Lindsay Kramer checks in at the AHL web site with a profile of Wolf Pack rookie defenseman and New Jersey native Bobby Sanguinetti. Cue clamoring from Ranger fans for an immediate call-up in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

In other AHL news, Pack leading scorer Artem Anisimov was a nominee for CCM/AHL Player of the Month honors for the month of December. Milwaukee Admirals center Mike Santorelli won the award with eight goals and 15 assists in 14 games. Anisimov put up far more modest seven goals and seven assists in 13 games in December and was twice nominated for the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week Award. His first player of the week nomination came for the week ending December 7, 2008, when his four goals in three games fell short of the achievements of San Antonio goaltender Josh Tordjman, who went 3-0-0 with two shutouts, officially claiming the starting job for the Rampage from former Pack goaltender Al Montoya. The second nomination came in the final full week of the month, when his three goals and two assists in three games fell short of a nine point week by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin and brief Ranger property Jeff Taffe.

On Friday the Hartford Wolf Pack put forth a complete effort against the leading team in the Western Conference and came away with two points.  On Saturday they faced the Eastern Conference-leading Hershey Bears and put forth an undisciplined, inconsistent effort and came away with three game misconducts and 6-2 defeat.

The Bears were buoyed by the recent return of a number of call-ups to their parent club, the Washington Capitals.  Most important among them was former Ranger property and Wolf Pack player Alexandre Giroux, who returned to the Bears on Saturday afternoon and set up three Hershey goals before putting one of his own home to complete the scoring in third period.

The Wolf Pack fell behind early, spotting the Bears a 2-0 lead in the first 6:35 of play.  Hershey’s first goal came just 1:25 into the game when a weird bounce off the neutral zone boards got past Hartford rookie Bobby Sanguinetti, sending Giroux into the Hartford zone on a 2-on-1 with Keith Aucoin.  Giroux fed Aucoin, who put the puck in the open side of starter Miika Wiikman’s net from just off the right post.

Giroux got his second helper just over five minutes later when Sanguinetti lost his stick and the Pack got caught running around in their own zone.  Giroux controlled the puck behind the net and sent a pass out to the low slot, where Graham Mink was left alone and shoveled the puck past Wiikman.

The Wolf Pack got into its first penalty trouble at the thirteen minute mark when P.A. Parenteau was issued a 5-minute major penalty and game misconduct for spearing Hershey defenseman Dean Arsene behind the play.  Referee Jamie Koharski missed the spear, but awarded the major after consultation with his linesman.  Things got worse for the Pack when Mike Ouellette was whistled for interference two minutes into the major penalty, setting up a full two minutes of 5-on-3 time for the Bears.  Impressively, the Hartford penalty kill — the lone highlight of the game — was able to kill off both penalties and escape the first period just two goals down, after being outshot by an 18-7 margin.

Once again the Pack gave up two quick goals in the first 6:20 of the period to start the second frame.  The first came just 36 seconds in, when Hershey center Steve Pinizzotto skated across the top of the circles and beat Wiikman with an weak wrist shot.  Kyle Wilson put the Bears up by four at 6:20 when he fired home the rebound of defenseman Chris Bourque’s (yes, Ray’s son) shot from the left point.

Hershey got it’s next 5-minute power play at 8:10 of the period.  Pinizzatto rocked Brian Fahey — playing only his second game since being knocked out of the line up with a concussion the last time these two teams met — behind the net, and teammate Devin DiDiomete immediately came to Fahey’s aid, pumelling Pinizzatto before the second-year center even knew what hit him.  DiDiomete was handed the 2-minute instigator penalty, which cancelled out the original charging call on Pinizzatto, plus five minutes for fighting, and both a ten minute and game misconduct.

Once again Hartford gave the Bears a full two minute, two-man advantage when Fahey was called for high-sticking two minutes later.  And once again the Pack penalty kill came up big, holding Hershey off the board.

Hartford then got two power play opportunities of their own — their first of the game.  They cashed in on the second, with just .8 seconds remaining in the period when Artem Anisimov feathered a cross-ice pass from the right face-off dot to Greg Moore at the left face-off dot.  Moore fired the one-timer past Hershey goaltender Simeon Varlamov for his 11th of the season to make the score 4-1 going into the third period.

Patrick Rissmiller made it seem like the Pack might make a game of it at 1:44 of the third period when a Hershey clearing attempt took an odd carom off the boards and found its way on to Rissmiller’s stick right in front of Varlamov.  Rissmiller backhanded a quick chip shot over the Russian rookie for the unassisted goal, his fourth of the season.

That was as close as the Wolf Pack would get.  At 3:55 Brodie Dupont was whistled for boarding, and the Bears were finally able to solve the Pack penalty kill.  Mink got his second of the game, off Giroux’s third primary assist, at 4:15.  Dupont, unhappy with the call, and likely with numerous others, including an early play when he was whistled for the lone roughing penalty when he stepped in to defend Anisimov when he was being mugged in front of the net, let Koharski know what he thought of the job he was doing as he emerged from the penalty box after the goal.  Koharski apparently didn’t like what Dupont had to say, and handed the second-year winger another two for unsportsmanlike conduct, and eventually a game misconduct when Dupont kept at it.

Giroux would cap off the scoring at 14:26 with his 19th of the season after Fahey turned the puck over in the neutral zone.  Pinizzotto fed Hershey’s leading goal scorer as he skated into the high slot, deking forehand to backhand to put the puck through the legs of goaltender Matt Zaba, who’d come in in relief of Wiikman in the second period.

Hershey outshot the Pack 38-34 in the game.  Wiikman was credited with the loss, stopping 19 of 23 shots against, while Zaba stopped 13 of 15 shots he faced.   With the loss, Hartford fell the fourt place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 17-15-1-3.  In the crowded Atlantic standings, they’re just one point ahead of 5th place Manchester, but only one behind 3rd place Worcester and six behind division-leading Providence.  The Pack travel to Winnepeg on Tuesday to play back-to-back games against the Manitoba Moose on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Highlights (cough) from the game are available at AHL Live.

Scoring:
1. Aucoin (12) (Giroux, Helmer) 1:25
1. Mink (14) (Giroux, Sloan) 6:35
2. Pinizzotto (3) (Laing, Joudrey) 0:36
2. Wilson (15) (Bourque, Arsene) 6:20
2. Moore (11) (Anisimov, Rissmiller) 19:59 (PP)
3. Rissmiller (4) 1:44
3. Mink (15) (Giroux, Aucoin) 4:15 (PP)
3. Giroux (19) (Pinizzotto, Aucoin) 14:26

Lines:
Pyatt  - Ouellette - Owens
Dupont - Anisimov - Parenteau
Soryal - Rissmiller - Weise
DiDiomete - Moore - Sugden

Nightengale - Potter
Fahey - Sanguinetti
Urquhart - Sauer

Wiikman / Zaba

Three Stars:
1. Alexandre Giroux
2. Graham Mink
3. Keith Aucoin

The Grand Rapids Griffins entered Friday’s game in Hartford tied for the top spot in the Western Conference, riding a a 7-0-1 streak and having earned shutouts in four of their previous six games.  They left the arena with their first regulation loss in almost three weeks, falling to the Hartford Wolf Pack 3-1 in one of the Pack’s best all-around efforts this season.

Miika Wiikman turned in his best performance in at least a month, stopping 31 of 32 shots to earn first star honors.  Rookie goalie Daniel Larsson, winner of five straight for Detroit’s top farm club — including two shutouts — earned recognition as the game’s second star with 30 stops on 32 shots.

Neither team got on the board until the halfway point of the game.  The Griffins had the early edge in play, outshooting the Pack 12-9 in the first period, and both goalies made some good stops to keep the game scoreless through the first 30 minutes.

Hartford struck first, after a strong rush by Artem Anisimov lead to Brodie Dupont’s 7th goal of the season.  Anisimov carried the puck into the Griffins’ zone, through the middle and around a defender, firing a shot from the bottom of the left face off circle which just squeezed through Larsson’s pads.  Dupont was parked in the crease and able to get his stick on the loose puck first, tapping it over the goal line at 10:01 of the second period.

Grand Rapids answered back on the power play just 4:43 later.  After P.A. Parenteau and Greg Moore combined for a good shorthanded chance in the offensive zone, the Griffins countered 3-on-2.   Francis Lemeiux carried the puck down the left side boards, feeding a pass out in front from just off the left post to a wide-open Francis Pare, who put it in the open side of the net.

That’s how the second period finished, with the shots totaling 10-9 in favor of the baby Red Wings.

Hartford would take control in the third, and the hard-working line of Tommy Pyatt, Mike Ouellette and Jordan Owens — undeniably the Pack’s most consistent through the final month of 2008 — would be rewarded for their effort with the game-winner at 10:49 of the period.  Owens controlled the puck in the right corner and fed it to Pyatt, who delivered a blind backhand pass from the right post through the crease on to the tape of an unguarded Ouellette, who scored for the second consecutive game.

Pareanteau put the icing on the cake with just 29 seconds remaining when he gathered the puck in the Pack zone, poked it past the Griffin defender and dodged past him to pick it back up and fire it in the empty net from the Griffins blue line.

Wiikman came up big when he needed to throughout the game, doing a good job of controlling rebounds and looking confident in his return after two consecutive starts by backup Matt Zaba.  He was helped by the return of three of the Pack’s top defensemen.  Corey Potter played his first game back since being reassigned by the Rangers on Monday, Michael Sauer returned after missing the Pack’s last game after taking a puck to the face in the game before, and Brian Fahey returned from the concussion he suffered in a game in Hershey on December 3rd.

The Pack will look to build their first winning streak of the new year when the league-leading Hershey Bears visits the XL Center tomorrow night at 7:00pm.

Notes:

• Friday’s win was the 500th in Wolf Pack franchise history.
• Dupont looked to have been seriously injured when he crashed feet first into the boards after being nudged by a Griffin forward as the two players chased the puck in the third period. He was unable to make his way back to the bench without help and couldn’t put any weight on his right foot, but surprisingly managed to return after missing only a shift.
• Defenseman Vladimir Denisov missed his first game of the season.  No word on whether he was injured or simply a healthy scratch.
• With his empty net goal and an assist on Dupont’s goal, Parenteau overtook Anisimov for the team lead in goals with 15, and tied him for the team lead in points with 34.
• While Anisimov’s goal-scoring streak ended at 3 games, he extended his point-scoring streak to 5 games (3 goals, 5 assists).
• Bobby Sanguinetti earned an assist on Parenteau’s empty-netter, giving him points (4) in 3 straight games.
• With the return of Potter, Sauer and Fahey, Chris Murray and Ethan Graham have been assigned to Charlotte of the ECHL.
• In other ECHL news, the Rangers re-assigned forward Tomas Zaborsky from the Charlotte Checkers to the Dayton Bombers of the ECHL.

Scoring:
2. Dupont (7) (Anisimov, Parenteau) 10:01
2. Pare (10) (Lemieux, McGrath) 14:44 (PP)
3. Ouellette (4) (Pyatt, Owens) 10:49
3. Parenteau (15) (Sanguinetti) 19:31 (EN)

Lines:
Dupont - Anisimov - Parenteau
Pyatt - Ouellette - Owens
Soryal - Moore - Weise
DiDiomete - Rissmiller - Sugden

Nightengale - Potter
Fahey - Sanguinetti
Urquhart - Sauer

Wiikman / Zaba

Three Stars:
1. Miika Wiikman
2. Daniel Larsson
3. Mike Ouellette

In addition to being “the voice of the Hartford Wolf Pack” and one of the more enjoyable hockey play-by-play guys to listen to on a regular basis, Bob “Hawk” Crawford also writes a blog about the Pack, titled Crawford’s Corner, on the team’s web site. In his weekly (or so) columns he usually wraps up the team’s week gone by, highlights the good and the bad, and answers questions left for him by readers. In this week’s post, he had the following to say about Russian prospect Artem Anisimov:

One bright spot in the 1-2-0 week was the continuing dynamic play of Artem Anisimov.

The big Russian had goals in all three games, and I’ve heard some league observers, both media and scouts, raving about how well he’s come along.

His overtime game-winner in Springfield [watch] was a thing of beauty, surpassed only by his goal celebration, which was one of the best I’ve ever seen. After beating the Falcons’ Devan Dubnyk with a great move, the 20-year-old slid across the ice on his rear end and did kind of a paddling pantomime with his stick, as if he were whitewater kayaking. Great stuff, and creative too!

Anisimov also scored a shorthanded breakaway goal [watch] Sunday in Lowell with a pretty deke to the backhand, and at 6-4, if he keeps using his skills like he has been lately, he’s going to be a real gem for the Rangers.

The second-year pro scored 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) in the week’s 3 games and currently leads the Wolf Pack in scoring with 14 goals and 19 assists for 33 points in 34 games. That puts him in at 13th over all in scoring in the AHL, while his 14 goals tie him with teammate P.A. Parenteau for 16th over all in league goal scoring.

On Saturday night the Hartford Wolf Pack rallied back from a 2-0 first period deficit to steal a victory from a division rival.  On Sunday they found themselves on the opposite side of the equation, surrendering 2-0 and 3-1 leads to fall to the Lowell Devils by a final score of 5-4.  Two power play goals by the Devils on five third period Wolf Pack penalties proved to be the difference, erasing a dominant first period effort and a strong offensive showing by the Pack penalty kill, which tied a franchise record by scoring shorthanded goals on each of the Devils’ first two man advantages.

The Wolf Pack looked to be off to a great start after scoring two unassisted goals in the first period.  The first was a late Christmas present for Tommy Pyatt, gift wrapped by Devils goalie Jeff Frazee, who left his crease to play a dump in in the right corner and fanned on the cross-ice outlet pass to his defenseman.  The puck trickled across the front of the open net, where Pyatt jumped on it for the unassisted tap-in goal at 13:01.

Artem Anisimov added the Pack’s second unassisted tally of the period and Hartford’s first shorthanded goal just over two minutes later.  The Pack’s leading scorer pressured Tyler Eckford at the right point, poked the puck past the Lowell defenseman and chased after it, skating in alone on the Lowell netminder.  With no one close behind, Anisimov had all the time in the world to fake the shot then deke to his backhand and put the puck over Frazee for his 14th of the season.

Hartford finished the period with a 2-0 lead, earning a 10-4 advantage in shots with a dominant 20-minute performance.

Lowell got one back at 4:27 of the second period.  Patrick Davis picked off a pass in the neutral zone, feeding Rod Pelley, who skated in on a 2-on-1 with Ryan Murphy.  Pelley held on to the puck till the last minute, beating Zaba on the stick side with a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle.

P.A. Parenteau built the Pack’s lead back up to two with a power play goal two and a half minutes later.  Anisimov kept the puck in at the right point, feeding it down to Bobby Sanguinetti on the half boards.  Sanguinetti sent a perfect cross-ice pass to the left circle where Parenteau one-timed the puck past Frazee for his 14th of the season, tying him for the team lead in goals with Anisimov.

Another neutral zone turnover by the Wolf Pack set up another 2-on-1 five minutes later.  First star Michael Swift (1 goal, 2 assists) took a pass from second star Jon DiSalvatore (1 goal, 1 assist) and beat Zaba on the blocker side for his 3rd of the season and second in two games against the Pack at 12:18.

The Devils knotted the score at three with just 2.9 seconds remaining in the period.  Anisimov turned the puck over just inside the Devils blue line and this time Swift fed DiSalvatore, who carried the puck into the Hartford zone, cutting across the slot and beating Zaba with a backhander on the glove side.

After taking just two minor penalties through the first two periods, the Pack took their first of five in the third at 1:32 when Dale Weise was whistled for hooking.  It looked like a negative could be turned into a positive when Mike Ouellette picked up the puck in the neutral zone and slipped past a Devil defenseman inside the Lowell blue line to beat Frazee for the Pack’s second shorthander.   But the Devils struck back just 29 seconds later when defenseman Matthew Corrente found the rebound of his own blocked shot and fired his second attempt past Zaba from the top of the circles at 2:28.

With the score tied at four, the Wolf Pack went straight back to the box. This time it was David Urquhart who was whistled for hooking just 18 seconds after Lowell evened the score.  The Devils, who went 4 for 5 on the power play in their 8-1 thrashing of division-leading Providence on Saturday, added their second power play tally and the game-winner at 3:51 thanks to a strong individual effort by fourth year pro Barry Tallackson, who somehow managed to chip the puck up and over Zaba as he was being hauled down to the ice by defenseman Vladimir Denisov.

The Pack finished the game 1-for-5 on the power play and 2-for-6 on the penalty kill, though the two Devil power play goals were balanced out by the Pack’s two shorties.  Zaba stopped 19 of 24 shots against, while Frazee stopped 30 of 34.

The loss left the Pack in third place in the division, now three points behind Portland, who spanked Worcester 7-1.

Notes:

• Anisimov’s goal and assist put him back in th team lead for scoring with 33 points (14g, 19a) in 34 games. He has 7 points in his last four games, moving him up to 12th over all in league scoring.
• Parenteau’s 32 points (14g, 18a) ranks him 13th over all in league scoring.  He and Anisimov are tied for 17th over all in goals.
• Bobby Sanguinetti is 7th amongst defenseman, second amongst rookie defensemen, and 13th amongst all rookies in scoring with 3 goals and 17 assists.
• Like round 1, round 2 of Anisimov vs. Vasyunov went to Anisimov on the scoresheet and Vasyunov’s team on the scoreboard.  Vasyunov wasn’t a factor in the scoring, getting only one shot on goal, a point blank chance that Zaba stopped with his blocker.  Both players were -1 on the night.  Anisimov’s goal and assist earned him 3rd star honors.
• Defenseman Michael Sauer missed the game after being “dinged up” early in Saturday’s game in Springfield.  Chris Murray, who was assigned to Charlotte back on November 18th, was called up to play in his place.

Scoring:
1. Pyatt (7) 13:01
1. Anisimov (14) 15:08 (SH)
2. Pelley (5) (Davis) 4:27
2. Parenteau (14) (Sanguinetti, Anisimov) 7:05 (PP)
2. Swift (3) (DiSalvatore, Zharkov) 12:18
2. DiSalvatore (9) (Swift) 19:57
3. Ouellette (3) 1:59 (SH)
3. Corrente (3) (Mills) 2:28 (PP)
3. Tallackson (4) (Swift, Salmela) 3:51 (PP)

Lines:
Dupont - Anisimov - Parenteau
Soryal - Rissmiller - Weise
Pyatt - Ouellette - Owens
DiDiomete - Moore - Stefanishion

Denisov - Sanguinetti
Urquhart - Murray
Knightengale - Graham

Zaba / Wiikman

Three Stars:
1. Michael Swift
2. Jon DiSalvatore
3. Artem Anisimov

Twice this year the Hartford Wolf Pack have taken early 3-0 leads over their division rivals from Springfield, only to fall by the final score of 4-3.  On Saturday it was the Wolf Pack’s turn to come from behind, erasing a 2-0 first period Falcon lead to claw their way back for a 4-3 overtime victory on a sweet game-winner by first star Artem Anisimov.

The Wolf Pack found themselves in trouble early when Bobby Sanguinetti cross-checked a Falcon into the boards behind the net with Michael Sauer already in the box for interference, setting up a 28 second Springfield 5-on-3.  Falcon center Ryan Potulny took a feed from Rob Schremp at the left post and tried to center it across the crease, but the puck deflected in off Hartford goaltender Matt Zaba’s right pad to give the Falcons the 1-0 advantage at 8:25.

Springfield added to their lead five minutes later when a shot from the right point took an odd carom off the end boards behind the net, bouncing out to the left side where Carl Corazzini was waiting to put it in the open side of the goal.

The Wolf Pack would get one back in a second period which saw them outshoot their hosts 14-6.  After being split up following a -3 performance in Hershey eight games ago, the line of Brodie Dupont, Anisimov and P.A. Parenteau were re-united on Saturday.  The move paid immediate dividends.  Just past the five minute mark Anisimov carried the puck into the Springfield zone on a 2-on-1 with Parenteau. The young Russian saucered a pass through a Springfield defender to Parenteau, who put the puck in the open side of the net for his 13th goal of the season.

Hartford would tie things up and then take the lead early in the third period.  Sanguinetti forced a turnover in the neutral zone, carried the puck into the Springfield end and fed it to Parenteau, who fired a wrister from the top of the circles.  Springfield netminder Devan Dubnyk made the initial stop, but left the rebound laying in front. In the ensuing scramble, defenseman David Urquhart, returning from a game off as a healthy scratch, was able to dive in and shovel the puck home for his fourth of the year at 1:37.

Just under five minutes later Springfield got themselves into penalty trouble when they were whistled for a too many men minor at 6:18.  Josef Hrabal put his team down two men just three second later when he slashed Dupont’s stick off the faceoff, breaking it in two.  On the ensuing 5-on-3 Parenteau, stationed just off the left post, was able to find Dupont wide open at the hashmarks for the point-blank shot which beat Dubnyk on the glove side.  It was Dupont’s sixth of the year and came at 6:53 of the period.

With the 3-2 lead, the Wolf Pack eased up, and it proved costly.  Just past the halfway point of the period Gilbert Brule won a faceoff from Patrick Rissmiller in the Hartford zone.  Guillaume Lefebvre collected the puck behind the Hartford net, and centered it to Ryan O’Marra, who was alone in front for the slam-dunk to knot the score at three at 10:15 of the third.

The goal knocked the Pack out of their shell, but despite holding the edge in play and outshooting the Falcons 12-6 in the period they were unable to finish the game off in regulation.

It took just over a minute and a half of overtime for Hartford to cap off the come-from-behind win.  After a sloppy start to the extra frame in which the Pack struggled to get out of their zone, Sanguinetti carried the puck into the Springfield end and fed a breaking Anisimov with a pass the missed connection.  But the Falcons were unable to control the puck in the left face off circle and Anisimov collected it at the top of the circle, dragged it to the hashmarks on his forehand, shifted around a sprawled Springfield defender on his backhand, and cut around Dubnyk on the forehand, squeezing the puck just inside the left post for his 13th of the season and a dramatic end to an exciting game.

With the win the Wolf Pack improved their record to 16-13-1-3 for 36 points, just one shy of second place Portland and four behind division-leading Providence, who were smacked 8-1 by last place Lowell on Saturday.  The Pack head to Lowell Sunday afternoon at 4pm looking to leapfrog over the Portland, who face fourth place Worcester at the same time.

Scoring:
1. Potulny (16) (Schremp, Roy) 8:25 (PP)
1. Corazzini (3) (Peckham, Wild) 13:38
2. Parenteau (13) (Anisimov) 5:15
3. Urquhart (4) (Parenteau, Sanguinetti) 1:37
3. Dupont (6) (Parenteau, Rissmiller) 6:53 (PP)
3. O’Marra (1) (Lefebvre, Brule) 10:15
OT. Anisimov (13) (Sanguinetti, Urquhart) 1:37

Lines:
Dupont - Anisimov - Parenteau
DiDiomete - Moore - Stefanishion
Owens - Ouellette - Pyatt
Soryal - Rissmiller - Weise

Denisov - Sanguinetti
Urquhart - Sauer
Graham - Nightingale

Zaba / Wiikman

Three Stars:
1. Artem Anisimov
2. Ryan O’Marra
3. Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau

Bridgeport starting goaltender Nathan Lawson remained undefeated in eight AHL games, stopping 28 of 29 shots as the Sound Tigers defeated the Hartford Wolf Pack 3-1 in Bridgeport on Friday night.  Artem Anisimov scored Hartford’s only goal, his twelfth of the season, while Miika Wiikman stopped just 14 of 17 Bridgeport shots.

The Wolf Pack emerged from the Christmas break looking a little too relaxed, spotting Bridgeport a 2-0 lead in the first period. Sound Tiger defenseman Jamie Fraser got on the board first with a slap shot from the left point that beat Wiikman through a crowd at 14:41.  Bridgeport winger Jesse Joensuu built the lead to two just over four minutes later when he collected a drop pass in the right circle, froze Wiikman with a fake, and fired a wrist shot over his glove.  The Sound Tigers outshot the Wolf Pack 10-8 in the period.

The momentum swung in the opposite direction in the second period after referee Jeff Smith whistled coinciding penalties on P.A. Parenteau (goaltender interference) and Andrew McDonald (roughing) at 6:03.  Brodie Dupont, returning to the lineup after missing last Sunday’s game with a likely head injury, played an aggressive, forechecking shift paired with Anisimov to start the 4-on-4, setting the tone for the remainder of the period in which the Pack outshot the Sound Tigers 13-3.

Anisimov cut Bridgeport’s lead to one midway through the period when he took a feed from Dale Weise, cut in from the left side and snapped a shot over Lawson’s glove from the hashmarks. It was the first point the line of Justin Soryal, Anisimov and Weise had scored since being put together eight games ago.

That was as close as the Pack would get.  The second intermission, followed by a lengthy delay just 3:33 into the third period while arena staff replaced a pane of glass that was shattered when Jordan Owens missed a check and slammed into the boards, took any remaining wind out of the Wolf Pack’s sails.  Despite being outshot 8-4, Bridgeport scored the only goal of the frame when Jason Pitton won a 1-on-1 battle with Vladimir Denisov behind the net and fed the puck out in front, where Michael Haley was waiting to backhand it past Wiikman for his first goal of the season at 15:33.  Any hopes for a last-minute comeback were further dashed when Parenteau took an offensive zone cross-checking penalty with 1:16 remaining in the game, preventing the Pack from getting the man-advantage when Wiikman was pulled for the extra skater.

Highlights are available from AHL Live.

Notes:

• With his goal, Anisimov tied Parenteau for the team lead in goals with 12, while taking taking sole possession of the top spot in points with 29 in 32 games.
• Parenteau has just 2 points in his last 6 games.  He’s been a -7 in those 6 games and is a -8 on the season.
• Haley challenged Denisov to a fight at 16:26 of the second period, earning the victory when he connected with a left, knocking Denisov off balance.
• With the win, the Sound Tiger moved into a tie for first overall in the AHL with the Hershey Bears with 45 points.
• Following the game defenseman Corey Potter was recalled by the Rangers to fill in for Michael Rozsival, who will miss Saturday’s Ranger game for family reasons.
• Potter’s recall will open the door for David Urquhart, who was a healthy scratch on Friday, to return to the line up.

Scoring:
1. Fraser (3) (Walter, Colliton) 14:41
1. Joensuu (11) (Walter, Colliton) 18:53
2. Anisimov (12) (Weise, Soryal) 9:51
3. Haley (1) (Pitton, Haskins) 15:33

Lines:
DiDiomete - Rissmiller - Parenteau
Dupont - Moore - Stefanishion
Soryal - Anisimov - Weise
Pyatt - Ouellette - Owens

Graham - Potter
Denisov - Sauer
Nightingale - Sanguinetti

Wiikman / Zaba

Three Stars:
1. Micheal Haley
2. Ben Walter
3. Nathan Lawson

The Hartford Wolf Pack got their Christmas break off to a good start, rallying from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Toronto Marlies 4-3 in Hartford on Sunday.  Goaltender Miika Wiikman bounced back after being pulled in Saturday’s 6-2 loss to Hamilton, earning the win in relief for Matt Zaba, who started the game but was yanked himself after giving up 3 goals on 11 shots through the first 22:04 of play.

Zaba’s afternoon got off to a rough start just 1:46 in when Richard Petiot lofted a long shot on goal from the neutral zone.  The puck took a funny bounce just as defenseman David Urquhart skated in front of the Hartford netminder, preventing him from seeing the carom, which bounced by him and into the net to give the Marlies the 1-0 lead.

After killing off two Toronto power plays, the Wolf Pack knotted the score on their first man advantage at 7:09 of the period.  Artem Anisimov stole the puck in the neutral zone and with a surprising burst of speed split two Toronto defensemen to go in on goaltender Adam Munro alone.  Anisimov was unable to squeeze the puck through Munro’s five-hole as he was being hooked from behind, but Tommy Pyatt was right behind him to flick the rebound past Munro for his sixth goal of the season.

As seems to happen often, Hartford followed up a great offensive chance by immediately giving up a goal against late in the period. Just past the 19-minute mark of the first period, P.A. Parenteau beat Munro to a dump-in, controlling the puck and skating out from the right corner towards the empty net.  His shorthanded shot was stopped by defenseman Anton Stralman.  The Marlies immediately countered, and NHL veteran Bates Battaglia was able to retrieve a dump-in in the right corner, skate out and beat Zaba with just 41 seconds remaining in the period.

Toronto extended the lead to two early in the second.  Defenseman Andy Schneider fired a slapshot from the right point which Zaba stopped, but the rebound went directly to Alex Foster, who lifted the puck past Zaba for his sixth of the season.  It was the eleventh (and final) shot Zaba would face in the game.

If Wolf Pack head coach Ken Gernander hoped the goaltending change would help wake up his troops, he was right.  Less than two minutes later Jordan Owens scored his sixth of the season and fourth in the last five games when he batted home an elevated puck off a pass from the left half boards by defenseman Vladimir Denisov.

Matt Stefanishion scored his first AHL goal, and earned his first point in six games with the Wolf Pack, at 11:01 of the second when he unleashed a blistering slapshot from the top of the face off circles, beating Munro cleanly. Denisov earned the primary assist, giving him his first multi-point game for the Pack.  The goal came just 1:02 after Hartford killed off a full four minutes of penalty time to Brandon Sugden.

The game-winner came just five minutes later, on the power play.  Parenteau picked up the dump-in in the right corner, and fed it to a breaking Anisimov, who was stoned by Munro.  The rebound found its way on to the stick of Greg Moore, who put it over the sprawled goalie for his tenth of the season.

Wiikman stopped all 16 shots he faced to earn the win, improving his personal win-loss record to 11-10-0-3.  The shots on goal for the game were even at 27 apiece.

With the win the Pack reclaimed sole possession of third place in the Atlantic Division.  The team now gets to enjoy the week off before they set off on a three game weekend with games in Bridgeport, Springfield and Lowell.

Notes:

• Brodie Dupont missed the game with an undisclosed injury after being leveled by a shoulder to the head in Saturday’s game against Hamilton.
• The game featured three fights.  Justin Soryal (nicknamed “Scaryal” by his teammates on account of his fighting prowess) faced Schneider at 14:13 of the second, but Schneider lost his balance and went down before things really got started.  Dale Weise faced Todd Perry 31 seconds later in a close and somewhat sloppy bout which Weise probably won on the strength of a few quality blows.  And Jordan Nightengale took on Kyle Rogers at 5:01 of the third.  Nightengale had the early advantage, knocking Rogers off balance while connecting with a number of punches, but got tagged pretty good with an uppercut towards the end.
• With his two assists, Anisimov moved back into a tie for first in scoring on the team with Parenteau, with 28 points in 31 games.  However, the young Russian hasn’t scored a point at even strength since being put on a line with Soryal and Weise seven games ago (he has 5 power play points in that time).
• Gernander iced three lines for the most part, with the bottom three forwards getting occasional time with one of the top three centers.

Lines:
Moore - Rissmiller - Parenteau
Soryal - Anisimov - Weise
Pyatt - Ouellette - Owens
DiDiomete - Steffanision - Sugden

Nightengale - Graham
Sauer - Urquhart
Denisov - Sanguinetti

Zaba / Wiikman

Three Stars:
1. Tommy Pyatt
2. Jordan Owens
3. Artem Anisimov

The Hamilton Bulldogs made the most of lax defensive play and mental errors on the part of the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday, improving their league-best road record to 11-3-1-0 by defeating the Pack, 6-2 in Hartford. The regulation loss brought an end to the Pack’s season-high streak of five games in which they’d earned at least one standings point.

The Wolf Pack fell behind early, spotting the Bulldogs a 3-1 first period lead. A wide-open Chad Anderson gave the visitors their first goal at 9:12 of the period when he took a feed from former Ranger prospect Ryan Russell in the right circle and beat Wolf Pack netminder Miika Wiikman on the glove side. The goal came with the Pack scrambling in their own zone, having failed to recover when Hamilton turned a good scoring chance by P.A. Parenteau into a transition rush.

The Pack’s fourth line of Tommy Pyatt, Mike Ouellette, and Jordan Owens — easily their best threesome over the recent 5-game points streak — tied the game four minutes later. Pyatt controlled the puck in the left corner and fed Owens at the hashmarks, where the Toronto native fired blistering wrist shot past Hamilton starter Cedrick Desjardins for his fifth goal of the season and third in the past four games.

Hamilton re-took the lead less than a minute and a half later when Yanick Lehoux won an offensive zone draw back to defenseman Alex Henry at the left point. Henry snapped a floating shot towards the goal through a tangle of bodies for his first goal of the season.

The Bulldogs got their third goal of the period at 15:38. Yannick Weber fired a slapshot from the right point which Wiikman stopped, directing the rebound to the left corner. Brock Trotter was waiting for it at the side of the net, uncovered. The 21-year old showed patience, holding on to the puck to put it under Wiikman when he dove across to try to make a save.

The prettiest goal of the night came at 4:51 of the second period when Connecticut native Max Pacioretty faked Pack defenseman Vladimir Denisov out of his skates at the Hartford blueline. Denisov stepped up as Pacioretty crossed the line, but the Canadiens’ 2007 1st round pick put the puck through the Belorussian’s skates and picked it up on the other side, feeding it across to David Desharnais in the right circle for the easy put-home.

Hamilton only managed to put four shots on goal in the second period, but two of them ended up in the net. The second came on a 4-on-3 power play with just 36 seconds remaining in the period. Off another offensive zone faceoff win, defenseman Mathieu Carle fed the puck across to Desharnais at the right point. Desharnais had plenty of room to skate in to the top of the circle and fire a shot past Wiikman through a screen.

Matt Zaba replaced Wiikman in goal to start the third period, and coach Ken Gernander shook up his lines in an effort to generate more offense. The changes immediately paid dividends as Parenteau scored his 12th of the season and first in eight games by stealing the puck behind the Hamilton net and wrapping it around the left post.

That was as close as the Pack would get.  At 17:33 a turnover at the Hartford blueline by David Urquhart allowed Lehoux to skate in alone and beat Zaba, who, like Wiikman in the second period, faced only four shots in the third. At the other end of the ice, Desjardin was spectacular, turning away 26 of 28 Hartford shots.

Highlights from the game are available from AHL Live.

Notes:

• Pack left wing Brodie Dupont was caught with his head down in the offensive zone midway through the second period and got rocked by a shoulder to the jaw. He struggled to get to his feet and make it back to the bench and did not return. Dupont missed 15 games with a concussion last season.
• Heavyweights Brandon Sugden (6-4, 233) and Ryan Flinn (6-5, 230) faced off at 15:13 of the first period. After a tentative start as the two felt each other out, both players started firing away with right-hand bombs. Sugden landed a number of his, forcing Flinn to his knees and winning a clear decision.
• Hamilton was missing three of its top four scorers to injury or call-ups.
• After getting outshot 20-18 in the first, the Wolf Pack outshot Hamilton 11-4 and 12-4 in the second and third periods, respectively. Desjardins was extremely strong in goal for the Bulldogs, particularly in the third when the Pack generated a number of quality scoring chances.
• Bobby Sanguinetti’s 17 points rank him 8th in the league in scoring by defensemen, and second amongst rookie defensemen.  However, he was a minus-2 in the game, pushing his team worst plus/minus rating to -10.

Scoring:
1. Anderson (3) (Russell, Glumac) 9:12
1. Owens (5) (Ouellette, Pyatt) 13:18
1. Henry, (1) (Lehoux) 14:30
1. Trotter (6) (Weber, Latendresse) 15:38
2. Desharnais (7) (Pacioretty) 4:51
2. Desharnais (8) (Carle, Pacioretty) 19:24 (PP)
3. Parenteau (12) 1:13
3. Lehoux (8) 17:33

Lines:
Dupont - Rissmiller - Parenteau
DiDiomete - Moore - Sugden
Soryal - Anisimov - Weise
Pyatt - Ouellette - Owens

Denisov - Nightengale
Graham - Sanguinetti
Urquhart - Sauer

Wiikman / Zaba

Three Stars:
1. David Desharnais
2. Max Pacioretty
3. Cedrick Desjardins

Photo: Sports Planet

Earlier this month the Hartford Wolf Pack traveled to Hershey to face the league-leading Hershey Bears.  The game also provided an opportunity for Wolf Pack forward Artem Anisimov to face his friend and former goaltender on Russian team Yaroslavl Lokomotiv, Simeon Varlamov, for the first time.  The game came just two weeks after Anisimov played his first game against another friend and former teammate , Alexander Vasyunov of the Lowell Devils.  Anisimov talked about facing his former teammates, his adjustment to the North America and the North American game, and his current season in an interview with Russian web site Sports Planet last week.

Artem Anisimov: When I Scored on Varlamov, I was as Happy as a Child

Yaroslavl Lokomotiv alumni, forward Artem Anisimov, already plays in his second season in the AHL on the farm club of the New York Rangers. In an interview with a Sports Planet correspondent, the 20-year old hockey player talks about his overseas career, recalls playing in Yaroslavl, and also the recent “Yaroslavl Derby” in the AHL.

- Artem, you’re already in your second year overseas. Tell us about your impressions.

- When I had just arrived in America, of course, it was very hard. I didn’t have enough playing experience, and had no playing experience at all in American hockey. The second season goes much easier, now I have already gotten used to the overseas style of play, to the physical battles and high speeds, the small surfaces no longer confuse me.

- And how are you doing with the foreign language?

- I’ve learned English well enough; I can easily communicate with my teammates, I understand everything they say to me. Sometimes, of course, complications arise, but on the whole, the language isn’t such a big problem for me.

- You’re now playing well enough, collecting practically a point a game (25 games, 23 (11+12) points - ed. comment). Last season this was not the case…

- This year I feel more confident. I spent the summer well, I prepared a lot, trained, worked on myself. I’m helped by that very much now.

- Currently your number of penalty minutes is almost the same as it was for all of last season. With what is this connected?

- I began to play tougher. Most likely, I’ve adapted to American hockey. Basically, I receive the penalties playing defense.

- To the point of toughness, the AHL is called the toughest league in the world. Have you suffered any injuries in the current season?

- Fortunately, nothing serious, only minor injuries, bumps and bruises. Although physical play, without a doubt, is one of the main components of the game in North America.

- This year one more Russian-speaking player, Belorussian Vladimir Denisov, has come to the Wolf Pack. Does that make your life easier?

- Yes, definitely. It’s good when there is a person who speaks your language on the team — its possible to communicate easily. Besides, he knows English well and helps me if problems with the language suddenly come up.

- Not so long ago Pavel Velentenko returned from the AHL to Russia. Has the desire to come back home not arisen in you?

- If Pasha returned, it means that he had his reasons. So far I haven’t thought about a departure to Russia.

- Much is always said about how in North America hockey has received high recognition. How popular is this type of sport in the AHL?

- The arenas here are very good: the largest usually seat no less than nine thousand people. But here not too many fans go to hockey [games], about 2-3 thousand to each match. There are not enough fans, but they act as fans should, they always support the team, they drive to all the away games, even the farthest.

- And have personal fans of yours emerged?

- It’s possible to say that, yes. Fans draw posters with my name, once I even saw a poster in Russian on which was written “We love you, Artem.” At the arena in Hartford are several people who wear jerseys with my name, and not only the local [one], but also the Yaroslavl [one] with number “12″.

- And what can you say about the support of the fans of “Loko”?

- Everyone knows that in Yaroslavl are some of the best fans. The arena is always packed, support is very strong, it was always felt. And as for me, personally, of course, in Yaroslavl they didn’t draw posters to me and didn’t wear my jersey (laughs) but fans always treated me very well. After the playoff match when I scored two goals against Dynamo, the fans saluted me with shouts and applause, and now many are intrested in my fate, it’s extremely nice.

- You already said that to play against the team of Alexander Vasyunov was interesting, and not so long ago you shot a puck in the goal of Simeon Varlamov. What impressions have remained with you from that game?

- It was such a pity that our team lost that match. It was greatly to Simeon’s merit, we created many dangerous moments, but he played very well. I really wanted to shoot the puck on my friend, with whom I played many years together. When I scored, I was as happy as a child. I felt fantastic emotions, which can’t be described with words, they must be felt.

- And have you discussed this game with Valamov himself?

- Of course, I met with Simeon after the match, his father also joined us. The three of us very briefly discussed the match, there were lots of positive emotions. In addition, I was very happy to see Simeon, since the last time we saw each other was back in the summer in Yaroslavl.

- To sum up both matches, tell us, what is it like to play against former teammates?

- In the first place, there’s this huge desire to win. The desire to overcome your rival increases in the few times when you play against your friends, and more so [against your] former teammates. Not only I felt that way, but the guys certainly hold the same opinion. It’s a shame that our team lost, but I’m happy that in both matches I was able to score.