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

There is nothing more excruciatingly boring than watching a game involving the last-in-the-league Lowell Devils. So forgive the lack of detail below, since my attention frequently wandered.

The only scoring of the first 45 minutes of play came with just 57 seconds remaining in the first period when P.A. Parenteau skated the puck out from the corner across the crease, getting Devils goalie Frank Doyle to lay himself out in an effort to block the bottom half of the net. No luck, as Parenteau was able to put the puck around him and get the Pack he all-important (especially when facing the trapping Devils) first goal. The Devils outshot the Pack 9-5 but had maybe one good scoring chance to the Pack’s three. Brodie Dupont fought Ivan Khomutov in the closing minutes, but even that was fairly dull, with Khomutov getting a few early shots in before Dupont got in one of his own and both went down to the ice.

The bad news of the period was that Al Montoya appeared to suffer an injury of some sort in the process of making a kick save towards the end of the period. He stayed hunched over after play moved up ice, and skated around during the next stoppage as if testing/stretching something. He finished out the final minutes of the period, but did not return for the second period. No word yet on what the injury may be. Wiikman took his place to start the second and was immediately tested by a point-blank shot on which he came up big with his glove. There was no scoring in the second period, and the Pack’s 12-10 advantage in shots probably makes it sound more interesting than it was.

At the 5:20 mark of the third Mark Sauer made a unwise attempt to poke the puck away from the Devils Barry Tallakson as he skated through center ice and was left in a trail of dust as Tallakson rushed in on a 2-on-1 and fired a snap shot over Wiikman’s shoulder from the left circle. Sensing they might actually run the risk of giving a point or two away, the Pack began to wake up as the period went on. At the 16:55 mark Greg Moore drew an offensive zone interference penalty off of Lowell’s Ryan Murphy, setting up the eventual game winner just under a minute later when Moore whiffed on a pass from Byers, but had the puck land directly in front of Ivan Baranka as he pinched in from the left point and put a slap shot past a screened Doyle. The game looked settled at that point, but Wiikman was forced to make one more game-saving stop, as a Devil found the puck on his stick at the open side of the net with under a minute remaining, but Wiikman somehow got across to get a pad on it.

The win gave the Pack 77 points in 56 games, moving them within 4 points of division- and league-leading Providence, who they face tomorrow in Hartford with the opportunity to move to within 2 points.

With the goal, his team-leading 22nd, Parenteau picked up his 7th point in the last 4 games. His 55 points in 53 games ranks him 7th in the league in scoring. Moore and Byers picked up the assists on both goals — for Moore it was his 8th point in the past 6, and for Byers, his 9th in the last 6. Wiikman looked sharp after a less-than-spectacular showing on Sunday against Bridgeport and climbed back into 4th among all AHL goalies in GAA.

The only real negative surrounding the team is an increasing list of injuries. Captain Andrew Hutchinson missed his second game with a groin injury, and was joined on the sidelines by defenseman David Liffiton, also out with an unspecified injury. The Pack signed Charlotte’s Jared Nightingale, the ECHL’s leader in fighting majors, to a PTO contract prior to the game. He was paired with former Michigan State teammate Corey Potter, but didn’t really impress, getting beaten through the neutral zone and in battles along the boards a few times. Hugh Jessiman returned after missing one game, but the injury to Montoya has to cause some concern, regardless of how well Wiikman has been playing. Tommy Pyatt went back on the list of healthy scratches, along with Bruce Graham.

Hartford Scoring
1. Parenteau (22) (Moore, Byers) 19:13
3. Baranka (5) (Moore, Byers) 17:47

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

Sauer - Pock
Baranka - Taylor
Potter - Nightingale

Montoya / Wiikman

Three Stars
1. Ivan Baranka
2. Barry Tallackson
3. Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau

That the Pack came out slow and sluggish in their fourth game in five nights, the day after an emotional win over their nearest Atlantic Division competition, missing two veteran leaders in Andrew Hutchinson and Hugh Jessiman, probably shouldn’t be a surprise. All good things come to an end at some point, and for the Pack tonight brought the end of a streak in which they went 12 straight games without being beaten in regulation. That it happened against Bridgeport also shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, as the Tigers, and particularly goaltender Joey McDonald, really seem to have the Pack’s number this season. This was the 5th win in 6 games this season for the baby Islanders (2 in the shootout), after dropping 9 of 10 games to the Pack last season.

I was only able to listen to the first period on the radio while driving home from the Garden after the Rangers game, but things got off to a bad start early, when just 32 seconds into the game referee Tudor Floru called simultaneous penalties on Ivan Baranka (Holding) and Corey Potter (Tripping), putting the Pack down two men right off the first shift of the game. That left the Pack without their two top defensemen (in the absence of Hutchinson, who sat out the game with “muscle soreness”). It took just over a minute for Bridgeport to get on the board on the 5-on-3. And just two minutes after that they built up the lead to two. By the time I got home and turned on the video feed during the first intermission, Bridgeport had built up a 3 goal lead on an 8-5 advantage in shots, in what proved to be a rough night for goaltender Miika Wiikman, who, in making his first start in 6 games, saw his GAA drop from first in the league to 4th. I didn’t see the first three goals, so I can’t really comment on his performance, but Pack play-by-play man Bob Crawford did comment later that none of the goals Wiikman let in seemed soft to him. It just seemed that the entire team failed to put in their best effort in the first period.

The Wolf Pack came out much stronger in the second and managed to get on the board when Dane Byers scored on a delayed penalty call which he drew as he carried the puck into the zone. He passed the puck off to Greg Moore, who fed P.A. Parenteau for the initial shot, which McDonald stopped. But Byers was left alone in the slot to pick up the rebound and tuck it in just inside the right goal post. It was the 5th consecutive game in which he scored a goal (he has 6 in the span), which is a season high for a Wolf Pack player and a career high streak for Byers. It was also the only time the Pack would get on the score board, though the dictated the pace of play through the majority of the second two periods.

But the Pack’s dominance wouldn’t keep Bridgeport from adding a fourth goal in the 3rd period. At the 9:44 mark of the period the Tigers had a rare shift where they were able to apply pressure and keep the Pack pinned in their own zone, and the Pack failed to capitalize on numerous opportunities to clear the puck. On one such attempt, Bridgeport forward Justin Bourne was able to get the puck at the blueline and feed it down to Trevor Smith, who was all alone right in the slot and was able to put the puck past Wiikman. The goal, which came after a number of game-breaking saves by Bridgeport goalie McDonald, took the wind out of the Pack’s sails. Although they managed to outshoot the Tigers 13-5 in the second, and 15-5 in the third, they couldn’t get the puck past McDonald, who’s been very strong in each of the games he’s faced the Pack in this season.

There was a scary moment in the 3rd when Pack defenseman Michael Sauer, playing in his first game back after missing 3 with a slight knee injury, and Bridgeport winger Pascal Morency skated towards the end boards in the Pack’s zone to retreive a dump in. As they approached the boards they came together, and Sauer used his size and strength advantage to shrug off Morency, who fell awkwardly into the boards. He stayed down on the ice as Bridgeport’s Jeremy Coliton challenged Sauer (in what was a short-lived fight) and was eventually put on a backboard and removed from the ice on a stretcher. There was no word on his condition by the end of the broadcast.

The Pack’s power play, ranked 3rd in the league heading into the game, was held scoreless in 6 attempts, very obviously missing the presence of the AHL’s leading scoring defenseman. In Hutchinson’s absence, Ivan Baranka seemed to pick up the bulk of the extra minutes. Jordon Owens returned to the line up in place of Hugh Jessiman, who I suspect was injured, though no reason for his presence on the scratch list was given by Crawford. Tommy Pyatt also returned to the lineup after missing three straight games as a healthy scratch, taking Bruce Graham’s place in the lineup.

Pack Scoring
2. Byers (18 ) (Parenteau, Moore) 9:10

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

Baranka - Potter
Liffiton - Taylor
Pock - Sauer

Wiikman / Montoya

Three Stars
1. Steve Regier
2. Joey MacDonald
3. Trevor Smith

In honor of Hockey Weekend Across America my husband and I decided to take in a double header today, and headed straight from a Ranger win at the Garden to Hartford, where we were able to witness the Wolf Pack’s 5th consecutive win, and 12th consecutive game in which they picked up at least a point.

It didn’t take the Pack long to get the second largest crowd of the season (7,539) into the game. Marcel Hossa, in the first game of a conditioning stint, set up in front of the net on the power play and was able to deflect an Andrew Hutchinson point shot past Portland goaltender Mike McKenna. Portland forward and 2005 #2 overall draft pick Bobby Ryan tied it up just under 4 minutes later, but the Pack got their 2nd of three power play goals on the night just a minute and 42 seconds later when Hutchinson fired a laser of a slap shot into the top corner of the net from the left point. The Pack ended the period with a 15-9 advantage in shots, largely the result of a 3-1 advantage in power play opportunities.

The second period started off with P.A. Parenteau’s first of two goals on the night just 58 seconds in when he intercepted a Portland clearing pass and skated in alone on McKenna for the unassisted goal. Parenteau seems to like playing against his old team, as this was the third multiple point game he’s played against them (he finish tonight with 2 goals and an assist). Hugh Jessiman faced off with Brandon Segal only 12 seconds later, in a quick, but classic hockey fight: both players squared off, removed their helmets, and danced around for a couple seconds. But Jessiman used his long reach to get a hold of Segal’s jersey, pull it over his head, and put him down with one quick punch.

But less than two minutes later Hossa threw a lazy pass through the middle of the ice just inside the Pack zone on the PK which was picked off by Pirate forward Andrew Ebbett, who walked in alone and beat Montoya through the five hole. Jessiman, looking more and more like a hockey player with each game, made a nice play just before the 9 minute mark of the period, carrying the puck deep into the Portland zone, where he held it in the corner as his linemates crashed the net, then fired it into the crease, where it deflected off a Pirate defenseman and between McKenna’s legs to give the Pack a two goal lead. It was Jessiman’s second point of the game, giving him 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in 3 games since returning from injury. He’s also had three fights in that time, including two tonight, giving him one more than he needed for the Gordie Howe Hat Trick.

Parenteau got his second at 16:52, the result of some nice passing between him, Tomas Pock and Greg Moore just as a power play expired. The goal gave Parenteau 21 on the season, allowing him to re-take the Pack’s goal scoring lead from Greg Moore. The Pack had the slim 7-6 lead in shots in the period, but to be honest, they looked pretty dominant all game long — even when the score was 2-1 and 3-2 I really had little doubt of a positive outcome.

In the 3rd Andy Schneider got the Pirates back to within two goals when he was left wide open in the high slot (by Hossa) just as a Portland power play expired. Dane Byers capped off the scoring at the 15 minute mark of the period with a nice deflection on a Pock power play point shot. For Byers it was his 17th goal of the season, equaling the previous season’s somewhat surprising rookie mark — in 28 fewer games. It was also his fourth consecutive game with a goal. He’s picked up 5 goals and 1 assist in the past 4 games.

The Pack finished the game with four minutes of power play time after Portland’s Geoff Peters lost his cool, taking a double minor for roughing in what amounted to a mugging of Jessiman, who ended up dropping the gloves for a second time in the game with Darryl Bootland as part of the same play. This one was more of a wrestling match than a fight, however.

The Pack finished the period with a 10-8 advantage in shots, for a combined advantage of 32-23 over the course of the game. Perhaps the only negative to take from the game is that it appears the Pack lost their captain, Anfrew Hutchinson, to injury at some point during the course of the game, because he did not play in the 3rd, was not on the bench, and did not appear when he was annouced as the 3rd star of the game. Losing Hutchinson, who overtook Moore to gain the 2nd rank in Pack scoring with his two points tonight, and continues to lead all AHL defensemen in scoring, could be a significant blow to a young team who voted to name him their captain only a little more than 3 weeks ago.

Random Notes
- I saw Sauer walking through the concourse between periods, and he didn’t appear to be limping or favoring either leg, so hopefully his knee injury is of the minor variety.
- To make room for Hossa, Jordan Owens took a seat with Tommy Pyatt as a healthy scratch.
- Montoya made some timely saves early in the 1st, but wasn’t really tested much. It was his 5th consecutive start, and 5th consecutive win. While some have suggested he’s being showcased for potential trade partners, it seems to me Gernander may be going with the “stick with the hot hand” theory of coaching. It took a loss by Wiikman for Montoya to get back in the net, and I get the feeling the job is now Montoya’s until the team loses.
- Wiikman’s best chance could come tomorrow afternoon when the Pack head to Bridgeport to face the baby Islanders, who they’ve only managed to beat once in five tries this season, after dominating the season series last season.

Pack Scoring
1. Hossa (1) (Hutchinson, Bourret) 1:16 (PP)
1. Hutchinson (13) (Bourret, Jessiman) 6:42 (PP)
2. Parenteau (20) 0:58
2. Jessiman (12) (Potter) 8:57
2. Parenteau (21) (Pock, Moore) 16:52
3. Byers (17) (Pock, Parenteau) 14:59 (PP)

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

Baranka - Potter
Pock - Hutchinson
Liffiton - Taylor

Montoya / Wiikman

Three Stars
1. Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau
2. Hugh Jessiman
3. Andrew Hutchinson

The Wolf Pack continued their domination of the Springfield Falcons tonight with a 6-1 win in Springfield, their 4th win in a row, extending their current points streak to 11 games and improving their record over their nearby rivals to 6-1-0-0 on the season.

Rookie Brodie Dupont got the scoring started at 8:10 of the first when he cashed in on the rebound created by the strong play of Lauri Korpikoski. Korpikoski picked up the puck from ECHL call-up Bruce Graham behind the net, and skated out around the right side of the net, firing a quick shot on goal from in close at a sharp angle. Springfield goalie Jeff Deslauriers couldn’t control the rebound and the puck ended up out front of the net where a wide-open Dupont picked it up in the slot and put it in the open side of the net. That was the only scoring of a fairly even period, in which the Falcons had the edge in shots (11-8) primarily because of an advantage in power plays (3 compared to the Pack’s 1).

But as it seems they do often lately, the Pack broke the game open in the second period, scoring 4 goals on the way to taking a 6-0 lead. Greg Moore got the first at the five minute mark of the period on a play started by Montoya, who controlled the puck in front of the net and fired a long pass to P.A. Parenteau along the right boards at center ice. Parenteau fed Moore, who had a step on the Falcon defender as he broke into the offensive zone and fired a quick wrist shot over Deslaurier’s shoulder from just above the hash marks. The goal, his 20th of the season, allowed Moore to re-take the team goal scoring lead from Parenteau, with whom he’d been tied. Parenteau’s assist was one of two on the night, which gave him his 50th point (in 50 games), and a 6 point lead on Moore. It also moved him into 10th in the AHL in scoring.

Artem Anisimov increased the Pack’s lead to three 46 seconds later after defensemen Corey Potter jumped up on the rush, carrying the puck deep into the Springfield zone, holding it briefly in the corner before firing a perfectly-timed pass into the crease as Anisimov arrived on the doorstep to deflect it past Deslauriers. It was Anisimov’s 2nd goal in as many games, and 4th point in his last three. It also spelled the end of Delauriers, who was pulled in favor Devan Dubnyk. For Potter, it was one of three even strength goals he was on the ice for, improving his +/- on the season to +22, one behind Pack leader Moore. Moore and Potter’s +/- figures earn them the 3rd and 4th highest rankings in the league, respectively.

Michael Ouellette added a goal of his own at 17:03 of the period on a delayed penalty he drew himself when he was tripped as he drove to the net with the puck. He got the shot off, but Bourret was able to get to the rebound and feed Andrew Hutchinson for a shot which Dubnyk couldn’t control, giving the rebound right back to Ouellette at the hash marks.

I had to leave as the Pack went on the PK at 18:07 of the period, but Dane Byers capped off the 2nd period scoring just 10 seconds later with a shorthanded goal. The Pack had the edge in shots in the period, 9-6.

I missed most of the 3rd period, but Korpikoski capped off the Pack’s scoring just 33 seconds in on a 5-on-3 power play. It was Korpikoski’s 12th of the season, bettering last season’s number with more than a quarter of the season remaining. It was also his 5th point in the last 3 games and earned him his second consecutive 1st star of the game. I was able to check in just past the halfway mark of the period, just in time to see the Pack get into penalty trouble, ultimately costing Montoya his a chance at his first shutout of the season. First Bourret went off for roughing at 12:05, then 8 seconds later Jake Taylor was called for hooking, putting the Pack down by two men. Moore took a slashing penalty just a minute and eleven seconds later, and compounded the problem by arguing the call and earning himself an additional two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct, setting up what would have been an extended 5-on-3 had Springfield not gotten on the board less than a half a minute later. Falcon defenseman Theo Peckham got the puck deep in the pack zone and fired a centering pass across the crease which Montoya inadvertently deflected into his own net when he tried to break up the pass. It was a tough break for Montoya, who looked sharp through the two periods I saw. The Falcons outshot the Pack 18-3 in the 3rd, suggesting yet another game where the Pack seemed to do their best to let the opposition back into the game in the final period. This time only the one goal got through, however, and the Pack went on to improve their record to 33-13-2-5, pulling to within 6 points of league-leading Providence, who lost to Portland, who remain 4 points behind the Pack for 3rd in the Atlantic Division, though the Pack have 2 games in hand. Portland and Hartford face off in Hartford tomorrow night.

Random Notes
- Mike Sauer missed his second game with a knee injury
- Tommy Pyatt was a healthy scratch for the 2nd consecutive game
- Referee Frederic L’Ecuyer probably didn’t make many friends on the Pack with what seemed to be wildly inconsistent call of the game. Of those I saw, the most questionable was probably a 2 minute instigating penalty (and requisite 10 minute misconduct) in the second after Bourret threw a huge, but clean, open-ice hit, for which the Falcon’s Theo Peckham did everything in his power to try to draw Bourret into a fight. Jessiman stepped in, providing a willing partner for Peckham, who was all over Bourret, but somehow he drew the instigator.

Pack Scoring
1. Dupont (8) (Korpikoski, Graham) 8:10
2. Moore (20) (Parenteau, Montoya) 5:01
2. Anisimov (9) (Potter, Bourret) 5:47
2. Ouellette () (Hutchinson, Bourret) 17:03
2. Byers (16) 18:17 (SH)
3. Korpikoski (12) (Parenteau, Hutchinson) 0:33 (PP)

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

Pock - Hutchinson
Baranka - Potter
Liffiton - Taylor

Montoya / Wiikman

Three Stars
1. Lauri Korpikoski
2. Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau
3. Andrew Hutchinson

For the second game in a row the Pack tried to give away a win they seemed to have in the bag, but managed to hold on, racking up their 3rd straight win and extending their undefeated-in-regulation streak to 10 games in the process.

The Pack started the game looking like a team that had just had a rare weekend off, coming out sluggish and looking disjointed and out of sync at both ends of the ice. They had trouble clearing the puck out of their own end throughout the period, but thanks in large part to some solid goaltending by Al Montoya, managed to escape the first period with a scoreless tie. The Pack’s 8-7 advantage in shots makes it look more even than it actually was.

The Pack came out much stronger in the second, and held the Falcons without a shot until just before the 11 minute mark of the period. Dane Byers had just gotten the scoring started on the power play at 10:12 when he took a perfect pass from Hutchinson as he drove to the net, deflecting the puck past Springfield goaltender Jeff Deslaurier. Lauri Korpikoski doubled the Pack’s lead four and a half minutes later when he took the puck in the far corner, skated behind the net, wrapped around the front of the net, turned, and snapped a quick shot over Deslaurier’s shoulder. Jordon Owens got the primary assist after being boarded along the far boards as he pushed the puck down the boards to Korpikoski. Owens crumpled and was slow getting up, and David Liffiton was quick to go after the Falcon’s Tim Sestito for the hit, with both players drawing 5 minute fighting majors, thought it wasn’t much of a fight. The original hit went unpenalized. Owens skated slowly to the bench after the hit, but didn’t miss a shift. The Pack finished the period with the 2-0 lead and 12-6 advantage in shots.

The Falcons got on the board at the 8:38 mark of the third period when Colin McDonald fired a soft shot towards the net which deflected off Pack defenseman Corey Potter’s skate and past Montoya. But the Pack built the lead back up to two only 32 seconds later when Tomas Pock fired a hard snap shot at the net from the left point just as Huge Jessiman broke for the net from the left corner and crossed right in front of the crease as the shot arrived. He was given credit for the goal, though I’m not sure if he deflected it off the stick or off it went off another part of his body. Deslaurier’s argued that he’d been interfered with, but referee Tudor Fiotu had none of it. Jessiman played a strong, physical game, throwing his body around and playing aggressively on a line with Anisimov and Bourret in his first game back after missing 6 with a hyperextended elbow.

Anisimov seemed to have put the game away for the Pack less then two minutes later on a play that he started by forcing a turnover in the high slot which found its way to Bourret along the half boards. Bourret moved the puck up the boards to Jessiman at the point, and he floated the puck towards the net. Anisimov intercepted it on his backhand on its way in, spun, stickhandled around a Springfield defender and fired a quick wrist shot past Deslauriers.

With a 4-1 lead, it looks like the Pack had the game in the bag, but lazy play in their own zone allowed Marc Pouliot to pick up two goals in just over two minutes at 14:01 and 16:08 to cut the lead to one. On the first, P.A. Parenteau allowed Pouliot to stickhandle around him and go in on the net. Pouliet was able to fire a quick wrist shot past Montoya’s glove hand. On the second, Pack defenseman Liffiton and Jake Taylor were MIA when Patrick Thoresen found Pouliet all alone right on Montoya’s doorstep.

The Pack didn’t make the last four minutes easy on themselves, taking a couple ill-advised icing calls, but were able to hold on in the end. With the win, the Pack maintained the 8 point gap with league-leading Providence, who also won tonight, and their 4 point lead on 3rd place Portland, on whom they still have a game in hand.

Random Notes
- The assists on Anisimov’s goal were officially credited to Bourret and Potter, but the Pack’s play-by-play man Bob Crawford believes it was Jessiman at the point, and I tend to agree, so the scoring may be changed.
- Defenseman Michael Sauer suffered and un-specified injury in last Friday’s game and did not play.
- Rookie Brodie Dupont took an awkward hit in the 1st and appeared to suffer a leg injury. He did not return.
- Tommy Pyatt was a healthy scratch.

Pack Scoring
2. Byers (15) (Hutchinson, Pock) 10:12 (PP)
2. Korpikoski (11) (Ownes, Graham) 14:43
3. Jessiman (11) (Pock, Bourret) 9:10
3. Anisimov (8) (Bourret, Potter) 10.59

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

Pock - Hutchinson
Baranka - Potter
Liffiton - Taylor

Three Stars
1. Lauri Korpikoski
2. Marc Pouliot
3. Hugh Jessiman

The Pack won a wild one tonight, turning what appeared to be a laugher in the 2nd period into a nail-biter in the 3rd. You had to expect a penalty-filled game when referee Terry Koharski, fresh off Wednesday’s game where he handed out a mere 5 minor penalties, called the Pack’s Andrew Hutchinson for a hooking penalty only 23 seconds into the game. The Pack killed it off, allowing the Bruins only a single shot again with the advantage. They stormed back a mere 10 seconds after the power play ended, with Greg Moore scoring off a quick wrist shot from the high slot on the Pack’s first shot of the game. Two shots and a minute and eleven seconds later, the Pack would find the twine again after Alex Bourret forced a turnover and Artem Anisimov picked up the puck and dished it off to Taylor, who scored on a slapshot from the right point. One minute later it became obvious that this game wasn’t going to be a repeat of the tight defensive battle the Pack participated in on Wednesday, when the Bruin’s Nate Thompson was able to break down the right side unchallenged to snap a wrist shot over Pack goalie Al Montoya’s shoulder on Providence’s second shot of the game.

Things settled down a bit on the scoreboard, but got increasingly nasty in the ice with P.A. Parenteau and Martins Karsums swapping Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalties at 8:47 and Dane Byers and Matt Lashoff trading roughing minors at the 16:20 mark. The nastiness would really heat up with 5 seconds to go in the period when Providence’s Jeff Hogan was called for goaltender interference and Parenteau and Jonathan Sigalet each earned 10 minute misconducts. When the buzzer sounded five seconds later to signal the end of the period Providence defenseman Sean Curry completely lost his composure and jumped an unsuspecting Byers and had him down on the ice pounding on him before Byers was even able to drop his gloves. Curry picked up a 2 minute minor for instigating, a 5 minute major for fighting and a game misconduct, while Byers got away penalty-free. Corey Potter and Matt Hendricks would pick up matching fighting majors of their own, but the Pack would head into the 2nd period with 1:55 of a 2-man advantage plus almost a full 5 minutes of major penalty time on which to score.

And score they did, picking up 5 power play goals in under 5 minutes. Hutchinson got things started at 1:29 with a quick shot from the center of the blue line with loads of traffic in front. He then make it 3-1 only thirty seconds later with a slapshot that beat goaltender Tuuka Rask cleanly from the left point. Byers would make it 4-1 thirteen seconds later and after being forced to make a tough stop on Anisimov less than a minute later Rask was pulled in favor of Jordan Sigalet. Sigalet wasn’t able to stop the bleeding, as Byers got his second of the game less than a minute later at 5:06. Hoggan picked up an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty and 10 minute misconduct after the goal, giving the Pack another 5-on-3, on which Hutchinson scored his 3rd of the game, earning the first hat trick for a Wolf Pack defenseman in franchise history. The Pack’s five power play goals in the period also tied a franchise record for power play goals in a period.

As you might expect, the next three penalty calls in the period (and 2 more in the 3rd) went against the Pack, including 28 seconds of 5-on-3 time for the Bruins, during which Montoya was forced to come up big in a 3-shot flurry, the last of which he stopped by getting his glove up to block the shot while down flat on his stomach. The Pack killed off all three penalties in the period, but Providence got a goal back with a minute to go in the period when Aaron Slattengren fired a shot at the net from behind the goal line in the left corner, deflecting it off Montoya’s skate and into the net. Still, with a 7-2 lead as teams headed to the locker room at the end of the 2nd, a Pack win looked pretty much assured.

But the Bruins haven’t earned the AHL’s best record by giving up on games, and they came out strong in the 3rd, cutting the Pack’s lead to 4 at 1:11 when Slattengren picked up his 2nd of the game. The Bruins kept the Pack pinned in their zone for the vast majority of the period, peppering Montoya with shots and forcing him to come up with a number if tough saves. The Pack struggled to control the puck and clear the zone and rarely crossed the red line into the Bruins end when they did. They mustered a mere three shots on goal in the 3rd. The Bruin’s power play offered its response to the Pack’s strong showing when Lashoff scored at 14:52 with Dane Byers in the penalty box for high sticking, and again at 19:08 when Brett Skinner cashed in on a Parenteau tripping penalty with goalie Jordan Sigalet on the bench for the extra skater. With the Pack’s seemingly insurmountable 6 goal lead shrunk to 2 and the Bruins firing shots on Montoya at will through the final minutes of the period, the outcome suddenly seemed less than assured. But time ran out for the Bruins and the Pack escaped with a 7-5 win over a team they’d only been able to beat once in 6 previous attempts this season. Not before they surrendered a franchise record 28 shots against in the 3rd period, however, for a total of 49 shots against in the game compared to 23 shots for.

With the win, the Pack increased their Atlantic Division lead over 3rd place Portland to 4 points while shrinking 1st pace Providence’s lead to 8. They now sit second in the league with a 31-13-2-5 record for 69 points, behind only Providence. And with it’s 5 for 6 performance, the Packs’ power play improved to 4th place in the league, at 20.7%. Of course, with the Pack getting a rare Saturday and Sunday off this weekend, there’s a good chance those rankings will change by the time the Pack play their next game on Wednesday against Springfield.

Pack Scoring
1. Moore (19) (Byers, Parenteau) 2:33
1. Taylor (3) (Anisimov, Bourret) 3:44
2. Hutchinson (10) (Pock, Moore) 1:29 (PP)
2. Hutchinson (11) (Anisimov, Pock) 1:59 (PP)
2. Byers (13) (Moore, Baranka) 3:12 (PP)
2. Byers (14) (Moore, Bourret) 5:06 (PP)
2. Hutchinson (12) (Pock, Korpikoski) 6:21 (PP)

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

Potter - Hutchinson
Taylor - Liffiton
Baranka - Sauer

Montoya / Wiikman

Three Stars
1. Andrew Hutchinson
2. Greg Moore
3. Aaron Slattengren

The Wolf Pack rebounded from Saturday’s shootout loss to Bridgeport with a 3-1 win over the Manchester Monarchs in a tight, playoff-like game in which neither team gave up many scoring chances. The Monarchs got on the board first, just past the 16 minute mark of the first. Al Montoya, getting his first start in 6 games, took a holding penalty to give the Monarch’s league leading power play its first chance of the game, which they converted on when Matt Ryan deflected a shot from the point that squeezed its way between Montoya’s legs. It looked like the Monarchs would go into the locker room with the lead at the end of the period, until Jordon Owens forced a turnover at the Monarch blueline, raced in along the right wing boards, and fed a pass through to Mike Ouellette, who was breaking in on net alone with 24 seconds to go in the period.

Owens picked up a goal of his own, his first since opening night (he spent a good chunk of the season in Charlotte, this was his 17th AHL game) at the thirteen minute mark of the second when Brodie Dupont fired a slap shot from the left point that was blocked by someone in front and deflected right on to the stick of Owens, who put it in the open side of the net. The goal gave Owens his first ever multi-point game in the AHL and would stand up as the game winner.

Both teams really clamped down in the 3rd, limiting the other’s chances. The Pack gave the Monarchs only 4 shots on goal, while only getting 6 of their own. Two of the Monarch’s shots came in the final minute and a half when with goalie Erik Ersberg on the bench for the extra skater. P.A. Parenteau iced the win with an empty netter at 19:25 of the third after the Pack were able to get the puck in deep in the Monarch’s zone and keep pressure on the Monarchs as they tried to break out. Byers was ultimately able to force a turnover which ended up on Parenteau’s stick at the top of the right circle. He put it in the open net to ice the win for the Pack.

Neither goalie had to make too many difficult saves in the game, though Montoya did come up big in the first when a pass from the goal line found a wide open Monarch in the slot, and again in the closing minute of play when the Monarchs pulled the goalie and got a couple good chances off a scramble in front. He had a close call in the second when the puck took a funny bounce as he tried to fetch it behind his net on a dump in, but Michael Sauer was able to keep a charging Monarch player from getting a stick on it. Over all, however, it was a pretty good statement performance by Montoya and earned him the 2nd star of the game.

Ivan Baranka returned after missing 6 games, and looked a little rusty, as you could probably expect. The Pack dressed 7 defenseman, with Pock starting the game taking shifts at foward at regular strength on on the point on the power play, but by the second half the Pack were rotating all 7 on defense. With Greg Moore in NY, Bruce Graham got the call up from Charlotte and slipped directly into Moore’s spot on a line between Parenteau and Bourret. He was, once again, unimpressive, and I suspect the lines may be shaken up in time for Friday night’s game. Artem Anisimov looked like he was hurt in the 3rd after he took a hard hit behind the Monarch net and skated directly to the bench. He missed a few shifts, but returned later in the game. I think he’s dealing with a nagging shoulder problem, because when we were in Hartford the weekend before last he took a similar hit and went directly to the bench, where the trainer worked on his shoulder. He missed a few shifts before returning later in that game as well.

Pack Scoring
1. Ouellette (4) (Owens) 19:36
2. Owens (2) (Dupont, Liffiton) 12:59
3. Parenteau (19) 19:25 (EN)

Lines
Parenteau - Graham - Bourret
Byers - Anisimov - Korpikoski
Dupont - Pyatt - Ouellette
Owens - Pock

Taylor - Liffiton
Potter - Hutchinson
Baranka - Sauer

Montoya / Wiikman

Three Stars
1. Owens
2. Montoya
3. Ryan