I missed this one because I was en route to a Rangers alumni/subscriber event at the Garden, so it really was a blessing. Watching games against Lowell is about as entertaining as watching paint dry. When we got into the city, the score was 2-0 and I figured the Pack, who’ve yet to lose in regulation after carrying a lead into the 3rd, had everything well in hand. Imagine my surprise when a friend texted me the final score later in the evening. She neglected to mention it ended in a shootout, which helps dull the pain of losing to the 2nd worst team in the AHL — if only a little. I’m not sure about Gernander’s choices in the shootout, but… meh. Portland lost in regulation, so the Pack increased their lead in the standings to 8 points. They’re not only 5 back of Providence, who were idle, but now have 3 games in hand.

Anyway, the pertinent info, for consistency sake…

Pack Scoring
2. Anisimov (10) (Ouellette, Dupont) 17:34
2. Korpikoski (15) 19:50

Shootout Scoring
Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau No Goal
Lauri Korpikoski Goal
Greg Moore No Goal
Dane Byers No Goal
Andrew Hutchinson No Goal
Lauri Korpikoski No Goal
Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau No Goal
Greg Moore No Goal
Dane Byers No Goal
Andrew Hutchinson No Goal
Lauri Korpikoski No Goal

Lines
Byers - Moore - Parenteau
Jessiman - Anisimov - Bourret
Dupont - Pyatt - Korpikoski
Ouellette - Owens

Hutchinson - Potter
Baranka - Taylor
Sauer - Pock

Wiikman / Holt

Three Stars
1. Ryan (J.) Murphy
2. Richard Matvichuk
3. Frank Doyle

Six days ago in Bridgeport the Pack got off to a sloppy start, getting penned in their zone and taking two penalties before the first minute had ticked off the clock, leading to an early 2 goal deficit from which they could never recover. They made no such mistake tonight, rebounding from a 6-1 shellacking by division-leading Providence on Thursday with a solid 5-2 win over intra-state rivals from Bridgeport.

The first period was a fairly dull affair with both teams playing well defensively, if somewhat tentatively, and limiting quality scoring chances. Bridgeport had the early advantage in shots, leading the Pack by the count of 9 to 6 at one point. But the Pack got on the scoreboard first when Lauri Korpikoski put a rebound past Bridgeport goalie Joey McDonald during a scramble in front of the net. The period finished with the Pack having a 13-11 shot advantage and the 1-0 lead.

Bridgeport tied things up just two minutes into the second when Jeremy Colliton threw the puck into the crease from behind the goal line, where it bounced off (I think) goalie Miika Wiikman’s stick directly onto the stick of Steve Regier, who put it in the net. But Pack captain Andrew Hutchinson, playing in his first game back after missing 3 with a goin injury, put the Pack back on top just three minutes later when he took a beautiful cross-ice pass from P.A. Parenteau and fired a blistering one-timer past McDonald from the left point on the power play. Just under two minutes later the Tigers Pascal Morency, who was taken off the ice on a stretcher after going into the boards awkwardly following a collision with Michael Sauer during the game last weekend, challenged rookie Jordan Owens to a fight, and beat him cleanly. Hutchinson would go to the box for hooking on the next shift, giving Bridgeport a power play on which they converted at the 8:05 mark when Trevor Smith once again fired the puck out into the slot from behind the goal. This time it would deflect off Pack defenseman Michael Sauer’s skate and between Wiikman’s legs, tying the score at two.

But the hockey gods were smiling on the Pack tonight. Earlier in the first Bridgeport had a goal waved off when it was determined it was swatted in by a Bridgeport player’s hand. In the third they’d have a goal disallowed when it was ruled to have been kicked in. In between, Parenteau was credited with one of the most bizarre goals of the season when a Bridgeport defender tried to wrap the puck around the boards behind the net from the right corner, only to have the puck take a bizarre bounce off of one of the metal glass supports, deflect out over the goal, hit McDonald in the back, and drop behind him into the net. As the last Hartford player to touch the puck, Parenteau was given credit for the goal, giving the Pack a 3-2 lead at 14:15. They finished the period with an 11-6 advantage in shots, but in terms of quality scoring chances the teams were fairly even. Both goalies were solid, but neither was forced to make any incredible, game-saving stops.

In the 3rd the Pack solidified their lead and then locked things down, despite taking the only two penalties of the period. At 7:50 Corey Potter, who would finish the game a +3 and move into 3rd in the AHL in that category, fired a one-timer over McDonald’s shoulder from the right point to give the Pack the 2-goal cushion. Things got a little dicey at the end, when, with under 2 minutes to go, Baranka would lose his cool while battling for the puck deep in the Pack zone and get penalized for roughing when he got his gloves and stick up in the fact of a Bridgeport player. That set up a 1:39 6-on-4 for Bridgeport. But the Pack would defend it well and with 31 seconds remaining Lauri Korpikoski stole the puck deep in the Bridgeport zone and put it in the empty net from the left side boards to ice the game once and for all. The win, combined with wins for Providence and Portland, allowed Hartford to maintain their 6 point gap with Providence and 7 point lead on Portland. They continue to hold the 4th best record in the AHL.

Notes:
- Byer’s assist on Potter’s goal gives him 10 points in the last 8 games, while his +20 ranks 3rd on the team and 7th in the AHL.
- Parenteau’s goal and assist give him 58 points in 55 games, good for 5th in AHL scoring. He has points in each of his last 6 games (10pts) and has failed to register a point in just 1 of the 11 games he’s played in February.
- Hutchinson’s goal allowed him to maintain a 4 point lead as the highest scoring defenseman in the league
- Alex Bourret returned after missing one game with a hip injury. David Liffiton remains out indefinitely with a concussion. Tommy Pyatt, Bruce Graham and Jared Nightingale were healthy scratches.

Pack Scoring
1. Korpikoski (13) (Owens, Ouellette) 15:15
2. Hutchinson (14) (Parenteau, Pock) 5:07 (PP)
2. Parenteau (24) 14:15
3. Potter (3) (Byers, Jessiman) 7:50
3. Korpikoski (14) 19:29 (EN/SH)

Lines
Hossa - Moore - Parenteau
Byers - Anisimov - Jessiman
Dupont - Korpikoski - Bourret
Ouellette - Owens

Hutchinson - Potter
Baranka - Taylor
Pock - Sauer

Wiikman / Holt

Three Stars
1. Lauri Korpikoski
2. Corey Potter
3. P.A. Parenteau

The Providence Bruins let the Pack and the entire AHL know tonight that, even though they might have dropped off the record-setting pace at which they played the first half of the season, they’re not going to relinquish their lead over the rest of the league easily.

The last time these two teams met, the Pack ran up a 7-1 score, thanks primarily to 7 minutes of non-coincidental penalties taken by Bruins defenseman Sean Curry, during which the Pack potted 5 power play goals. But they had to hold on for dear life as Providence charged back to draw within 2 by the end of the game. The Bruins picked up where they left off tonight, keeping the Pack penned in their own zone for long stretches of time and holding a clear advantage in play for the majority of the game.

The Pack got off to a good enough start, getting an early edge in scoring chances, but an unfortunate deflection off a Pack player in front on a shot from Matt Hunwick gave the Bruins the 1-0 lead near the halfway point of the first period on only their second shot. Three shots and a little over four minutes later, Nate Thompson increased the lead to two when he used a Pack defenseman as a screen and beat Wiikman through the five hole. The Bruins really started rolling after that, but with about three and a half minutes to play in the period, Wiikman made what looked like it might have been a game-saving stop on a shorthanded 3-on-1. The save gave the Pack some life and they were able to draw a penalty with just under two minutes remaining in the period. Parenteau converted with just over half a minute remaining, cutting the Bruins lead in half when a soft snap shot he floated towards the goal deflected off first a Bruin’s stick and then off Curry’s leg and past Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask. The Pack enjoyed an 11-7 advantage in shots, but that would be as close as they’d get in either goals or shots the rest o the way.

The Pack started the 2nd with some residual momentum, drawing a quick penalty and forcing Rask to make 4 early saves. But the Bruins began to take control of the game after the kill, and at 6:06 Hunwick fired a shot from the left point through traffic and Chris Collins got a stick on it, deflecting it past Wiikman, who got a piece of it but couldn’t stop it. Halfway through the period Providence’s hard work drew two consecutive penalties, the second of which they converted on when Byron Bitz fired a high shot, short side from the left circle off the post and in. On the next shift Byers, who drew the 7 minutes in penalties off Curry in the previous game, would finally oblige him and drop the gloves in an effort to spark his team, but Curry used his significant advantage in size to get the better of Byers before Byers was able to take him down to the ice. The period would finish with Providence’s 15-5 advantage in shots providing a clear indication of the advantage they had in play.

The Pack came out in the third with the mindset “if you can’t beat them, beat them”, upping their intensity and finishing checks all over the ice. Pack coach Kenny Gernander switched up the lines as well, moving Jessiman up to the first line in place of Parenteau and dropping Parenteau down with Anisimov and Hossa. It seemed to work for a little while, as they were able to exert some bouts of sustained pressure early before Marcel Hossa took a boarding penalty at the 2:30 mark. The Pack would kill that one off and looked to keep the momentum until P.A. Parenteau took a tripping penalty out of frustration at just past the 5 minute mark. The Bruins took advantage on that one, when Greg Hoggan took a cross-crease pass from Aaron Slattengren and put it in the open side of the net before Wiikman could get across. The Bruins would finish off the scoring a minute and 38 seconds later when Martins Karsums fed the puck out to Wacey Rabbit right in front. Wiikman would make the first save, but Pascal Pelltier would get his stick on the rebound and roof it from in close. Wiikman got the mercy pull following the goal, bringing in Chris Holt, who was just called up from Charlotte of the ECHL today.

Things got nastier as the period went on. Early in the period Dane Byers had taken a high hit to the head in open ice which went uncalled. Byers seemed to miss a few shifts, but ultimately returned later in the game. With just under 6 minutes remaining in the game, as Jake Taylor and Wacey Rabbit fought for the puck along the boards, Rabbit stomped not once, but twice with his skate on Taylor’s foot — undetected. As you might expect, Taylor took exception and threw Rabbit down to the ice, getting the only penalty called on the play.

The Pack started the game missing yet another regular to injury — Alex Bourret missed the game with an unspecified injury. He joined Al Montoya (groin), David Liffiton (concussion) and Andrew Hutchinson (groin) on the sidelines. Bruce Graham took Bourret’s spot in the line up, while Tommy Pyatt remained a healthy scratch. ECHL call-up Jared Nightingale played his second game on defense and continued to struggle with the pace of the AHL. The Pack have really missed Hutchinson in the three games he’s been out — not only for his offensive prowess, particularly on the power play, but for his veteran presence and leadership. Tonight they really looked like the young team they are (the visiting Hossa, 26, was the only player on the roster over the age of 25), taking a number of undisciplined frustration penalties and lacking composure in getting caught running around in their own zone.

In the end, the Pack dropped back to 6 points behind the division and league leaders while maintaining their 8 point lead on 3rd place Portland, though Portland and Providence each hold 2 games in hand. Next up is the Pack’s Connecticut neighbors from Bridgeport on Saturday, another team which they’ve had difficulty with this season.

Pack Scoring
1. Parenteau (23) (Baranka, Pock) 19:29 (PP)

Lines
Byers - Moore - Parenteau
Hossa - Anisimov - Jessiman
Dupont - Graham - Korpikoski
Ouellette - Owens

Sauer - Pock
Baranka - Taylor
Potter - Nightingale

Wiikman / Holt

Three Stars
1. Jeff Hoggan
2. Nate Thompson
3. Matt Hunwick