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mitchbeck · 2 years

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CANTLON: PACK HOST SYRACUSE LOSE AGAIN 8-5

BY: Gerry Cantlon - Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Alex Barré-Boulet’s goal and two assists paced an 8-4 Syracuse Crunch victory as the tumble down the Atlantic Division standings for the Hartford Wolf Pack continues. The Pack dropped their seventh straight and have lost nine of their last eleven games while surrendering 24 goals in the previous four games and allowed seven or more goals three times in a month. Only the exemplary efforts of newcomers former UCONN Husky Maxim Letunov and UMASS Minuteman Bobby Trivigno, who had two primary assists in his debut game, have stood out. The team had a players-only meeting after the game, while the coaches and upper management were in post-game meetings as they separately tried to sort out what had caused this unraveling. In addition, the team pulled the plug on their post-game Zoom press conference for the first time to deal with this on-ice collapse. The Wolf Pack leave home for what remains of the regular season in an all-important seven-game road trip. As a result of their strong play earlier in the season, the team remarkably is still in the playoff hunt sitting in fifth place with a .524 winning percentage, just a fraction ahead of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, who were 9-2 winners at home against the Bridgeport Islanders who led 2-0 in the first period but allowed nine unanswered goals. Bridgeport has a .523 winning percentage, but the Wolf Pack still control their destiny as just the Penguins and the Charlotte Checkers, 3-1 winners over the Hershey Bears, took advantage of the losses in the division. SECOND PERIOD Both the first and second periods were a wild affair as in the first period, the two teams exchanged goals. However, when the second intermission came, the Wolf Pack trailed 6-4. The goal-scoring started early as Cole Koepke registered his 19th of the season at 1:32 from new defenseman Brandon Scanlin. An assist each went to Barré-Boulet and ex-New York Ranger, Frederik Claesson. The Pack came back to within one at 4-3 after Hunter Skinner sent his fourth of the season into the net from a cross-ice pass from Trivigno, who registered his first pro point at 7:36. However, the Pack’s poor play continued as the Crunch tallied just 1:23 later. Simon Ryfors was in the slot in the shooter’s position on one knee and blasted home Gabriell Fortier’s left-wing corner pass past Pack starter Keith Kinkaid at 10:28. At 17:51, Ty Ronning brought the Pack back to within a goal on his 17th of the season, taking advantage of Alex Whelan’s second effort hustle on the left-wing boards. He beat ex-Pack Darren Raddysh to the puck and caught Ronning in full stride with a backhand chip pass. Ronning snapped it past Amir Miftakhakov to the glove side. Miftakhakov hasn’t played since February 19th. The Wolf Pack gave the goal right back just 59 seconds later. HERE WE GO AGAIN Ronning was the first Pack player to tally multiple goals in a game in a month. His last multiple-goal game came on November 5th. Syracuse’s Otto Sompii beat everyone to a loose puck on the left-wing side and shipped it back to ex-Pack Sean Day at the blue line. Day beat Kinkaid from 55-feet out with a high shot to the short side and off the post. In the third period, Nick Merkley cashed in for his 13th goal to make it 6-5, with Trivigno earning his second pro point with a nice setup in tight at 3:29. The Pack power-play continued to sputter, going 0-for-9 on the weekend, and gave up their ninth shorthanded tally. Merkley had a quality chance stopped, and Lauri Pajuniemi’s cross-ice pass for Austin Rueschoff late in the power play was picked off by Gabriel Dumont. Anthony Richard broke away from Scanlin and Ronning and slipped in his 13th goal on Dumont’s lead pass at 8:09. Finally, Richard put the last nail in the coffin with his second goal into an empty net at 17:13. FIRST PERIOD A wild first period started with Barré-Boulet’s tally at 1:50. Syracuse had the edge in shots, 6-1 in the game’s first two minutes. However, the Wolf Pack answered as Patrick Khordorenko snaked a pass for his eighth goal off assists by Zac Jones with the primary helper and Zach Guittari earning the secondary assist at 4:47. The Pack took a rare lead at 2-1 when Ronning got his 16th goal at 3:05. His shot went off rookie Declan Carlile. Gabriel Fortier, who could operate freely from behind the net, found Simon Ryfors open on the doorstep, and he jammed home his eighth goal at 10:28. Again operating behind the net, Riley Nash found Carlile, a former Hockey East second-team All-Star, up top. Carlile put a nice shot over Kinkaid’s right shoulder to restore Syracuse’s lead at 13:56 with his first AHL goal. LINES Merkley-#10-Bobby Trivigno-Letunov Ronning-Greco-Khordorenko Rueschoff-Pajuniemi-Fritz Whelan-O’Leary-DiGiacinto Lorito Tinordi-Skinner Jones-Scanlin Robertson-Guittari Kinkaid Huska SCRATCHES: Gettinger - (Upper-Body) Taylor Lundkvist (Illness, day-to-day, Questionable for Monday) Brodzinski #17 NEWS Abbott Girduckis was released from his PTO and sent back to the Jacksonville Icemen (ECHL) with Trivigno and Brodzinski now in Hartford. The signing of Ethan Brodzinski from St. Cloud State (NCHC) to a PTO deal makes him the third Brodzinski to put on a Wolf Pack sweater this season. Only one Brodzinski brother hasn’t yet. That would be Bryce Brodzinski, who is currently going to the Frozen Four next weekend in Boston with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. It’s not the first-time siblings there have been brought into the Wolf Pack fold, but the first time in the regular season and three of them. Michael Brodzinski is back with the Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL) and played three games mid-season. But, of course, Jonny, the team’s leading goal scorer and captain of the Wolf Pack, is currently on recall in New York. Over 25 years, just a few brothers have been on the ice in three separate training camps. Wolf Pack great and AHL Hall of Famer, Ken Gernander, saw his twin brothers Jim and Jerry here one fall. PA (Pierre-Alexandre) Parenteau brought brother Guillaume, and Dane Byers had brother Cole to Hartford one year. Only a few have played together in the regular season. The most famous were brothers Chris and Ryan Bourque, the sons of Hall-of-Famer Ray Bourque. They were the only duo to play together. The other two did not, Peter and Chris Ferraro, and Chris (older) and Michael (younger) St. Croix. In the lineup, Syracuse had ex-Pack’s P.C. Labrie, Daniel Walcott, Day, and Raddysh. Scratched as he was when he was here was Brandon Crawley. Day was hurt late in the game in the neutral zone. At the first break in play, he exited to the dressing room with an undisclosed injury. He never returned. In 16 months of playing and a little over two years since the Las Vegas Golden Knights purchased their AHL team, The Henderson (NV) Silver Knights debuted their new $84 Million Loan Arena on Saturday night in a 5-2 loss to the Bakersfield Condors. Next season San Jose Barracuda and Coachella Valley Firebirds will debut new state-of-the-art-new arenas. Tarmo Reunanen will be wearing #29 for his new team, the Chicago Wolves. He will skate along with ex-Hartford Whaler and Trumbull product Ted Drury’s son, Jack Drury, ex-Pack skaters Chris Bigras, Joey Keane, and former Yale Bulldog Alex Lyon. also on the roster are the loaned-out former Bridgeport Islander, Richard Pánik. They will host the Texas Stars featuring one-time Sound Tiger Blake Comeau and GM, one-time New Haven Senator MVP Scott White. HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

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mitchbeck · 2 years

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CANTLON: SYRACUSE CRUNCHES PACK

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings SYRACUSE, NY - A three-goal third period sparked by a goal and two assists from Otto Sompii led the Syracuse Crunch over the Hartford Wolf Pack 4-2 on Wednesday night. The Wolf Pack (27-19-5-2) have lost three in a row and have a .575 winning percentage which puts them just ahead of the fifth-place Hershey Bears (.570). Syracuse (26-21-6-2) has a .546 winning percentage just behind the Belleville Senators who are in fourth place at .549 in the North Division for their last playoff spot. The Wolf Pack head across the border to Canada to play the Laval Rocket on Friday and then on to Belleville on Saturday. GAMEPLAY The Crunch struck first with two goals in the first five minutes while holding Hartford without a shot on the net. Sompii went out on a two-on-one by Simon Ryfors and as Matt Robertson sprawled out on the ice, slid past him with a toe drag before Sompii went upstairs on Adam Huska for his fifth at 2:04. Just a couple of minutes later, ex-Pack Darren Raddysh migrated from his right point to the left wing where Ryfors was controlling the puck off a feed from Sompii. Ryfors dropped it off and Raddysh did the rest. Raddysh made a little dipsy-doodle move in the left-wing circle on Nils Lundkvist and put his sixth goal of the season going bar down, increasing the Crunch lead by two goals at 4:19. Raddysh scored for the second straight game and the sixth time in the last fifteen games. MORE GOALS At 14:44 Gabriel Fortier took the puck from Sompii behind the net and snapped his eleventh goal of the season dashing hopes of a comeback. The Pack closed out the scoring. Jeff Taylor was high along the right-wing boards. He found Zac Jones alone at the back door and deposited his sixth with exactly two minutes to go. The Pack finally showed some life albeit too late on the next shift pulled Huska for the extra attacker and only Anthony Greco got a shot with 48 seconds to go that didn’t go in ending his eight game scoring streak. In the first period, Syracuse scored in the last minute of play registering its lone power-play goal by Alex Barré-Boulet after second-year pro, Cole Koepke, skated in short-handed past Tarmo Reunanen who pulled him down. An unforced turnover by Nils Lundkvist went to Boulet who went behind the Wolf Pack net. He was looking to chip a backhanded pass out front to Raddysh, who was a wide-open. Barré-Boulet’s attempt went off the back of the net and right back to him. Huska reacted to the move, but Barré-Boulet swept in and stuffed in his ninth goal of the season in the open right side. Huska reacted thinking Barré-Boulet was coming out on the left side. WOLF PACK TIE THE GAME The Wolf Pack tied the game at one each five minutes into the second. Hunter Skinner came down the right-wing boards. He fought off a slash by Charles Hudon and dished off the puck to Justin Richards. On his 24th birthday, Richards moved into open ice in the slot about fifteen feet out before rifling his sixth goal of the season upstairs over the left shoulder of Syracuse netminder Max Lagace. Syracuse dictated play the rest of the period as the Pack to five shots on goal while they took twelve shots on Huska. NOTES Rangers sent down Morgan Barron late in the day and he wasn’t available to play. He wasn’t getting any game time. Calle Järnkrok, the cousin of ex-New Haven Nighthawk Mikael Lindholm is traded from Seattle to Calgary to play with his cousin Elias. Ty Smilanic of Quinnipiac University (ECACHL) had his rights traded from Florida to Montreal for Ben Chiarot. Ex-Pack Ryan Dmowski (Old Lyme/the Gunn School) goes from South Carolina (ECHL) to Idaho (ECHL) after spending two months in Hershey. Chase Zieky (Avon/Avon Old Farms) departs Idaho for Greenville (ECHL) as does goalie Matt Tugnutt (Sacred Heart University) Ex-Pack Peter Holland 31, retires from hockey. Syracuse didn’t dress ex-Packs P.C. Labrie and Brandon Crawley, but did dress ex-Pack Daniel Walcott along with Day and Raddysh. LINES Fritz-Gettinger-Rueschoff Ronning-Khordorenko-Greco Richards-Lorito-Greco Whalen-O’Leary-Taylor Jones-Lundkvist Robertson-Skinner Bitetto-Tinordi Reunanen Huska Kinkaid HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

#AdamHuska #AnthonyGreco #AvonOldFarms #BenoitGroulx #BrandonCrawley #CalleJärnkrok #ECHL #HartfordWolfPack #JustinRichards #NewHavenNighthawk #NilsLundkvist #PeterHolland #QuinnipiacUniversity #RyanDmowski #SacredHeartUniversity #SeanDay #SyracuseCrunch #TarmoReunanen #TimGettinger

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mitchbeck · 2 years

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CANTLON: (3/2) BRODZINSKI SIGNS EXTENSION

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Monday may have been an off day in terms of what goes on ON the ice, but it was a big day for the Hartford Wolf Pack off of it. In the last year of his contract, the Rangers announced that Wolf Pack captain Jonny Brodzinski had been re-signed for two more years. It rewards the Pack's leading scorer for his two years of loyalty and hard work. The contract for two years encompasses two-way money at $750K-$775K-NHL/$315-$325K-AHL. He was then recalled to New York, and Zac Jones was sent down for significant ice time and game action. NOTES James Sanchez returns to the Pack's ECHL affiliates, the Jacksonville Icemen to get some ice time. Ex-Pack goalie Tom McCollum is loaned from HC Innsbruck (Austria-IceHL) to SC Bietigheim/Bissen (Germany DEL) for the rest of the year. Ex-Sound Tiger Shane Prince heads from Avtomobilst Yekaterinburg (Russia-KHL) to HC Lugano (Switzerland-LNA). Former New Haven Nighthawk/Springfield Indian, Chris McSorley, coaches them. The GM for HC Lugano handing out his last foreign player license is former Hartford Whaler Hnat Dominechelli. Prince is also part of a handful of Western players in the KHL, who, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have sought to terminate their contracts. The Pack's Mat Lorito left the Baltic nation of Latvia last month ahead of the invasion of their neighbor. -Yesterday was Tarmo Reunanen's 24th birthday. -Canon Pieper (Quinnipiac University) has gone from Orlando (ECHL) to Adirondack (ECHL). HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

#AHL #ECHL #HartfordWhaler #HartfordWolfPack #HCLugano #JacksonvilleIcemen #JonnyBrodzinski #NewHavenNighthawk #QuinnipiacUniversity #TarmoReunanen

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mitchbeck · 2 years

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CANTLON: (2/26) PACK PULL AWAY, BEAT BRUINS

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Austin Rueschoff, Ty Ronning, and Jonny Brodzinki paced the Hartford Wolf Pack scoring the game's last four goals to lead their team to a 5-2 win over the Providence Bruins. The Pack (25-15-4-2) eeked into second ahead of Providence by a .609 to .605 winning percentage, The Bruins (23-14-3-3) fell to third place. "We won the battles, did the little things, and we worked hard for the win. We got the W," Ronning said of the win. After a slow start, the Pack came on strong finishing their checks and forcing Providence into penalties while scoring timely goals. KNOBLAUCH REACTS "We did a pretty good job," commented Pack Head Coach Kris Knoblauch. "On identifying plays in the neutral zone, we did a good job in their decision making and their execution. When we were in Springfield we didn't have the execution. We were giving the puck away and making poor decisions. For sixty minutes we did a pretty good job and you're never going to go through a game without any mistakes." A power play halfway through the period gave the Pack the cushion they were looking for as Patrick Khordorenlo's backhand of a Ronning play made it 4-2. Anthony Greco used his speed to get the play going, as Ronning earned his eleventh of the season batting the puck out of mid-air a few minutes later at 11:37. Ronning delivered the final blow to the Bruins in the second half of the game. "Speed, possession, and compete. I thought we checked all those boxes tonight. I knew I had to get in up in the air, but now maybe as I first wanted, but it was big goal that helped us." RONNING SOARING After a slow start, Ronning's enthusiasm for the game and good solid Saturday night crowd (5,385) was evident post-game. After his rocky start, head coach Kris Knoblauch was encouraged by his goalie, Adam Huska. At 2:56 of the first period, Huska turned the puck over to Jonna Koppanen after stopping Alex-Olivier Voyer. It was not the start the team was looking for. Despite all of it, Ronning remained in his rooting section. "He is a professional hockey player and he knows how to lead the charge. He's been phenomenal all season long for us and it's fun to watch him play." FIRST PERIOD BLUES In the first period, the Pack has been outscored 51-30. The Pack surrendered the opening goal adding to the garish -21 and for a fourth straight game. Captain Jonny Brodzinski scored the first Pack goal with his team-best 36th point. Brodzinski used his speed to create space and sent a backhanded pass to Matt Lorito, whose low shot found the back of the net for his second Wolf Pack goal. "We've had to a lot of lineup juggling lately and we separated the Greco-Brodzinski-Gettinger line who has performed so well for us. They and the team have dried up (offensively) for us. So, putting Richards, Ronning, and Rueschoff was honestly, a last-minute thing," said Knoblauch. His hunch has paid off with critical goals scored in the last two games. Austin Rueschoff (team-best five shots) scored off a rebound five minutes later, going upstairs for his twelfth goal of the season. Justin Brazeau converted Jack Studnicka's pass after Jarred Tinordi's clearing attempt was knocked down by Cam Hughes. He found the back of the net for his seventh goal of the season at 16:32. The Pack escaped the period even though they needed to dodge a bullet. A last-second faceoff in the right circle was won cleanly by Studnicka. He sent it back to Brady Lyle. His shot caught every Wolf Pack player by surprise, sailed past Huska, and hit the glass behind the net as the teams went into the first intermission. SECOND PERIOD The second period produced just one goal as defenseman Nils Lundkvist held pointless, but superb defensively in Springfield got rewarded as again used his speed to go wide around the net found him all alone at the blue line and fired his second into the net on a one-timer at 11:44 just past the midway juncture at. Now Huska more than made up for his early mistake. First ex-Pack captain Steven Fogarty and one bid and then late in the period a pair of saves on Lyle and then Tyler Lewington from the points back-to-back with big-time saves. He also got help from his defense in the form of Tarmo Reunanen, as a seventh defenseman making a return to the lineup blocked Edwards Tralmarks on a break-in with under five minutes to go in the period. Then right after, Anthony Greco, on a Tanner Fritz pass, was robbed by Kyle Keyser. LINES Gettinger-Brodzinski-Greco Ronning-Richards-Ruesschoff Lorito-Fritz-Whalen O'Leary-DiGiacinto-Khordorenko Robertson-Lundkvist Giuttari-Tinordi Skinner-Bitetto Reunanen Kinkaid Huska SCRATCHES Pajuniemi (upper-body out since February 4th) Luchuk (lower-body out minimum three weeks) Taylor James Sanchez Wall NOTES The team went with an 11-7 lineup format for a second night in a row dressing Tarmo Reunanen as the extra D. Jeff Taylor was dressed as the extra forward last night. "We haven't made up our minds yet. Heck, we might go with 12 forwards, who knows?" Knoblauch said. With a short timeframe and in-game turnaround, he decided to go with Keith Kinkaid in the net. Providence lost skill forward Oscar Steen with a facial injury just 6:46 into the game when the puck came off the glass quickly and caught him there. He didn't return, forcing the Bruins to play down one forward. HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

#AdamHuska #AnthonyGreco #HartfordWolfPack #JonnyBrodzinski #KeithKinkaid #KrisKnoblauch #NilsLundkvist #ProvidenceBruins #StevenFogarty #TarmoReunanen #TyRonning

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mitchbeck · 2 years

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THOMAS: (2/2) PACK DEFEAT BEARS IN SHOOTOUT

BY: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack found themselves trialing 2-1 late in the contest Wednesday night at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Captain Jonny Brodzinski scored for the seventh straight game to tie the contest late, while Tim Gettinger played the hero role in the shootout to help push the Pack to a 3-2 victory over the Bears. Gettinger scored his fourth shootout goal of the season in the bottom half of the third round to cement the victory for Hartford. Coming in on the far side, Gettinger cut in front of the goal and went backhand to forehand, snapping a shot by the blocker of Zach Fucale. The goal was Gettinger’s fourth shootout winner of the season and gives the club their third win in four tries against the Bears this season. The Wolf Pack kicked off the scoring 13:53 into the game with Tanner Fritz’s seventh goal of the year. Lauri Pajuniemi blazed into the offensive zone, then pulled up just inside the blueline to maintain possession from a pursuing Bears defender. The rookie Finn walked the blueline the sent a backhand pass to Tarmo Reunanen. Reunanen stepped into a shot that was deflected home by Fritz. BEARS RESPOND The Bears responded just over four minutes later, tying the game at 18:00. Tobias Geisser fired a heavy shot over the arm of Keith Kinkaid for his third goal of the season, assisted by Brian Pinho and Cody Franson. Hershey took their first lead of the hockey game 10:20 into the middle frame when Beck Malenstyn potted his third goal of the campaign. Kody Clark slid a pass across the ice on a two-on-one that Malenstyn tipped over a sprawling Kinkaid. Eddie Wittchow got the play going and collected the secondary assist on the marker. Down late in the hockey game, the Wolf Pack never backed down. Finally, at 15:40, they clawed back to even the affair at two. Hunter Skinner chipped a puck up to center that Brodzinski was able to collect. The captain entered the zone on a two-on-one and elected to shoot. He beat Fucale over the glove for his team-leading 14th goal of the season. Brodzinski has scored in seven straight games, which is one off the franchise record for a goal-scoring streak. Neither side converted in overtime, sending the Wolf Pack to their second shootout in three games. Axel Jonsson-Fjallby opened the shootout with a goal, but Brodzinski countered in the bottom half of the opening round. Both Fritz and Mike Vecchione failed to score in the second round, then Kinkaid denied Pinho in the top half of the third. That set the table for Gettinger, who sniped his fourth shootout winner home to cap the festivities. The Pack will play another back-to-back set next weekend, starting at 7:05 p.m. against the Springfield Thunderbirds at the MassMutual Center. UPCOMING GAMES The Pack is back at the XL Center Saturday evening with a special 5:00 p.m. puck drop. The Pack host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on ‘Star Wars Night’ at the XL Center. The first 1,500 fans will also receive a Wolf Pack pint glass courtesy of Lewis Real Estate Services. We will also be holding a postgame skate! Tickets are still available at www.hartfordwolfpack.com. HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

#CodyFranson #HartfordWolfPack #JonnyBrodzinski #KeithKinkaid #LehighValleyPhantoms #MassMutualCenter #SpringfieldThunderbirds #StarWars #TarmoReunanen #TimGettinger #XLCenter

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mitchbeck · 3 years

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CANTLON: KNOBLAUCH - WOLF PACK SEASON REVIEW

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The 2021 season has come to a close, and the trials and tribulations have given Hartford Wolf Pack Head Coach Kris Knoblauch a new perspective as he heads into the off-season to prepare for the 2021-22 season. The Wolf Pack valiantly fought back in this short season to put themselves in a position to compete for a division title. With six weeks to go, they found themselves 18 points behind the first-place Providence Bruins. “We got the lead; it's what you want to do on the road. We capitalized on our chances. They were much than we were in the second half of the game, and we just didn’t have enough push back on them,” Knoblauch said after the 6-2 loss that closed it all out. CALL-UPS Knoblauch lost two-thirds of his topline and power play unit the previous night to recall when Tim Gettinger and Justin Richards went to New York. The Pack also saw defenseman Tarmo Reunanen finish the season on recall in the Big Apple. Recalls are par for the course for AHL teams. It didn't help the Wolf Pack objective of winning the division after working so hard to get themselves into that position. Still, injuries and suspensions in New York made the recalls necessary. It forced the Wolf Pack to use every player they had and only their third goalie, Francois Brassard, as the only scratch for the final game. The Pack gave up 42 shots-on-goal for the first time since March 4th against these same Bruins in the game. Providence was the only team to eclipse the 40-shot hurdle over the last six weeks, and over that same timeframe, the Pack gave up more than 30 shots just twice. “We had the first seven shots of the game and credit their goalie (Dan Vladar). He kept his team in it, and in the second, we let things open up, way too much, and lost control of the game.”

KHORDORENKO IMPROVING

Patrick Khordorenko got some serious ice time, and he showed how much progress he has made a high, hard wrist shot for a goal. He also placed a backhand pass perfectly to Vincent LoVerde on his first and only goal of the season that gave Hartford the lead. “Pat had a very good game, and in fact, his last two games were very good. He also was very strong on the faceoffs, and he has taken a lot on penalty kills, and he did so five-on-five. It’s important for his success, and he helped the team out tremendously.” The center position was a point of emphasis from the beginning, and Richards earned his recall and picked up his first NHL point with an assist. Meanwhile, Khordorenko has good size and made strides in his development this season. “Both players fulfilled expectations and trended in the right direction as the season progressed, as did the team. Though such a short season, you're just getting going, and the season is over. So, that makes it tough as you measure his progress. That’s what we have.”

VACCINATIONS

All the players received their vaccinations in the final two weeks, and they were all gone last Friday. Nobody was staying around with a reduced salary when saving money was the objective. The Canadian players were heading back home to an increased COVID environment and a very different set of requirements upon their return home. “Everybody got their second shot. I think maybe one or two didn’t elect to do so.” Moderna or Pfizer? “It was a mixture of both, and yes, for Canadian guys, it’s going to be very different indeed going back.”

MOST CONSISTENT

Morgan Barron and Tarmo Reunanan were the players who maintained the most consistency throughout the season. Barron played the last four Rangers games while Reunann got into two games this season. Where he will be next season is anyone's guess. “(Barron and Reunanan) got their foot in the door. That’s the upside. Now we'll see over the summer how we progress (roster-wise). Their play makes things difficult in a good way. "The progress they had was good, earned the opportunity, so we'll just have to wait until September.”

HUSKA

After spending so much time on the Rangers taxi squad during the first half of the season, Adam Huska's play down the stretch certainly made an impression on the organization. “Adam was very good for us. He came in and made big saves in many games over the last month for us, and that’s what a team needs. He managed the puck well for us, helping the defense and offense. He has made progress his first two years for the organization.”

DEVELOPMENT OVER GAMES

Knoblauch came away with this season and hoped to see going forward a more equitable schedule in 2021-22. Knoblauch wants to see very few "three-games-in-three-days," so the emphasis can be on development with a mixture of games and practice time. “I think it gave players some more focus, especially with both shorter and more focused practices, and when we finally did get to play as close a normal schedule. "It was difficult all the way around, but I think playing two games a week was about right, just perfect for an American (Hockey) League team. "I don’t see the value of playing three-in-three for either team toward player development. Two could be light, three spaced out a few times might be the perfect recipe. Five or six games every two weeks might be right. "The question is how much development occurs at that point playing three in three? It obviously wasn’t enough games this year.” The ongoing debate over having 68 or 76 games will likely be continued at the AHL Board of Governor's meetings with the East, potentially heading more toward the Pacific Division direction of fewer games and more practice.

SCHEDULING

Losing the Springfield Thunderbirds late in the 2020-21 schedule-making process put a major hit on the conference-leading to an unhealthy, unbalanced three-team division. How the 2021-22 Wolf Pack schedule matrix will look will be interesting at its unveiling in July. Despite the schedule in the COVID environment, the Wolf Pack did maintain a semblance of a solid lineup. They had no infections and had just one game postponed in Bridgeport were down to one goalie because of COVID issues in New York. “We just had that one COVID situation, and thankfully everything with our guys worked out. We were very fortunate considering everything; it worked as best as it could.”

WHO'S COMING BACK?

If Knoblauch and his associate coach, Gord Murphy, are back behind the bench next season, they will have a much different lineup with a little more movement than the usual AHL turnover. That will be most evident on defense with Braden Schneider, Matt Robertson, and potentially Nils Lundkvist starting the season in Hart City. “We will have a lot of the forwards returning. On defense, there will be new faces, a lot younger on the back-end. It’s exciting, and there is a lot more than will be going on with possible trades, the (amateur) draft, and of course the Seattle (expansion) draft.” Jonny Brodzinski and Anthony Greco will be back finishing off their entry-level deals. They will be the anchors next season upfront. For Gettinger and Ty Ronning, who played very well, they have expiring entry-level contracts. The team will have a lot of those over the next several years due to the stockpiling of draft picks and prospects during the Rangers rebuild process. “We have a nice surplus of forwards (coming) back and more expectations and hopefully ready and have the first season under their belt now and ready for a full season. "Tim and Ty both have those expiring deals, but they were among our best forwards throughout the year, and we'll see how it works (out), but I would love to have them back with us next year.”

RONNING

Ronning had a great late second-period power play shot ring off the post in the finale. On the next shift, the P-Bruins got a late shorthanded goal and got the momentum. “That was tough. Ty was in the right position, and a shorthanded goal late was a game-changer for us." Projected over a 76 game schedule, Ronning was on pace to see his output somewhere in the 68-70 point range. That's a big jump for the 23-year-old after being buried in Maine with the Mariners for the first two years of his contract. He started this season on the Wolf Pack taxi squad.

THOMPSON

Paul Thompson now lives in West Springfield, MA. He fills the veteran spot and really embraces working with the younger players as his career starts to wind down. “Paul had an outstanding second half. He got better and better every game. He’s great for our younger players, and now it just depends on the amount of prospects that are coming in and the space we'll have.” The ending of taxi squads and the return of Maine (ECHL) to action will make a big difference in the development part of the hockey equation. “It was so hard for our players on our taxi squad. Not playing games, and we didn’t have a place to send these players to play, so they had to just practice and work on their skills and when we had the chance, such as the last two games, to get them in the lineup. "It was a different situation, and they didn’t play enough games that they would have liked, or we would have liked.”

OTHER FORWARDS

Forward Gabriel Fontaine re-injured the same shoulder as last season. Again, he had to undergo season-ending surgery after playing in only 17 games over the last two years. It's doubtful he will return next season. Fontaine got his vaccinations and headed back to Sherbrooke, Quebec. Defenseman/left winger Mason Geersten suffered a late-season hand injury unrelated to his last scrap with Ian MacKinnon of Providence. Over the last six-to-seven weeks, the team converted Geersten to forward as a pilot project to possibly recall him to New York for fourth-line duty this year. “He really liked and embraced it, and it helped the team out quite a bit. He did a good job upfront with the puck. He provided some intimidation, caused havoc in front of the net, made some plays, and scored several goals. "He had a great opportunity in the first period early against Providence (in the last game) which would have given him a three-game goal-scoring streak. We‘re very happy with the way he played.” This experiment will likely be reprised in Rangers training camp.

MSG CHANGES

The Rangers fired their entire coaching staff, except for goalie coach Benoit Allaire. Despite saying publicly that the team was looking for an experienced NHL coach, Knoblauch could get an interview in New York with new team President and General Manager, Chris Drury, based on his very strong two-week COVID sit-in showing he had for the Rangers. Knoblauch keenly felt the loss of John Davidson, who has since returned to his previous position with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Jeff Gorton. “They both supported me and wanted me to coach this team. I’m grateful for the chance they gave me. This is the tough part of the business, and I’m sure both will be somewhere in this game. That said, I think the team is in good hands with Chris Drury, and we have a good foundation with our prospects.”

NOTES

Ex-Pack Ryan Lindgren’s contract was extended by three years by the Rangers. Brodzinski was “sent back” to Hartford, so Justin Richards could make his NHL debut. Then he, Gettinger, and Tarmo Reunanen were returned to the Wolf Pack for cap space purposes under the CBA. Brodzinski's younger brother, Easton, who suffered a gruesome broken femur in the NCAA semifinal against Boston College in Pittsburgh, will return next year as a fifth-year senior with St. Cloud State. Huska’s hometown team in Slovakia, who he played for the fall, HKM Zloven, won the Slovak Elite League title beating HK SKP Poprad four games to one. HKM had ex-Pack, Allan McPherson on the team for Poprad, was ex-CT Whale, Brandon Mashinter. Ex-Wolf Pack, Andrew Yogan, departs Dornbirner EC (Austria-IceHL) to HC Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia-IceHL) next year. After winning the Swedish SHL title with the Växjö Lakers HC, ex-CT Whale and Ranger defenseman Tim Erixon departs as his two-year deal ends. Among his teammates was fellow Springfield Falcons teammate Illari Melart. Erixon was also an original Springfield Thunderbirds player.

MORE NOTES

Team USA hired former Bridgeport Sound Tiger head coach Jack Capuano to be a head coach for the World Championship held May 21-June 6 in Riga, Latvia. It was announced by Team USA GM Chris Drury. Drury named his nephew Jack to the team coming off his winning the Swedish LeMat Trophy title with the Växjö Lakers HC. In the ECHL, ex-Pack Matt Register is enjoying a strong season playing with the Allen (TX) Americans with 44 assists, the second-most in the league. He is first with 24 power play points. Logan Roe (Kent School) of the Florida Everblades is tops in the ECHL plus/minus with a plus-28. Ex-Pack goalie Charles Williams with the Jacksonville Icemen is one of the Top 10 goalies with a record of 16-10-2. Pack defenseman Hunter Skinner still leads the league in shootout goals with three despite leaving the Utah Grizzlies for Hartford in early February. Mike McKee (Kent School) is second in PIM with 121. Alex Kromm, the son of former Hartford Whalers assistant coach and NHL player Richard Kromm, is second in major penalties with seven. Ex-Sound Tiger Mathieu Gagnon with the Wichita Thunder is third in the ECHL with 113 PIM.

EVEN MORE NOTES

Providence sent forward Alex-Olivier Voyer and goalie Kale Keyser to Jacksonville (ECHL) to finish the season and get some ECHL playoff time. Congrats to Columbus (GA) River Dragons (FPHL) and their head coach, former New Haven Nighthawk, Jerome Bechard, to capture the FPHL title. The FPHL added a new team for 2021-22, the Binghamton Black Bears, two weeks after it was announced the AHL team would be relocated to Utica. It was an unusual final weekend of the AHL regular season the Binghamton Devils were still playing. The other AHL division winners joining Providence, the Atlantic Division champ, are the Hershey Bears, who wins the North Division, the Laval Rocket win the Canadian division, and the brand new Henderson Silver Knights, winners of the Pacific Division.

AHL PACIFIC PLAYOFFS

The AHL Pacific Division will start its truncated “playoffs” on Tuesday with a single-elimination format. The Tucson Road Runners will take on the San Jose Barracuda, and the Ontario Reign challenges the Colorado Eagles, with the winners playing each other on Wednesday. On May 24, the best-of-three series with Pacific division winner Henderson will begin. The #2 and #3 seeds will also start a best-of-three series, and on May 29, the Pacific Division best-of-three final series will start. Only the play-in Pacific Division playoff games will be played at the 2020-21 home of the San Diego Gulls at the Five Points Arena in Irvine, CA, the practice facility of the Anaheim Ducks. All three games of the finals and semifinals will be played at the higher seed's arena. In a published report, 93% (133 of 141 respondents) to a confidential survey conducted by agent Allan Walsh of Octagon Sports stated players do not wish to participate because they were unpaid, a normal occurrence in the postseason of major and minor league sports. Worker’s compensation insurance does not cover them should they be injured. HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

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