Last season, the Pack were an impressive 6-1 in games that went to a shoot out. This season, they’ve been anything but impressive, with a shootout record of 2-7, including a string of 6 consecutive losses coming into today’s game. Their record still may not be very impressive, but thanks to a clutch goal from rookie Jordan Owens and some sharp goaltending by Miika Wiikman, at least their 6-game shootout losing streak is — and their current winning streak is now up to five games.

The game certainly didn’t start off on a good note, when on the first shift of the game, the Pack found themselves scrambling deep in their own zone, losing track of recent returnee Jeff Tambellina, who fed Ben Walter right on the door step. Walter put the puck past a scrambling Miika Wiikman only 21 seconds into the game. The Pack’s next shift didn’t go any better as they allowed Bridgeport’s Trevor Smith to skate in on a 2-on-1 at the 1:00 mark. Smith’s wrist shot from the right circle beat Wiikman cleanly up top on the glove side. Fortunately, the Pack were able to settle down after dropping two goals in the first minute of the game, and the two teams traded chances through the first half of the period. At the halfway point, the Pack converted one of those chances when P.A. Parenteau gloved a Bridgeport clearing pass just inside the Bridgeport blueline and sprinted in towards the slot to fire a backhander on goalie Joey MacDonald. MacDonald made the save, but Lauri Korpikoski followed up on Parenteau’s drive, found the rebound and put it over MacDonald. The period would end with the Pack down 2-1 with a slight lead in shots at 14-13.

The Pack got off to their own quick start in the second, when Parenteau got the puck at the bottom of the right side circle and passed it up to Greg Moore at the hashmarks. Moore fired a wrist shot high on MacDonald through a screen, tying the score at two. Starting at the 10:23 mark, Bridgeport took a succession of penalties that resulted in the Pack getting two opportunities 5-on-3. The first started at 11:48 and lasted for 35 seconds. The Pack were unable to convert on that one, but at 16:50 they got a second chance, this time lasting a minute and 24 seconds. And with just three seconds remaining in the initial penalty, P.A. Parenteau scored his 32nd of the season after he retrieved the puck at the left side of the net, circled down below the goal line and back up to the face off dot, where he fired a perfectly placed wrist shot past MacDonald to give the Pack their first lead in the game. They’d finish the period with the lead, and a dominant 17-6 lead in shots.

With all the penalties that had been assessed to Bridgeport in the second, you had to expect that it was just a matter of time before the Pack got called for one or two of their own, and that time came 2:02 into the second when Mitch Fritz was called for holding. On the ensuing power play Tambellini fed Jamie Fraser with a nice pass for the tap in from just off the left post. The Pack got another power play of their own at 6:07, during which Parenteau put a shot off the post. Bridgeport had the better of the chances through the period, and Wiikman needed to come up big a number of times. By the time the period ended, neither team had been able to break the tie, so it was off to overtime after a period in which the Pack was outshot by a margin of 15-9.

In overtime it was all Pack, despite what a mere 4-2 shot advantage might suggest. The Pack controlled the puck for the vast majority of the overtime period, right up until, with 9.2 seconds left Michael Sauer gambled at the Bridgeport blueline and Tambellini was able to push the puck past him and skate in on a breakaway. But Wiikman came up with the save of the game, gloving Tambellini’s shot and allowing the Pack to get in to the shootout.

Bridgeport opted to let the Pack shoot first, and MacDonald stopped Korpikoski and Moore, and Anisimov shot wide. Wiikman made the first two saves, but was beaten on a deke by Ben Walter in the third round. Both Parenteau and Tambellini were stopped in the next round, meaning Jordan Owens needed to score to keep the game alive. The AHL rookie and recent healthy scratch came through in the clutch, coming in wide from the right side, cutting across the net and waiting until MacDonald was down to put the puck past him. That left Wiikman needing to stop Steve Regier to prevent a Bridgeport win, and he did. Hartford coach Ken Gernander sent Korpikoski back out for the first round of sudden death, and he came through, deking backhand and putting the puck past MacDonald on the forehand. That left Wiikman facing Walter, who’d scored earlier in the shootout. This time Walter bobbled the puck as he approached the crease, and Wiikman took the opportunity to poke it away, giving the Pack their fifth straight win, and first shootout win in seven attempts.

Pack Scoring
1. Korpikoski (21) (Parenteau, Moore) 10:00
2. Moore (26) (Parenteau, Hutchinson) 0:33
2. Parenteau (32) (Pock, Hutchinson) 18:11 (PP) (5-on-3)

Shootout Scoring
1. Korpikoski - Save
1. Fredder - Save
2. Moore - Save/Poke Check
2. Smith - Save
3. Anisimov - Wide
3. Walter - Scores
4. Parenteau - Save
4. Tambelini - Save
5. Owens - Scores
5. Reiger - Save
6. Korpikoski - Scores
6. Walter - Save/Poke Check

Lines
Korpikoski - Moore - Parenteau
Byers - Anisimov - Gratton
Taylor - Ouellette - Owens
Fritz - Jessiman

Hutchinson - Potter
Brown - Sauer
Taylor - Pock

Wiikman / LeNeveu

Three Stars
1. Jordan Owens
2. P.A. Parenteau
3. Jeff Tambelini

It’s hard to pick an angle from which to tell the story of last night’s game. Is it the Pack’s second complete annihilation of an opponent in three games? Their team record-setting 9 goal margin and record-tying 10 goals in a game? Is it the pre-game scrum in which the teams engaged in during warmups, which brought Springfield out to start the game fired up and physical, only to see that physical edge neutralized after Theo Pechkam charged Mike Ouellette and Mitch Fritz mauled him in response, inspiring the Pack to systematically shut down the Springfield power play and pick up their own physical play? Was it Andrew Hutchinson breaking Tomas Pock’s franchise record for points by a defenseman? Recent ATO-signee Mike Taylor picking up two goals and an assist in only his second professional game? Or maybe the best angle is to point out that the Pack seem to be coming together at just the right time, climbing into a tie in points for 2nd place in the league, opening up a 9 point lead on third place division rival and likely playoff opponent Portland, and trimming first place Portland’s lead to only 6 points. Whatever it is, it was sure fun to watch!

Springfield got off to a quick start, scoring just 54 seconds in when Jake Taylor fell down at the Springfield blue line with the puck and Stephen Werner stole the puck and skated in on a 2-on-1 and beat LeNeveu through the five hole for what could only be termed a softie. LeNeveu looked a little shaky through the first period, but fortunately, the team made sure that didn’t matter by beginning their onslaught before the period ended. First came Greg Moore at 7:05, on the power play, when he took a cross-crease pass from Lauri Korpikoski and put it in the open side of the net. Then Corey Potter, sneaking in for a back door play, took a signature cross-ice pass from P.A. Parenteau in the left circle and fired it past Springfield goalie Devan Dubnyk to give the Pack the 2-1 lead almost 7 minutes later. That’s how the period would end, with the Pack coming back strong to hold a 12-9 advantage in shots.

The real fun started about halfway through the second, when, after they killed off three consecutive Falcon power plays, the Pack finally got one of their own and converted when Dane Byers tapped in an Andrew Hutchinson rebound for his 23rd of the year at 9:54. Thirty-four seconds later, Jessiman picked up his 3rd goal in as many games on yet another strong rush after he skated the puck up the left side and cut in on net and put the puck past Dubnyk. That sent Dubnyk out of the net in favor of backup Glenn Fisher, who was playing in his first AHL game — it wouldn’t be a good debut.

Just under three minutes later Mike Ouellette stuffed home a pass from Mike Taylor, giving the former Ivy Leaguer Taylor his first professional point at 12:37. He got his first professional goal not long after, on a shorthanded rush with Moore after Moore stole the puck in his own zone and used his speed to beat the Springfield defenseman and feed Taylor for the tap in at 17:08. A minute and forty seconds later, Hutchinson broke Pock’s single season scoring record when fired a hard slap shot past Fisher, giving the Pack a 7-1 lead that they’d take to the locker room at the end of the period a minute and twelve seconds later.

Firsher’s debut ended with the 2nd period, and Dubnyk returned to the Springfield net to start the third. Despite making an impressive save on Moore a minute in, he couldn’t do enough to keep the Pack from piling up the goals — despite the fact that coach Ken Gernander rested his top offensive players like Moore, Parenteau, Korpikoski and Byers for the majority of the third period. Taylor picked up his 2nd of the game just 3:03 in off a nice feed from Ouellette, and four and a half minutes later Josh Gratton made it 9-1 with a backhander off a scramble in front at 7:38. Despite the crowd’s call for “we want 10!” it looked like that’s where the score would end up, especially when Gratton was called for interference at 17:39, giving Springfield the opportunity to finish most of the game on the power play. But with just under 30 seconds to go Springfield defenseman T.J. Kemp, who was the goat on a number of the Pack’s goals, fell down with the puck just inside his own blue line, allowing Artem Anisimov, on his first ever shift as a penalty killer for the Pack, to pick it up and skate in alone on Dubnyk. And it looked like he might blow it, after skating in too close and leaving himself with no place to put the puck, but — showing great patience and skill with the puck — he toyed with Dubnyk until he gave him a hole through which to shoot it, for his first ever shorthanded goal at 19:38.

Notes
- Ivan Baranka left the game with a shoulder injury in the 2nd period after taking a hard hit along the boards. He did not return, and Tomas Pock dropped back to defense after starting the game at forward.
- With a Pack win today in Bridgeport, and a loss by Portland in Albany, the Pack can clinch 2nd place and home ice advantage for the first round.
- The Pack have won 4 in a row, by a combined score of 25-6. They are 1-1-0-1 in their last 10.
- Hutchinson’s lead over the second highest scoring AHL defenseman is 12 points.
- Parenteau has 15 points in his last 9 games and is 4th in AHL scoring.
- Moore and Jessiman both have 9 points in their last 6 games.
- Korpikoski has 9 in his last 9. Byers 6 in 6. Pock 4 in his last 3.
- Anisimov has 7 in his last 7 games, and has moved into a tie for 13th in rookie scoring.

Pack Scoring
1. Moore (25) (Korpikoski, Parenteau) 7:05 (PP)
1. Potter (4) (Parenteau, Hutchinson) 13:55
2. Byers (23) (Hutchinson, Pock) 9:54 (PP)
2. Jessiman (15) (Gratton, Anisimov) 10:28
2. Ouellette (12) (Taylor, Fritz) 12:37
2. M. Taylor (1) (Moore, Sauer) 17:08 (SH)
2. Hutchinson (17) (Jessiman, Ouellette) 18:48
3. M. Taylor (2) (Ouellette, Fritz) 3:03
3. Gratton (10) (Anisimov, Jessiman) 7:38
3. Anisimov (13) 19:38 (SH)

Lines
Korpikoski - Moore - Parenteau
Byers - Anisimov - Jessiman
M. Taylor - Ouellette - Pock
Fritz - Gratton

Potter - Hutchinson
Brown - Baranka
J. Taylor - Sauer

LeNeveu / Wiikman

Three Stars
1. Mike Taylor
2. Andrew Hutchinson
3. Hugh Jessiman

This year’s edition of the Hartford Wolf Pack continued to re-write the record book tonight when they defeated the Worcester Sharks for the 8th time this season, the first time in the history of the franchise that the Pack has swept an 8-game season series. Even more impressive: at no point in any of those games has the Pack trailed the Sharks on the scoreboard.

The two teams played a fairly even first period, with the Sharks having the edge in play through the first half of the period. At the 12:38 mark, Artem Anisimov, who’s been playing a more physical game of late, but has also been on the receiving end of some really heavy hits in recent games, took a hard but clean check from the Shark’s Brennan Evans just inside the Sharks zone. Jessiman, always quick to jump to the defense of the Pack’s youngest player, immediately challenged Evans and the two dropped the gloves. Evans connected with an early punch, possibly bloodying Jessiman’s nose, but Jessiman came back strong, getting the upper hand with his long reach and ultimately earning the decision. The period ended in a scoreless tie, with the Sharks having a slight advantage in shots (8-6) in part due to a 2-1 advantage in power play opportunities.

The Pack got on the board early in the second, after Sharks goalie Thomas Greiss played the puck outside the trapezoid and earned himself a delay of game penalty at 1:26. The Pack’s power play, ranked second in the league, but only 11th at home, capitalized a minute and a half in when Jessiman found himself wide open with the puck on his stick at the top of the circles and blasted a slap shot past Greiss. Jessiman would figure in the next Pack goal as well, and earn himself the Gordie Howe Hat Trick, when at 13:23 Corey Potter fired a shot on net from the point. Greiss made the initial save, but Jessiman got a stick on the rebound and either passed it off to Byers or had his rebound come out to Byers, who was set up in his usual spot on the doorstep and put the puck past Greiss.

Teams hate to give up a goal late in the period, but that’s just what the Pack did, after the puck took a strange bounce off the boards and handcuffed LeNeveu, cutting the Pack’s lead to one with only 1:37 to go. But with just 23 seconds left in the period, Lauri Korpikoski regained the Pack’s two goal lead after Greg Moore won an offensive zone faceoff to Ivan Baranka, who fired a shot from the center point that was blocked in front. But the rebound came right to Korpikoski, who wasted no time in putting it in the net from the high slot. The Pack finished with a dominating 15-9 advantage in shots in the period.

I missed the third, but checked in briefly towards the end to find the Pack still with the 3-1 lead and 1:41 seconds to go in the game. I figured that was the end of that, but low and behold came home later to find out that the Sharks had managed to make things interesting by putting one in with the extra skater on with 52 seconds to go. But the Pack held on for the win, giving them 97 points in 72 games played, and a 7 point lead on the third place (and upcoming first-round playoff opponent) Portland Pirates, who lost to the lowly Lowell Devils, 4-1, and have now dropped three in a row and are only 5-5-0-0 in their last 10.

Notes
- Mitch Fritz returned to the line up after missing all but the first two games of the season due to shoulder surgery.
- Mike Taylor played his first professional game after signing a try-out contract with the Pack earlier this week after the conclusion of his final season at Harvard.
- Both Greg Moore (7pts) and Hugh Jessiman (6pts) are currently riding 5-game point scoring streaks.
- P.A. Parenteau was held scoreless for the first time in 5 games. In those 5 games, he piled up 10 points.
- Lauri Korpikoski has 8 points in his last 8 games

Pack Scoring
2. Jessiman (14) (Moore, Pock) 2:57 (PP)
2. Byers (22) (Jessiman, Potter) 13.23
2. Korpikoski (20) (Baranka, Moore) 19:37

Lines
Korpikoski - Moore - Parenteau
Byers - Ouellette - Gratton
D. Taylor - Anisimov - Pock
Fritz - Jessiman

Hutchinson - Potter
J. Taylor - Sauer
Baranka - Brown

LeNeveu / Wiikman

Three Stars
1. Hugh Jessiman
2. Greg Moore
3. David LeNeveu