Sometimes, when a team’s really rolling, it can steal two points in a game it had no business winning. Conversely, when a team’s struggling, it can end up on the losing end of a contest it deserved to come away from with a victory.

That’s what happened to the Hartford Wolf Pack on Sunday afternoon, after Corey Potter’s third period go-ahead goal against the Albany River Rats was waved off on a bogus goaltender interference call by referee Frederic L’Ecuyer. The Pack went on to lose the game in a shootout, 2-1, despite outshooting the River Rats 12-4 in the third period and 7-2 in overtime.

It didn’t start as well for the Wolf Pack, which was outshot 19-6 in the opening period and entered the first intermission trailing by a goal after Chris Terry scored from in close on the rebound of teammate Pat Dwyer wrist shot at 16:54. Chad Johnson, back in Connecticut’s capital to get in some playing time before he returns to the backup role in New York on Monday, was strong in goal, making a number of quality saves in the frame.

The play in the first period wasn’t quite as lopsided as the shot total would suggest, however, and over the course of the next twenty minutes the Wolf Pack slowly took over the game. The team’s hard work paid dividends at 12:24 when right wing Derek Couture batted home defenseman Matt Gilroy’s centering pass after Gilroy rushed the puck up ice and deep into the Albany zone.

After earning a 6-5 advantage in shots in the middle period, the Pack poured on the pressure in the third, outshooting the River Rats 12-4 and holding a significant edge in territorial play. It looked like the team had taken the lead at 12:34 when Potter’s shot from the center blue line beat Albany goaltender Justin Peters through Wolf Pack winger Dale Weise’s screen. But Peters had moved out to where Weise was stationed, a few feet outside his crease, and after the puck hit the twine behind him, Peters sold goalie interference to L’Ecuyer perfectly, resulting not only in the goal being waved off, but in Weise heading to the sin bin for two minutes.

Given the fragile state of the struggling squad, the bad call could have sent the Pack into tailspin, but the team’s PK — ranked just 26th out of 29 AHL teams — came up big, not only keeping the River Rats off the scoreboard, but preventing them from even getting a single shot on goal. In fact, the visitors would manage just a one more shot through the remainder of regulation.

In extra time, the Wolf Pack were dominant, outshooting Albany 7-2. The club finished overtime on the power play, after Steven Goertzen hauled down Dane Byers at 3:28, preventing a likely goal into the open side of the cage off Brodie Dupont’s centering pass. But despite numerous shots on goal, the sputtering Pack power play failed to convert. The unit has now scored just twice in 26 attempts over the last ten games.

Once again in the shootout only Corey Locke could convert, while a somewhat puzzling group of Gilroy, Byers, defenseman Michael Sauer, and Weise each either failed to beat Peters or shot the puck wide. At the other and of the ice Jacob Micflicker and Jamie McBain were able to beat Johnson, giving the River Rats a victory over the Wolf Pack for the first time in the teams’ last 14 match-ups.

The single point gave the Wolf Pack a 14-12-1-3 record and 32 points, good for a fifth place tie in the Atlantic Division.

The team will look to build off Sunday’s performance when they host a pair of North Division teams next weekend, starting with the Toronto Marlies at 7:00pm on Friday and the Hamilton Bulldogs at the same time on Saturday.

Scoring:
1. ALB Terry, (6) (Dwyer, McBain), 16:54
2. HFD Couture, (3) (Gilroy, Byers), 12:24

Hartford Shootout Scoring:
Corey Locke (Goal)
Matt Gilroy (No Goal)
Dane Byers (No Goal)
Michael Sauer (No Goal)
Dale Weise (No Goal)

Albany Shootout Scoring:
Jacob Micflikier (Goal)
Chris Terry (No Goal)
Jamie McBain (Goal)
Zach Boychuk (No Goal)

Three Stars:
1. Justin Peters
2. Jamie McBain
3. Dane Byers

Steven Valiquette made 24 saves and Dale Weise scored at 1:15 of overtime to lead the Hartford Wolf pack to a 2-1 victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Saturday, breaking the Pack’s 7-game winless streak and moving the team into a tie for sixth place in the Atlantic Division.

I, meanwhile, was watching paint dry the Rangers lose to the Sabres at MSG, so I leave you with Brian Ring’s write-up, courtesy of the Wolf Pack.

***

Hartford Wolf Pack 2, Bridgeport Sound Tigers 1 (OT)

By Brian Ring

Hartford, CT, December 12, 2009 – Dale Weise scored the overtime game-winner and Brodie Dupont had two assists, as the Wolf Pack beat the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in a GEICO Connecticut Cup game Saturday night, 2-1, in front of 5,752 fans at the XL Center.

A tied-up Dupont passed to a wide open Weise, who one-timed the shot past Sound Tigers goaltender Scott Munroe for the winner at 1:15 of the extra session.

The goal, Weise’s ninth, snapped a six-game winless streak (0-4-1-1) for the Wolf Pack.

“We played hard, we played smart,” said Hartford Head Coach Ken Gernander.  “It was a pretty good effort.”

The Wolf Pack had jumped out to a first period lead at 13:33, as Evgeny Grachev recorded a power-play goal with Bridgeport’s Tyler Haskins in the box on a holding the stick call.

Defenseman Matt Gilroy had passed across to Dupont, who quickly fed Grachev on the side of the net.  Grachev was able to find an opening to the left of Munroe for his seventh goal of the year.

Gilroy’s assist was his second in as many games since being assigned to Hartford from the New York Rangers.

Wolf Pack goaltender Steve Valiquette (25 saves), playing in Hartford for the first time since the 2006-07 season, made eight saves in the first, including a stop on a quality chance by Bridgeport’s Matt Martin at 1:57.

The second period proved to be a scoreless affair, as Valiquette made 11 saves on Bridgeport to preserve the Wolf Pack’s 1-0 lead.  Munroe made nine saves in the frame for the Sound Tigers, and stopped a great chance on a Hartford power-play opportunity by Weise midway through.

The Sound Tigers, however, capitalized on a Corey Potter turnover 9:03 into the third period, tying the score at 1-1 on Matt Martin’s sixth goal of the season.

Potter lost the puck to Martin in front of the Hartford goal crease, and Martin lifted the puck over Valiquette’s catching glove for the equalizer.

The remainder of the third was scoreless, with Munroe turning away several chances that would have given the Wolf Pack the lead, including an opportunity when Gilroy sent a pass from behind the net across the crease.

Entering overtime tied at one, Hartford did not wait long to score the game-winner, as defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti gathered the puck and sent a pass to Dupont in the slot, setting up Weise’s goal.

“I more or less just threw it into an area,” said Dupont.  “We (he and Weise) have a pretty good chemistry, so whenever he yells, generally he’s open.”

The win bumped Hartford (14-12-1-2, 31 points) into a tie for sixth place in the Atlantic Division with the Providence Bruins.

The Wolf Pack will complete this week’s section of their five-game home stand with a 4:00 tilt Sunday against the Albany River Rats, before hosting the Toronto Marlies (Dec. 18, 7:00) and the Hamilton Bulldogs (Dec. 19, 7:00) next weekend.

Bridgeport Sound Tigers 1 At Hartford Wolf Pack 2 (OT)
Dec 12, 2009 – XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Bridgeport 0 0 1 0 – 1
Hartford 1 0 0 1 – 2

1st Period-1, Hartford, Grachev 7 (Dupont, Gilroy), 13:33 (pp). Penalties-Byers Hfd (high-sticking), 3:31; Rechlicz Bri (misconduct – unsportsmanlike conduct), 10:16; Haskins Bri (holding the stick), 11:42; DiBenedetto Bri (roughing), 17:33; Gleed Bri (fighting), 17:33; Carroll Hfd (fighting), 17:33; Garlock Hfd (roughing, unsportsmanlike conduct), 17:33.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Klementyev Bri (high-sticking), 2:05; Rechlicz Bri (fighting), 7:34; Hoffman Hfd (fighting), 7:34; Smith Bri (interference), 9:12; Weise Hfd (unsportsmanlike conduct, misconduct – abuse of officials), 10:35; DiBenedetto Bri (roughing), 17:44; Carroll Hfd (roughing), 17:44.

3rd Period-2, Bridgeport, Martin 6   9:03. Penalties-No Penalties

OT Period-3, Hartford, Weise 9 (Dupont, Sanguinetti), 1:15. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Bridgeport 8-11-6-1-26. Hartford 7-9-11-2-29.
Power Play Opportunities-Bridgeport 0 of 3; Hartford 1 of 3.
Goalies-Bridgeport, Munroe 8-7-1 (29 shots-27 saves). Hartford, Valiquette 1-2-0 (26 shots-25 saves).
A-5,752
Referees-Terry Koharski (10).
Linesmen-Derek Wahl (46), Paul Simeon (66).

The Hartford Wolf Pack returned to the friendly confines of the XL Center in Hartford on Friday, hoping some home cooking could put an end to their six game winless streak.  But despite excellent goaltending by recently returned Chad Johnson, the result was little different than it was last weekend, as the Pack fell 5-2 to the Portland Pirates.

The night started well enough for the Pack, which managed to take a 1-0 lead at 15:14 of the opening period with the first of two shorthanded tallies it would score in the game.  Ryan Garlock forced a turnover at the Pack blue line to initiate a two-on-none with Dane Byers, who had been named the fifth captain in Wolf Pack franchise history prior to the game.  Garlock fed Byers, who sent the puck back to the former Chicago Blackhawks draft pick for his second goal of the season.

The Pack ended the opening period with a one goal lead and a 8-7 advantage in shots, but as has happened so often lately, the team collapsed in the second frame.  Only the superb goaltending of recently returned Chad Johnson prevented the score from getting out of hand.  The 23-year old rookie couldn’t stop them all, however, and at 15:05 Cody McCormick knotted the score with a wrist shot from the left circle after picking the puck out of Corey Locke’s skates after the Wolf Pack’s leading scorer blocked a point shot from Portland defenseman Mike Kostka.

After surviving a second period which saw them get outshot by a margin of 15-3, the Wolf Pack surrendered a quick goal in the third to to give the Pirates their first lead of the game.  With recently demoted defenseman Matt Gilroy in the box for tripping, McCormick was credited with his second score of the game when he deflected defenseman Dennis Persson’s shot from the left point.  Johnson was able to stop McCormick’s deflection, but the rebound pinballed off Wolf Pack defenseman Corey Potter’s skate and over the goal line for a power play marker at :57.

The Wolf Pack answered back with its second shorthanded goal of the game at 4:10.  Gilroy carried the puck up ice on a two-on-one with Brodie Dupont, feeding the third year pro for a shovel shot which Pirate netminder Jhonas Enroth was able to stop. But as his momentum carried him behind the goal line, Dupont was able to dive for the rebound and put it up and over Enroth from a sharp angle to knot the score at two.

The shorthanded tally gave the Pack ten for the season, tops in the league.

As the puck was crossing the goal line, Mark Mancari jumped Wolf Pack forward Dale Weise, earning an instigator penalty and giving the Wolf Pack a power play that would be washed out by an Andres Ambuhl high sticking call 44 seconds later.  Capitalizing on the extra space as the two sides skated four-a-side, rookie scoring leader Tyler Ennis was able to curl in off the boards and beat Johnson with a perfectly placed laser beam to top-corner, glove side.  The goal gave Ennis six points in three games against the Wolf Pack this season, and earned his team a 3-2 advantage on the scoreboard at 5:57 of the period.

German-born Philip Gogulla extended the Portland lead to 4-2 when he put a shot off Pack defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti’s skate and past Johnson at 10:27.

Another high sticking penalty by Andres Ambuhl at 16:38 allowed the Pirates to kill off all but the finally 1:12 of regulation with ease.  Back at even strength, the Pack were unable to muster another goal, instead surrendering an empty netter when McCormick’s stretch pass bounced off teammate Brad Larsen in the neutral zone and fluttered into the empty net.

The struggling Pack power play finished the game 0-for-3, and now has scored just once in 30 opportunities stretching over nine games.

The victory allowed the Pirates to leapfrog the Pack in the Atlantic Division standings.  Hartford is now just a single game over .500 at 13-12-1-2, a record good for seventh place in the eight team division.

The Pack are back in action on Saturday night when they host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at 7:00pm.

Notes:

• Justin Soryal is expected to miss 4-6 weeks after suffering facial fractures in a fight with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin tough guy Jesse Boulerice last Saturday.  To fill the role vacated by Soryal’s fists the Wolf Pack signed AHL journeyman and former UCONN Husky Mike Hoffman to a professional tryout contract.
• Locke was presented with his crystal Reebok/AHL Player of the Month award prior to the start of Friday’s game.  Since winning honors for November, Locke has just two assists in four games in December and he’s been held off the scoreboard in five of his last seven contests.  Despite the relative scoring drought, he remains at the top of the AHL leaderboard with 35 points in 28 games, however.

Scoring:
1. HFD Garlock, (2) (Byers), 15:14 (SH)
2. POR McCormick, (7) (Kostka, Gragnani), 15:05
3. POR McCormick, (8) (Persson, Wanvig), 0:57 (PP)
3. HFD Dupont, (5) (Gilroy), 4:10 (SH)
3. POR Ennis, (9) (Cowan, Gragnani), 5:57
3. POR Gogulla, (5) (Whitmore, Wanvig), 10:27
3. POR Larsen, (2) (McCormick, Schutz), 19:37 (EN)

Three Stars:
1. Cody McCormick
2. Marc-Andre Gragnani
3. Kyle Wanvig