#AdamTambellini

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THOMAS: WOLF PACK SEEKS TO CRUNCH SYRACUSE

BY: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack will look for their first victory in April tonight when they conclude a back-to-back set at the XL Center. Tonight's opponent, the Syracuse Crunch, is making their first and only visit in Hartford this season. The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. Tale of The Tape This is the second and final meeting between the Wolf Pack and Crunch during the 2021-22 season. The Crunch scored a 4-2 victory over the Wolf Pack in the first meeting on March 16th. Justin Richards tied the game 1-1 at 4:41 of the second period after Alex Barré-Boulet opened the scoring in the first period. Otto Somppi put the Crunch ahead for good 2:03 into the final frame, while Darren Raddysh and Gabriel Fortier tacked on insurance markers. Zac Jones scored his sixth goal of the season at 18:00, but the result was determined by that point. This is Syracuse's first visit to Hartford since November 20th, 2019. That night, the Crunch skated to a 3-1 decision over the Pack. Hartford has not defeated Syracuse since February 9th, 2018. In Syracuse, the Pack scored a 4-3 shootout victory. Adam Tambellini and Ryan Gropp scored in the shootout, while Alexandar Georgiev made 43 saves. Wolf Pack Outlook On Friday night, the Wolf Pack dropped their ninth game in their last eleven outings. Maxim Letunov scored his first goal with the Wolf Pack just 23 seconds into the contest, but Hartford couldn't solve Filip Gustavsson again. Jonathan Aspirot tied the affair 12:34 into the game, while Lassi Thomson scored a five-on-three goal at 14:55 to give the Sens a lead they would not lose. Egor Sokolov and Logan Shaw both added powerplay goals for insurance. Hartford surrendered three powerplay goals in a game for the second time this season and the first time since February 27th against the Providence Bruins. Greco leads the Pack in scoring with 50 points (17 g, 33 a). He also leads active skaters in goals with 17. The Wolf Pack signed forward Bobby Trivigno to an amateur tryout agreement (ATO) on Saturday morning. On Friday, he signed an entry-level contract with the parent New York Rangers (NHL). Forward Easton Brodzinski also joined the Wolf Pack as he signed a professional tryout (PTO) with the club. He is the younger brother of Wolf Pack captain Jonny Brodzinski. Crunch Outlook Last night, the Crunch dropped a 5-3 decision in Utica against the Comets. Utica jumped out to a 4-0 lead before the Crunch scored three goals in a span of 1:55 in the third period to cut the deficit to 4-3. Fortier got the Crunch on the board 15:56 into the third period, then Simon Ryfors (16:13) and Barré-Boulet (17:51) quickly scored to put the game in doubt. Finally, Tyce Thompson's empty-net goal at 18:53 cemented the victory for Utica after some nervous moments. Gabriel Dumont leads the Crunch in scoring with 49 points (24 g, 25 a) on the season. His 24 goals are also atop the Crunch. The Crunch enters tonight's game with a record of 30-24-6-2, good for a points percentage of .548 and a fifth-place standing in the North Division. Game Information  WATCH: AHLTV LISTEN: https://mixlr.com/hfd-wolf-pack/ Join us tonight at the XL Center for Hartford Sports Weekend and a Wolf Pack coffee mug giveaway for the first 1,500 fans into the building courtesy of Xfinity! Tickets are still available at www.hartfordwolfpack.com. ABOUT SPECTRA Spectra is an industry leader in hosting and entertainment, partnering with clients to create memorable experiences for millions of visitors every year. Spectra's unmatched blend of integrated services delivers incremental value for clients through several primary areas of expertise: Venue Management, Food Services & Hospitality, and Partnerships. Learn more at SpectraExperiences.com. Follow Spectra on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. ABOUT THE HARTFORD WOLF PACK The Hartford Wolf Pack has been a premier franchise in the American Hockey League since the team's inception in 1997. The Wolf Pack are the top player-development affiliate of the NHL's New York Rangers and play at the XL Center. The Wolf Pack has been home to some of the Rangers' newest faces, including Igor Shesterkin, Filip Chytil, and Ryan Lindgren. Follow the Wolf Pack on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

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CANTLON'S CORNER: WOLF PACK BACK AT PRACTICE

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The Hartford Wolf Pack start the second half of their season at their secondary training facility, Champions Skating Center in Cromwell, CT, over the next two days as they prepare for Friday's game with the Springfield Thunderbirds. The taxi squads have been a significant roster disruption for the last two months, but they appear to be gone now. Only one present roster issue remains up in the air. Jarred Tinordi was reassigned by the New York Rangers, as is Zac Jones. They are still with the Pack, who have nine defensemen. As expected, Zach Berzolla was shipped back to the Jacksonville Icemen, the Wolf Pack, and Rangers' ECHL affiliate to get ice time. With the NHL trade deadline approaching next month, it is likely that if the organization makes trades, they will deal from their logjam presently on the backline. The Pack host Springfield and Rochester and Friday and Saturday as they return to action with a full roster of players. NOTES The Bridgeport Islanders saw Austin Czarnik get picked up on waivers by the Seattle Kracken. Ex-Bridgeport Sound Tiger captain Ben Holmstrom will be with the Rochester Americans on Saturday after signing a PTO yesterday from the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL). Former Wolf Pack Nikalas Jensen was part of Danish hockey history as they won their first Olympic game in 75 years. Denmark won 2-1 over the Czech Republic. Across the way was ex-Pack Tomas Kundratek. He hit the crossbar in the waning seconds for the Czechs as they sought to tie the game. After just one game with the Toronto Marlies (AHL), former QU goalie Keith Petruzzelli was sent back to Newfoundland (St. John's) Growlers (ECHL). Former Wolf Pack Shawn St. Amant plays under his full name Shawn Ouellette St. Amant with the Trois-Rivieres Lions (ECHL). It's common among French players to include either your middle name or your mother's maiden name. Team USA defeated China 8-0 as Sean Farrell had a hat trick and five points in their opening game of the Olympics. A former Yale Bulldog is a brand new father, Brian O'Neill (Jokerit Helsinki Finland-KHL), the only US player with Olympic experience, scored a power play goal. FAMILIAR NAMES A plethora of familiar names on both lineups. Ex-Sound Tiger named an alternate captain, Aaron Ness, now with the Providence Bruins. He was paired with ex-Pack Steven Kampfer who plays with AK Bars Kazan (Russia-KHL) in the opening lineup. He had a gorgeous primary assist on Farrell's second goal. Former Yale Bulldog Ken Agostino (Torpedo Novgorod Russia-KHL) was among the forwards selected by former Rangers coach David Quinn. China had goalie ex-Sound Tiger Jeremy Smith (Kunlun China-KHL) starting in net. The game's first penalty was the one-time Ranger draftee who was traded, Ethan Werek (Kunlun China-KHL). The Chinese assistant coach is former Ranger Alexei Kovalev. Ex-Pack Adam Cracknell (Bakersfield-AHL) and ex-Sound Tiger David Desharnais (HC Fribourg-Gotteron Switzerland-LNA) assisted on Canada's third goal in their opening 5-1 win over Germany. Ex-Pack Adam Tambellini (Rogle BK Sweden-SHL) had the primary assist on their last goal. Ex-Sound Tiger for Germany Tom Kuhnhackl (Skelleftea AIK Sweden-SHL) was held scoreless. Slovakia lost 6-2 to Finland as ex-Pack Marek Hrivik and ex-Springfield Falcons Tomas Jurco, Marko Dano, and ex-Springfield Thunderfield Martin Mancini were held pointless. Another ax-QU goalie Andrew Shortridge is recalled by the Stockton Heat from the Kansas City Mavericks (ECHL). Ivan Nikolishin, the son of the former Hartford Whaler Andrei Nikolishin, heads to his third team and league as he's loaned from Amur Khabarovsk (Russia-KHL) to Ilves Tampere (Finland-FHL). HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

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CANTLON'S CORNER: MID-WEEK NEWS AND NOTES

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The Olympics are into the medal round, and several former Hartford Wolf Pack players and those connected to Connecticut are doing well representing their homelands. Men's Team Canada knocked off the Chinese team on Tuesday, 7-2. Ex-Pack Adam Tambellini garnered five points with two goals, one coming on a penalty shot, with the other three being assists. Ex-Pack Adam Cracknell has one helper in four games. John Gilmour, who's on the taxi squad and has yet to play for the Canadians, has watched his team advance to the quarterfinals against Sweden. Ex-Bridgeport Sound Tiger David Desharnais has an assist in four games. Josh Ho-Sang has three assists in four games. Jack McBain, the son of former New Haven Senator Andrew McBain, registered a goal and an assist against China. MORE OLYMPIC NEWS The 7-2 loss eliminated China. Ex-Pack Ryan Sproul had two assists and goalie Jeremy Smith played in every game, going 0-3 and a 5.63 GAA. To make matters worse, he suffered a knee injury and was taken out of the game against Canada. Aforementioned, Sweden features ex-Pack netminder Magnus Hellberg. He has a 2.46 GAA in two games, while fellow ex-Pack, Carl Klingberg, has three points in three games. Ex-New York Ranger and Wolf Pack forward Marek Hrivik, playing for Slovakia, has a goal and two assists in the Olympics. The Slovaks face the American team on Wednesday at 11:10 PM EST. While playing in the Olympics, Hrivik had his KHL deal with Torpedo Novgorod (Russia) terminated by mutual consent. Instead, he signed a contract with his old Swedish team, Leksands IF (SHL), for the rest of the year. Ex-Springfield Falcon Tomas Jurco has one assist in three games for the Slovaks. Another former Falcon, Marko Dano, is pointless in three games. In four games, Marton Marincin, formerly of the Springfield Thunderbirds, has one goal. EX-PACK CAPTAIN KAMPFER Ex-Pack and Ranger Steven Kampfer, who is playing for ex-New York Rangers' head coach, David Quinn, behind the US bench, has three points in three games. Greenwich's Strauss Mann, like Kampfer, is a fellow Michigan alum. He has played very well. In his only game so far in the Olympic games, he is showing to the world why he is atop the Swedish league. Two former Yale Bulldogs, Brian O'Neill, and Kenny Agostino, have had a solid tourney. O'Neill has three points in three games, and Agostino had the game-winning goal against Canada. It's his only point in three games. Ex-Sound Tiger Aaron Ness has an assist in three games. Jake Sanderson, the son of former Hartford Whaler, Geoff Sanderson, has been limited to playing in only one game due to injury but has put one assist to his credit. Switzerland reached the quarterfinals by beating hockey powerhouse the Czech Republic, 4-2. Ex-Pack Raphael Diaz had a goal and an assist and, one he'd like to forget, in his own net. Andres Ambühl Andres Ambühl, 38, is playing in his fifth Olympics and has scored a goal. He is the second oldest player to score. Borje Salming, 40, a tremendous Swedish defenseman who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, had potted four goals for Sweden in 1992. Ambuhl is the oldest player to record his first goal. "Today, we played really tight defensively. Everybody came back. We blocked shots. We boxed them out. We won puck battles. Genoni had a hell of a game. He always stopped the first shot, and we cleared the rebounds. I think it was a good, strong effort from the whole team," Diaz told IIHF.com. Ambühl acknowledged his accomplishment. "It's nice to score my first goal at Olympics, but it was great especially for the team," he said to IIHF.com in a post-game interview. "We somehow didn't manage to bury the pucks before and today they bounced our way. Nobody was happy with the preliminary round so we wanted to show that we can play hockey and win too. We wanted to show this reaction. Now we have to continue like that without getting over excited." MORE RESULTS Switzerland faces off with Finland. Latvia was eliminated by upstart Cinderella Denmark 3-2. One Latvian defenseman is former Quinnipiac University (ECACHL) blueliner Karlis Cukste. His KHL deal with his hometown team, Dynamo Riga, dissolved by mutual consent. He signed an agreement with Lahti Pelicans (Finland-FEL) and will report there shortly. Goalie Kristers Gudlevsk, the ex-Sound Tiger, didn't play a game for Latvia. Germany was eliminated by the Slovaks 4-0. Tom Kühnhack had just one goal in the tourney against the US, while former Springfield Falcon Matthia Plachta had one assist in four games. Denmark has ex-Pack Niklas Jensen. He has an assist in four games, while ex-Sound Tiger Frans Nielsen has three assists in three games. He's playing for the ROC (Russian Olympic Committee), where ex-Pack Artem Anisimov has yet to play. ARIZONA The long-running saga in the desert is reaching the end of the story. A plan has been approved locally to have the sad-sack oft-troubled Arizona Coyotes play at the new on-campus venue at Arizona State for three years with an option for a fourth year. They're trying to wind through a skeptical local political windmill and get a third arena built in Tempe. A long-time trusted source was quite pointed on the subject. "The optics look just awful. A team like Seattle, who just spent a billion dollars renovating their arena and $650 million to get into the NHL, who are doing well, have to be looking on in horror. How can a league let a team play in a sub-standard AHL building, though it will be brand new at, say the 5,000 they are saying, let alone NHL level facility which it clearly will not be, for multiple years and not get priority dates (ASU will) and only game revenue (no building or naming rights)? "Simply put Gary Bettman does not want to ever lose a market like Arizona. I'm shocked there is not more of an uproar so far over this. This obviously has to affect the HRR (Hockey-Related-Revenue) between the players and the owners as agreed to in the CBA." There will be cries to move the team from many former and new cities looking to join the NHL. RELOCATION SITES? In Quebec City, there is a hockey palace already built waiting for an occupant. The Videotron Centre was built five years ago to NHL specs to replace the old Colisée de Québec (later known as Colisée de Pepsi at the end of its heyday). In Houston, the fifth-largest television market, there is also a ready-made already built arena. For Hartford, nothing has been done to the XL Center (nee Hartford Civic Center) in 25 years except for cosmetics to the concourse, a couple of Zambonis, and a new floor, ice, and chiller system. This same source opined about the speculation surrounding any possible moves from Arizona. "You can write this in stone and send it up the hill with Moses. There will NEVER be another NHL team in Quebec City again because of the currency problem, the ongoing language issue (in the province), and the Montreal Canadiens veto power over it. However, they want to extend their brand. They have an AHL team in Laval and an ECHL team in Trois-Rivieres 40 minutes away, halfway to Quebec City. "Hartford? Ha! They can't even get a new building in the twenty-plus years for an AHL team. "Houston will remain in reserve for a new team and say an $800 million dollar payday. Look there have been two expansions and they're still on the outside." HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

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CANTLON'S CORNER: THERE'S STILL HOCKEY NEWS AND NOTES EVEN UNDER QUARANTINE - VOLUME 3

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Even with the world principally under quarantine, hockey business still moves forward. At this time of the year, Cheshire-native, Rob Malloy, usually is ramping up his workouts in preparation for what's coming up in three weeks, skating for Australia at the IIHF Division II Group A World Championship tournament. The championship, played in Zagreb, Croatia, near the Mediterranean Sea, would have been Malloy's sixth of his career. But now, that's all changed. The Mighty Roos, the Aussie’s national team name that would have been competing against China, host Croatia, Israel, the Netherlands, and Spain, but due to the COVID-19 outbreak that started in China, has taken that away from him and his Aussie teammates. In addition, the start of his 10th season of AIHL (Australian Ice Hockey League) hockey scheduled for April 18th is on hold as well. “We were obviously disappointed worlds were canceled, but nobody disagreed. At this stage, I don’t think there will be a competition until 2021. I also don’t see the feasibility of the AIHL season going ahead either. The teams rely on ticket sales and sponsorships to survive flying 25 guys around the country multiple times. Most rinks have shut for the time being. I don’t know, I don’t see anything happening in the near future,” Malloy said via e-mail. It's not the only calamity that has befallen him in the Land Down Under. He, his wife, and his two young children were in the heart of the Australian apocalyptic-looking brushfires several months ago, near their home in New South Wales. “The fires were pretty crazy! There was one about 15 miles from us that was burning for months. We lived in a blanket of smoke for a while. The air quality was awful. We couldn’t really even go outside. They are all extinguished at this point, but the recovery will be felt for years to come.” Now he and his family are back at home, unable to leave home, yet again. “We've been sitting in isolation for a few weeks now. They haven’t locked everything down yet here, let’s see what happens.” XL CENTER As of Wednesday, the home of the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack, UCONN hockey and men’s and women’s basketball is closed. The last of its staff was furloughed, both office and building workers. This now leaves just one office employee in the Wolf Pack offices and building security in the structure on a daily basis. WEBSTER BANK ARENA Currently, there aren't any AHL Sound Tigers hockey going on in the building, but plenty of saves are still going on. The arena is being converted to an emergency triage center for handling the overflow of coronavirus patients from various Fairfield County facilities. Fairfield County has been the hardest hit county in the state. Fairfield County is followed by New Haven County. Up to 118 beds have been assembled and hopefully never used are now available. Hats off to OVG and the arena staff for helping facilitate this. PRO SIGNINGS Ex-Sound Tiger, Cory Conacher, is the likely first AHL’er from this year to sign a European contract. The 30-year-old played in 44 games with the Syracuse Crunch as well as four games with the Tampa Bay Lightning, according to a Swiss hockey website. Conacher has signed with HC Lausanne (Switzerland-LNA), but the team didn’t comment on the rumor. Montreal signed winger Laurent Dauphin to a one-year, two-way deal. Dauphin was acquired on January 7th from the Nashville Predators for Michael McCarron going from Milwaukee to Laval. It was the first of several trades to change Laval. COLLEGE PRO SIGNINGS The New York Rangers added one more forward to the mix for the 2020-21 Wolf Pack season. Justin Richards, a center from the defending national champion University Minnesota-Duluth (NCHC), is leaving school a year early. In 34 gamers he had 14 goals and 25 points and was plus-14. In 120 career games for the Bulldogs, he's amassed 26 goals and 66 points. His father is Todd Richards, the ex-Hartford Whaler. His uncle Travis played for eight years with Grand Rapids (AHL). The number of signees is increasing a little each day and for UCONN next year some of the top teams in Hockey East have lost some big guns. Northeastern saw Tyler Madden leave after two years for a standard three-year, entry-level deal with the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings acquired his rights in a trade deadline deal with the Vancouver Canucks, who originally drafted Madden in 2017. The nation’s leading collegiate goalscorer, John Leonard, leaves the UMASS-Amherst Minutemen (HE) and heads for San Jose. His teammate Jake McLaughlin signs with the Chicago Wolves and Max Gildon leaves New Hampshire early for the Florida Panthers. One of the bigger college free agents, Brinson Pasichnuk, of Division I's independent program, Arizona State Sun Devils signed not with the Coyotes, but with the San Jose Sharks. Currently, that makes 68 Division I players that have signed pro deals and 78 in total. Two college players have signed for Europe one in Division I and one from Division III and 16 underclassmen have left early in Division I. According to veteran Rhode Island hockey reporter, Mark Divver, forward Tim Doherty of the University of Maine (HE) is transferring to Penn State (Big 10) in the fall is the latest grad transfer. Defenseman Milan Alishlalov (Westminster Prep) comes to UCONN in the fall. He has been playing for the Johnstown (PA) Tomahawks and was named to the NAHL East Division All-Rookie team and to the NAHL second-team, All-Rookie squad The three Hobey Baker finalists were announced and the award winner will be announced April 11th at an odd time 11 PM on ESPN Sportscenter. Junior Jordan Kawaguchi of North Dakota (NCHC), Junior Scott Perunovich of Minnesota-Duluth (NCHC) who just signed a two-year, entry-level deal with the defending Stanley Cup champions St. Louis Blues. Junior goalie, Jeremy Swayman of Maine (HE) signed an entry-level deal with Boston last month and are vying for the title. HOCKEY NEWS Cooper Moore (Greenwich/Brunswick School) was named to the BCHL All-Rookie team. The British Columbia Hockey League is one of the 10 Junior A Leagues in Canada that college-bound players are sent to prepare for a year or two before playing Division I hockey. Moore will be skating for North Dakota (NCHC) in the fall. The Chicago Steel (USHL) was awarded the leagues Anderson Cup as regular season champions with a 41-7-1-0 for 83 points. The head coach to start the year was ex-Wolf Pack captain and Sound Tiger, Greg Moore, who left December 1st to take the head coaching job with the Toronto Marlies (AHL). The OHL Priority Draft will be held remotely this Saturday starting at 9 AM for 300 players to be selected. Vinny Borgesi, from the Selects Academy at South Kent Prep, will play for the Tri-City Storm (USHL) in the fall and is a Northeastern (HE) commit in 2022-23. Another player from the Selects Academy U-16 team defenseman  Conor Shortall (St. John’s) returns to Canada and will play for the Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL) in the fall. Ex-Wolf Pack, Wojtek Wolski, and ex-Sound Tiger, Tomas Malec, were released from HC Ocelari Trinec and HC Brno (Czech Republic-CEL) respectively. Ex-Pack, Petr Zamorsky, has signed an extension with HK Hradec Kralove (Czech Republic-CEL). Ex-Wolf Pack, Adam Tambellini, stays in Sweden going from MODO (Sweden-SHL) to Rogle BK (Sweden-SHL). Ex-Sound Tiger, Dustin Friesen, stays in Germany going from ERC Ingolstadt (Germany-DEL) to Iserlohn (Germany-DEL). A trio of ex-Wolf Pack/CT Whale did not have their contracts renewed by SC Rapperswil-Jona (Switzerland-LNA) in Tom Pyatt, Casey Wellman, and Danny Kristo. Philip Samuelsson, the eldest son of former Whaler great, Rangers player, and assistant coach, ex-Wolf Pack, and Avon Old Farms assistant coach, Ulf Samuelsson is being pursued by Dynamo Riga (Latvia-KHL). Defenseman Mike Little (Enfield) signs a two-year extension with SonderjyskE (Denmark-DHL). ARENA NEWS The expansion NHL Seattle completion date on the Key Arena known temporarily as the “New Arena at Seattle Center” has been pushed to June 2021, four months before their first puck is scheduled to be drop. The original date was January 2021 date in part because of the coronavirus mandated shutdown. Declared as a public-private project, the $930-million-project was restarted this past Monday. The temporary posts holding its historic 44 million pound roof are being transitioned from temporary posts to permanent ones, now that the extra excavation has been completed, the concrete for the posts has been poured. Construction on its brand new state-of-the-art training at old Northgate Mall location, however, it's still just started two weeks ago remains closed. NHL Seattle was very close to unveiling its team name,  color scheme, season ticket packages, and likely building naming rights, but it has been postponed till the COVID-19 pandemic is under control and the stay at home measures in place in Washington state are lifted. OVG (Oak View Group) overseeing construction, has two other major arena projects nationally that have been paused. In New York, at Belmont Park in Long Island, the future $1.3 billion 17,113 seat new home for the New York Islanders was halted by executive order of Governor Andrew Cuomo in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in NYC and the immediate need to build several new hospitals, freeing up building supplies. This could affect the original October 2021 opening date. The other arena project is in Palm Springs, California to house its yet named AHL farm team of the expansion NHL Seattle team postponed its February 18th groundbreaking of the $250 million dollar arena, what was described at the time was called, “unexplained circumstances”. Now with California, one of the COVID-19 hot spots, its original September 2021 opening seems in jeopardy for the 10,000 seats for hockey (11,000 for concerts and shows) in a collaboration between OVG Group and the  Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. No new groundbreaking date has yet been set. The proposed new arena in Suffolk County Long Island in Ronkonkoma part of a $1 billion dual-use project was given a second extension in mid-December for April, there has been no word on the project's future or status. The project was to feature a 7,500-seat hockey arena, 6,000-seat outdoor stadium, hotel and office building on a 40-acre site that also has an LIRR station. The pandemic situation has forced the Chicago-based JLL (Jones, Lang, Lasalle) Group to likely seek another extension next month. The group hired NHL Hall of Famer former Islander and Ranger Pat LaFontaine, last year to secure letters of commitment from an AHL team, college or junior teams to be the primary tenants in the proposed new arena. Once those commitments are secured, then the Suffolk County council was expected to then get a summary of the bid to develop a Master Builder plan and to start construction. Read the full article

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CANTLON: (FRI) WOLF PACK LIMP HOME

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - When last seen, the Hartford Wolf Pack (16-7-2-5) were riding-high on a five-game winning streak, but that came to a crashing halt as the team came off two of their worst performances of the season in Charlotte against the Checkers as part of a three-game road trip. They started off by losing the back-end of a home-and-home with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms last Saturday. “We played good enough in Lehigh Valley, but in Charlotte we weren’t really ready to play in the first period. They really took it to us. We played better later, but too little, too late, to make a difference in the outcome,” remarked Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch who was keeping an even keel about the performance. Charlotte has been like a graveyard for Wolf Pack teams the past few years. They are winless in the Queen city at 0-12-0-0. Besides getting outscored 13-4 over two games, for the first time in the AHL franchises' 1,624 games, as either the Wolf Pack or CT Whale, the team's two goalies were lifted in back-to-back games. Were Igor Shesterkin and Adam Huska the sole reasons for the losses? No, but they had plenty of company. For the first time though the two of them looked mortal between the pipes. Shesterkin, who held the AHL's best Goals-Against-Average entering the two games, is now is fifth at 2.14. He was lifted after surrendering goals after facing 19 shots in the first period alone. Huska was fine in relief with 19 saves on Tuesday night in a 6-3 loss. “To be honest, pulling them was more because of not wanting to leave them in the way the team was playing… not very well in front of them. Igor and Adam have been so good for us all year, and I don’t think there's a coach in the league after thirty games that could say they weren’t at their best. They’ve been exceptional. It was the first two games they haven’t been. We still trust our goaltenders very much,” Knoblauch stated. Then, in a 7-1 thrashing, Huska was pulled after the second period with just 10 saves and a trailing 4-0. Shesterkin fared no better surrendering three more goals. “Honestly, we had a good streak. We won five and now we lost three. Sometimes it happens,” said Phil Di Giuseppe, “Now we have had some success against Providence, hopefully they played Wednesday, and tonight we can take advantage of that." He'll get the call tomorrow against the P-Bruins, who hold first place, two points ahead of Hartford (41-39). They lost to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 1-0. Knoblauch was self-critical as well stating, “The coaching staff has to get better too, and address things and trends a little earlier.” This was also the first time this season the Wolf Pack looked like the team of the last two years. At times they were undisciplined, disinterested, and not playing as a five-man unit. “We're going to have to play a lot better all throughout the lineup than the last two games. Providence is in first place." The Pack played as if they were already on Christmas break and will be after Saturday’s game. “We're in the middle of (the season) now and everybody else in the league is in the same position. It’s still no excuse for the way we played. Hopefully, we can get things off on the right foot for the New Year. Everybody has got each other’s back and we're looking forward to it. We’ve had a lot of changes lately, but that’s pro hockey these days.” said Di Giuseppe. NOTES: After ten games and no points, the Wolf Pack reassigned Ryan Dmowski (Old Lyme/Gunnery Prep) back to their ECHL affiliate, the Maine Mariners. Jansen Harkins, the son of ex-Hartford Whaler Todd Harkins, has 31 points in 30 games with the Manitoba Moose. He was recalled by the Winnipeg Jets. He was a scratch in Thursday’s game in Winnipeg against Chicago. Scott Morrow (Darien) who plays at Shattuck’s St. Mary’s (MNPREP) has committed to North Dakota (NCHC) for 2021-22. The Canadian-entry for the Christmas-time, European six-team, Spengler Cup Tournament in Davos, Switzerland has some familiar names. The GM is ex-Whaler, Sean Burke. The head coach is former New York Ranger, Craig MacTavish. His assistant coach is ex-Whaler (in spirit only), Paul Coffey. On the ice will be ex-Pack, Adam Tambellini, as well as ex-Sound Tigers, Andrew MacDonald, and Dustin Jeffrey, as well as former Quinnipiac Bobcat, Justin Danforth, and former Ranger Josh Jooris, and ex-Ranger and Sound Tiger, David Desharnais all lacing them up. HC Davos features a trio of ex-Pack players. They're led by captain Andres Ambuhl, Danny Kristo, and Casey Wellman. HC Ocelari Trinec (Czech Republic) has ex-Pack/CT Whale, Tomas Kundratek, David Musil, the nephew of former Whaler and Ranger, Robert (Bobby) Holik, and goalie Nick Malik, the son of ex-Whaler, Beast of New Haven, and Ranger, Marek Malik. TPS Turku (Finland) features as their captain, ex-Pack, and Ranger, Lauri Korpikoski, and from HC Ambri-Piotta (Switzerland), Brian Flynn (Pomfret School). Former UConn Husky, Philip Nyberg, after having contract dissolved by Mora IK (Sweden - SHL) signs for the rest of the season with Lindloven IF (Sweden Division-1). Ex-Sound Tiger goalie, C.J. Motte, goes from HC Innsbruck to Coventry Blaze (England - EIHL). Ex-Sound Tiger, Robert Nilsson officially retires as a result of concussion issues from ZSC Zurich Lions (Switzerland - LNA) and a ceremony will be held January 18th. Ex-Pack, Ryan Haggerty was dealt by the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Florida Panthers for Kevin Roy in a minor league swap as Haggerty heads to the Springfield Thunderbirds and Roy to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Haggerty scored the game winner in his first game a Thunderbird. Springfield also did some additional holiday house cleaning sending Blaine Byron to Ontario for future considerations. One of the few AHL coast-to-coast trades since the Pacific Division was created. After the break, the Wolf Pack play the Bridgeport Sound Tigers who have had two lineup additions. Robert Carpenter, the son of former NHL'er, Bobby Carpenter, and brother to Team USA's forward, Alex Carpenter, has recovered from a preseason injury. Returning from his Islanders imposed exile in Toronto is truculent forward, Josh Ho-Sang. He demanded a trade at the end of training camp and has been working out at the University of Toronto and was shaken the team hasn't traded him. The US WJC camp is in full swing in Plymouth, MI. Leading the charge is goalie and Darien-native, Spencer Knight (Boston College/Florida). He is being joined by fellow former Avon Old Farms Winged Beaver, Trevor Zegras (Boston University/Anaheim). Also on the roster is Christian Krygier (Michigan State Big 10/NY Islanders), the son of former Whaler/Nighthawk/UConn player, Todd Krygier) and K’Andre Miller (Wisconsin Big 10), the Rangers first-round pick (22nd overall) in 2018. Mattias Samuelsson (Western Michigan - NCHC/Buffalo), the son of former Nighthawk, and Ranger, Kjell Samuelsson, Jack Drury (Harvard - ECACHL/Carolina), the son of former Whaler, Ted Drury and the nephew of current Wolf Pack GM, Chris Drury. Shane Pinto (Selects Academy at South Kent Prep/North Dakota - NCHC/Ottawa) and the Islanders sent current Sound Tiger forward, Oliver Wahlstrom over. The USA team is in the Czech Republic and the final team will be announced on Christmas Eve Day. Ironically or not, the Islanders didn’t send Noah Dobson to the Canadian team. Peter Dilaberatore (Quinnipiac University) and Barrett Hayton (Arizona-NHL), the son of former New Haven Nighthawk, Brian Hayton, are with Team Canada. Team Sweden has two Ranger prospects, defenseman Nils Lundkvist, and center Karl Henriksson. The US team will be playing in Group B in Ostrava, Czech Republic and the opening game is against traditional rival, Canada on Boxing Day at 1 PM on the NHL Network. All preliminary and medal games will be shown on the NHL Network. Lastly, sad news during the holiday season. Former Whaler, Scot Kleinendorst, passed away Tuesday from the injuries suffered at a mill plant in his hometown of Grand Rapids, MN. The family took him off life support as a result of the extensive nature of his injuries. Kleinendorst played in the NHL from 1982-90. He appeared in 281 games for the Hartford Whalers, New York Rangers (53 games two goals and 13 points) and the Washington Capitals. His NHL totals were 12 goals, 58 points, and 452 PM. With the Whalers, he played five seasons (210 games) tallying nine goals and 40 points. He played collegiately at Providence College, then in ECAC, but who are now in Hockey East. He and his brother, Kurt, were both drafted by the Rangers in the 1980 NHL Draft out of PC with Scot going in the fifth round (98th overall) and Kurt was taken in the fourth round before (77th overall). Kurt coached in the AHL with Lowell, Binghamton on two different occasions, Iowa and Belleville. He presently coaches the Nuremberg Tigers (Germany-DEL) that features ex-Pack players Chris Summers, and Chris Brown. Kleinendorst after starring at Grand Rapids High School, where he was first-team All-State defenseman in 1977-78 and part of a Minnesota state championship team in 1976. Read the full article

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CANTLON: WOLF PACK WIN 3-1 OVER SPRINGFIELD

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - A second-period goal by Phil Di Guiseppe turned out to be the game-winner as the Hartford Wolf Pack upended the Springfield Falcons 3-1 Saturday night before 3,876 at the XL Center “Our first two periods were fantastic. We gave up just seven shots. We managed the puck well. In the third period, we got away from some of those things, but we finished strong.“ said Pack head coach, Kris Knoblauch. The Pack plays tomorrow afternoon against Rochester at 3 pm. The game was more of a KHL game played by SKA Hartford and Dynamo Springfield as there were long stretches of no action in the middle of the ice and the play was all along the boards. “Tonight wasn’t the prettiest, but it’ll (help) the younger players and encourage them to keep doing the right things,” remarked Di Giuseppe. The message on the whiteboard in the Pack locker room said it best as instruction for the team going into the contest. “Hard work beats skill when skill fails to work.” Filip Chytil was one of the few players who was strong on the puck all night (eight shots) and earned a goal (the empty-netter to seal the win) and also had an assist. “Filip has been playing really well. Sometimes guys make poor decisions and they force passes, he has, but he has also been so responsible with the puck. He has a lot of skill and accents his accents very well,” a hoarse sounding Knoblauch stated. The Pack's Russian netminder, Igor Shesterkin, is obviously used to a KHL-style of play. He had 17 saves and shut down Springfield who were seizing momentum in the third period. One of the better saves was on Dominic Tornato when he was open for a shot on the left-wing. “He really made some incredible saves in the third and made the difference (in the game)," Knoblauch said. The Wolf Pack and Springfield's recent history had a familiar early ring to it as the game commenced. The Thunderbirds score first. The second period played like the first. The offense was spaced out with more action on the periphery and select times were players in front of the net for either team. The Pack got several chances including Chytil with a backhander in front and Gabriel Fontaine on the left-wing. The Wolf Pack were able to gain the lead on the powerplay at 15:33. The Pack got solid puck movement with Jeff LoVerde passing to Chytil, who snapped a quick cross-ice pass to Di Giuseppe, who took the shot in one motion to score his first goal as a Wolf Pack. “The ice was a bit chippy out there, not as crisp as you would like. Fil and I have been working on this after practice, and it's nice to see that work pay off. We found ourselves four or five times (tonight). It was nice to get that (first) one,” remarked Di Giuseppe. The Thunderbirds took their only lead as Jonathan Ang took a quick cross-ice feed from Kevin Roy and put one high glove side high on Shestyorkin at 9:49 on the powerplay. At 18:06, the Wolf Pack tied it late as Nick Jones scored his first pro goal in the slot taking a perfect soft backhand pass from Patrick Newell off the half wall. His quick release put the puck in the back of the net on Thunderbirds goaltender, Philip Desrosiers, who was making his pro debut. “Jones and Newell complement each other well. You can see the skill. The pass from Newell was an elite play and the shot (by Jones) was a quick release.” LINES: Nieves-Beleskey-Kravtsov Fogarty-Lettieri-Fontaine Chytil-O’Regan-Di Giuseppe Gettinger-Newell-Jones LoVerde-Lindgren Goertseen-Keane Day-Raddysh SCRATCHES: Jeff Taylor Nick Ebert Ryan Gropp Ville Meskanen NOTES: Gropp and Taylor have yet to play this season. Knoblauch said there will be lineup changes tomorrow, but they haven’t decided yet what those changes will be. Adam Huska will start in goal. Wolf Pack Fan jerseys of the night: 7 Adam Tambellini now with MODO (Sweden-SHL), 10 J.T. Miller now in Vancouver 14 Jack Combs presently not playing and 36 Craig Weller who is retired. There was also a 55 Dan Girardi London Knights jersey and a beautiful powder blue Maine Blueberries special Maine Mariners jersey. The winners, however, were a beautiful WHA New England Whaler #2 Rick Ley and #9 Mr. Hockey Gordie Howe. They should have kept that logo. Read the full article

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CANTLON'S CORNER: PACK PREPARE FOR ANOTHER PAIR OF GAMES

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Another pair of weekend home games await the Hartford Wolf Pack. One is a divisional opponent who has owned them the past three years, the Springfield Thunderbirds. The others are non-divisional opponents who they've struggled with, the Rochester Americans, who they will play on Sunday afternoon. For Pack Head Coach, Kris Knoblauch, he's worried more about where his club is at this point in terms of their development than his opponent to some degree to this point in the season. While he was happy last weekend, he wasn’t satisfied with their team game last week. “You like the four points, but we easily could have lost both those games. The Charlotte game we left too many open areas, too many great chances and thankfully Shesty (goalie Igor Shestyorkin) played so well. We have a long way to go. Right now, I’m focused on our team and getting guys into our systems. We're adjusting to our team at this point and working on our identity.” The addition of Nick Ebert, who came to Hartford in the Vladimir Namestnikov deal, was a surprise in that the New York Rangers added yet another defenseman to an already deep organizational chart. Ebert has had only moderate success as a pro and spent some time in Europe. He a known quantity to Knoblauch. “We have tough decisions to make, and we liked how our defense played for the most part over the weekend. We're always looking to improve our team. He brings experience, is a good skater, moves the puck well and has a good shot. I’ll be honest, I’m surprised he hasn’t scored as much at the American (Hockey) League level. I coached against him in juniors. He was a very strong offensive player. It seems last year he has gotten his offensive game back,” said Knoblauch. Ebert played with Orebro HK (Sweden-SHL). His addition to the roster forced the team to move Brandon Crawley to their ECHL affiliate, the Maine Mariners. “We want Brandon to get playing time, and right now we are filled up on defense, and he’ll be a part of our recalls.” Knoblauch is getting an early tutorial on fluidity of AHL rosters. “I’m really learning it now about how much things can change. We want to win every night, but we are a development league. You have to learn to balance those things appropriately.” Ebert wasn’t the only new defenseman that Knoblauch had out on the ice. Yegor Rykov (pronounced Ree-kov) has been sent down and skated for the first time on Thursday since suffering an ankle injury in the Traverse City tournament. He isn’t likely to see game action for likely two more weeks, which will likely necessitate another reassignment to Maine. “He has started first with drills. He's getting back on the ice, and today was his first full (team) practice. It’s gonna be a few more weeks before he is game ready. I saw him in Traverse City (before the injury), and we were very pleased with what we saw. Now it's about getting that timing back.” The lineup will likely see a new, familiar face in Ryan Gropp. He was scratched last weekend and Knoblauch is eager to have him in the lineup. “We really liked him in the pre-season. He showed a very good shot and I really want to get him in the mix. I haven’t worked out my (lineup) details yet, but we'll be seeing him.” Vitali Kravtsov will be in the lineup, and the coach thinks the student understands things better. ‘We showed him some video. He’s aware he didn’t play well. We had a very hard team practice Tuesday and he was very competitive." Saturday’s game is a part of hockey doubleheader with UCONN and RPI starting at 3:30 pm and a 7:30 pm faceoff time with the Springfield Thunderbirds. NOTES: The Thunderbirds will be minus forward Paul Thompson, who was handed a two-game suspension for a blindside hit on Bridgeport’s Thomas Hickey last Friday in the regular-season opener. Sunday’s opponent, the Rochester Americans, will have a very familiar face in their lineup. Tage Thompson (Orange/UCONN), who scored two goals last weekend including an OT game-winner. Ex-Pack, Matt Register, starts the season with the Iowa Wild. The ECHL season starts this weekend with some players of note with ties to Connecticut. Adirondack: Eamon MacAdam (BST), Charles Curti (Yale), Craig Martin (QU) and Hayden Verbeek (the nephew of ex-Hartford Whaler, Pat Verbeek) Allen: Shawn O’Donnell, and Justin Salvaggio (HWP), Brampton: Miles Gendron (UCONN), Cincinnati: Justin Vaive (HWP/BST), Ft. Wayne: Shawn St. Amant (HWP), Florida: Logan Roe (Kent Prep), Greenville: Chris Nell (HWP), and Callum Booth (Salisbury Prep), plus Mike Pelech (HWP), Indy: Alex Krushelnyski (HWP), Charles Williams (HWP), and Karl El-Mir (UCONN), Kansas City: Derek Pratt (UCONN), Idaho: Spencer Naas (UCONN), and Kyle Schempp (BST). Jacksonville: Mitch Jones (the son of ex-New Haven Nighthawk, Brad Jones), and John Albert (HWP). Kalamazoo: Mitch Eliot (the son of Nighthawk, Daren Eliot), Norfolk: Brandon Halverson (HWP), Ben and Josh Holmstrom (BST), Orlando: Jake Marchment (the son of Whaler, Bryan Marchment), Rapid City: Chris Izmirlian (Yale), Reading: Frankie DiChara (Yale), David Drake (UCONN), Matt Gaudreau (BST), and Trevor Yates (the son of ex-Whaler, Ross Yates). South Carolina: Dan DeSalvo (HWP), Tommy Hughes (HWP), Parker Milner (BST/Avon Old Farms), Scott Davidson (QU), Toledo: Ryan Verbeek (the nephew of ex-Whaler, Pat Verbeek), Brendan Kotyk (HWP), T.J. Hensick (HWP), and Josh Winquist (BST), Tulsa: Josh Wesley (HWP), and Mike McKee (Kent Prep), Utah: Cole Cassels (the son of ex-Whaler, Andrew Cassels), Wichita: Jason Sims (UCONN, and the son of former Whaler/Nighthawk, Al Sims), Worcester: Jordan Samuels-Thomas (West Hartford/QU), Connor Doherty (SHU), Nic Pierog (Canterbury Prep), and Henrik Samuelsson (the son of ex-Whaler, Ulf Samuelsson). Former Wolf Pack, Dean Melanson, was the last cut by the Reading Royals. Ex-Pack, Adam Tambellini, was the last cut from the Bakersfield Condors training camp signs with MODO (Sweden-SHL) for the season. He is the second Tambellini to play there. Ex-Sound Tiger, his brother Jeff, played there and is presently a head coach/GM of the Junior A Trail Smoke Eaters (BCHL). Landon Ferraro, the son of former Whaler, Ray Ferraro, who was with Iowa last year signs with Eisbaren Berlin (Germany-DEL). The two are the 71st and 72nd AHL’ers from last season to sign in Europe. Brandon Whistle, the nephew of former New Haven Nighthawk, Rob Whistle, goes from Sheffield (England-EIHL) and signs with Telford (England-NIHL). Mark Arcobello (Milford/Fairfield Prep/Salisbury Prep/Yale University) is playing with SC Bern (SwItzerland-LNA) with 10 points in 10 games. He signs a deal to play for HC Lugano (Switzerland-LNA) next season 2020-21. Philippe Hudon (Choate Prep) goes from Allen (ECHL) to Norfolk (ECHL). Congrats to former New Haven Nighthawks player and head coach, Robbie Ftorek, who was among the four new inductees to the AHL Hall of Fame on Thursday. Joining him are Darren Haydar, Denis Hamel, and Fred Thurler. The ceremony will take place in Ontario, CA site of the AHL All Star Classic the first to be held at a Pacific Division city. Ftorek ended his NHL career with the Rangers. He started out as a child prodigy in the Bobby Orr era at Needham High (MA). Played two years for the Red Wings affiliate Tidewater Wings before he left for the WHA and the Phoenix Roadrunners and Cincinnati Stingers (one of the best logos ever). He was the first and only American captain in the history of the Quebec Nordiques WHA or NHL. Ftorek played with New Haven accumulating 16 points in 17 games in New Haven in 1984-85. His last active game as a player was in New Haven the following season. Ftorek, who was a Guilford resident when he was in New Haven and was the head coach there for two-and-a-half seasons before getting the call to Los Angeles, but stayed there just a year-and-a-half. He had other AHL coaching stints in Halifax with the Citadels and the Utica Devils before he had a strong three-year stint with the highly successful Albany River Rats, before having a four-year coaching tenure in New Jersey. Ftorek returned to his roots spending two years with the Boston Bruins before heading back for a second stint in Albany where he had another strong three year period of winning and development. Ftorek also went the junior route spending six years as the head coach with the Erie (Otters (OHL) before a year as an assistant with Abbotsford. He concluded his coaching career with Norfolk (ECHL). UCONN hockey has its first two home games this weekend Friday night at 7 pm against the Army Black Knights (AHA). Saturday, in another non-conference matchup, with the RPI Engineers (ECACHL) at 3:30 pm. The school’s 2000 MAAC championship team will be honored throughout the day. The championship trophy will be on display on the concourse The Huskies earned a 3-3 tie with Sacred Heart University in their opener in Bridgeport, last week who they have yet to beat since going Division I. The Huskies Jachym Kondelik scored. Fellow Nashville Predator draftee, Tomas Vomacka, was sensational in net making 45 saves despite the hat trick by the Pioneers, Matt Tugnutt, icing his game-tying goal with three seconds left in regulation forcing overtime. Earlier in the week, SNY announced the time and dates for the first-ever Connecticut Ice Festival tournament in Bridgeport at the Webster Bank Arena in late January. The Huskies will kick-off the collegiate tournament against the Quinnipiac University Bobcats at 4 pm on Saturday, January 25th followed by Sacred Heart University playing the Yale University Bulldogs. All four games including the consolation and championship final will air live in the SNY. Read the full article

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CANTLON: (FRI) KNOBLAUCH READY FOR FIRST TEST

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - All the preparations have been completed and the 23rd Hartford Wolf Pack season is ready to go against a revamped, but defending AHL Calder Cup champs Charlotte Checkers. “Everybody is eager to play that first game. There is so much that is done in getting ready the planning, the practices, The players with conditioning, drills, pre-season games and its all about the playing the games and now we get a chance to play,” Kris Knoblauch, the Wolf Pack's new head coach said on the eve of the weekend of the team's first two games. The team identity comes with Knoblauch's past coaching assignments albeit in major junior. “We're not gonna be a team that just sits back. We're going to be on the attack. Possess the puck as much as possible and make solid percentage plays with the puck. Goals are scored on quick transitions in either the offensive zone on turnovers because of forechecking, or good passing starting in the defensive zone. You can stickhandle and skate with the puck, but there are other avenues to move the puck, be patient with the puck. We have the skills, just don’t force plays which can lead to turnovers,” said Knoblauch whose drills on Friday focused on that movement of the puck to be able to win one on one battles. The Wolf Pack will have a plethora of forwards to start the 2019-20 season with an increased level offensive power not seen here five years whereas they had about line and a half last season they have three solid scoring lines. Divvying up ice time is one of the toughest tasks he has had to do in preparation. “Everything is different when you're starting with a new organization. I have been used to in the past you have two or three top players, that’s it. They're the best and then there is a drop off from there. That isn’t the case for us to start the year. We have a guy like Steven Fogarty who was doing 20-plus minutes last year. Now we have Boo (Nieves), Vinni (Lettieri), Filip (Chytil) and Vitali (Kravtsov) who could easily pull down 20 minutes, but we only play a 60-minute game! It’s going to be a big adjustment for everybody, to do it’s one of the biggest things you have to do to prepare right now,” remarked Knoblauch. Special teams Knoblauch has an array of choices as he does on the PK as well. “We have almost 10 penalty killers within the lineup when you usually might have four and the powerplay you usually two units, we could make four out of the skill level we have. It’s a nice problem to have.” One of the many bright new faces is goalie Igor Shesterkin who comes in with a very extensive resume and experience for a rookie and will get the nod in net for the much-heralded Russian rookie. “He very poised in net, very quick and he does have more experience than the average rookie. He has a very high compete level.” The number two guy, Adam Huska (UCONN), has clearly made his presence felt between the 4x6 net space. “Adam, right from Traverse City, really got the organization’s attention and right through Rangers camp and our camp here. He’s been solid with play and made everybody notice him. He is a big, athletic goalie who works very hard, but different than Igor and he will be somebody to watch.” Goalie Tom McCollum and AHL vet was sent to Maine simply to receive playing time and that is critical in the operational machinery of goaltending this season. “In the summer we weren’t really sure how our goaltending as going to look. It important to have goaltending depth as in any position, but injuries and call-ups are just a phone call away, whether it’s the Rangers or here in Hartford. We didn’t want to callup somebody wee guessing on, we wanted a picture of that guy and it's him right now.” Playing in front of him will be defense with the mixture of young players and veterans led by second-year pro, Ryan Lindgren, who got the A we thought he might get and then a revived Brandon Crawley, newcomer Joey Keane “Ryan certainly had a very strong camp and we have a really strong group of veterans and younger players I think the right mixture with Jeff and Mason." It’s time lace them up, put the tape on the sticks, put the straps on tight and give rise to the new team slogan “The Wolf Pack, A New Tradition” for opening night. NOTES: With Boo Nieves clearing waivers, the Wolf Pack sent Lewis Zerter-Gossgae (Kent Prep) to Maine. Much like Ryan Dmowski, and Tom McCollum, they deserve to be in Hartford, but contracts and numbers are not in their favor at this time. Defenseman Sean Day is 100% medically cleared from his offseason hip surgery and will be in the lineup tonight. Because of the roster size, two forwards and two defensemen will be sitting. “It’s one of the hardest things to do is to tell someone today they won’t play because everyone has played well in camp (because of numbers) not poor play or practice, which would be easier. That’s not a fun part of the job,” said Knoblauch. Former Wolf Pack, Adam Tambellini, was the last cut from Stockton and is now an unrestricted free agent. Ex-Pack goalie, Brandon Halverson, signs with Norfolk (ECHL). Chris Nell signs an ECHL deal with Greenville. Forward John Albert was among the last cuts with Manitoba and signs with the Jacksonville Icemen. Cole Cassels, the son of ex-Hartford Whaler Andrew  Cassels, signs with the Utah Grizzlies. New York Rangers Director of Player Development, Jed Ortmeyer, participated in practice. Any chance of a PTO deal? “If I lose 20 pounds, Dru (GM Chris Drury) and I, we're gonna talk.” quipped Ortmeyer. Nice team bonding by the end of practice after Chytil scored a goal, all the players for his combo came over patting him on the head and then Nieves came over to bump them on the “excessive celebration,” Huska came over and Chytil backed up and playfully challenged him as he dangled his gloves, in the motion to drop the mitts. Ohhh, if both of the Czech and Slovak natives actually started chucking them. Nothing will ever match Dale Purinton's destruction of former minor league heavyweight Marty Melnychuk one camp and or the slugfest with Martin Grenier that led then Hartford GM Don Maloney at the time to scream at them to stop. Read the full article

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CANTLON: NHL/AHL FREE AGENCY

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The roster wheels were churning on Monday. It was going so quickly that not a single hamster or a gerbil on a Habitrail wheel would have kept pace. The New York Rangers led the parade of signings by inking the most sought after free agent, Artemi Panarin, away from the Columbus Blue Jackets to a seven-year contract that will pay the Russian winger $11.642 million per year. Earlier, the Blueshirts sent winger Jimmy Vesey to the Buffalo Sabres for a 2021 third round draft pick. The Rangers also began their rebuild of the Hartford Wolf Pack by signing two players, center Greg McKegg and forward Danny O'Regan. McKegg, 27, split his season between the AHL Champion Charlotte Checkers and skated in 41 NHL games with the parent, Carolina Hurricanes in 2018-19. While with the big club, McKegg registered six goals and five assists for 11 points, along with eight penalty minutes. McKegg is a solid two-way player who's particularly strong in taking draws. He has 146 faceoff wins in 286 (51%) taken this past season. He also helped Carolina advance to the Eastern Conference Final in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and he recorded two goals in 14 playoff games. McKegg recorded his first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal/point, which also was the game-winning goal, in Game 4 of the Second Round against the New York Islanders on May 3rd; the goal helped the Hurricanes complete a sweep of the Islanders and advance to the Eastern Conference Final. While skating in 31 games in Charlotte in the 2018-19 season, the 6-0, 194-pounder registered six goals and 17 assists for 23 points, along with 18 penalty minutes. McKegg tallied at least one point in 17 of his 31 AHL games with the Checkers during the past season, and he recorded 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in his last 16 games with Charlotte prior to being recalled by the Hurricanes on Jan. 4, 2019. McKegg has skated in 132 career NHL games over parts of six seasons (2013-14 – 2018-19) with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins, and in Carolina, where he's amassed 13 goals and 11 assists for 24 points, along with 40 penalty minutes. During McKegg’s four-season career (2008-2012) in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), he served as the Erie Otters’ captain for parts of two seasons, played in the OHL All-Star Game during the 2009-10 season, and helped the London Knights win the OHL Championship in 2011-12. McKegg was originally selected by Toronto in the third round, (62nd overall), in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. McKegg’s great uncle is “Leapin” Lou Fontinato, who played parts of seven seasons with the Rangers (1954-1961) in 398 games he had 22 goals and 79 points and 939 PIM. He played his last two years of his 535 game NHL career in Montreal as he had 104 total career points and 1,274 PIM. Led the NHL with an unheard of then 202 PIM in 1955-56 again in 1957-58  for the Rangers and his first year in Montreal 1961-62. O’Regan like Rangers Head Coach David Quinn and Hartford GM and Rangers assistant GM Chris Drury, are all products of the BU Terriers. In 70 games with the AHL Rochester Americans, O’Regan, 25, this past season, registered 20 goals and 28 assists for 48 points, along with a plus-four rating and 42 penalty minutes. O’Regan helped the Americans advance to the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs, and he skated in three playoff games. The 5-10, 180-pounder right winger has 182 career AHL games over three seasons (2016-19) with the San Jose Barracuda and the Americans. He's logged 56 goals and 90 assists for 146 points, along with a plus-eight rating and 68 penalty minutes. O’Regan received the Red Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s Rookie of the Year in 2016-17, as he led all AHL rookies with 58 points (23 goals and 35 assists) in 63 games with San Jose. O’Regan was also named to the AHL’s All-Rookie Team and played in the AHL All-Star Game in 2016-17. In addition, O’Regan has helped his team advance to the Calder Cup Playoffs in each of his three seasons in the AHL; he has tallied nine points (five goals, four assists) in 21 career Calder Cup Playoff games. O’Regan has also skated in 25 career NHL games over parts of three seasons (2016-19) with the San Jose Sharks and Buffalo Sabres, registering one goal and four assists for five points, along with two penalty minutes. Prior to beginning his professional career, O’Regan played four seasons at Boston University (2012-16), registering 66 goals and 88 assists for 154 points, along with a plus-28 rating in 154 games. O’Regan was named to the NCAA (East) Second All-American Team and the Hockey East First All-Star Team as a senior in 2015-16, as he led Boston University in goals (17), assists (27), and points (44) during the season. He also was named to the Hockey East Second All-Star Team in 2014-15, as he helped Boston University win the Hockey East Regular Season Championship and Hockey East Championship and advance to the National Championship Game. O’Regan established collegiate career-highs in goals (23), assists (27), points (50), and plus/minus rating (plus-40) in 2014-15. He was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team in 2012-13, as he became the first freshman to lead Boston University in points since ex-Ranger Tony Amonte in 1989-90. O’Regan is tied for 15th on Boston University’s all-time points list. O’Regan was born in Germany while his father, former NHL player Tom O’Regan, was playing professionally. O’Regan has represented the United States in several international tournaments including winning a gold medal at the 2012 IIHF U18 World Championship while playing alongside current Rangers Brady Skjei, and Jacob Trouba. O’Regan also played alongside Skjei, and Trouba, with the U.S. National Team Development Program during the 2011-12 season. In addition, O’Regan, and Skjei were teammates with the United States at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship. O’Regan was originally selected by San Jose in the fifth round, 138th overall, of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. The Rangers then continued their revamp of the Wolf Pack to make it a more competitive team that can win games, as well as create an environment for young players to grow and build some organizational depth by announcing the signing of three players who all have won titles, been team-leaders. They will join McKegg and O'Regan to combat the laissez-faire hockey that has plagued the Pack the past five years. Defenseman Vincent LoVerde, a veteran of eight pro seasons, has spent the last two years with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. In 68 games with the Marlies in 2018-19, the right-handed shooting LoVerde scored three goals and added eight assists for 11 points, while serving 33 minutes in penalties.  In 13 playoff games with Toronto, LoVerde had six assists. In 2017-18, LoVerde helped the Marlies to a Calder Cup, the second of his career. LoVerde, a 30-year-old native of Chicago, captained the LA Kings’ AHL affiliate’s for the previous three seasons, two with the Ontario Reign and one with the Manchester Monarchs.  In 2014-15 with Manchester, LoVerde won his first Calder Cup title, in the Monarchs’ last season in the AHL. In 432 career AHL games with the Marlies, Reign, and Monarchs, LoVerde has totaled 45 goals and 107 assists for 152 points and has registered 316 penalty minutes.  He played collegiately with Miami (OH) University when they were in the CCHA conference. Thomas McCollum, a 29-year-old netminder, just completed his tenth season of pro hockey, playing 34 games with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL. The 6-3, 215-pounder went 12-10-10, with a 2.72 goals-against average, a .899% save percentage and had two shutouts.  McCollum was a first-round draft choice (30th overall) by the Detroit Red Wings in 2008. McCollum has seen action in 315 total AHL games with the Admirals, Grand Rapids Griffins, Charlotte Checkers, and Stockton Heat.  His career AHL stats are 147-117-23, with a 2.72 GAA, a .907% save percentage and 11 shutouts.  McCollum won a Calder Cup with the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2012-13. Prior to turning pro, McCollum played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, with the Guelph Storm and Brampton Battalion. Harry Zolnierczyk enters his ninth pro campaign. He played last season up I-91 with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds as they tortured the Wolf Pack. The 5-11, 186-pound Toronto native had a pro-career-high 51 points, including a team-leading 36 assists (15-36-51), along with 38 penalty minutes, in 72 games. The former Brown University (ECACH;) product has skated in 84 career NHL games, with the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Islanders, Anaheim Ducks, and Nashville Predators, totaling seven goals and six assists for 13 points, plus 93 penalty minutes.  Zolniercyczk has always been a fleet skater and has an agitating side as well has played in 426 career AHL contests with the Thunderbirds, Adirondack Phantoms, Norfolk Admirals, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Bridgeport Sound Tigers, San Diego Gulls, and Milwaukee Admirals, the 31-year-old Zolnierczyk has amassed 106 goals and 137 assists for 243 points, along with 446 PIM. Zolnierczyk was originally signed as a free agent by the Flyers March 8, 2011. There were several signees with Wolf Pack and Connecticut connections. Former Connecticut Whale and Ranger, Mats Zuccarello. He left the Dallas Stars to lay roots in Minnesota with the Wild where he signed a five-year/$30 million deal with former New Haven Nighthawk, now Wild GM, Paul Fenton. Bolton, CT native Ron Hainsey signed a one-year deal with the Ottawa Senators for $3.5 million. Former Kent Prep player, Noel Acciari, leaves the Boston Bruins and signs with the Florida Panthers earning a nice pay increase from $750K a year to $1.6M per year for four years totaling $5 million. Ex-Pack/Whale goalie, Cam Talbot, heads back out West and signs with the Calgary Flames for $2.75M on a one year deal. Former Yale Bulldog, Ken Agostino, departs the Devils and the swamps of New Jersey for the Maple Leafs on a two-year deal for a very cap friendly, $700K per year. Now ex-Pack, John Gilmour, as expected, left the Connecticut capital and choose to sign with the Buffalo Sabres who were among 13 suitors for the offensive-minded defenseman. He signs a one-year, one-way NHL deal at $700K. Former assistant captain Rob O’Gara, the other Wolf Pack Group 6 free agent remains unsigned at this writing. Gilmour’s now former teammate, Chris Bigras, landed a similarly sweet deal signing a two-year contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. He will play with the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms on a two-year, one-way deal paying him $700K per year. Another ex-Pack, Chris Mueller, signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning / Syracuse Crunch earning the same $700K for one year. Ex-Sound Tiger, Aaron Ness, scored the same $700K deal with the Arizona Coyotes / Tucson Roadrunners for two years. Connor Clifton, the former Quinnipiac University Bobcat, signed a three-year extension at a million per year with Boston. He has one year left at $725K. Other players who have been made UFA’s and could be signed over the next few days include: Anaheim: Ex-Pack, Adam Cracknell Columbus: former Sound Tiger, J.F. Berube, signed with Philadelphia. Detroit: Wade Megan (Salisbury Prep) Edmonton: Ex-Pack, Al Montoya Minnesota: Landon Ferraro, the son of former Hartford Whaler, Ray Nashville: Ex-Pack, Cole Schneider Ottawa: Ex-Pack players Oscar Lindberg, Brian Gibbons, and Adam Tambellini Pittsburgh: Ex-Pack, Chris Summers Tampa Bay: Ex-Pack’s Dan Girardi, and Marek Mazanec Toronto: Ex-Sound Tiger, Steve Olesky. Washington: Ex-Pack, Jayson Megna, and goalie, Parker Milner (Avon Old Farms). The Calder Cup champion Checkers watched as two more players depart. Pat Brown went to the Las Vegas Golden Knights / Chicago Wolves (AHL)  on a $700K - NHL / $450K - AHL next year. His contract pays him $700K on a one-way in the second year. Andrew Poturlarski departs for California signing with the Anaheim Ducks / San Diego Gulls. Riley Barber of the Hershey Bears signs with Montreal/Laval for $700K-NHL/$400K-AHL. Tommy Cross (Simsbury/Westminster Prep) leaves Cleveland and signs a one year $700K deal with the Florida Panthers / Springfield Thunderbirds. Daniel Carr, the AHL's regular season MVP, leaves Chicago (AHL) and signs with the Nashville Predators / Milwaukee Admirals for $700K. Tomas Jurco rescued from Springfield by Charlotte, signs with the Edmonton Oilers on a one-year, one-way $750K contract. Former Whaler, John Stevens Sr., signs as an assistant coach with the Dallas Stars. Nick Lukko (Salisbury Prep), the son of NHL power executive, Peter Lukko (Florida) has retired to become the assistant coach with Reading (ECHL) next year as he was their captain last season. In a very lesser note, the Wolf Pack’s secondary affiliate, the Maine Mariners, tendered qualifying offers to five players including two ex-Pack’s in Greg Chase, the nephew of former Whaler, Kelly  Chase, and Alex Kile. (NOTE: Some parts of a Hartford Wolf Pack press release were used in the formation of this story) Read the full article

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CRAWFORD: (SAT) SENS TAKE PACK IN OT

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BY: Bob Crawford, Hartford Wolf Pack Hartford, CT, March 30, 2019 – Chase Balisy scored with 48 seconds left in overtime Saturday night at the XL Center, to give the Belleville Senators 3-2 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack. The Wolf Pack had leads of 1-0 and 2-1, on power-play goals by Gabriel Fontaine and Tim Gettinger, but Jordan Murray tied the score on a Senator man advantage with just over five minutes remaining in the third period. “The difference maker in the game was in the second period,” Wolf Pack head coach Keith McCambridge said.  “I didn’t feel we had the puck very much, which gave them some momentum, but we got ourselves in some penalty trouble in the third.” The Wolf Pack scored on the game’s first power play for the only goal of the first period. With Joseph LaBate off for high-sticking, Fontaine scored his tenth goal of the season at 8:24.  Fontaine worked a give-and-go with Ryan Dmowski, and Fontaine moved to the middle from the left side before firing a close-in shot past Senator goaltender Marcus Hogberg (26 saves). Belleville tied the score at 5:31 of the second period, on the first goal in a Senator uniform for Austin Fyten.  A shot from the left side by Erik Burgdoerfer was blocked wide of the Wolf Pack net by Josh Wesley, but the puck caromed off the end boards to the right side, and Fyten was able to backhand it past the short side of Hartford netminder Adam Huska (31 saves). The Wolf Pack power play struck again to regain the lead, with only 45.6 seconds left in the period.  After Murray was called for delay-of-game at 19:04, Gettinger deflected a shot by Sean Day past Hogberg on the stick side. “We hadn’t seen Belleville in a long time,” said McCambridge, “so we made some adjustments to our power play on how we felt we could create some opportunities.” It was the Senators who spent much of the third frame on the power play, though, as the Wolf Pack would be shorthanded four times. Hartford killed the first three, including a two-man advantage of 1:19, after Brandon Crawley was called for cross-checking at 5:50 and Nick Jones for tripping at 6:31. Belleville finally capitalized at 14:55, though, after Fontaine was sent off for high-sticking at 13:52.  Drake Batherson fed the puck from the left-wing boards to Murray at the top of the slot, and he slung a wrist shot that went through a screen set by Vitaly Abramov and eluded Huska. “Adam’s game was strong,” McCambridge said of Huska.  “The 5-on-3 kill was really good for us. He came up with some key saves for us during the game, and that’s all you can ask your goaltender to do.” The Senators controlled the overtime session, however, outshooting the Wolf Pack 6-0.  Huska held the visitors off until former Wolf Pack Adam Tambellini deflected the rebound of a Stefan Elliott try to Balisy, and he easily buried the puck from the left side of the slot. The Wolf Pack are next in action this Wednesday night, April 3, when they travel to Springfield to take on the Thunderbirds.  Faceoff is 7:05, and all of the action can be heard live on News Radio 1410 AM, and 100.9 FM, WPOP, and online at newsradio1410.com and iHeartRadio.  Video streaming is available at theahl.com/AHLTV. The next home game for the Wolf Pack is next Saturday night, April 6, a 7:00 PM contest vs. the Utica Comets.  Tickets for all 2018-19 Wolf Pack home games are on sale now at the Agera Energy Ticket Office at the XL Center, online at hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499.  Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $13 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase. Information about all of the Wolf Pack’s many attractive ticketing options can be found online at hartfordwolfpack.com.  To speak with a Wolf Pack representative, call (855) 762-6451, or click here to request more info. Belleville Senators 3 (OT) at Hartford Wolf Pack 2 Saturday, March 30, 2019 - XL Center Belleville 0 1 1 1 - 3 Hartford 1 1 0 0 - 2 1st Period-1, Hartford, Fontaine 10 (Dmowski, Bergman), 8:24 (PP). Penalties-LaBate Bel (high-sticking), 7:03; Meskanen Hfd (slashing), 9:09; Paul Bel (roughing), 19:47; O'Gara Hfd (roughing), 19:47. 2nd Period-2, Belleville, Fyten 4 (Burgdoerfer, Carlisle), 5:31. 3, Hartford, Gettinger 14 (Day, Gropp), 19:14 (PP). Penalties-Falk Bel (high-sticking), 7:36; Murray Bel (delay of game), 19:04. 3rd Period-4, Belleville, Murray 9 (Batherson, Abramov), 14:55 (PP). Penalties-O'Gara Hfd (interference), 2:41; Crawley Hfd (cross-checking), 5:50; Jones Hfd (tripping), 6:31; Fontaine Hfd (high-sticking), 13:52. OT Period-5, Belleville, Balisy 6 (Tambellini, Elliott), 4:12. Penalties-No Penalties Shots on Goal-Belleville 8-11-9-6-34. Hartford 12-7-9-0-28. Power Play Opportunities-Belleville 1 / 5; Hartford 2 / 3. Goalies-Belleville, Hogberg 19-7-6 (28 shots-26 saves). Hartford, Huska 1-2-1 (34 shots-31 saves). A-6,219 Referees-Jordan Deckard (14), Michael Sheehan (74). Linesmen-Mike Baker (11), Luke Galvin (2). Read the full article

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CANTLON'S CORNER: PACK REFLECT ON BAD LOSS 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings CROMWELL, CT - It was a very silent Hartford Wolf Pack practice at Champions Skating Center on Wednesday. Fresh off a disheartening 4-1 loss to the Hershey Bears, who scored all four of their goals in the last seven minutes of the game, the New York Rangers' AHL affiliates did their drills and skating, but the usual chatter was missing. “We liked our first 53 minutes held them, to 21 shots to 11 shots against those back to back penalties, one of which they scored on. We had some missed D zone coverage, then a blocked shot, bounces up in front of the net and then a turnover by our goalie and an empty net goal, it‘s over. That’s not the recipe for closing out games especially a team like Hershey that’s won now how many games in a row? (Nine and 17-1-0-1 in their last 19),” Wolf Pack head coach, Keith McCambridge, said. The mental part of the game is still is not up to par in critical situations. “Your up 1-0, have control and taking penalties. You get away killing one, but then you come right back with another it's just not about managing the puck it's managing the game,” remarked McCambridge through a hoarse voice. When your goalie commits a turnover that led directly to the third Hershey goal as Brendan Halverson’s pass up the middle was intercepted by the last guy you wanted to have it, the Bears leading scorer Riley Barber who put in his second of the game and 26th of the season. “There’s a fine line in how he plays the puck. He had several nice plays on the penalty kill. He took control sent it all the way down (the ice). .There is that fine line when you play it too much,” said McCambridge of Halverson who will start tonight in Springfield. The team offense has been done by a small cache of players led by Vinni Lettieri, on a six-game point streak, Steven Fogarty 12 points in his last seven games and Ryan Gropp who has five points in seven games. “Vinni’s been dangerous all year here. That line has been very productive for us, very strong in the offensive zone, but their defensive zone coverage has been as equally strong between the three of them they will generate offense. By far our most dangerous offensive line,” remarked McCambridge. Conversely, the secondary scoring has been a trickle as of late. “It’s the secondary scoring that we need and it drops off from that line. You hope during the season when these players are having dry spells will pick it up. Lately, we have had players who hit some real dry spells been a while since they had points or goals. It was nice to see Fontaine last night score a goal, gain some traction, but I do like how hard we're working, but we have been missing some players (to injuries, trades). We have points in the last six games then last night we let one slip away from us with Hershey, where we should have had them in seven.” With 18 games remaining there is simply no margin for error and likely no margin left. “It's very disappointing because we have played well of late,“ Assistant captain Steven Fogarty said while wearing one of the team hoodies. “We got points and to play so well for most of the game and collapse…in a matter of two shifts… it's tough. It’s unacceptable, it's why we are, where we're at (in the standings). We're running out of time here.” The team also had another day of changes as the newly minted assistant captain, Ryan Lindgren, was in a left boot cast after taking a shot off his foot. He is likely out for this weekend’s games against Springfield and Wilkes Barre/Scranton breaking up their top defensive duo of Lindgren and John Gilmour. The Rangers also recalled rookie rearguard, Libor Hajak, Wednesday morning. With Lindgren out, the fans will likely see former QU Bobcat, Zach Tolkinen, back in the lineup taking his place. The Rangers did what was expected as they reassigned goalie Dustin Tokarski, too, of all places, Charlotte the top team in the Atlantic Division. With that, the AHL ending the veteran goalie experiment that didn’t produce the results the Rangers/Wolf Pack had hoped for this season (more info below). The most frustrating thing about last night’s loss, is it stalled momentum that the Wolf Pack have been building. Recently, they have been in this position clawing from the bottom trying to make the playoffs. Why this has become a yearly routine occurrence with a mostly new team? “We’ve been asking that question for three years. There obviously is a mental aspect to it. You're going to get scored on, but you can’t cheat when you get scored on. Obviously, It's going to be March tomorrow and we haven’t learned that yet. We're still in the hunt, but it's a desperate time. There are only so games left.” Will the clock strike midnight on their season this weekend? The Wolf Pack fate is in their skates and sticks. NOTES: On the injury front, Lindgren is listed as day-to-day pending a medical evaluation. After he got some x-rays done, Rob’Gara (lower-body) skated in a red non-contact jersey. He's week-to-week. Ville Meskanen (upper body) was skating in a red non-contact jersey. He's day-to-day while Chris Bigras was with cast and crutches and is listed week-to-week. So far the Hartford Wolf Pack have remained mostly intact from Monday’s NHL Trade Deadline Day with some minor deals, but might be different after Monday’s AHL Trade Deadline. Tokarski's reassignment/trade comes as no surprise, but to be sent to Charlotte, the top team in the AHL and, of course, the Atlantic Division, was quite shocking. Tokarski’s last Wolf Pack game was a porous effort against Bridgeport February 17th in a 5-4 OT loss to the Sound Tigers. He played in 21 games, just one more than his other veteran battery mate, Marek Mazanec, who was shipped off to Vancouver two weeks ago. Tokarski’s record was 10-6-2 with a 3.01 GAA and a .901 save percentage and one shutout. He, like Mazanec, was inconsistent. While he did have a 9-1-1 stretch, that was the extent of his best playing period. He was pulled three times this season, twice in his ten playing days. One NHL scout described Tokarski as, “either really good or really (crappy). There is no in between.” In return, the Wolf Pack will receive Hartford-born, Josh Wesley, and will add another defenseman who has shuttled most of his pro career in the Carolina organization between Charlotte and Florida (ECHL). Wesley is the son of former Whaler, Glen Wesley (1994-1997), who played ten years in Carolina with the exception of seven games with Toronto when he was a deadline trade in 2003. Currently, he is the defensive skills development coach for St. Louis after spending ten years in the same position in the same capacity with Carolina. A few former players have been moved to new addresses. Ex-CT Whale, Michael Del Zotto, lands on his third team this year. He leaves the Anaheim Ducks to head to the St. Louis Blues. Then ex-Pack forward Oscar Lindberg was involved in the Ryan Stone deal and heads to the Canadian capital city to play for the Senators from Las Vegas. Jonathan Dalen, son of former New Haven Nighthawk and Ranger, Ulf Dahlen goes from Vancouver to San Jose. Ex-Pack Brian Gibbons (Salisbury Prep) is moved from Anaheim to Ottawa for Patrick Sieloff. In non-trade news, recently ex-Pack goalie, Marek Mazanec, was assigned to Utica by Vancouver. Ex-Wolf Pack, Dale Weise, has been recalled from Laval by Montreal. Weise had two goals in three games with the Rocket. Ex-Sound Tiger defenseman Matt Donovan was recalled by Nashville from Milwaukee. Rangers announced Monday that they have signed two of their potential Group 6 free agents centers, Boo Nieves and Steven Fogarty, to one-year contracts. Nieves' deal was for one-year. It's a one-way NHL deal paying $700K. Fogarty’s deal was a one-year two-way deal paying $700K in the NHL and $150K at the AHL. Fogarty celebrated with a hat-trick in a 4-1 win over the Providence Bruins on Sunday. Two of the goals were shorthanded. That gives Hartford three in a two-game span and Fogarty was involved in all of them. It was the first Wolf Pack hat trick in a little over two years. The last came from Adam Tambellini against Springfield on February 10, 2017, at the Mass Mutual Center. It's also just the fifth Wolf Pack hat trick in the last seven years. “I wasn’t sure how this was going to work. This is my first. I was going to be a free agent,“ Fogarty remarked. “It's obvious. It's exciting. When I got the call and the process started. They called a few weeks ago and things just progressed pretty nicely.” Did you want to test free agency? “To be honest, I was not sure how that process works out. I think I have a good year personally, made strides in my game and my goal is to get to the NHL. I really do like this organization who drafted me. I like coaches and the staff, so my heart has always been here,” said the Edina, MN native born in Chambersburg, PA. The Wolf Pack are still in the playoff hunt with a very steep hill to get there. They are nine points behind Providence and saw some personnel shift in the Atlantic Division. Springfield got Jean-Sebastien Dea, a frequent Pack killer, from the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins and right-handed defenseman Chris Wideman heading to PA. Charlotte, already an exceptionally strong offensive team, added Tomas Jurco from Springfield. They are an early Calder Cup Final favorite. Matt Finn, just released by the Wolf Pack and sent back to Florida (ECHL), has signed another PTO with Ontario (AHL) and Alex Krushelnyski is traded from Lehigh Valley to Binghamton for his second AHL tour in southwestern New York state. He started the season with Reading (ECHL). Philippe Hudon, a Hudson, Quebec native who played three years at Choate Prep of Wallingford, then three years of Canadian major junior with the Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL) and then five years of Canadian college hockey at Concordia University (OUAA) in Montreal signed an ECHL tryout deal with the Florida Everblades (ECHL). Nick Dilsi, a former Hartford Jr. Wolf Pack, goes from IFK Stromsund (Sweden Division-2) to HC Tabor (Czech Republic-Division-2). William Rinaldi (Kent Prep) is playing with Wellington (OJHL) commits to R.I.T. (AHA) for next year. The first of the European and Asian hockey titles have been decided. The Scottish National title was won by the Murrayfield Racers, the Italian title was won by SV Ritten/Renon their fourth straight title and fifth in six years. Then in India, the Indo-Tibet Border Police team won their third straight title over the Ladakh Scouts 6-5. The Ice Hockey Challenge Cup of Asia begins on Friday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with seven teams competing. The countries involved are defending champion and host Malaysia, Indonesia, Macau, Mongolia, Oman Philippines, and Singapore. In the Republic of Ireland, the Irish Times reports a deal has been struck to open the first ice rink converting an old building owned by the Institute of Technology in Dundalk. The city is located along the eastern coast near the Irish Sea just south of the Northern Ireland border. The rink would be the first and is expected to open in September. In Northern Ireland, they have the only rink, the SSE Arena that is run by AEG and houses the Belfast Giants (EIHL) and has hosted the Friendship Four college tournament the past five years. Read about it HERE. Read the full article

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CRAWFORD: (FRI) GEORGIEV RETURNS TO HARTFORD LEADS TEAM TO WIN

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BY: Bob Crawford, Hartford Wolf Pack Belleville, Ontario, October 19, 2018 – Alexandar Georgiev made 25 saves for the Hartford Wolf Pack Friday night, in his first AHL action of the season, helping the Wolf Pack to a 4-3 win over the Belleville Senators at CAA Arena. The win was a major bounce-back for the Wolf Pack from their previous effort, a 5-2 loss at Laval on Wednesday night.  Hartford outshot the Senators 23-8 in the first period and, after surrendering an early power-play goal, scored three straight to take control of the game. “We liked our start,” Wolf Pack head coach Keith McCambridge said.  “I thought our leadership group did an excellent job, starting with practice, having more of battle drills in it.  I thought they did a good job responding to that, did a good job in the (locker) room, and I thought, to a man, we played the game the right way.” The Senators got the jump on the game’s first power play, with Rob O’Gara in the box for cross-checking.  Jack Rodewald scored his second goal of the season at 5:16, as Drake Batherson passed the puck from the left circle, with both Balcers and Rodewald headed to the front of the net, and Rodewald easily deflected it past Georgiev. The Wolf Pack equalized only 1:42 later, at 6:58, when Lias Andersson buried his own rebound.  After Michael Lindqvist kept the puck in near the blue line, Senator netminder Filip Gustavsson (39 saves) stopped Andersson’s first try, but Andersson followed his shot and rapped the second chance off of Gustavsson and in. Belleville then got into penalty trouble, and the Wolf Pack took the lead on a two-man advantage at 16:14.  Bobby Butler got the goal on a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle, off a pass from Chris Bigras. Despite the lopsided shot total in the first period, Georgiev had to rise to the occasion several times, including breakaway stops on Batherson and Balcers. “There were a couple of Grade A’s that we gave up,” said McCambridge of the chances Georgiev faced.  “We didn’t give up a lot of shots, but the ones in the first, especially, that we gave up were high-quality chances, and he made some nice saves for us.” Ty Ronning scored an unassisted goal at 6:08 of the second, to make it a two-goal Wolf Pack lead.  Ronning grabbed the puck on the left-wing side in the Belleville end, after Chase Balisy had knocked it away from him, and cut toward the net.  Ronning made a move to the forehand and put a shot past Gustavsson low on the glove side. The Senators got that goal back 53 seconds thereafter, at 7:01, with Francois Beauchemin cutting the margin to 3-2.  After former Wolf Pack Adam Tambellini had the puck knocked away near the left boards, it came to Beauchemin in the circle, and he unloaded a quick, hard shot that got by Georgiev’s catching glove. Then, at the ten-minute mark, Hartford’s Cole Schneider made it 4-2 with his second goal of the season.  Peter Holland handed the puck ahead to Schneider, who had beaten his check, and Gustavsson got a piece of Schneider’s close-in shot, but could not keep it out of the net. That turned out to be the game-winner, as Eric Burgdoerfer brought Bellville back to within one with 5:07 remaining in the third.  The Senator captain drove a shot from just below the right point through a Balisy screen and past Georgiev. The Wolf Pack wrap up their only Canadian road trip of the season Saturday in Toronto, with a 4:00 PM game vs. the defending Calder Cup-champion Toronto Marlies.  All of the action of that battle can be heard live on News Radio 1410 WPOP, and online at newsradio1410.com and iHeartRadio.  Video streaming is available at theahl.com/AHLTV. The next Wolf Pack home game is this Wednesday, October 24, a 7:00 PM contest vs. the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.  That is another opportunity to take advantage of the Wolf Pack’s “Click It or Ticket Family Value Pack”, which includes two tickets, two sodas, and two hot dogs, all for just $40. Tickets for all 2018-19 Wolf Pack home games are on sale now at the Agera Energy Ticket Office at the XL Center, online at hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499.  Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $13 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase. Season ticket information for the Wolf Pack’s 2018-19 AHL season can be found online at hartfordwolfpack.com.  To speak with a representative about all of the Wolf Pack’s many attractive ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451, or click here to request more info. Hartford Wolf Pack 4 at Belleville Senators 3 Friday, October 19, 2018 - CAA Arena Hartford 2 2 0 - 4 Belleville 1 1 1 - 3 1st Period-1, Belleville, Rodewald 2 (Batherson, Chlapik), 5:16 (PP). 2, Hartford, Andersson 3 (St. Amant, Lindqvist), 6:58. 3, Hartford, Butler 2 (Holland, Bigras), 16:14 (PP). Penalties-O'Gara Hfd (cross-checking), 4:04; LaBate Bel (slashing), 7:13; Lindqvist Hfd (hooking), 12:44; O'Donnell Hfd (fighting), 15:46; served by Batherson Bel (bench minor - too many men), 15:46; LaBate Bel (slashing, fighting), 15:46; Englund Bel (slashing), 17:02. 2nd Period-4, Hartford, Ronning 1   6:08. 5, Belleville, Beauchemin 2 (Tambellini), 7:01. 6, Hartford, Schneider 2 (Holland, Meskanen), 10:00. Penalties-Englund Bel (interference), 2:23; Georgiev Hfd (delay of game), 7:08; Meskanen Hfd (slashing), 19:59. 3rd Period-7, Belleville, Burgdoerfer 1 (Murray, Rodewald), 14:53. Penalties-Crawley Hfd (tripping), 7:47; Chlapik Bel (high-sticking), 19:45. Shots on Goal-Hartford 23-13-7-43. Belleville 8-10-10-28. Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 1 / 6; Belleville 1 / 5. Goalies-Hartford, Georgiev 1-0-0 (28 shots-25 saves). Belleville, Gustavsson 1-1-0 (43 shots-39 saves). A-2,264 Referees-Alex Ross (7), Furman South (44). Linesmen-Dustin McCrank (81), Brady Fagan (28). Read the full article

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CRAWFORD: (SAT) GEORGIEV RETURNS TO HARTFORD LEADS TEAM TO WIN

      VERSUS      

BY: Bob Crawford, Hartford Wolf Pack Belleville, Ontario, October 19, 2018 – Alexandar Georgiev made 25 saves for the Hartford Wolf Pack Friday night, in his first AHL action of the season, helping the Wolf Pack to a 4-3 win over the Belleville Senators at CAA Arena. The win was a major bounce-back for the Wolf Pack from their previous effort, a 5-2 loss at Laval on Wednesday night.  Hartford outshot the Senators 23-8 in the first period and, after surrendering an early power-play goal, scored three straight to take control of the game. “We liked our start,” Wolf Pack head coach Keith McCambridge said.  “I thought our leadership group did an excellent job, starting with practice, having more of battle drills in it.  I thought they did a good job responding to that, did a good job in the (locker) room, and I thought, to a man, we played the game the right way.” The Senators got the jump on the game’s first power play, with Rob O’Gara in the box for cross-checking.  Jack Rodewald scored his second goal of the season at 5:16, as Drake Batherson passed the puck from the left circle, with both Balcers and Rodewald headed to the front of the net, and Rodewald easily deflected it past Georgiev. The Wolf Pack equalized only 1:42 later, at 6:58, when Lias Andersson buried his own rebound.  After Michael Lindqvist kept the puck in near the blue line, Senator netminder Filip Gustavsson (39 saves) stopped Andersson’s first try, but Andersson followed his shot and rapped the second chance off of Gustavsson and in. Belleville then got into penalty trouble, and the Wolf Pack took the lead on a two-man advantage at 16:14.  Bobby Butler got the goal on a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle, off a pass from Chris Bigras. Despite the lopsided shot total in the first period, Georgiev had to rise to the occasion several times, including breakaway stops on Batherson and Balcers. “There were a couple of Grade A’s that we gave up,” said McCambridge of the chances Georgiev faced.  “We didn’t give up a lot of shots, but the ones in the first, especially, that we gave up were high-quality chances, and he made some nice saves for us.” Ty Ronning scored an unassisted goal at 6:08 of the second, to make it a two-goal Wolf Pack lead.  Ronning grabbed the puck on the left-wing side in the Belleville end, after Chase Balisy had knocked it away from him, and cut toward the net.  Ronning made a move to the forehand and put a shot past Gustavsson low on the glove side. The Senators got that goal back 53 seconds thereafter, at 7:01, with Francois Beauchemin cutting the margin to 3-2.  After former Wolf Pack Adam Tambellini had the puck knocked away near the left boards, it came to Beauchemin in the circle, and he unloaded a quick, hard shot that got by Georgiev’s catching glove. Then, at the ten-minute mark, Hartford’s Cole Schneider made it 4-2 with his second goal of the season.  Peter Holland handed the puck ahead to Schneider, who had beaten his check, and Gustavsson got a piece of Schneider’s close-in shot, but could not keep it out of the net. That turned out to be the game-winner, as Eric Burgdoerfer brought Bellville back to within one with 5:07 remaining in the third.  The Senator captain drove a shot from just below the right point through a Balisy screen and past Georgiev. The Wolf Pack wrap up their only Canadian road trip of the season Saturday in Toronto, with a 4:00 PM game vs. the defending Calder Cup-champion Toronto Marlies.  All of the action of that battle can be heard live on News Radio 1410 WPOP, and online at newsradio1410.com and iHeartRadio.  Video streaming is available at theahl.com/AHLTV. The next Wolf Pack home game is this Wednesday, October 24, a 7:00 PM contest vs. the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.  That is another opportunity to take advantage of the Wolf Pack’s “Click It or Ticket Family Value Pack”, which includes two tickets, two sodas, and two hot dogs, all for just $40. Tickets for all 2018-19 Wolf Pack home games are on sale now at the Agera Energy Ticket Office at the XL Center, online at hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499.  Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $13 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase. Season ticket information for the Wolf Pack’s 2018-19 AHL season can be found online at hartfordwolfpack.com.  To speak with a representative about all of the Wolf Pack’s many attractive ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451, or click here to request more info. Hartford Wolf Pack 4 at Belleville Senators 3 Friday, October 19, 2018 - CAA Arena Hartford 2 2 0 - 4 Belleville 1 1 1 - 3 1st Period-1, Belleville, Rodewald 2 (Batherson, Chlapik), 5:16 (PP). 2, Hartford, Andersson 3 (St. Amant, Lindqvist), 6:58. 3, Hartford, Butler 2 (Holland, Bigras), 16:14 (PP). Penalties-O'Gara Hfd (cross-checking), 4:04; LaBate Bel (slashing), 7:13; Lindqvist Hfd (hooking), 12:44; O'Donnell Hfd (fighting), 15:46; served by Batherson Bel (bench minor - too many men), 15:46; LaBate Bel (slashing, fighting), 15:46; Englund Bel (slashing), 17:02. 2nd Period-4, Hartford, Ronning 1   6:08. 5, Belleville, Beauchemin 2 (Tambellini), 7:01. 6, Hartford, Schneider 2 (Holland, Meskanen), 10:00. Penalties-Englund Bel (interference), 2:23; Georgiev Hfd (delay of game), 7:08; Meskanen Hfd (slashing), 19:59. 3rd Period-7, Belleville, Burgdoerfer 1 (Murray, Rodewald), 14:53. Penalties-Crawley Hfd (tripping), 7:47; Chlapik Bel (high-sticking), 19:45. Shots on Goal-Hartford 23-13-7-43. Belleville 8-10-10-28. Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 1 / 6; Belleville 1 / 5. Goalies-Hartford, Georgiev 1-0-0 (28 shots-25 saves). Belleville, Gustavsson 1-1-0 (43 shots-39 saves). A-2,264 Referees-Alex Ross (7), Furman South (44). Linesmen-Dustin McCrank (81), Brady Fagan (28). Read the full article