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CANTLON: HARTFORD WOLF PACK OFF SEASON VOL 7
BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT - With approximately 17 of the 20 roster spots set, the Hartford Wolf Pack roster assembly for the 2022-23 season is close to completion.
All that is left for management to do is tinkering on the edges with free agent signings and eventual trade acquisitions. The likelihood of trades by the New York Rangers between now and NHL Draft time could change the look of the Pack lineup.
In goal, expect to see a whole new cast of characters.
Dylan Garand and Olof Lindbom are signed and ready for training camp.
Keith Kinkaid, Adam Huska, and Tyler Wall are no longer with the organization.
Kinkaid's age and falling from his playing perch is why he was let go.
After six years in the building between his years with UCONN and the Wolf Pack, Huska is a gamer but never had an extended winning streak in either college or the pros.
Wall was a premium college goalie, but after just 15 games here and nine in the ECHL with the Jacksonville Icemen, he had never had the coaches' or the players' confidence. A late-season injury requiring season-ending knee surgery after suffering a freak pre-game injury in Jacksonville sealed his fate.
FREE AGENTS
Huska, Tim Gettinger, Anthony Greco, and Nick Merkley are Group 6 free agents, players who have not played enough games by age 25. Therefore, they are UFA (unrestricted free agents).
The Rangers signed two of these players in the past, one retired, who never played again (Boo Nieves), and Steven Fogarty, who lasted for a year. Fogarty is now with the Providence Bruins.
Joining Garand and Lindbom on the last year of their respective deals is Patrick Khordorenko, who was among the few players to flourish in the dreadful final third of the season.
The team will have newcomers, including Will Cullye (Windsor-OHL), Ryder Korczak (Moose Jaw-WHL), Brennan Othmann (Flint-OHL), and Matt Rempe (Seattle-WHL) from Canadian juniors. From Europe, along with Lindbom is Gustave Rydahl, a free agent from Fajestad BK-(Sweden-SHL) and draftee Karl Henriksson (Frölunda HC). Bobby Trivino (UMASS-HE) starts a full season.
On the backline, the Pack already has Zac Jones, Matt Robertson, and Zach Guittari under contract.
MOVES UNDER QUESTION
Ty Ronning, while affable, gregarious, and a standup voice for the organization who has done so at times under the worst circumstances, is a question mark to return. He's played well, in spurts, but like his other teammates sputtered at the end.
The other question mark is forward Lauri Pajuniemi, who had a rocky relationship in the second half with the team and missed significant time because of injuries. The question with Pajuniemi is will he return from Finland?
Will his North Atlantic neighbor from Sweden, Nils Lundkvist, who struggled in Hart City, be back in the organization?
Lundkvist was frozen out in New York and discovered, as it relates to Top-Six forwards and Bottom-Four defenseman, that time is contractually blocked-in both cap space and ice time.
Another question surrounds whether Jarred Tinordi, on defense with a burgeoning young family, will return to reprise the Anthony Bitetto mentor role. Bitetto did very well until he checked out and was eventually dealt out.
AND YET MORE QUESTIONS
Captain Jonny Brodzinski will likely be back in Hartford unless the Rangers offer him a bottom-six role in New York. Should he be in Hartford, he will get the bonus of playing with just signed younger brother next year.
All of these are unknowns.
Anthony Greco is gone and will likely take his speed to Europe. Matt Lorito, who struggled with high in the zone defensive zone turnovers, will likely return overseas. The underperforming Justin Richards and the inconsistent Austin Rueschoff will likely land elsewhere. Jeff Taylor, the designated scratch-ee, for the last four years, will likely head overseas. Jake Elmer will probably be in the ECHL.
NAHL
In the NAHL Robertson Cup Finals, the New Jersey (Middletown) Titans won the title with a 3-0 win over the Anchorage (AK) Wolverines.
The Wolverines advanced, winning over the St. Cloud (MN) Norsemen coached by ex-Ranger Corey Millen, and the Titans advanced to the finals beating the New Mexico (Albuquerque) ice Wolves.
NAHL DRAFT
The league's annual draft saw a few Connecticut-related names selected.
Richard (DJ.) Hart from Stamford, who played in the USHL Clark Cup Final with the Madison Capitols, is listed as an Ohio State (Big 10) commit next year. He was taken by the Janesville (PA) Jets in the first round (11th overall). He also had five games with NAHL's Odessa (TX) Jackalopes.
Jakob Karpa, the youngest son of ex-Sound Tiger/Wolf Pack and Ranger David Karpa, was taken by in the third round (65th overall) by the Lone Star (Ft. Worth, TX) Brahamas. He played for the Wenatchee (WA) Wild (BCHL) last year.
Riley Bassen, the son of former Springfield Indian/Whaler Bob Bassen, was taken by the Corpus Christi (TX) Ice Rays from the Dallas Jr, Stars U-16 Elite (T1EHL) team.
Lone Star took Stamford's Jakub Teply in the fourth round (116th overall) from the South Shore (MA) Kings (NCDC).
Wolcott's Oliver Flynn, a former Connecticut Chief (EHL), who played for the Loomis Chaffe Pelicans, and was with the Boston Jr. Bruins (NCDC), was taken in the fifth round (137th overall) by the Kenai River (AK) Brown Bears. He is a UCONN (HE) commit next year. In 2019 the Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL) selected him, as did the Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL) three years ago.
Connor Welsh of Greenwich, a BC (HE) commit for next year, went in the eighth round (219th overall). Welsh played for the Sioux City (IA) Musketeers. After that, he went to (USHL) the Maryland Black Bears.
In the ninth round (250th overall), Jason Siedem, formerly of Avon Old Farms, who played last year for the Cowichan Valley (BC) Capitals (BCHL) and the Blackfalds (AB) Bulldogs (AJHL), was taken by the Minnesota Wilderness. Springfield (MO) Jr.Blues took him last year.
The Danbury Hat Tricks had four selections on the day. They had the first overall pick and took Jacob Lavallée from Cote-de-Sud Everest (QJHL). He played two games for the Val d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL) and was a 2019 draft selection of the Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL).
The team didn't select again until the fourth round (88th overall). They took Wyatt Stefan, the son of former NHL'er Patrik Stefan, who played last year for New Jersey Rockets and Ridge (NJ) HS from the Detroit Little Caesars program.
In the fifth round (117th overall), they selected a Belarussian player, Denis Radchenko. He is from the Yunost Minsk junior team. The forward checks in at 6'5 and 200lbs. With their final selection in the sixth round (146th overall), they went in-house and selected Reece Tamburo from the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks (NA3HL).
The team also announced the formal completion of the purchase of the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Knights franchise that became the Hat Tricks.
MORE PLAYER MOVEMENT
Calle Själin, a 2017 fifth-round Rangers draft pick, has elected to sign with the Florida Panthers. He has played with Leksands IF (Sweden-SHL) and comes from a long line of Swedish league players.
Currently, brother Pontus is playing Division 2. His father, Jörgen, played Divison-1. His uncle, Jens, played as high as Swedish junior. His grandfather, Kent, also played.
Själin's Entry Level Contract (ELC) is for two years and pays $925K in the NHL and $80K in the AHL. As per the new CBA, he is the first hockey-playing member of the family to come to North America.
Ex-Pack Patrick Newell departs Sterjen (Norway-NEL) for Fehérvár AV19 (Hungary-IceHL) next season.
Ex-Pack Shawn “Odie” O’Donnell heads from Dornbirner EC (Austria-IceHL) to EHC Freiburg (Germany DEL-2).
Another ex-Pack, Simon Denis, comes back to North America from the Tokohu Free Blades (Japan-ALIH) and signs with the Toledo Walleye (ECHL).
Another ex-Pack, Sean Day, gets a one-year extension from the Syracuse Crunch, which includes a pay raise to a two-way $750K-NHL/$200K-AHL deal.
Then ex-Pack/Sound Tiger Joe Whitney, who had the shortest reign as a Pack team captain (two days faster than Cole Schneider) for half a season, hangs them up after a four-year career in Europe with the Iserlohn Roosters (Germany-DEL).
Ex-Sound Tiger Matt Donovan leaves for Europe again after departing the Milwaukee Admirals for Adler Mannheim (Germany-DEL) next year.
Now 22 AHL players have signed overseas.
MORE MOVES
Former UCONN forward Kale Howarth signs a one-year AHL deal in Rockford. Greenwich's Luke Esposito, the nephew of Mark Messier, signs with the Bakersfield Condors.
Former Ranger head coach and New Haven Nighthawk's assistant coach, John Tortorella, finds his way to the Philadelphia Flyers as their new head coach.
Former New Haven Knights (UHL) player Alexsei Lazarenko was an assistant coach this year for Rilat Kharkiv (Ukraine-UHL). Due to the invasion by Russia, their season ended early and had no playoffs.
GORDIE CLARK
Rangers former Pro Scout Gordie Clark, 70, who worked for the Rangers for 19 years in several capacities in Player Development and Scouting and with the Sound Tigers as Director of Hockey Operations earlier this century and was with the Islanders for eight years, was let go by the Rangers.
Gordie's son, Brendon Clark, was an American scout of college and junior hockey; after twelve years was terminated.
The senior Clark had a very distinguished playing career in the 1970s, first with the UNH Wildcats (ECACHL), then the Rochester Americans, then with the Springfield Indians, and 21 games in the WHA with the Cincinnati Stingers and with the first edition of the Maine Mariners before finishing his playing career in Germany.
His only NHL time was with the Boston Bruins for eight games, where he posted an assist.
His brother, Gary Clark, played at UNH, mainly in the Canadian Maritimes senior league.
No word on whether Gordie will continue with another organization or retire to his native Nova Scotia and if Brendon will catch on with another team.
HARTFORD WOLF PACK
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Elite Sports NY
https://elitesportsny.com/2017/12/05/new-york-rangers-4-pittsburgh-penguins-3-highlights/
Boo Nieves scores first NHL goal in Rangers 5-4 win over Pittsburgh (Highlights)
It took a true team effort, but the New York Rangers continually answered the Pittsburgh Penguins and emerged victorious Tuesday night.
Pittsburgh Penguins: 3 (15-11-3, 33 points)
New York Rangers: 4 (15-10-2, 32 points)
PIT Goals: Conor Sheary (9), Phil Kessel (13), Patric Hornqvist (11)
NYR Goals: Boo Nieves (1), Jesper Fast (5), Mats Zuccarello (5), Pavel Buchnevich (10)
NHL, Final, Box Score
PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
Ondrej Pavelec saved 41-of-44 shots in place of a sick Henrik Lundqvist and 11 different players recorded a point as the New York Rangers took care of business against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.
At the beginning of the first period, the Rangers had a couple of solid scoring chances and controlled most of the play. Almost immediately, Kevin Hayes had an opportunity. He broke in all alone, made a move or two, and was denied by Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry on a quick wrist shot.
Following a stretch of solid defensive hockey and a closed neutral zone, the ice began to open up for both teams. Patric Hornqvist made a beautiful pass through the slot, finding Conor Sheary for the goal and making it 1-0 Penguins. The goal was a defensive breakdown for New York, as usual. Sheary was lost by Ryan McDonagh in the scrum in front of the net and converted on Hornqvist’s perfect pass.
The lead would not last long for the Penguins. Boo Nieves would strike at 16:49 in the first period for his first NHL goal. The goal would come off of a wrist shot, beating Jarry through the five hole and tying the game at 1-1.
FIRST 🚨 for @boonieves!!
Stay tuned for more #NYR hockey on @MSGNetworks or https://t.co/TMLf6zaGIh pic.twitter.com/cGBN8PPH4d
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 6, 2017
The second period was a huge one for the Penguins. The Rangers were constantly backed into their own end and forced to endure a plethora of scoring chances. Eventually, the Rangers could no longer fight them off, as Phil Kessel would strike, making it 2-1 Penguins.
The Penguins, once again, would be unable to hold a lead. Despite a stretch of dominance by the Penguins, Brady Skjei made a tremendous defensive play, carried the puck up the ice, used his skating ability to power his way through the defense, and put the puck on net. Jesper Fast would crash the net and bury the rebound, tying the game at 2-2.
JESPER FAST JAMS IT HOME! pic.twitter.com/QICOSKTbjS
— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) December 6, 2017
After another series of chances by Pittsburgh, who had dominated the period in shots—22-to-6 up to that point—the Rangers would capitalize. Off a beautiful cross-ice pass by J.T Miller, Mats Zuccarello would convert, as Jarry would, once again, allow the puck to trickle through the five-hole off of a knuckleball shot by Zuccarello. It would be Zuccarello’s fifth of the season, putting the Rangers up 3-2.
MATS ZUCCARELLO BEATS JARRY, RANGERS UP 3-2! pic.twitter.com/LgMqHw2z2E
— NHL Daily 365 (@NHLDaily365) December 6, 2017
The third period would begin with power plays for both teams, Unlike the Rangers, Pittsburgh would convert on their power play. Hornqvist, who assisted on Sheary’s goal, would have a breakaway and score on a wrist shot past Pavelec.
Luck would be on the Rangers side towards the middle of the third, as Pavel Buchnevich fired a puck off of Penguins defenseman Kris Letang’s skate and into the net. The lucky deflection would put the Rangers up 4-3 on the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Pavel Buchnevich gets a lucky bounce and it's 4-3 Rangers! pic.twitter.com/4XdIXwY9ot
— NHL Daily 365 (@NHLDaily365) December 6, 2017
Despite a flurry of opportunities for the Penguins at the end of the game, Buchnevich’s goal would stand as the game-winner. It wasn’t pretty—Pittsburgh hit three posts and the Rangers needed a deflected goal—but a win is a win.
The Rangers look to take their winning ways on to the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena, in Washington D.C. on Friday night at 7:00 p.m ET.
NEXT: Can The Rangers Reach The Stanley Cup Finals?
CHECK OUT the New York Rangers Team Center: News, Stats, Standings
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Henrik Lundqvist Lundqvists nya mardröm: ”Smärtsamt att se” is Trending on Sunday February 18 2018 https://www.aioinstagram.com/henrik-lundqvist-lundqvists-nya-mardrom-smartsamt-att-se-is-trending-on-sunday-february-18-2018/
Aftonbladet says: Lundqvists nya mardröm: ”Smärtsamt att se”
Top 1 articles about Henrik Lundqvist:
Philadelphias sjunde mål sent i matchen var dråpligt. Efter lite kalabalik runt målet kom Lundqvist för långt ut och släppte sedan en ganska lös puck, som visserligen styrdes lite, mellan benen som avslutning på en ny tung kväll. – Jag vet inte vad man
Trending Images of Henrik Lundqvist on Instagram:
This Henrik Lundqvist’s photo Trending 1 on Instagram, Photo credit to Instagram
Description: Henrik Lundqvist hade ingen rolig match mot Toronto. Utbytt tidigt i andra perioden efter 0-4 på 13 skott. Andra matchen i rad som “Henke” plockades av. I ett Rangers som föll tungt. Desto gladare miner i Toronto såklart. Två segrar på 24 timmar och 9-0 i målskillnad!
#henriklundqvist #nhlse #letsgorangers #torontomapleleafs
This Henrik Lundqvist’s photo Trending 2 on Instagram, Photo credit to Instagram
Description: @hank30nyr gave the boys a pep talk before swapping in for Pavelec. Are the Rangers wasting Hank’s talent? . . . #henriklundqvist #lundqvist #kinghenrik #nyr #lgr #kungen #henke #letsgorangers #wearerangerstown #rangerstown #blueshirtsunited #newyorkrangers #newyork #blueshirts #nyc #nyrangers #madisonsquaregarden #msg #skyline #upsidedown #illustration #tendyswag #landscapethe #tendy #bigsaves #nhltonight
This Henrik Lundqvist’s photo Trending 3 on Instagram, Photo credit to Instagram
Description: Henkes glädjetårar. #iihfworlds2017 #hockeyvm #trekronor #henriklundqvist
This Henrik Lundqvist’s photo Trending 4 on Instagram, Photo credit to Instagram
Description: This is just so sweet! Totally made my day!
hockey players are the sweetest athletes out there. Hands down! •• •• •• #bradyskjei #NYR #Blueshirts #bleedblue #NYR4ever2012 #rangerstown #hockey #madisonsquaregarden #MSG #rangerstown #rangersrule #rangersfan #newyorkrangers #NewYorkRangers #letsgorangers #newyorkrangershockey #hockeyrules #rangersgirl #blueshirtsunited #usahockey #teamusa #rangershockey #boonieves #gardenofdreams #charity #hockeyisthebest #jimmyvesey #kevinhayes #henriklundqvist #HenrikLundqvist30 #ryanmcdonagh
This Henrik Lundqvist’s photo Trending 5 on Instagram, Photo credit to Instagram
Description: ”Jag har nästan lite dåligt samvete, jag hade kunnat skada Henke rejält”, säger William Nylander som i vild eufori kastade sig över målvakten Henrik Lundqvist när VM-guldet var bärgat
Bilderna av ”attack-kramen” kan bli klassiska – och röster höjs nu för att bilderna ska bli frimärke. Foto: TT #ishockey #VMguld #henriklundqvist #williamnylander #trekronor
This Henrik Lundqvist’s photo Trending 6 on Instagram, Photo credit to Instagram
Description:
Henrik Lundqvist (82) –
New York Rangers (NHL) –
4 –
Frölunda HC (98-05 – SHL) – NHL Draft –
New York Rangers 2000 / Round 7 / 205th – – Birthplace –
Åre Height – 6’1″ Weight – 187lbs
This Henrik Lundqvist’s photo Trending 7 on Instagram, Photo credit to Instagram
Description: @hank30nyr is here!
GIVEAWAY: Enter to win this signed puck
1⃣ Follow @steiner.brandon — 2⃣ Tag a friend who would also want this! — 3⃣ Each comment is a new entry. The more comment + people you tag, the more chances to win! —
This Henrik Lundqvist’s photo Trending 8 on Instagram, Photo credit to Instagram
Description: New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (30) during the NHL game between the New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Canada. Senators won the game by a score of 6-3. Daniel Lea/CSM #nyrangers #newyorkrangers #senators #nhl #action #actionphoto #hockey #sports #sportsphotography #henriklundqvist #goalie #goaliemask #mask #broadwayblueshirts #danielleaphoto
This Henrik Lundqvist’s photo Trending 9 on Instagram, Photo credit to Instagram
Description: FINAL SCORE #philadelphiaflyers 7 #newyorkrangers 4 #philadelphia goal scorers include #claudegiroux #traviskonecny #jorilehterä #brandonmanning #scottlaughton #andrewmacdonald #nolanpatrick.( #alexlyon #michalneuvirth in goal.) #newyork goals include #peterholland #kevinhayes #ricknash #matszuccarello.( #henriklundqvist in goal.) #madisonsquaregarden
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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.
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CANTLON'S CORNER: WOLF PACK 2020-21 SEASON
BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT - With the 2019-20 AHL and Hartford Wolf Pack season officially canceled, talk changes from what could have been, to what awaits at the next training camp that should start at some point in the final months of 2020.
For the New York Rangers, their off-season decisions are many and plentiful.
The NHL's proposed salary cap which was projected to be between $84 and $88 million two weeks before the pandemic outbreak is out the window as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Roster decisions will now be even harder for every team's management to handle once that actual number is decided upon.
The Rangers have an excess of defensemen as they did last year.
There are 19 defensemen in the system and only 12 can dress between the AHL and NHL. Some are heading elsewhere.
In New York, Jacob Trouba, Marc Staal, Ryan Lindgren, Brendan Smith, Adam Fox and Tony D’Angelo have the top spots.
Staal and Smith each have one year remaining before they reach UFA status. D’Angelo is now an RFA coming off a solid potentially shortened season. Lindgren will be an RFA after next season.
In Hartford, there's Libor Hajek, Yegor Rykov, and Sean Day, who are all entering the last year of their entry-level deals.
Hajek is at a crossroads.
After making the Rangers out of camp last year, he missed 20 games with an injury was supposed to be in Hartford on injury rehab, but never made it back to Broadway.
Day started the year in Hartford, then was sent to the team's ECHL affiliates, the Maine Mariners for the remainder of the season in favor of Rykov, who was a upcoming player.
Rykov’s stock fell precipitously at the end of the year. He was a healthy scratch in nine of the last 10 games including the last game the Pack played on March 11th against the Providence Bruins. The team elected to play a freshly signed rookie, Zach Guitarri, from Brown University (ECACHL) instead.
Rykov could be dealt this summer if the right offer comes along. Rykov was unhappy about how things were progressing with the knock-on him, according to several sources, was his skating. It's not out of the question that Hajek could also potentially be involved in a package deal.
Darren Raddysh and Brandon Crawley are both RFA’s this summer. Both Vincent LoVerde and Mason Geersten were already locked up when they signed one-year AHL deals a short time ago.
Raddysh played well on both sides of the puck, as did Loverde. They were the number one shutdown tandem for two months. He would appear to have earned himself another one-year deal.
After a good training camp, Crawley spent the majority of the season in Maine.
LoVerde was very well-respected in the locker room as well as with the coaches. In fact, he played with every defenseman the Wolf Pack had on their roster this season.
Geersten proved to be worth his weight in gold and earned a contract coming in as a non-roster invitee. He was the best body-checker on the team and a true heavyweight who took care of the "physical" business and was another solid veteran signee that stabilized the locker room.
Both players earned deals with Geersten seeming to deserve a one-way, NHL money deal.
The Rangers signed K’Andre Miller to a three-year, entry-level deal just before the season was suspended.
Tarmo Reunanen, who was signed last year but played in Finland, enters year two of his three-year deal.
In the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), Nils Lundkvist is coming off a strong year and at the WJC. There's also the aforementioned Guitarri.
The problem for Reunanen and Lundkvist coming to North America is that in Europe, COVID-19 hit very hard and the question is where or not they will be able to come across the Big Pond because of possible visa issues.
Earlier this week, the EU (European Union) discussed an immunity visa that could be issued and there is a whole panoply of security and civil liberties issues that could potentially follow that.
It's a total unknown and it's highly possible both could stay in Europe for another year.
Defenseman Matt Robertson, from Edmonton (WHL), will likely be signed to a standard three-year, entry-level deal very soon.
Among the defenseman only Nick Ebert is the only UFA-Group 6 free agent. It's not likely that Ebert will be re-signed. He could end up elsewhere in the AHL or Europe.
In the forward category, there are significant players who are Group 6 UFA’s. the Pack's leading scorer, Vinni Lettieri, and Danny O’Regan.
Team captain, Steven Fogarty, is a UFA.
Despite possessing a cannon of a slapshot, Lettieri could sign elsewhere. His stock fell in the Rangers' eye over the last year-and-a-half.
O’Regan, an old friend of Rangers head coach David Quinn from their BU days, was highly regarded by the Wolf Pack coaching staff. He will likely get a one-or-two year AHL deal in the neighborhood of $300,000K.
Then there's Fogarty.
He was a solid captain who played through illness and injury. Near the end of the season, he wasn’t putting up with some of the lethargic play that crept back into the lineup and called out his teammates. He could receive another one year, one-way NHL deal, but he will likely test the market. He will get offers and will likely head elsewhere.
There are four RFA’s on the roster. They are Boo Nieves, Ryan Gropp, Dawson Leedahl, and Gabriel Fontaine.
Gropp, a former second-round pick, after being assigned to ain't took a three-week sabbatical early in the season. He returned to Maine and worked his way back up to the Pack lineup. He played well, but didn’t produce enough points, He could be departing as well.
Leedahl spent most of the season in Maine and likely will not be back.
Coming off of season-ending, left shoulder surgery, Fontaine will likely get a one-year AHL deal.
Nieves is a tough call. He played very well, tallying 12 points in 10 games before suffering from severe migraines. He played just one game the remainder of the year. He was a last-minute scratch in what was to be his second consecutive game. Nieves is a tantalizing talent, but the Rangers pigeonholed him as a defensive center, which didn’t work. He's now 27 and on a one-way, one-year, $700K NHL deal. It isn't likely he will be offered another deal. A really solid player and person, he will likely migrate elsewhere.
Entering, the last year of their deals, are the most improved player last season in Tim Gettinger, as well as Ty Ronning, Patrick Newell, Nick Jones, and the wildest of wild cards, a former first-round pick, Lias Andersson.
Andersson's unexpected departure back to Sweden on November 18th, not surprisingly, earned him organizational scorn, however, some are said to be still willing to give him another chance.
Andersson wasn’t a malcontent but made a rash, impulsive, and immature decision that put him in a box.
Inside sources indicate he had a bit of an emotional breakdown two weeks before bolting. The self-imposed stress of having to live up to his being the number seven overall draft pick and producing very little results weighed heavily on him. Unless a larger trade deal is constructed that he's a part of, or he has some huge reversal in his behavior, he'll likely spend the final year of his original deal skating on the bigger surfaces in Sweden.
The other first-round pick returning for year two is Vitali Kravtsov, who had a difficult first-year. He went back to Russia after just five games, came back, and showed only glimpses of his skill that made him a seventh overall draft selection as well. He was too inconsistent and did not get enough puck time and his willingness to take a hit to get the puck or to take a shot.
Nick Jones, a free agent signee did everything he was asked to do and did a lot of good things on both sides of the faceoff circle. He helped set players up and was very strong on the PK. A looming minus-14 needs to be improved upon. Jones’ Achilles Heel was being unable to finish on his scoring chances. He was reminiscent of a young Jed Ortmeyer. He has likely earned a one-year, two-way AHL deal.
Ryan Dmowski and Shawn McBride were the heart of the fourth line. The team relied on them before play was suspended. Both were both on AHL deals and looks like they've earned another one-year, AHL deal. Numbers plus analytics will ultimately determine if they do get offers.
Returnee Jake Elmer has two years remaining on his deal. He spent more time in Maine than in Hartford.
There's a batch of new signees for the Pack.
The 6’7, Austin Rueschhoff, as well as Patrick Khodorenko, Patrick Whelan, Michael O’Leary, and Justin Richards will be in what should be a very competitive training camp whenever that camp actually opens though is anyone's guess.
The only UFA on the Pack roster is veteran, Matt Beleskey. He and his $825K NHL cap hit and overall $1.9 million are over. He will end up either with an AHL veteran's deal somewhere else or will take a deal to play in Europe.
At the start of the season, the Rangers' not even inviting Beleskey to their NHL training camp was one of the very few questionable moves. He would still be a locker room bonus and gave it his all for the team. Late in the season, he was involved in the line brawl in Springfield in the second to last game of the year that earned him a three-game suspension.
Late in the year, the departure of Ville Meskanen was obviously the other "questionable" decision by the team's management.
The Wolf Pack could have used him, especially when the team hit the skids during a five game losing streak and a 2-7-1 mark in their final 10 games.
Meskanen could have easily made a difference in the team's slide rather than having to rely on signing guys, like Connor Bleackly, to PTO’s and ATO’s to fill in the gaps.
Goaltending is a major hot button issue for the Rangers. There are presently seven in the organization.
A bit of a soap opera will play out until the situation with future Hall-of-Famer, Henrik Lundquist, is resolved. He is entering the last year of his $8.5 million per year deal. Alexander Georgiev becomes an RFA, and Igor Shesterkin enters year two of his two-year deal.
An option for the Rangers is to buy-out Lundqvist. Trading Georgiev is another option.
Meanwhile, in Hartford, Adam Huska (UCONN) is in his second year. J.F. Berube is there and is a UFA. Tyler Wall was just signed out of UMASS-Lowell (HE) and makes for a very congested organizational goalie crease area.
Toss in the drafted, but unsigned, Olof Lindbom, who is coming off an injury sustained while playing with Mora IK (Sweden-Allsvenskan), and his hopes for a bounce back season in Sweden in the SHL possibly with Farjestad BK, where he played one game with last year. He is also WJC eligible.
Lots to ponder about the 24th edition of the Wolf Pack coming out of this pandemic.
Stay safe.
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CANTLON: PACK UPENDED BY BRUINS
BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT - Paul Carey and Jason Zrobil each had a goal and an assist to pace the red-hot Providence Bruins to their 11th straight regulation win and 12th overall in a 3-1 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack before an announced crowd of 2,594.
The Bruins' win vaulted them over the idle Hershey Bears, into first place in the AHL Atlantic Division with a record of 38-18-3-3 (82 points).
The Wolf Pack, a team being reassembled over the last two days, dropped it's fifth-in-a-row and fell to fourth place in the AHL Atlantic Division at 31-20-6-5 (73 points).
The Charlotte Checkers' 3-2 OT win over the Cleveland Monsters put them percentage points ahead of Hartford for third place. The Wolf Pack are seven points ahead of the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins. It put them eight ahead of the Springfield Thunderbirds, who they play again Friday at the Mass Mutual Center.
When it rains it pours.
Pack head coach, Kris Knoblauch, saw his worst come true. Reeling and with three key players suspended and two injured, an injury to New York Rangers' forward, Filip Chytil, set the stage for the recall of Pack captain, Steven Fogarty, to an emergency recall on Wednesday morning.
Chytil was injured in Tuesday night’s win in Dallas against the Stars.
He was forced to assemble a team that was part-AHL, and part-collegiate. They were held to just one shot in the third period, for just the sixth time in franchise history. The Pack has equaled that dubious total.
Facing a Providence team was already a daunting task. “Providence is the hottest team in the league. To go in shorthanded wasn’t ideal, but our veterans put in the efforts, and our new guys showed some promise. There’s room to grow, but definitely a good start for them. We had a good effort from the new guys, a good first step. We're gonna have to build on that to play in the American Hockey League,” remarked Knoblauch.
For the players, it wasn’t easy. They need to absorb a number of changes in such a short period of time,
“It’s a good group of guys, but it was like a brand new team. We'll get some more time under our belt. We'll figure it out,” Danny O’Regan said.
The line of O’Regan-Vitali Kravtsov-Ryan Gropp was what the Wolf Pack needed to do well in this game and did so scoring the Wolf Pack's only goal of the night.
O'Regan's hard work getting the puck from Gropp at the blue and spotted Kravtsov wide-open in front of the net, who deftly redirected the puck just under the crossbar at 3:52 for just his second goal in 15 games.
“It was started with a good pinch by Ebert, and we get a lot more chances when our D is mobile like that. It was a very nice finish by those two (Gropp and Kravtsov),” noted O’Regan.
That was the extent of the offense. There were a few sustained shifts, but clearly the chemistry wasn’t there and that’s to be expected.
The Bruins are high in the standings because of their precision passing and shooting are a potent combo.
Carey fed the puck to Jason Zrobil at the center point of the blue line. He waited until Randy Fitzgerald got a screen on J.F. Berube and drilled his first season past the Pack netminder to restore a 2-1 Bruins lead at 10:35.
The Bruins added another goal to make it a 3-1 lead from yet another break.
Zach Senyshyn was below the goal line and saw Carey coming in through the back-door. He redirected the pass off the leg of Wolf Pack defenseman Darren Raddysh. It went between Berube’s legs as he squeezed the pads, but not tight enough as the puck went over the goal line at 17:52.
The first goal was a bit of a fluke as Carey took the puck off the left-wing boards, near the blue line, off a shot from ex-Pack, Steven Kamper, on a right-wing shot in close that missed the net.
Carey sent the shot toward the net that was deflected off the stick of the Pack’s Brandon Crawley and sailed up and over Berube's blocker at 15:34.
This will not be the last time these two teams will meet this season.
“We’ve had success against them in the past. We just have to get some chemistry going and get back to doing what we were doing when we were winning,” O’Regan said.
LINES:
O’Regan-Gropp-Kravtsov
Dmowski-McBride-Ronning
Jones-Chase-Newell
Patrick Khodorenko-Michael O’ Leary-Connor Bleackley
LoVerde-Ebert
Hajek-Raddysh
Zach Giutarri-Crawley
SCRATCHES:
Tim Gettinger - Upper-body - Day-To-Day
Boo Nieves - Upper-body - Day-To-Day
Yegor Rykov - (Healthy)
Steven Fogarty - (Emergency recall)
Vinni Lettieri - (Suspended)
Mason Geersten - (Suspended)
Matt Beleskey - (Suspended)
Gabriel Fontaine - Shoulder Surgery - Season-Ending
NOTES:
The Pack has some major scoring slumps and now just five goals in their last five games. O’Regan has one goal in ten games, Kravtsov has one goal in 14. Gropp has just one in ten games while Fogarty has just one in 14.
The only Providence overtime win was against Bridgeport 2-1 on February 9th.
Their last regulation loss was 3-1 on January 31st to the Binghamton Devils.
This was the first of the three-game suspension from Sunday’s first-period melee for Lettieri, Geersten, and Beleskey.
News on Nieves and Gettinger is not good. Neither will be in the lineup this weekend as of today.
Khodorenko wore jersey #43, O’Leary, #23, and Giutarri, #4
The New York Post Larry Brooks reports the Rangers are closing to signing defenseman K’Andre Miller from the University Wisconsin (Big 10) to an entry-level deal. He had 18 points in 36 games on a Badger team that finished 14-20-2. He also was captain for the US WJC Team back in December-January.
Ohio State ended the Badgers season in the opening round of the Big 10 playoffs with a two-game sweep of the best of three series ending a major sub-par season for the Tony Granato coached team.
A big shout-out and offer for prayers to Chief-Of-Off-Ice officials, Dave Cunningham, who is recovering well in Hartford Hospital after suffering a stroke on Saturday at the XL Center after the game.
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COLLINS: P-BRUINS DISTANCE THEMSELVES FROM PACK IN 3-1 WIN
Providence Bruins 3, Hartford Wolf Pack 1
BY: Micah Collins, Hartford Wolf Pack
Hartford, CT, March 8, 2020 – Paul Carey scored twice, and Jakub Zboril had a goal and an assist, Wednesday night at the XL Center, as the Providence Bruins extended a winning streak to 12 games with a 3-1 victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Vitali Kravtsov scored the only goal for the Wolf Pack, who fell to 31-20-6-5 (73 pts.) on the season. Providence improved to 38-18-3-3 for 82 points and moved past idle Hershey and into first place in the Atlantic Division.
The Wolf Pack, who were missing regulars, Vinni Lettieri, Matt Beleskey, and Mason Geertsen due to AHL suspensions, Boo Nieves and Tim Gettinger due to injury and captain Steven Fogarty to recall to the parent New York Rangers, outshot the Bruins 20-15 in the first two periods but were held to one shot on goal in the third.
“Providence is the hottest team in the league, to go in shorthanded wasn’t ideal, but our veterans put in the efforts, and our new guys showed some promise,” said Wolf Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch. “There’s room to grow, but definitely a good start for them.”
Carey scored first for Providence, netting his twenty-first goal of the year 15:34 into the first period off a point shot that just snuck past J-F Berube (21 saves). Steven Kampfer had the lone assist on the tally, and the goal would give Providence the lead into the first intermission.
Just 3:56 into the second, the Wolf Pack tied the game when Kravtsov deflected the puck into the net for his sixth goal of the year. Ryan Gropp and Danny O’Regan had the assists.
“That was a great play by Gropp and Vitali,” said O’Regan of the goal, “I think (Nick) Ebert also made a good pinch to make that play possible, and then Vitali had a great finish.”
Providence was able to regain the lead with 9:25 left in the middle frame. Zboril scored his third goal of the season, with assists from Peter Cehlarik and Ryan Fitzgerald.
The Bruins added to the lead near the end of the period, with Carey tipping in his second goal of the game with 2:08 left. Zach Senyshyn assisted on the goal.
Providence protected goaltender Dan Vladar (20 saves) well in a scoreless third period, outshooting the Wolf Pack 9-1.
“We’ve had success against them in the past,” O’Regan said of the streaking Bruins. “We just have to get some chemistry going and get back to doing what we were doing when we were winning.”
Knoblauch added, “Some practice will help the guys get more familiar with each other. It was a good game considering the circumstances.”
The Wolf Pack’s next game is this Friday night, March 13, a 7:05 visit to Springfield to take on the Thunderbirds. All of the action can be heard live on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com. Video streaming is available at theahl.com/AHLTV.
The next home action for the Wolf Pack is also against Springfield, next Wednesday night, March 18 at 7:00. That is another chance to take advantage of the Wolf Pack’s “Click It or Ticket Hat Trick Pack”. The Hat Trick Pack includes two tickets, two sodas, and one large popcorn, all for just $40.
Tickets for all 2019-20 Wolf Pack home games are on sale now at the Sunwave Gas & Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (860) 722-9425. Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $10 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase.
To speak with a Wolf Pack representative about season or group tickets, or any of the Wolf Pack’s many ticketing options, call (860) 722-9425, or click here to request more info. To visit the Wolf Pack online, go to hartfordwolfpack.com.
Providence Bruins 3 at Hartford Wolf Pack 1
Wednesday, March 11, 2020 - XL Center
Providence 1 2 0 - 3
Hartford 0 1 0 - 1
1st Period-1, Providence, Carey 21 (Kampfer), 15:34. Penalties-No Penalties
2nd Period-2, Hartford, Kravtsov 6 (Gropp, O'Regan), 3:56. 3, Providence, Zboril 3 (Cehlarik, Fitzgerald), 10:35. 4, Providence, Carey 22 (Senyshyn, Zboril), 17:52. Penalties-Crawley Hfd (interference), 5:36.
3rd Period- No Scoring. Penalties-Bleackley Hfd (elbowing), 7:25; Petrovic Pro (high-sticking), 10:08; Gaunce Pro (hooking), 19:15.
Shots on Goal-Providence 8-7-9-24. Hartford 10-10-1-21.
Power Play Opportunities-Providence 0 / 2; Hartford 0 / 2.
Goalies-Providence, Vladar 14-7-1 (21 shots-20 saves). Hartford, Berube 13-17-4 (24 shots-21 saves).
A-2,594
Referees-Mitch Dunning (43), Dan Kelly (45).
Linesmen-Kyle Richetelle (47), Robert St. Lawrence (10).
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CANTLON'S CORNER: THE VERDICTS ARE IN
BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT - The American Hockey League verdict is in and the justice was swift and the Hartford Wolf Pack have been hit hard.
On Monday afternoon, in a first in Wolf Pack history, three players, Forwards Vinni Lettieri, Matt Beleskey, and Mason Geersten, were all simultaneously suspended. Four in were suspended as a result of Sunday afternoon’s melee in Springfield against the Thunderbirds.
All three Pack players were issued three-game suspensions that will knock them out of the lineup for this week's round of AHL contests.
Losing Lettieri, the Pack's leading scorer leaves the team with a gaping scoring issue. The loss of Beleskey further hurts the team's line combinations. Geersten is a mainstay on defense, this leaves the team short a very important physical asset.
Lettieri and Beleskey were suspended for leaving the bench despite being in the midst of a line change and then engaging in an altercation. Ironically, Beleskey played the remainder of the game and actually incurred a major for boarding during the game.
Despite a ten-minute delay, the referees missed it altogether.
Geersten was punished for leaving the penalty box after being placed in there.
The suspension for Lettieri isn’t logical.
Springfield’s Brady Keeper was hit with three games for his manhandling of the linesman on two occasions during the skirmish. Keeper ignited the whole affair with a left hook with a gloved hand to Lettieri’s head, a move neither the refs on Sunday and the league did not address.
The number of clips on YouTube that show Lettieri hopping over the boards to start a rumble is exactly ZERO! Hockey fights.com lists just three previous scraps, one NHL, one AHL, and one USHL.
The AHL did acknowledge that the players were on a line change. The league should look to change some of the language of those suspendable offenses to measure a player's intention in the play. Beleskey responded to the clear mismatch of Keeper and Lettieri. He was not an instigator.
These suspensions put the Wolf Pack in a bind as they seek to address their lineup issues. Tim Gettinger and/or Boo Nieves will start on Wednesday against the Providence Bruins and again two road games that include a rematch in Springfield next Friday, and then the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Saturday.
The team might reach down to the ECHL and their affiliates, the Maine Mariners and recall forward Jake Elmer and veteran defenseman Jeff Taylor.
The Wolf Pack announced a signing Monday. Zach Giuttari from Brown University (ECACHL), who's season ended by losing to the ECACHL quarterfinals Colgate in two games. Giuttari could be pressed into service in one of the games.
Giuttari, a 6-2, 190-pound native of Warwick, RI, just completed a four-year career at Brown University. The 23-year-old Giuttari served as Brown’s captain this season, and led the team in points and assist. He had four goals and 11 assists for 15 points, along with ten penalty minutes. His four goals tied for the top among Bruins defensemen, and fourth overall on the team. That earned Giuttari his second consecutive Second-Team All-Ivy selection.
In 121 career games at Brown, Giuttari totaled 16 goals and 38 assists for 54 points, plus 43 penalty minutes. Prior to his college tenure, Giuttari spent three seasons (2012-13 through 2014-15) at The Loomis-Chaffee School in Windsor, CT and played 18 games with the Connecticut Wolf Pack’s U-18 team in 2014-15.
The team also conducted a paper transaction sending Adam Huska to Maine to be on their playoff roster and conversely goalie Francois Brassard in Maine was assigned to Hartford.
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CANTLON: BIG WEEKEND FOR THE WOLF PACK
BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT - Six months of hard work with all the peaks-and-valleys a season can bring, all boils down to one weekend and a four-game stretch.
The Hartford Wolf Pack sporting a 31-16-6-5 record (73 points) sit in third place in the AHL’s Atlantic Division have their third straight three-in-three weekend as well as next Wednesday's meeting with the Providence Bruins, are all division games.
This set of games starts with a pair of XL Center home games on Friday and Saturday night against the Hershey Bears, who the Pack trail by three points.
“Every game we play is important and we'll say the same thing next weekend and the weekend after that,” Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch said while trying to lower the pre-game temperature. “Unless you’re out of the playoffs, as the season wears on, all games are important.”
At 3 PM on Sunday afternoon the Pack play the Springfield Thunderbirds before the meeting on Wednesday with the Bruins.
“We want to finish as high as possible. First place in the division gets home-ice advantage. We are going to have to play against Hershey in back-to-back games and then Springfield. That’s our immediate task,” said Knoblauch.
Playing three-of-the-four games at home, and then a short 20-mile drive to Springfield takes some of the physical edge off and works in their favor.
Knoblauch, as the captain of the ship, is keeping his eyes on his troops and not much on Hershey. The Bears, however, are a quick counter-attack team and present a real tough test for the Wolf Pack.
“We're not focusing as much on Hershey, but on our game. Getting a little more structure in our offensive structure. We just have had as much as we should. We need to get back to that.”
Having the puck more than the other team sounds trite and simplistic, but was a key to the Pack’s early-season success as well as getting off to fast starts and not playing from behind.
“It’s a big part of our identity, getting that first goal is important to get the other team to open up and take advantage of that.
Being prepared goes a long way, especially as this time of year rolls around.
“This time of the year, every game is big, but against those guys all points are big. We’ve spent the week preparing for this, now it's just time to get out there,” the first-year pro, Patrick Newell, said.
Getting good starts in the first period was also a point of emphasis.
“We addressed getting off to better starts, not be on our heels so much,” veteran defenseman Vincent LoVerde said. "Something the group is looking to this coming weekend.”
Special teams will be a critical role in the weekend's fortunes.
“It gets more critical as your season wears on, but so does five-on-five hockey. The teams are so close; special teams can make the difference and will likely factor this weekend,” Knoblauch said while keeping everything close to the vest.
For Newell, it's some small adjustments that will help.
“We’ve been fine-tuning things. We have some success lately. You're going to have those stretches. The good work will pay off for us.”
The goaltending, a source of strength all season while Igor Shesterkin was with the Wolf Pack, will be tested as the Wolf Pack go with veteran J.F. Berube who gets the nod for the next game.
“We solidified our goaltending in acquiring him. We have every confidence (in him) as we do in Adam (Huska). We don’t need for him to steal a game with a 58 save shutout. We need solid goaltending, and conversely, we need goal-scoring support from the team for the goaltending,” remarked the coach.
The goalscoring issue is not secondary, rather it’s the Wolf Pack’s primary scorers.
“We have gotten goals from our third and fourth lines. We need them (the other two lines) to contribute more to the mix. We don’t have any top-leading scorers of the league here, a top gun guy. It's not where it should be or where we expect it to be. We need scoring from all of our forwards,” said Knoblauch.
A player with a keen understanding of Berube and what he can do is LoVerde, who won a Calder Cup with him during the Manchester Monarchs last season in the AHL before departing for Ontario.
That spring the Monarchs swept the Wolf Pack in the conference finals, the last time Hartford tasted playoff hockey.
“I’m very familiar with him having won a championship in Manchester and played with him in Ontario. (He's a) very solid goalie. He knows how to play in crunch time. He’s a winner and he wants to win. He has solidified us back there. He’s a talker like Tom (McCollum) was, and we appreciate him and wish him the best, and Adam has been super all year. We have full confidence in our goaltending,” remarked LoVerde.
One element of surprise this weekend could be the return of Boo Nieves, who's missed 13 games since January 31st. Knoblauch hopes to fill a gap that's been occupied in his absence by a variety of players.
“We hope so (to have him play). We have missed him. We have filled the gap with Fogs (team captain Steven Fogarty), Newell and Gettinger. He has so many valuable minutes from five on five, penalty kill and the power play. We would love to add to our lineup,” Knoblauch said. The coach was clearly hoping his practice time and contact will allow Nieves to return.
NOTES:
One worry Knoblauch has and has no control over is what happens with the Rangers who have two emergency recalls left while they are doing a roster high-wire act.
“We’ve been fortunate so far this year with the Rangers (on the injury front), but right now they have no extra forwards or extra defenseman. So as soon as they get an injury, somebody has to go. They have no spares,” Knoblauch said.
The AHL Trade deadline on Monday only produced one trade, but it might have an impact on the Wolf Pack as the defending Calder Cup champions, the Charlotte Checkers, solidified their lineup by picking up the former captain of the Wolf Pack, Ryan Bourque, from the struggling Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The trade sent Cedric Lacroix and Terry Broadburst to Bridgeport. The first time he was traded was at the NHL Trade deadline five years ago to the Hershey Bears for Chris Brown. Ironically, Brown just signed a contract extension for another year with Nuremberg (Germany-DEL).
As they did last season, a few days ago, the Checkers also picked up a veteran goalie for the playoff run. Keith Kinkaid was loaned out from the Laval Rocket after spending most of the year as the number two man in Montreal behind Carey Price.
Hershey reassigned ex-Wolf Pack, Chris McCarthy, to the South Carolina Stingray (ECHL). The Springfield Thunderbirds recalled goalie Ryan Bednard from the Greenville Swamp Rabbits whose first AHL win was against the Wolf Pack.
The Sound Tigers also made some roster moves calling up Arnaud Durandeau and goalie Jakub Sharek from Worcester.
The Utica Comets received from the Vancouver Canucks, ex-Sound Tiger, Justin Bailey and from Kalamazoo, Mitch Eliot, the son of former New Haven Nighthawk, Daren Eliot.
The first Division I college signees have started signing ATO deals. Sami Tavernier Merrimack (HE) signs with Syracuse and his teammate Griff Jesks. They head down the road on I-90 to 290 to Worcester (ECHL).
There are five Division I players and six Division III players that have signed so far.
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CANTLON: BRUINS EDGE PACK TAKE SECOND PLACE BATTLE
BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT - An early third-period penalty led to a Providence Bruins powerplay goal that allowed them to edge out the Hartford Wolf Pack, 3-2, in a very hard-fought contest Sunday afternoon at the XL Center.
The Wolf Pack record slips to 31-16-6-5 (73 points) and the team sits in third place in the Atlantic Division. Providence meanwhile sees its record improve to 34-18-3-3 (74 points). They take-over second-place from Hartford. The Baby bruins have now won eight straight games.
The Charlotte Checkers are in fourth place and trail the Wolf Pack by five points.
Early in the third period, a bad neutral zone tripping penalty by Pack captain, Steve Fogarty, led to the goal that would allow Providence to regain the lead they would not relinquish.
The Bruins' puck possession skills that had been on display all game paid dividends on the man-advantage in just 17 seconds.
Jack Studnicka sent the puck over to Peter Cehlarik. He fired a shot that was saved by J.F. Berube, but he was unable to corral the loose puck and Brendan Gaunce was right there to smack it into the net at 2:40. For Gaunce, it was his 17th goal of the season.
The Wolf Pack made a strong effort to tie the game, especially in the final two minutes.
With Berube pulled for an extra attacker, the Pack would come their closest to scoring. Vitali Kravtsov rang a shot off the inside of the right post with 1:15 remaining. Vinni Lettieri took a short side slapper that was stopped by Max Lagace (21 saves) and Fogarty saw his bid denied as well.
“That’s what's happened in our games with Providence this year. Something happens late in the game or a period. They scored a goal from the corner in one game, I believe with 30 seconds left. They don’t always go in your favor. We had everything in our favor in trying to tie the game up, but we missed. We had three really great scoring chances, six on five. It was three-in-three. The guys coulda quit. It's hard playing three-in-three against a very good team and down 2-0. We did everything to try to get it to overtime,” said Knoblauch, doing his best to hide the impact of the tough loss.
The Wolf Pack finally got some open ice and time with the puck and picked up their first goal midway through the second period.
On a Bruins dump in, Libor Hajek commandeered the puck and started moving up the ice on the left-wing side. Hajek passed it over to Lettieri, who side-stepped getting nailed at the blue line and moved into center ice. Lettieri put a pass back to Hajek as he sailed down the left-wing. Nobody was going to catch him as he ripped his first of the season going top shelf to the far side at 11:56.
“Libor did a great job to get the puck up the ice and gave us a real jump when we needed it,” remarked Knoblauch.
Another jumpstart was Nick Ebert, not the heavyweight pugilist, getting into a scrap with a much bigger Brendan Woods, who is a lefty. Ebert got the Pack going.
“We got that first goal and Nicky dropped the gloves really got us going and we got another late in the period. We battled hard the rest of the period,” said Tim Gettinger
The Wolf Pack evened things up at two on a set of smart passes.
A backhand dump in from Ebert behind the Bruins net that left the puck a little between Bruins goalie Max Lagace and defenseman Nick Zboril, who both arrived at the puck at the same time.
Zboril eventually took possession and rimmed it up the left-wing boards, but just jumping on for his shift was Jeff LoVerde, who got the puck and sent it to Patrick Newell along the right-wing boards.
Newell made a quick play from off the right-wing half-wall put the shot toward the net.
The puck found Gettinger's red-hot stick as he got to the front of the net and scored his third goal in two games and 15th of the season off a perfect deflection at 14:05.
“He (LoVerde) made a great play to Patty, luckily I was able to put in,” Gettinger said while downplaying his own contribution.
The Bruins came into the game having won seven-in-a-row. In the first period, they showed why as they scored their first two goals of the game.
The first goal was scored shorthanded by the Bruins with surgical precision at 11:41.
Danny O’Regan lost the puck on his rush attempt ice.
The puck went back to the Bruins left defenseman, Jason Zboril, who passed it over to his partner Josiah Didier who nailed a diagonal pass from the defensive zone to the Wolf Pack blue line to Trent Frederic. The Bruins second-leading scorer then hit a speeding Oskar Steen racing down the right-wing with a perfect pass that he redirected in full flight for his seventh of the season.
The second goal was again a lightning strike by the Bruins using handy stick work.
This time an outlet pass meant for Fogarty never arrived.
Cameron Hughes intercepted a pass and then on a dime quickly curled to the net and fed Jack Studnicks who put in his 22nd of the season at 11:32.
“We weren’t playing our best. They were taking it to us. They got pucks deep. We weren’t moving our feet and in the second and third we finally got our feet moving and we starting getting chances. We just didn’t have enough (at the end),” said Gettinger.
It sets up a very critical three-in-three next weekend with two home games against the Hershey Bears.
LINES:
O’Regan-Kravtsov-Fogarty
Jones-Newell-Gropp
Beleskey-Lettieri-Gettinger
McBride-Dmowski-Ronning
Hajek-Raddysh
LoVerde-Geersten
Ebert-Rykov
SCRATCHES:
Boo Nieves - Upper-body - Injury day-to-day.
Brandon Crawley - Healthy
Greg Chase - Healthy
Gabriel Fontaine - Shoulder Surgery - Season-Ending
NOTES:
J.F. Berube has 23 saves on the game for Hartford.
Lettieri had six shots and Kravtsov had four to pace the Wolf Pack. D-men Didier and ex-Pack, Steven Kampfer, with four shots each paced the Bruins' shots.
Matt Beleskey had the second scrap of the game with a much bigger Alex Petrovic early in the third.
One lineup change was Jake Elmer, who was sent back to the team's ECHL affiliate, the Maine Mariners. The Wolf Pack recalled Greg Chase, who's the nephew of former Hartford Whaler, Kelly Chase. He was scratched as was Elmer since he was recalled.
Among the six Bruins scratches was Wiley Sherman (Greenwich/Hotchkiss Prep).
Wolf Pack Fan Jerseys Of The Game: Wolf Pack #10 Brian Gibbons (Charlotte), CT Whale, Michael Haley (Rangers) and CT Whale #86 Wojtech Wolski (SC Bern Switzerland LNA).
Very classy gesture by the entire Bruins team to go shake hands with linesman Mike Baker and Derek Wahl, who were working their last AHL games as a linesman.
We were alerted they had received a curiously worded e-mail “Pick your last game,“ earlier in the week as notice their contracts would not be renewed for next season.
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CANTLON: WOLF PACK EDGE SOUND TIGERS 3-1
BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
BRIDGEPORT, CT - Tim Gettinger's two powerplay goals paced the Hartford Wolf Pack to clip the Bridgeport Sound Tigers 3-1 on Saturday night at the Webster Bank Arena.
After starting slow, the Wolf Pack fired a season-high 43 shots on goal in gaining their 31st win of the season. The Pack will play the Providence Bruins Sunday at 3 PM at the XL Center.
After trying all manners of combinations, Head Coach Kris Knoblauch has finally found a grouping on the power play that is finding the back of the net consistently.
Along the half-wall, Vinni Lettieri had the puck and found Danny O'Regan open in the right-wing circle. Lettieri sent a pass through the seam over to O'Regan, who whistled a wrist shot on Bridgeport's starting goalie, Jason Coreau, who made the save but gave up a rebound. The puck went right to Gettinger, who banged in his second of the game and 15th of the season.
"He's a special team dream for a coach. (He had a) shorthanded goal last time, two power play goals tonight. He's not 100%. He's battling through an injury. Good for him. He's persevering through it and contributing still," Knoblauch stated.
Gettinger was focused on wins, and not on personal achievements. "We weren't happy at all with our power play last night. It helped us get it done tonight. Vinni did a great job coming off the wall, and Danny got it right on net. It made it easy for me."
Coreau left the game with a lower-body just after the only scrum of the game with all four players penalized at 10:54, forcing Christopher Gibson (five shots) into the game with no warm-up or prep time.
Steven Fogarty scored an empty enter with 38.7 seconds left to clinch the road win for the Wolf Pack.
As for the game's scoring, the Wolf Pack drew first blood in the second period on the power play at 1:09.
Darren Radduysh and Lettieri played catch before they got the setup they wanted.
Raddysh was at the right point and sent his shot on goal. All 6'6 of Gettinger was in front, and he deflected his 14th of the season past Coreau for a 1-0 lead.
"Raddy has got that shot, and all I had to do was just lay my stick out there to put it in."
It was a minor part of a change in the power play setup that helped create the goal.
"We put Raddysh on the number one unit and Nick Ebert on the number two. It helped Raddy with shooting a one-timer on his natural side, and it helped him there. Vinni helped set things up twice tonight," said Knoblauch.
Bridgeport remained persistent and tied the game at one.
Matt Jobst missed on a backhander that went wide, but Seth Helgeson came up with the puck and got it back to Jobst, who went behind the net. Ebert went to check him, but Jobst flipped the puck out in front to a wide-open Nick Schilkey, who wired his ninth of the season at 6:11.
As they did in the first period, the Wolf Pack got better chances as the period waned on.
Adam Huska (26 saves) was solid in net. He stopped Oliver Wahlstrom (six shots on goal) and Schilkey in the final two-minutes on quality chances.
In a fairly even, nondescript period, the Sound Tigers had the advantage for the first half of the period, and the Wolf Pack the second half.
On a late powerplay with Vitali Kravtsov, the forward at the left point had a miscommunication with Raddysh that led to a near shorthanded bid by Jeff Kubiak, who lost control on his shorthanded attempt that ended the opportunity.
LINES:
O’Regan - Kravtsov - Fogarty
Jones - Newell - Gropp
Beleskey - Lettieri - Gettinger
McBride - Dmowski - Ronning
Hajek - Raddysh
LoVerde - Geersten
Ebert - Rykov
SCRATCHES:
Boo Nieves - Upper body injury - Day-to-Day
Brandon Crawley - Healthy
Jake Elmer - Healthy
Gabriel Fontaine - Shoulder surgery - Season-ending.
NOTES:
Raddysh bit his tongue during the game that required stitches.
Vincent LoVerde played with Mason Geersten, so the veteran has played with every defenseman this season in Hartford.
Geersten is now sporting his new spring hairstyle shedding his very ample mullet. "It was too much; too crazy to get the bucket on was getting tough."
The Wolf Pack trail the idle Hershey Bears by three points and are off until tomorrow against the Charlotte Checkers. They're behind the Providence Bruins just one point behind the Pack. They play at Springfield tonight, and the two teams play each other tomorrow at 3 PM.
The Wolf Pack power play has slipped to 28th overall at 13.8%. The Sound Tigers are 30th at 11.4%, with only the Lehigh Valley Phantoms being worse.
On the PK, the Wolf Pack is 5th overall at 85.6 %. The Sound Tigers are at 82.9%.
Igor Shesterkin still leads the AHL in GAA at 1.90. Only Dan Vladar of the Providence Bruins, who played 21 games, while Shesterkin played 25. Connor Ingram of the Milwaukee Admirals is at 1.98, but he's played 30 games.
With 44 points, Lettieri ranks 15th in the AHL. Former QU Bobcat, Sam Anas is tied in points with Reid Boucher of Utica with 63 points. Anas leads the AHL with 45 assists. Kenny Agostino (Yale University), who has spent time with the Maple Leafs, has 44 points in 47 games. Brogan Rafferty (Quinnipiac University) 41 points in 52 games with Utica is 5th among rookies in scoring and second in plus/minus with a plus 17. Former fellow Bobcat teammate Chase Priskies just traded from Charlotte to Springfield is 14th with 31 points in 52 games.
Sound Tigers recalled Nic Pierog (Canterbury Prep) and RW Ben Thomson from Worcester (ECHL) after the Josh Ho-Sang era in Bridgeport came to an end after being assigned to the San Antonio Rampage for the rest of the year. It's the southern-most AHL team. They are leaving the area after having been purchased by the Las Vegas Golden Knights and being moved to Nevada, which the AHL made official in a release after being approved by the BOG. The new team will play in the Orleans Arena as the new Lifeguard Arena in Henderson, Nevada, which is still under construction.
The least likely name would be, "The Las Vegas Silver Knights."
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CANTLON: PACK BEGIN TO MARCH TOWARD THE POSTSEASON
BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
CROMWELL, CT - The trade deadline has come and gone. The roster of the Hartford Wolf Pack is intact and now the next goal for the New York Rangers' AHL affiliates is making the Calder Cup playoffs.
“We have 21 games left before the playoffs. 12 of them are on the road. We still have our work cut out for us,” remarked Pack Head Coach, Kris Knoblauch.
The lineup he has, with few exceptions, will be the one the team will have when they head into the playoffs for the first time in five years.
“This is our group. We have had a few changes, but will have some more, maybe later on, but this group will have,” Knoblauch said stoically.
“Our goal is always to have Hartford Wolf Pack players play for the Rangers whether it was Phil (Di Giuseppe), Lindy (Ryan Lindgren), Igor (Shesterkin) or (Filip) Chytil that’s our job here. Make the best environment for them to play in. One of the reasons (for the development success) is the veterans brought in here such as Danny O’Regan, Phil Di Guiseppe, Mason (Geersten), and Vincent LoVerde. Can’t say enough how well he has played. They all have made their mark with this team."
Knoblauch loves to talk about O’Regan.
“He’s not a loud guy, but a quiet, effective leader. He works very well with a player like Patrick Newell. On the ice or just hanging out together. He’s a natural person to gravitate toward. There is an extra step when he is paired with Danny.”
The Pack begins a second three-games-in-three-days with two on the road. They visit Binghamton to play the Devils on Friday, then travel to Bridgeport on Saturday against the Sound Tigers, and then Sunday afternoon they'll have a crucial meeting with the Providence Bruins at 3 PM at the XL Center.
From the good news department comes word that centerman, Boo Nieves, is close to returning to the lineup. He was in practice for a third straight day sporting a green jersey, not the non-contact yellow he'd been wearing lately.
“Right now, he is day-to-day, (but) questionable for the weekend. He looks fantastic. Our best player the last three practices. We're very eager to get him back. However, it has to remain day-to-day until he gets (medical) clearance.”
For team captain, Steven Fogarty, he can jokingly celebrate that he was not traded at the deadline. Fogarty staying breaks the "Captain Trade Jinx" which saw the team's captain being traded the last five consecutive years.
“I wasn’t too worried about it,” Fogarty said with a laugh.
Now, with all the distractions behind them, for the team, the march to the postseason is everything.
“We put ourselves in a good spot. We like who we have, so it’s a matter of doing what we have been doing and clean up the things we need to.”
The strong finish on Sunday in the solid effort in the 4-1 win over Bridgeport is what they want to carry into the start of the weekend in Binghamton.
“Two points is all we got out of it last week. We didn’t play well Friday. We did well, but not enough on Saturday. We want to help ourselves down the road. We're still in a battle.“
Fogarty has been just as effective in getting offense while the team is shorthanded as he has been while playing five-on-five. There is an art form to playing shorthanded.
He has a very quick stick, but a player needs to know when to be careful and when to use it.
“You gotta know when the right time to jump on it to make the play is. I got a long stick and it helps sometimes. You can get too deep trying to fish one on a play and use your body more sometimes. So, we’ve got important meaningful games in the last ten. It's something we haven’t had in the last few years looking forward to it.”
His linemates have changed throughout the year, which happens, but nothing tends to change,
“You start to hunker down a bit, get all four lines going. That’s gonna be important to us.”
Playing for something after several miserable years is certainly something Fogarty relishes.
“The last few years certainly didn’t end the way anyone wanted. Playing for something this year is something we've worked for all year."
The chase for the Calder Cup is fully under way and picks up in earnest this weekend.
NOTES:
On the Rangers "paper" assignments of Julien Gauthier and Brett Howden for the postseason, Knoblauch steered clear of that one.
“That’s way off in the future. I don’t have control of those decisions. Till the playoffs are here, and those players are sent here, I can’t really think that far ahead. We'll have some bodies here and we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
No decision has been made, publicly anyway, on the weekend's goaltending rotation between Adam Huska and J.F. Berube.
Congrats to Fogarty who's heading to the Hall of Fame….the BC (British Columbia) Hall of Fame.
The 2011-12 BCHL Penticton Vees team is among inductees. The team went 54-4-2 and won the BCHL Fred Page Cup, the regional Junior A Doyle Cup, and the national Junior A RBC Cup.
“That was a special team. I haven’t been back there since. Several of us will be going with the ceremony in the summer. I'm very much looking forward to it. That was a special year and I'm very honored that our team was selected.”
With 81 points, Fogarty was the sixth-leading scorer on the team. His teammates included current Sound Tiger, and former Quinnipiac University Bobcat, Travis St. Denis. The other player of local note was one of St. Denis’s collegiate teammates at QU, goalie Michael Garteig, who's now playing in Finland.
“It's been something playing him (St. Denis) the last four years,” Fogarty said.
Fogarty explained how he wound up in Penticton, BC, saying, “I knew a couple of guys I played with who were going up there to play. Why would anyone go there to play? Usually, kids from Minnesota. You're off to the USHL and then college. The USHL draft didn’t go as planned. Notre Dame wanted me to go there, get a little seasoning. It looked like a good opportunity. So, I went for a visit and fell in love with the place. Penticton is one of the most beautiful spots in Canada, just gorgeous. It was first-class. They treated us very well. Fans were out every night, cheering us and made it great every night. It was one of the best years of my life. We won 42 games in a row. We had everyone following us around like TSN. It was a wild, fun time.”
They almost lost everything.
“We lost our first two games in the RBC Cup (National Junior A Championships) and we're down in the third. We're almost eliminated. We tied it and won in overtime. We won the rest of the games. It wasn’t so easy. It wasn’t what looks it on paper, but we had our moments.”
Interestingly, current Wolf Pack, Ryan Gropp, played his first two Junior A games that same year with Penticton where he notched a goal.
The BCHL announced it's reducing its schedule starting next season from 58 to 54 games, plus they're starting later in September. The league will go now to two nine-team conferences based on BC geography for teams on the mainland and Inland locations.
In Montreal, not only was Pack radio voice, Bob Crawford, in the Bell Centre. For the second time, Lindgren got to be on the same ice with his brother Charles, but this time in the NHL. The two met earlier in the season in Hartford with both brothers still playing in the American League. Charles was in goal for the Laval Rocket. The two brothers got their pictures taken at center ice before the game.
Gauthier, a Montreal native from the east end of the city in Pointe-aux-Trembles, had plenty of family and friends in attendance. He was interviewed by his uncle Denis Gauthier, a former NHL defenseman, who is now an analyst on RDS (the French language sports station).
It was also the 30th anniversary of the last NHL hat trick by Canadiens' legend, Guy Lafluer. The "Hattie" wasn't tallied for the Habs. It came while Lafleur played with the Rangers against the LA Kings.
A few more names have been added to the Wolf Pack Calder Cup championship reunion that will take place on Friday, April 10th. Daniel Goneau and Jason Dawe will also be on the ice.
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CANTLON: WOLD PACK DROP SOUND TIGERS 4-1
BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
BRIDGEPORT, CT - Tim Gettinger scored a stupendous shorthanded goal and had an assist to pace the Hartford Wolf Pack to a solid 4-1 road win to break a modest two-game losing streak over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers before 5,427 at the Webster Bank Arena.
“We did a very good job today because it's much easier to play when we have all four lines going as we did today,” remarked Wolf Pack head coach, Kris Knoblauch.
Nick Jones also contributed a goal and an assist while Darren Raddysh had two assists and ended the three-in-three weekend on a positive note with three periods of solid play.
The Wolf Pack record improves to 30-14-6-5 (71 points) and they are in second place in the Atlantic Division, just one point behind the idle Hershey Bears who hold a game in hand.
The winner of the Providence Bruins and Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins are three points behind the Wolf Pack.
Bridgeport's record slips to 19-30-5-2 (45 points) are in last place in the Atlantic Division and 30th overall in the AHL.
In the third period, the Wolf Pack extended their lead to two goals.
With team captain, Steven Fogarty in the penalty box, Nick Jones took his place on the PK and hit Gettinger with a lead pass.
The rest was all Gettinger.
He motored up the right-wing side past Josh Ho-Sang who was trying to defend him.
Gettinger blew by him, pulled the puck in around Sound Tiger goalie, Jared Coreau, and did a backhand-to-forehand in mid-air a la Bobby Orr, and tucked his 13th of the season into the net at 6:16 and gave the Pack a 3-1 lead.
“Jonesy hit me right in the middle (of the ice) and I was able to drive to the net on the backhand. That was a big goal to keep us moving forward,” Gettinger said with humility and modesty.
Upon further prodding, he would let a smile sneak across his face.
“When we see a forward playing D like that, we try to take advantage of it. I was able to lower my shoulder and got a good head of steam going to the net…the rest was a blur, to be honest.”
Reunited with his original linemate from the beginning of the season, Jones, who was shaking his head, and marveled at the play.
“He was able to drive so fast, it was amazing he made a move going that fast. Just a hell of a play."
Gettinger was very happy with the team win.
“We weren’t very happy how the first two games this weekend went. Friday we weren’t at our best. Last night we did a lot of good things, but it wasn’t enough. Tonight, we put it all together. We came out and wanted the two points and we picked up the win.”
As the architect of the team, Knoblauch got the desired results.
“They really seem to like one another and putting the line back together, we got exactly what we wanted out of it.”
The Wolf Pack got another specialty team goal. Nick Ebert took Matt Beleskey’s pass and waited at the right point patiently as Fogarty moved in to screen Coreau along with defenseman Grant Hutton.
Ebert whistled a wrist off the cross bar and in for his fifth goal and the second Pack powerplay tally of the afternoon.
“Really good play all-around. You get a better chance when you take away a goalie’s eyes,” commented Knoblauch.
The Wolf Pack jumped out to a 2-1 lead with all five players getting touches of the puck.
The whole series started on a smart dish off by Patrick Newell as Darren Raddysh saw an opening along the right-wing boards. He took the pass and filled in the gap, motored to the net, and put the puck to the net.
Gettinger got the first crack at it. Jones, as semi-trailer from behind the goal line, reached out on the loose puck and put it in out in during the mad scramble. It was his eighth of the season to match his jersey number at 5:29.
“It was a nice play all-around to get to that point. I just saw the loose puck. Everyone was hacking and whacking at the puck. I got the last one,” Jones said with a laugh of his first AHL game-winning goal.
The Sound Tigers, with the 30th worst powerplay which has awoken over the last two games, connected on their first chance of the game.
Sebastian Aho was at the right point and spotted Ho-Sang wide open at the Wolf Pack goal line. The shot was deflected on a tip try by Nick Schilkey.
Ho-Sang got the puck and darted around the net.
Ho-Sang completed the wraparound attempt for his third goal at 13:10.
The Wolf Pack answered back with a powerplay goal of their own. It will be in contention for the Wolf Pack goal of the year before Gettinger's goal.
After the Sound Tigers' Jeff Kubiak blew out a tire on a rush attempt, Raddysh picked up the puck and put a short pass to Vitali Kravtsov at center ice.
Kravtsov weaved thru the middle of the ice and as he crossed the Sound Tigers blue line and put short pass in Vinni Lettieri’s wheelhouse.
Lettieri let loose a vintage one-timer on a 40-foot shot that went to the short-side, on Coreau's stick-side who seemed shocked at both the power and speed of the shot for his team-leading 24th of the season at 15:08.
“It was a great shot off of two nice plays, and we have to have the powerplay working. You can’t rely solely on five-on-five scoring all the time. We could have had some more points this weekend if we capitalized on them (powerplays), even possibly a win on Saturday,” said Knoblauch.
Newly acquired goalie Jean-Francois Berube, in his second start for the Wolf Pack, kept things steady in the first period especially on an early breakaway by the Islanders 2019 first-round pick Simon Holmstrom with a clear shot, but a rolling puck Berube calmly stopped it.
He then took away a short-side attempt from Oliver Wahlstrom off a blast from the left-wing faceoff circle that made the difference for the Wolf Pack and two of the toughest of his 18 saves for the game.
“That save was crucial because if they score on that breakaway might be a whole different game for us. He’s veteran has Calder Cup experience. We're glad to have him,“ remarked Jones of Berube’s first win as a member of Hartford.
The head coach thought the early part of he game set up the rest of the game.
“It really could have gone haywire early had they got the goal on a broken play really and JF was right here for that breakaway early on
LINES:
Fogarty-Kravtsov-Beleskey
Jones-Newell-Gettinger
O’Regan-Lettieri-Gropp
McBride-Dmowski-Ronning
Hajek-Raddysh
Ebert-Geersten
Crawley-LoVerde
SCRATCHES:
Boo Nieves - Upper-Body - Out Indefinitely
Yegor Rykov - Healthy - Seventh time in the last nine games.
Jake Elmer - Healthy
Gabriel Fontaine - Shoulder Surgery - Season Over
NOTES:
The Sound Tigers have now lost four in a row (0-3-0-1).
On the powerplay the Wolf Pack are 28th at 12.8% the Sound Tigers 30th at 11.3%.
On the PK the Wolf Pack is 5th best if the AHL at 85.3% and the Sound Tigers at 10th at 83.6%.
Two good things in yesterday’s Rangers 3-2 win over San Jose.
First, the Rangers won extended their recent record to 7-1 all with Igor Shesterkin in goal. The other is they are four points out of the playoff race for the second wild-card spot.
The bad thing, Phil DiGuiseppe played his tenth game which now requires the Rangers to pace him on waivers if they want to send him to Hartford. So, he will be in New York for the rest of the season.
Ex-Pack Shawn St.-Amant has signed a PTO with Chicago.
Ex-Pack defenseman Hubert Labrie was released from his deal by Belleville and assigned to parent Ottawa.
Two ex-Sound Tigers are on the move the brothers Holmstrom. Ben goes from Norfolk (ECHL) to Cincinnati (ECHL) and Josh exits Norfolk for Wheeling (ECHL).
They’re not related to the current Sound Tiger Simon Holmstrom as he is from Sweden, they’re from Colorado Springs, CO.
Not only players or coaches get recalls, but so do team’s staff.
The only voice of the Wolf Pack, Bob Crawford, gets his second recall to do a Rangers game. The first one was at MSG this one will be on the road at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Thursday.
The regular Rangers radio voice, Kenny Albert has a broadcast conflict and Crawford will have Rangers great from the 1970 and 1980’s Pete Stemkowski alongside to provide color commentary.
While the English language Canadiens broadcast on TSN 690 can be heard here at night you can go to the Rangers website and click on the audio section to catch the broadcast.
The game is being bumped off ESPN radio 98.7 to 1050 AM which is not a very strong signaled station the Rangers radio home because of a scheduling conflict.
Montreal will put out the Bienvenue sign for Crawford.
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#AHL#BellCentre#BobCrawford#BobbyOrr#BooNieves#BridgeportSoundTigers#CalderCup#CHL#ECHL#ESPN#GabrielFontaine#GerryCantlon#HartfordWolfPack#HersheyBears#HubertLabrie#JeffKubiak#JoshHo-Sang#KennyAlbert#MattBeleskey#MSG#NickJones#OliverWahlstrom#PeteStemkowski#ProvidenceBruins#SebastianAho#StevenFogarty#TimGettinger#VinniLettieri#VitaliKravtsov#WebsterBankArena
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CANTLON: (FRI) WOLF PACK PREPARE FOR THREE IN THREE AND NHL TRADE DEADLINE
BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT - This is the time of the year when nothing is written in stone and movements sometimes make little sense.
At 11:40 PM this past Wednesday, the New York Rangers announced they had acquired goaltender Jean-Francois Berube from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for future considerations.
Another goalie?
It did answer why Hartford Wolf Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch wouldn’t commit to naming his starter for Friday at Wednesday's practice.
The future considerations were announced on Thursday morning when goalie, Tom McCollum, and forward Lewis Zerter-Gossage were sent to Lehigh Valley to complete the deal.
Team captain Steve Fogarty hopes to break the "Captain-Trade-Jinx" there past four years running. He's just going about his business and leading the team.
“It’s pretty weird that’s it happened every year around this time,” Fogarty said with a chuckle. “I’m the captain now and looking forward to finishing the year with this group."
The trade of young Joey Keane was certainly felt.
“It’s the tough part of our business, losing guys like Joey. He was a big part of our team. He was a heck-of-a player for us and he has a bright future ahead of him.”
Getting prepared for the weekend is important for the second place Wolf Pack and their 29-13-5-5 record (68 points). They'll seek to claim the top spot back from the Hershey Bears, who hold on first place by just two points. They'll look to fight off the Providence Bruins who trail the Pack by four points and the Charlotte Checkers who are just six points back.
“It's been a while since we had a three-in-three. (It's) time to start separating from the pack and we certainly have to get off to a good start to the weekend in Springfield,” said Fogarty.
On the road, the Wolf Pack is not scoring the game's first goal and given those goals way too early in some games.
“That first (goal) is key. (It) gives you momentum, and in a place like Springfield, the first goal is huge. That's a good place to get things (for the weekend) started.”
Knoblauch mused that the team's worst road efforts came when they had overnight trips and had too much free time on their hands.
“Sometimes, it's tough to sit around all day. Maybe there's something to it. I guess the shorter (the road trip) the better.”
With games in Springfield and Bridgeport, it certainly would fit the bill.
Darren Raddysh, who lost his primary defensive position a few games back. He's now paired with Libor Hajek and the pair is functioning better.
“We have had a pretty good corps group of seven and eight guys all season, and we're improving every game and that’s the key. We’ve really worked on our breakouts and getting them better as long as they keep things simple, we do better.”
Dealing with the whole trade deadline scenario for Raddysh, who was traded for Peter Holland last spring, is something he knows all too well.
“Never a fun thing when it happens. He contributed so much to this team. We wish him the best.”
The one thing Knoblauch can control is a weekend is a home game sandwiched in between two road games. Knoblauch tries to soften their road woes.
“When you look on average, we're about where others are not great, but not that bad and not where we want it to be.
"Maybe you can see a trend when we spend too much time in a hotel. That’s our issue that we need to address, taking a six-hour bus ride and staying in that hotel. We don’t have any more of those just day trips,” remarked Knoblauch with a smile.
One area that is still not good is the health of center Boo Nieves. Knoblauch sounds cautiously optimistic, but his body language said otherwise.
“It's still day-to-day. We don’t have him in the lineup now, but hopefully will have him in the lineup, maybe next week.”
Nieves still showed some speed early in practice, but took a long break at the bench and then resumed his drills in his yellow no-contact jersey and was the first off the ice for practice.
Clearly, Nick Jones and fourth-line center Shawn McBride have to pick up the slack with Nieves not able to.
“Nick is taking some of the big draws on five-on-five and as well during PK time. He (Jones) scored a critical goal in the second period in Lehigh Valley for us. McBride relied on him to take those defensive zone draws on the left side (which Nieves did), PK duty and his regular shift. A centerman is a key part of that fourth line which has played so very well for us recently. Overall both players for first-year pros have done very well for us.”
A big weekend is set to begin for the Wolf Pack
KEANE TRADE
The trade wasn’t a surprise, as the Rangers have an overabundance of defenseman in the organization and more coming online in the next month or two. However, Joey Keane wasn’t the rearguard that was expected to be traded.
Keane was dealt to Carolina on Tuesday and was reassigned to Charlotte for RW Julien Gauthier. Keane was a third-round 88th overall selection at the NHL Draft.
“We heard it might happen for a while and found it when we were at the end (of practice). Patty (assistant GM Pat Boller) came over and pulled him over.”
Knoblauch was like a parent watching their kid go off to college.
“He’s played very well here for us and somebody wanted him. I wish him all the success in the world.”
Keane, one of the team's two representatives at the AHL All-Star Classic in Ontario last month, is a right-handed shot that the Rangers lacked in that department on defense. He displayed solid puck handling, passing, and shooting skills and strong play in his own zone.
Keane playing with veteran Mason Geersten for the vast majority of the season. He was often on the second pair behind Vincent LoVerde and Raddysh.
In 49 games, he had eight goals and 22 assists for 30 points and was just a minus-3.
Coming back to Hartford is a big body forward that the Rangers lacked. That player is 6’4, 230 lb. Julien Gauthier who's in his third professional season. He'll be staying in New York for the time being.
Playing 7:18 on Wedneday in Chicago, Gauthier had a shot on goal and wore jersey #12.
“It’s a trade that helps the Rangers for what they need, a big, talented body who can score goals, but we're not getting the benefit of the trade and that happens sometimes.”
Gauthier was a first-round pick (21st overall) of the Carolina Hurricanes. He's from Val D’Or (QMJHL) though that didn’t pan out for them. In 44 games this season, he had a team-leading 27 goals, good for fourth-best in the AHL. He has 37 points, good for third-best on the Checkers. He played on last year’s Calder Cup championship team where he had 27 goals and 41 points in 75 games. He also played 17 post-season games with five goals and eight points.
The Pointe-aux-Trembles native played for two Canada World Junior teams where he gained seven points in seven games in the 2017 tournament.
Over the last few weeks, we have heard from several sources that K’Andre Miller, currently at the University Wisconsin (Big 10) a first-round pick in 2018, might leave after his sophomore season with the Badgers once the collegiate playoffs end. He has seven goals and 16 points in 39 games and a minus seven.
He was the captain of the US WJC team that played in the Czech Republic.
Nils Lundkvist, who had a strong training camp was sent back to Europe because of the lack of roster space in Hartford once Lulea HF (Sweden-SHL) season is done when the LeMat trophy playoffs that start next month are concluded will he likely be here. He has six goals and 24 points in 36 games for the and is a plus 17 for the top team in the 14 team Swedish Hockey League. He playing big minutes for the Sweden WJC team back in early January.
The third could be defenseman Matt Robertson of Edmonton (WHL) who at 6’4 adds some size and offense in 51 games has 12 goals and 39 points. The Oil Kings have clinched a playoff ticket with 17 games left in the season are in first place in the Central Division with 85 points and second-best in the WHL behind Portland.
A deep playoff run and possible Memorial Cup berth make it more likely he will not be seen till training camp next season.
Saturday’s game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins is Hartford Hockey Heritage Night and there are six slated hockey players who will be on hand to help in the celebration.
Former Wolf Pack assistant coach of two seasons Joe Mormina still resides in the area. The lovable Stefan Cherneski, from the early years of the Wolf Pack, and whose 40 game career was cut short because of a serious knee injury.
Joining them will be Cheshire native Matt Generous, who had an outstanding collegiate career at St. Lawrence (ECACHL). A brief AHL career with the Portland Pirates, before heading to Europe where he had 10 good years with Lukko Rauma (Finland-FEL) before concussion issues forced an end to his career.
Howie Rosenblatt, who bounced around between the ECHL where in 178 games he had 146 points and 850 PM and AHL he had 25 games with 75 PM with Providence. The rugged forward ended his playing career with the UHL New Haven Knights with 12 games and nine points and 30 PM.
Jon DiSalvatore, a South Windsor native had an 814 game AHL career played with Lowell and Worcester and ended his career with the Springfield Falcons.
Bob Lachance, a Bristol native had a 168 game AHL career with Worcester and 17 games with the Sound Tigers. Then a few years in the old IHL before it folded and then went off to Switzerland for several seasons and concluded his career with a few games in the Federal League included one game with the rowdy, raucous Danbury Trashers.
His brother Scott had an 819 NHL game career mostly with the islanders and presently the US Scouting Director for the New Jersey.
-Toronto Marlies center Mason Marchment, the son of former Hartford Whaler, Bryan Marchment, was dealt to the Florida Panthers for forward, Denis Malgin. Each player has spent time in the AHL in Toronto and Springfield respectively this season.
Marchment was assigned to the Thunderbirds Thursday.
-Two other AHL trades happened yesterday, a broken down Laval Rocket team sent veterans Phil Varone and Pittsburgh native Riley Barber to the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins for Joseph Blandisi and Jake Lucchin.
Danick Martel was traded from Tampa Bay to Florida for major Wolf Pack killer Anthony Greco and reassigned to Springfield.
Greco was assigned to Syracuse.
-Former Avon Old Farms Winged Beaver, Tyler Madden, a sophomore at Northeastern (HE) in a rare divisional trade saw his rights traded from Vancouver to Los Angeles along with Tim Schaller for Tyler Toffoli.
Madden was a third-round pick 68th overall in 2018 of the Canucks.
-Ex-Pack Matt Register was sent to Allen (ECHL) by Iowa.
-Drake Rymsha, son of former New Haven Nighthawk Andy was recalled from Ft. Wayne (ECHL) by Ontario.
-Former CT Whale Christian Thomas exits Traktor Chelyabinsk (Russia-KHL) and signs with SC Bern (Switzerland-LNA) for the rest of the year.
-Ex-UCONN Husky captain last year Miles Gendron was recalled by Ottawa from Brampton to Belleville and then reassigned to Reading (ECHL).
-Another ex-UCONN Husky captain defenseman David Drake after going minus two against Hartford last Saturday has been reassigned from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to the Reading Royals.
-A pair of former Sound Tigers reassigned back to their AHL. Aaron Ness by Arizona to Tucson and Casey Bailey from Vancouver to Utica.
A third, David Quenneville was traded to Binghamton on Monday.
-Lias Andersson Watch: Four games two assists and a minus-2.
-From the Wolf Pack first season, a true classic commercial. See it HERE.
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#BooNieves#CalderCup#CzechRepublic#GerryCantlon#JulienGauthier#LehighValley#MemorialCup#NHL#NickJones#NilsLundkvist#PeterHolland#QMJHL#SwedishHockeyLeague#WHL#XL
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CRAWFORD: WOLF PACK WEEKLY: February 10-16, 2020
BY: Bob Crawford, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT - The Wolf Pack (27-12-5-5, 64 pts.) set a franchise record for longest home winning streak with their 12th consecutive home victory Wednesday night, scoring a season-high seven goals in a 7-4 triumph over Springfield. A two-game trip to Charlotte yielded only one point, though, as the Wolf Pack fell 6-0 to the Checkers on Friday night at Bojangles’ Coliseum and then dropped a 4-3 overtime decision Saturday. Patrick Newell had his first multiple-goal game as a pro on Wednesday, with two tallies, and then had a goal and an assist Saturday, and Vinni Lettieri also scored twice in Wednesday’s win.
For the latest AHL standings, click here.
This week:
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins make their first visit of the season to the XL Center on Wednesday night for a 7:00 game, and then the Wolf Pack host the Laval Rocket on “Love is Love Night” at 7:15 on Friday night. The Wolf Pack close out the weekend with a trip to Allentown, PA to meet the Lehigh Valley Phantoms Saturday night. That game faces off at 7:05.
Wednesday, February 12 vs. the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh) at the XL Center, 7:00 PM
This is another chance to take advantage of the Wolf Pack’s “Click It or Ticket Hat Trick Pack”. The Hat Trick Pack includes two tickets, two sodas, and a large popcorn, all for just $40.
This is also a “Suit to Sweater Wednesday”, offered in partnership with the Hartford Chamber of Commerce. Any fan showing a company ID at the Sunwave Gas & Power Ticket office can purchase Blue-Level tickets to Wolf Pack Wednesday home games for only $15 each (limit two tickets per ID).
The Penguins enter the week 24-18-3-5 for 56 points, one point out of the last playoff spot in the Atlantic Division and eight points behind the Wolf Pack. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has lost its last two games in regulation, after going 6-0-0-2 in the previous eight.
This is the second meeting of the season between the Wolf Pack and the Penguins, and Hartford’s first of three home games in the series. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton shut the Wolf Pack out, 3-0, in the teams’ first clash, January 11 in Wilkes-Barre.
Goaltender Casey DeSmith, who made 25 saves to blank the Wolf Pack in the Penguins’ 3-0 home win January 11, had a streak of five straight winning decisions snapped in his last outing, a 3-0 loss to Hershey at home on Friday night.
Tickets for this game, and all 2019-20 Wolf Pack home games, are on sale now at the Sunwave Gas & Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (860) 722-9425. Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $10 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase.
Broadcast – live with Bob Crawford and Mark Bailey on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com. Video streaming at theahl.com/AHLTV.
Friday, February 14 vs. the Laval Rocket (Montreal) at the XL Center, 7:15 PM
This is “Love Is Love Night” at the XL Center, as the Wolf Pack celebrates love for hockey, pride, and diversity. The Wolf Pack will be wearing specialty pride jerseys, which will be auctioned off in the second intermission, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Connecticut Gay and Lesbian Collective, the Hartford Gay Men's Chorus and Metropolitan Community Church of Hartford.
This game, like every Friday-night Wolf Pack home game, features $1 hot dogs, and $2 draft beers and fountain sodas, through the start of the second period, presented by Nomads Adventure Quest.
This is the last of four games on the season between the Wolf Pack and the Rocket, and the first time the two teams have seen each other since November 1, when the Wolf Pack fell 2-1 in a shootout at Laval. The Wolf Pack’s record in the season series is 1-1-0-1, and they took the only previous XL Center meeting, 2-1 in overtime, on October 25.
Rocket goal-scoring leader Charles Hudon has 4-3-7 in Laval’s last four games and is tied for fourth in the AHL in goals, with 24-7-31 in 39 GP.
The Rocket, who are 1-3-2-1 in their last seven games, finished last week tied with Toronto for the last playoff spot in the North Division, with a record of 23-20-5-2 for 53 points.
At this game and every Wolf Pack Friday or Saturday home game, fans are encouraged to come early for “Hockey Happy Hour” in the XL Center’s Coliseum Club. From 5:15 PM until puck drop, a $5 wrist band gives fans access to the “Chill Zone” of the Coliseum Club, which features an appetizer buffet and $2 beers, presented by Minuteman Press.
Tickets for this game, and all 2019-20 Wolf Pack home games, are on sale now at the Sunwave Gas & Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (860) 722-9425. Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $10 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase.
Broadcast – live with Bob Crawford and Mark Bailey on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com. Video streaming at theahl.com/AHLTV.
Saturday, February 15 at the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (Philadelphia) at the PPL Center, 7:05 PM
The Phantoms (21-23-1-5, 48 pts.) have won three of their last four games and are 8-4-0-1 in their last 13. Lehigh Valley’s .688 points percentage at home (15-6-1-2) is fifth-best in the AHL.
The Wolf Pack are 2-1-1-0 in four previous games against the Phantoms this season, and it has been a “Home Ice series”. The Wolf Pack has won twice at the XL Center and has an overtime loss and a regulation defeat to show for two earlier visits to Allentown.
Lehigh Valley rookie forward Isaac Ratcliffe (5-7-12 in 41 GP) scored in back-to-back games Saturday night at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Sunday at home vs. Hershey, for his first career professional goal-scoring streak.
Broadcast – live online HERE. Video streaming at com/AHLTV.
Wolf Pack Community Appearances:
The Wolf Pack have the following appearances scheduled this week. For further information on these, or any other Wolf Pack community initiatives, contact Wolf Pack community relations manager Frank Berrian, at (860) 541-4728:
Tuesday, February 11, 1:30 PM, Wesley School, 10 Wesleyan Hills Rd., Middletown, CT
Wolf Pack forward Gabriel Fontaine is scheduled to join Sonar, the Wolf Pack’s beloved mascot, in support the Wolf Pack’s “Read to the Rink” reading program.
Tuesday, February 11, 3:00 PM, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, 282 Washington St., Hartford
Wolf Pack players Matt Beleskey, Nick Ebert, Steven Fogarty, Ryan Gropp, Vinni Lettieri, and Boo Nieves are scheduled to be making valentines at CCMC and delivering them to some of the young patients.
Recent Transactions:
Ty Ronning – reassigned to the Wolf Pack by the New York Rangers from Maine (ECHL) February 3.
Jake Elmer – reassigned to the Wolf Pack by the New York Rangers from Maine (ECHL) February 9.
Jeff Taylor – returned by the Wolf Pack to Maine (ECHL) February 9.
Lewis Zerter-Gossage – returned by the Wolf Pack to Maine (ECHL) February 9.
Pack Tracks:
The Wolf Pack will celebrate over 40 years of Hartford hockey history Saturday, February 22, when they face off against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 7:00. The first 2,00 fans into the game that night will receive a free 2020 Wolf Pack Sonar bobblehead, presented by Xfinity.
Each of the Wolf Pack’s Sunday and Wednesday home games feature the Wolf Pack’s “Click It or Ticket Hat Trick Pack”. The Hat Trick Pack includes two tickets, two sodas, and a large popcorn, all for just $40. After this Wednesday night, the next Hat Trick Pack game is Sunday, March 1, a 3:00 battle with the Providence Bruins.
In partnership with the Hartford Chamber of Commerce, the Wolf Pack together offer “Suit to Sweater Wednesdays”, to wash away the mid-week work blues. Any fan showing a company ID at the Sunwave Gas & Power Ticket office can purchase Blue-Level tickets to Wolf Pack Wednesday home games for only $15 each (limit two tickets per ID). After this Wednesday night, the Wolf Pack’s next Wednesday home date is March 11, when the Providence Bruins invade the XL Center for a 7:00 game.
Once again this season, fans can enjoy $1 hot dogs, and $2 draft beers and fountain sodas, at every Friday Wolf Pack home game, through the start of the second period, presented by Nomads Adventure Quest. After this Friday, the Wolf Pack’s next Friday-night home outing is March 6, when they entertain the Hershey Bears in a 7:15 PM game.
Wolf Pack home game tickets can be purchased at the Sunwave Gas & Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (860) 722-9425. Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $10 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase.
To speak with a Wolf Pack representative about season or group tickets, or any of the Wolf Pack’s many ticketing options, call (860) 722-9425, or click here to request more info. To visit the Wolf Pack online, go to hartfordwolfpack.com.
TRACK THE PACK ONLINE AT HARTFORDWOLFPACK.COM
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#AHL#AtlanticDivision#BobCrawford#BooNieves#FrankBerrian#GabrielFontaine#HartfordWolfPack#HersheyBears#LavalRocket#LehighValleyPhantoms#MattBeleskey#NewYorkRangers#PPLCenter#ProvidenceBruins#RyanGropp#StevenFogarty#TyRonning#Wilkes-Barre/ScrantonPenguins#XLCenter
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