). In 41 games, Petgrave had six goals and 30 points. He also has 44 PIM in his third season with the team. Last season Petgrave had three AHL recalls. His longest was twelve games with the Laval Rocket. He also had a game with the Belleville Sens and two with tonight’s opponent, Syracuse. After a four-year OHL career with Niagara, Owen Sound, and Oshawa with one Memorial Cup tournament appearance. Petgrave had a four-year Canadian college career with the University of New Brunswick (AUS). They were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs every year. Tuesday’s announced crowd of 1,274 was the lowest in Wolf Pack history. Now, 22 of the 35 lowest crowds in the team's history have come during the Global Spectrum/Spectra management era. Five of the 22 have come this season thus far. Goalie, Connor LaCouvee, who was in Wolf Pack training camp, was signed to an AHL deal with Laval and reassigned to the Pack's ECHL affiliate in Maine strictly for post-season roster purposes. Trevor Yates, the son of ex-Hartford Whaler, Ross Yates, was traded from the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) to the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins. He was then reassigned to the Wheeling Nailers (ECHL). Former CT Whale, Christian Thomas, signs a new two year deal with Traktor Chelyabinsk (Russia-KHL). Ex-Pack, Josef Balej, was released by MsHK Zilina (Slovakia-SLEL) and signed with EHC Freiburg (Germany DEL-2). Ex-Pack, Akim Aliu, has signed a deal with the Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL). Jonas Johanssen of the Rochester Americans, after being named the first star against the Wolf Pack in a 4-1 win, was reassigned to the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL). Seems like that would have earned him at least another game, no? Former UCONN goalie, Garrett Bartus, is currently with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits (ECHL). He has signed to play this spring/summer with the Sydney Ice Dogs (Australia-AIHL) when their season kicks off at the end of April. Last summer, former UCONN Husky, Trevor Gerling, who was also a former Wolf Pack training camp invitee, scored the overtime game-winner to help his CBR (Canberra) Brave team win their first Australian Goodall Cup championship. Wolf Pack fan jersey of the night: #49 Ilkka Heikkinen, and a Sean Day #4 jersey with the Mississauga Steelheads (OHL). Read the full article

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mitchbeck · 5 years

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KEELEY/CRAWFORD: WALLIN GETS THIRD STINT IN HARTFORD

Wallin loaned to AHL Wolf Pack again BY: Michael Keeley, Maine Mariners PORTLAND, ME – January 16, 2019 – For the third time this season, the Mariners have loaned forward Terrence Wallin to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL. Since his initial move up on November 19th, Wallin has played 12 games for Hartford, with no points registered and seven penalty minutes. In that span, he’s played five games with the Mariners, including the last four on the road in Canada. The 26-year-old forward from Yardley, PA with Southern Maine connections was acquired by the Mariners from Adirondack in a trade in mid-September, that sent defenseman Matias Cleland to the Thunder. A fourth-year pro, Wallin enjoyed a career year in Glens Falls in 2017-18, when he scored 21 goals and added 29 assists in 59 games. As a result, he made his AHL debut last Spring, playing four games on loan to the Binghamton Devils. In 18 games with the Mariners this season, Wallin has five goals and eight assists. He was named an Alternate Captain prior to the start of the regular season. Wallin appeared in four games in his first stint with Hartford, between November 19th and December 3rd. After one game at Adirondack upon his return to the Mariners, Wallin scored a goal and was subsequently loaned back to Hartford the following day. He got into 12 total games before being returned on January 6th. Wallin registered a goal and an assist in the past four games with Maine between his two most recent loans. The Mariners are home tonight at 7:00 PM, hosting the Newfoundland Growlers and home again Friday at 7:15 against the Manchester Monarchs. Big Moose Harley-Davidson will be displaying motorcycles at both games to preview the Maine Motorsports Xtreme Ice Racing Championships, happening at the Cross Insurance Arena on Saturday. Friday is also Bath Savings Night and a “1-2-3 Night”: $1 hot dogs, $2 popcorn, and $3 Bud Lights through the start of the 2nd period. Tickets can be purchased at MarinersofMaine.com or by visiting or calling the Trusted Choice Box Office: 207-775-3458. ______________________ WOLF PACK INK TERRENCE WALLIN TO PTO * * * * Forward Has Skated in 12 Games this Year with Hartford BY: Bob Crawford, Hartford Wolf Pack HARTFORD, January 16, 2019: Hartford Wolf Pack general manager Chris Drury announced today that the Wolf Pack has signed forward Terrence Wallin to a Professional Tryout (PTO) agreement. This is the third stint with the Wolf Pack for Wallin, a fourth-year pro out of U. Mass-Lowell. In earlier AHL action this season, the 26-year-old 6-0, 181-pounder logged 12 games with Hartford, going scoreless with seven penalty minutes and 14 shots on goal. In 18 games with the Wolf Pack’s ECHL affiliate, the Maine Mariners, Wallin has collected five goals and eight assists for 13 points, along with 12 penalty minutes. The next action for the Wolf Pack is a home game this Friday, January 18, a 7:15 PM contest vs. the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at the XL Center. That being a Friday night, fans can enjoy $1 hot dogs, and $2 beers and fountain sodas, through the start of the second period, presented by Nomads Adventure Quest. Tickets for all 2018-19 Wolf Pack home games are on sale now at the Agera Energy Ticket Office at the XL Center, online at hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499. Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $13 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase. Season ticket information for the Wolf Pack’s 2018-19 AHL season can be found online at hartfordwolfpack.com. To speak with a representative about all of the Wolf Pack’s many attractive ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451, or click here to request more info. Read the full article

#ADA #AgeraEnergyTicketOffice #AHL #AkimAliu #AmericanHockeyLeague #BinghamtonDevils #BobCrawford #ChrisDrury #CrossInsuranceArena #ECHL #HartfordWolfPack #Howlings #LehighValleyPhantoms #MaineMariners #ManchesterMonarchs #MichaelKeeley #NewfoundlandGrowlers #TerrenceWallin #XLCenter

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mitchbeck · 6 years

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CANTLON: PACK HITTING THE ROAD AGAIN

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Both the Hartford Wolf Pack and the New York Rangers are embarking on critical road trips with both squads not running on all cylinders. The Rangers lost to the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-1, on Thursday night with scoring and team cohesiveness a trademark issue currently for both teams. The Wolf Pack's shoddy performance Wednesday night included another lackluster start to the game and has been the case the past three years and covering two different coaches and basically three different teams each of those seasons. At this point, it's on the players. They need to be prepared, and the youngsters who want to get to the NHL must show they are ready for prime time. This present Wolf Pack team is .500 (4-4-1-0) and with the exception of a couple of players, clearly not ready to make the leap to, "The Show." Dustin Tokarski's goaltending on Wednesday night was shoddy at best. For a solid AHL veteran, he was laconic and beaten easily on two of the three goals he surrendered in just 4:36 of action before getting the hook. Mazanec was slightly better, but two of his goals were eerily similar to goals surrendered by Magnus Hellberg when he flamed out here two years ago. Both netminders are very well compensated this season and the team was hoping they would be the rock on which they could build the foundation of the team as the younger players went through the expected growing pains. Wednesday's top line of Lias Andersson-Ryan Gropp-Mikael Lindqvist had a rough night putting up a combined minus-8 while the fourth line, with Shawn O’Donnell leading the way with two goals, finished a plus-5. Not to diminish a great effort by the fourth line, but when they are the best line on the ice, something is clearly very wrong with that picture. Expect Saturday's game, the first of the season against in-state, divisional, and franchise rivals, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, to come complete with some new line combinations and defensive pairings as head coach Keith McCambridge looks to shake things up to change the current fortunes that have seen the team drop three of their last four games. On Sunday, The Pack starts a second long road trip. This one consists of five games, but not like road trips of the AHL of yesteryear. Credit Patrick Williams of the NHL.com for researching and coming up with this beauty from the Baltimore Skipjacks, circa 1989-90. The Skipjacks covered 3,400 miles with eight games in eleven days. The team started with a Saturday night game in Glen Falls, NY against the Adirondack Red Wings. The next day they played a Sunday afternoon game in Moncton, New Brunswick. Then, at the end of the trip, they had a Thursday night matchup in Halifax and then a Friday night contest in New Haven. Tack in the time change from Atlantic Standard time, it’s miracle they arrived on time for the game. The trip concluded in Utica the following night. Baltimore then followed with a four-games-in-four-days jaunt. It's no surprise they didn’t make the playoffs that season. It's reminiscent of the great New Haven Nighthawks end of the season in 1991-92 with a Canadian Maritime road trip of eight games in eleven days. The trip started in Fredericton on Wednesday. A Saturday/Sunday pair in Halifax followed. It was on to Cape Breton on Tuesday; Wednesday in Moncton, Thursday and Saturday in St. John’s and then concluding on Sunday in Cape Breton. The Nighthawks lost to eventual Calder Cup champion Adirondack Red Wings in five games in the first round. AHL FUTURE The AHL will likely be adding two more Pacific Division teams in the next two years according to several sources. The expected announcement in early December that the NHL will grant Seattle an expansion franchise to bring the NHL to 32 teams with equally split conferences at 16 teams apiece. Seattle has started the renovation process of the Seattle KeyArena, with the announcement that they will be building a brand spanking new 180,000 square foot, $70 million, three-rink training facility, at the soon-to-be-renovated Northgate Mall. It will be called the Seattle Ice Center. The next piece will be their AHL team. The two most likely candidates are the Tacoma Dome which is located 30 miles south of Seattle. It's undergone a $30 million makeover that originally was priced at $21.3 million. The building last hosted hockey with the now-defunct West Coast Hockey League's Tacoma Sabercats from 1997-2002 and the WHL's Tacoma Rockets (1991-1995). The arena is the fourth largest in the US and seats 19,106 for hockey. It opened in 1983 with renovations starting this year. They have had five NHL preseason games, mostly in the 1980’s and two in the 1990’s. The last one was in 1996. The other candidate could be Everett, WA at the Angel Wings Arena. It is the current home to the WHL Everett Silvertips (2003-present). It's 40 minutes North of Seattle and the arena was opened in 2003 and seats 8,149. It's a perfect size for the AHL. The building is part of Spectra family of buildings who operate in the US and Canada, including the XL Center. Originally, the arena was known as the Everett Events Center and it was the Xfinity Arena up until a year ago when the Stillaguamish Tribe signed a 10-year, $3.4 million dollar naming rights deal to change it to the Angel Wings Arena. That new AHL team will likely come in two years. The Vancouver Canucks will likely move from Utica after this season, the last of their five-year lease. Utica has been a model AHL citizen. It's very well run and did everything you can do to make it a good place for prospects. The combination of geography and money make it likely the Canucks make a true Pacific rival coming into the NHL while saving money on its AHL recalls when they move the farm team closer to home. Canucks owner Francis Anquillini has hinted that they are looking at Abbotsford, about 45 minutes from downtown. They exited the AHL five years ago after a disastrous run with Calgary that saw the city write a check for $5.5 million for the Flames to leave. The Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre is another Spectra run facility that holds 7,046 seats for hockey - again, perfect for the AHL. The other possibility floated by Acquillini is the now vacant, and the original Canucks home, the PNE Coliseum. It was built in the late 1960’s. The WHL Vancouver Giants moved out two years ago to a smaller arena in nearby Langley, BC. So if they go to the PNE Coliseum, the Canucks will have to get new chillers or repair those that have not been in operation for two years. They'll need to renovate the locker rooms and training facilities and section off the seating as well as fix up the building. It seats 16,281, far too large for AHL hockey. The mayor of Abbotsford, Henry Braun, is on record as saying he wants the Canucks AHL team to come to Abbotsford. It looks like they will come to some sort of satisfactory lease arrangement for both sides. The AHL Pacific Division travel only plays 68 games which makes it much more palatable to return the AHL to Abbotsford. Seattle’s new team nickname is down to the final two - Sockeyes and the Totems. The Totems was the name of the old Western Hockey League franchise (1958-1975) and in this PC era will likely raise a ruckus with the use of a Native American symbol. Sockeyes refers to the fish and longtime Maritime fishing industry in the Pacific Northwest. Very shocked Sea Lions didn’t make the cut in the Seattle Times name the team contest. Canlton's Corner endorses Sockeyes with no black uniforms. NOTES: Ex-Pack, Ryan Sproul’s, odyssey for finding an AHL place to play is on its third stop. He spent training camp with Stockton was released, signed with the Toronto Marlies, played one game got where he got an assist and was let go from PTO deal. He is now with the Laval Rocket on a PTO deal. Paul Carey (Salisbury Prep) is sent to Belleville by Ottawa. Alex Biega (Salisbury Prep) is recalled from Utica by Vancouver. Ex-Sound Tiger, Matt Finn, was assigned to Florida (ECHL) by Grand Rapids. Shane Starrett (South Kent Prep) is reassigned by Bakersfield to Wichita (ECHL). Former Wolf Pack, Rory Rawlyk, opts not to play in Poland and signs a deal with Evansville (SPHL). Enfield’s Robbie Baillargeon departs Tulsa (ECHL) and signs with Milton Keynes Lightning (England-EIHL). Ex-Pack, Danny “Monte” Kristo, finally officially leaves Brynas IF (Sweden-SHL) and signs with HC Rapperswil-Jona (Switzerland-LNA). Ex-Pack, Zdenek Bahensky, signs with ASC Corona Brasov (Romania-MOL). Ex-Pack and Sound Tiger, Joe Combs, signs with EHC Kloten (Switzerland-LNB). Forner CT Whale, Wojtech Wolski, had his contract brought out by Metallurg Magnitogorsk (Russia-KHL) and is looking to Switzerland or maybe another KHL team. Former New Haven Senator, Harijs Vitolins, is doing some work as an assistant coach for HK Kurbads (Latvia-LHL) during the Continental Cup tournament. Last year, he was with KHL Gagarin Cup champion SKA St. Petersburg (Russia-KHL). Jordan Sims, son of the former Hartford Whaler and Nighthawk, Al Sims, was traded from Cincinnati (ECHL) to Greenville (ECHL). Former Springfield Falcon, Trent Vogelhuber, retires, and become the assistant coach for Cleveland (AHL) where he played for three years. He might be the first player to retire after going through training camp and had been assigned to San Antonio. Another ex-Falcon, Yann Sauve, signs with Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia-EBEL). Former UCONN defenseman, David Drake, was reassigned to Reading (ECHL) by Lehigh Valley. Ben Sanderson, the son of former Whaler, Geoff Sanderson, has been changing addresses frequently lately. He started the season with Dubuque (USHL) and left after two games. He heads back to play with the Okotoks Oilers (AJHL) for a game before being traded in a Junior A interleague deal to the Vernon Vipers (BCHL). Vernon’s head coach and Director of Hockey Operations is former New Haven Senator and AHL All-Star defenseman, Mark Ferner. Sanderson is a 2019-20 commit to Colorado College (NCHC) Josh Primeau, the nephew of ex-Whaler, Keith Primeau, is loaned for the rest of the season from HC Rapperswil-Jona (Switzerland-LNA) to HC Thurgau (Switzerland-LNB). Read the full article

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