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HARTFORD WOLF PACK VS SPRINGFIELD THUNDERBIRDS CALDER CUP PLAYOFF PREVIEW

By: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The Hartford Wolf Pack has a familiar opponent for the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs. Behind three points from Chris Wagner and a four-goal third period, the Providence Bruins defeated the Springfield Thunderbirds 7-4 on Sunday afternoon. The loss locked the Thunderbirds into the fourth spot in the Atlantic division and will face the fifth-place Wolf Pack, who make their first appearance in the postseason in eight years. The Pack will now need to contend with goalie Joel Hofer who has had a fantastic season against the Wolf Pack. The series begins Wednesday in Springfield. On Friday, the two teams travel down I-91 to the XL Center for Game Two in Hartford. If Game Three becomes necessary, it will be played Saturday in Springfield. All the games have their opening faceoff at 7:05 PM. This is the second time in Hartford franchise history that the two cities have battled in a Best-of-Three series. The last time Springfield was known as the Falcons, they knocked them out in two straight in 2002. However, this is the first time the two meet with Springfield as the Thunderbirds. Hartford has the series edge over the Falcons (2-1)  and in games (6-4). This is the fourth time the two cities have met in the playoffs in 26 years. The last time the Wolf Pack was in the playoffs was May 15th, 2014. The series was against the Hershey Bears, and the Pack won Game 6, 6-3. That would be their last series win and the previous playoff series in eight years for the New York Rangers' top minor league team. In that series, the two home dates were played in Worcester because of XL Center conflicts with the circus that spring. They were then swept by the eventual Calder Cup champs Manchester Monarchs in the Conference Finals in their last season in Manchester before the Pacific Division was created. The Pack won another best-of-three when they eliminated Bridgeport beating the Sound Tigers behind two consecutive shutouts by Cam Talbot. After 14 straight seasons of making the postseason, the Wolf Pack missed the playoffs for the first time in 2009-2010. In four of the last five years with Ken Gernander behind the bench, the Wolf Pack missed the postseason, and overall it's been 13 of the previous 14 years without playoffs in HartCity. The Wolf Pack arrive in the playoffs after putting on a tremendous push over the final seven weeks of the regular season before clinching the last spot in the Atlantic Division. However, before the celebration of the achievement could even be felt, the Rangers recalled four essential cogs to the Wolf Pack machinery as forwards Jonny Brodzinski and Jake Leschyshyn, defenseman Libor Hájek, and goaltender Louie Domingue were recalled to be part of their Stanley Cup Black Aces. Leschyshyn and Hájek were healthy scratches for the games on Friday and Saturday. All four are important, but Brodzinski, the March AHL Player of the Month, is essential. Brodzinski's play, especially in third periods, willed his team out of its win-one, lose-one play. However, their play was excellent at the end of the season, winning their final eight games, the longest winning streak in two years. The streak allowed the Wolf Pack to surpass the Bridgeport Islanders and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and plant the Wolf Pack flag as the sixth entrant in their division. Brodzinski's recalls leave him numerically short of league-wide MVP consideration because of games played, but it's clear he was the MVP in Hartford. Recalling these critical components of the roster will not make it any easier on Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch. Brodzinski and Domingue have another year left on their contacts and will return. Leschyshyn has two more years on a one-way NHL money, paying him $775K yearly. Hájek has an expiring deal at the end of the season. The Rangers have decided that having these four in the stands is more important than having them play the most meaningful games in Hartford in eight years. Similarly, 31 years ago, the LA Kings airlifted seven prospects, seven weeks from the end of the season, to play for the Phoenix Roadrunners (IHL). It effectively killed off any New Haven Nighthawks chances of making the Calder Cup playoffs. With both of their parent teams out of the NHL playoffs, in Laval, the Montreal Canadiens received back Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, who scored in the two minutes in his first game back,  as well as Cayden Primeau, and Sean Farrell, making The Rocket a team to be wary of as the Calder Cup playoffs start. The Tucson Roadrunners received five players from the Arizona Coyotes. The old cliche about "next man up" and "creating opportunities for other players" comes to the forefront for the Wolf Pack. Someone must step up for those missing points with these three skaters gone. Dylan Garand will have big shoes to fill in Domingue's absence. He will need to be at his best between the pipes. The reconfigured lineup was on full display Friday with what is likely to be the lineup for the Springfield series. Will Cullye, a significant beneficiary of playing with Brodzinski this year, will likely skate with Ryan Carpenter, almost a point-a-game player, and Will Lockwood, who provided offense down the stretch. Tim Gettinger will likely stay on the second line on the left wing. He had no goals and six points last month until Friday night. Tanner Fritz and Lauri Pajuniemi will likely be pushed up to form a new troika. Anton Blidh will likely stay as the solid third-line left-wing as a net-front nemesis, along with the reliable Karl Henriksson and likely Bobby Trivigno, who added so much spark when he played alongside Henriksson. The fourth line should feature Matt Rempe, at the center, sidelined as a healthy scratch over the last eight games. His 6'8 presence plus faceoff skills will be critical in the short opening round series. Turner Elson will patrol the left side and can also take draws. He might be moved up to the first line. Anything is possible. One of the younger kids, Adam Sýkora or Bryce McConnell-Barker, may get some time on the wing. Adam Edström made a strong case for himself with his NHL move and shot on his first goal. Blake Hillman, like Rempe, saw little game activity by the end of the regular season. He could slide in for Hájek, The other pairings of Jones-Emberson and Clendening-Kalynuk will remain untouched. In net, it's Garand's from here on in. He has performed very well this season. How the defense complies? The backup in the net will be Talyn Boyko. POSSIBLE LINES: Cullye-Lockwood-Carpenter Gettinger-Fritz-Pajuniemi Henriksson-Trivigno-Blidh Elson-Rempe- Adam Sýkora or Adam Adam Edström (?) Jones-Emberson Blake Hillman-Scanlin Clendening-Kalynuk Garand Boyko SCRATCHES: Brett Berard #27 (healthy) Louie Roehl #4 (healthy) Bryce McConnell-Barker #8 (healthy) Easton Brodzinski #23 (healthy) Matt Robertson (upper body, week-to-week) Patrick Khordorenko (season-ending shoulder surgery) C.J. Smith (hip area surgery done for the season) NOTES: Media reports from Sweden speculate that Pajuniemi and his reps are conversing with several Swedish Hockey League clubs for the Finnish winger's services next year. Pajuniemi has an expiring two-year ELC deal at $925K-NHL/$70K-AHL. He has had no recalls in two years at all. One player not coming next year is junior prospect Jayden Grubbe. He's the team captain of the Red Deer Rebels (WHL). He had 67 points (18 goals,49 assists, and 71 PIM). Grubbe was drafted in the third round (65th overall) in 2021 and will be passed on. According to Eliotte Friedmann of TSN Sportsnet, the Rangers told all the other NHL organizations they would not offer him a contract and had a June 1st deadline to do so. So, as per the CBA, they will retain his rights till August 15th, then he can work out a free-agent deal with the other 31 NHL teams. The Rebels finished first in the WHL Central Division 43-19-3-3  and are currently in the WHL playoffs awaiting their second-round opponent after knocking off the Calgary Hitmen in five games in the first round. Grubbe had one goal and 10 points in the series. In four WHL seasons, the 20-year-old had 95 assists, 134 points in 194 games, and along with 195 PIM. He was a seventh overall pick in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft and was team captain for three of those four years. He represented Canada on the U-17 World Championship team with another Rangers prospect, Brennan Othman, with three points in five games. ROY SOMMER San Diego Gulls head coach Roy Sommer, the all-time winningest coach in AHL history (828 wins) and who coached in the most games (1,814) in a career spanning over 25 years, announced his retirement before the team's last game of the season. Sommer won a Calder Cup with the original Maine Mariners in 1984. After that, he played for two years in the AHL. During his playing days, two teammates were current Springfield GM, former Hartford Whaler player, and Rangers Director of Scouting, Kevin Maxwell. His other teammate, who would become the head coach that year after injuries, ended his career was AHL HOF John Paddock, who is now coaching Regina (WHL). Sommer won the Louis A. Pieri AHL Coach of the Year in 2016-17 in San Jose. One of the best Sommer stories is that he was one of the first true-born and bred California players in the mid-1970s. It was a generation before seeing California as a player's hometown was common. He went to play junior hockey in the rough-and-tumble WHL in Western Canada. Sommer started his hockey journey in 1978-79 as a member of the Pacific Hockey League (PHL) with the Spokane (WA) Flyers playing against the legendary Bill "Goldie" Goldthorpe. At next year's AHL All-Star game at the Tech CU Center in San Jose, he would be a fitting addition to be inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame. For the Oakland, CA native, it would be a home run. They should also induct Colorado resident and Wolf Pack all-time great Derek Armstrong. Sommer teamed up with ex-Ranger, New England/Hartford Whalers Nick Fotiu as a coaching tandem with the Kentucky Thoroughblades for three years. BERT MALLOY Cheshire native and former Hartford Jr. Wolf Pack player, now a dual citizen, Robert "Bert" Malloy, began playing for the Australian National Team in the IIHF Division II Group A tournament in Madrid, Spain, for what is likely his last season of pro hockey. The Mighty Roo (their national team's name) lost their opening game to Croatia 6-4. After falling behind 4-0, they made it close twice, first 4-3 and then 5-4, but couldn't overcome the early, large deficit. Former AHL'er Borna Rendulic scored twice for Croatia. Malloy was a minus-one with two shots on goal for the game. HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

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Montreal Canadiens: #regram @caydenprimeau...

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HARTFORD WOLF PACK REGULAR SEASON FINALE PREVIEW

By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack open the final weekend of regular season play tonight at the XL Center as they welcome the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to town for their home finale. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m., and coverage is available on both AHLTV and Mixlr. Tale of The Tape: This is the sixth and final meeting between the Wolf Pack and the Penguins during the 2022-23 season. It is also the third and final meeting between the clubs at the XL Center and marks the second year in a row in which the Wolf Pack wrap up their home schedule against the Pens. The Wolf Pack have won each of the last two games against the Penguins, most recently taking a 5-1 decision on March 26th in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Zac Jones opened the scoring just 16 seconds into the contest, scoring Hartford’s fastest goal to start a game on the road this season. Will Lockwood potted the eventual game-winner on a two-on-one with Ryan Carpenter at 6:25 of the period, while Jonny Brodzinski blasted home a one-timer on the powerplay at 13:33 to allow the Wolf Pack to pull away. Anton Blidh tacked on an insurance marker 10:27 into the second period, while Turner Elson polished off the scoring with an empty net goal at 19:24 of the third. Jonathan Gruden scored the only goal for the Penguins, coming 10:31 into the third period on the powerplay. The Wolf Pack have points in all five games against the Penguins this season and six consecutive meetings dating back to the 2021-22 campaign. Hartford is 3-0-1-1 head-to-head this season, while the Penguins have a record of 2-3-0-0. The sides split the previous two meetings at the XL Center, with the Penguins taking a 4-3 shootout decision on October 22nd and the Wolf Pack an 8-2 decision on February 4th. Wolf Pack Outlook: The Wolf Pack won their seventh straight game on Saturday night, clinching a playoff berth in a 5-3 triumph over the Providence Bruins in Rhode Island. Elson opened the scoring 2:42 in, taking a pass from Jones at the backdoor and burying it. The Bruins would take a 2-1 at 10:54 after goals from Josiah Didier and Luke Toporowski, but Elson would jam home his second of the night at 16:46 to even the affair 2-2. Carpenter put Hartford back in the lead at 6:03 of the second period, firing home a rebound for his 21st goal of the season. Libor Hájek tacked on the insurance, and eventual game-winner, at 2:21 of the third, blasting home a shot from the left-wing circle. After Didier’s second goal of the night, Tanner Fritz hit the empty net at 19:34 to cement the victory and snap Hartford’s playoff drought of seven seasons. Hartford’s current seven-game winning streak is their first since a seven-game winning streak during the 2020-21 season. The franchise’s longest winning streak is nine games. That occurred during the 2004-05 season. Brodzinski leads the Wolf Pack in points with 48 (21 g, 27 a) in 46 games. Will Cuylle, meanwhile, leads the team in goals with 25. Penguins Outlook: The Penguins suffered a 4-0 setback at the hands of the Laval Rocket on Monday night in Quebec. Rafaël Harvey-Pinard opened the scoring 2:36 into the game, scoring a powerplay goal that would stand as the eventual game-winner. Jesse Ylönen tacked on a powerplay goal of his own 7:22 into the third period, while Gabriel Bourque and Danick Martel both scored late. Cayden Primeau made 41 saves for the shutout victory. Valtteri Puustinen leads the Penguins in scoring with 56 points (23 g, 33 a) through 70 games. His 23 goals lead active Penguins in scoring. Alex Nylander, currently on recall with the parent Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL), leads the club in goals overall with 25 on the campaign. Game Information:  WATCH: AHLTV LISTEN: Mixlr Play-by-play voice of the Wolf Pack, Alex Thomas, will have ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ starting live at 6:45 p.m. on both AHLTV and Mixlr. The Wolf Pack wrap up the 2022-23 regular season tomorrow night when they visit the Springfield Thunderbirds for the final installment of the ‘I-91 Rivalry’ this season. The Wolf Pack will begin the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs next week. Hartford’s First Round opponent and game dates and times are still to be determined. For Calder Cup Playoff tickets and seeding information, please visit  hartfordwolfpack.com/tickets/playoff-information. 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 is the top player-development affiliate of the NHL's New York Rangers and plays 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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HARTFORD WOLF PACK BEAT THE TORONTO MARLIES IN OT

By: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Jake Leschyshyn had an assist and a late goal, and the overtime winner at 1:12 propelled the Hartford Wolf Pack to a hard-fought 2-1 win over the Toronto Marlies. The win was the Pack's fifth straight and in their last non-conference opponent of the season. “We're happy to get two points out of that (game). It’s a big game for us standings-wise. Coming down the stretch, every game is huge for us," Leschyshyn said. "Libor made a huge play for us on the goal. He got out in front, and I got the first shot off. It wasn’t a great shot. It's kind of opened things up and I was able to put the second one past him.” Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch was all smiles post-game. "The line he and Blidh have been on has just gotten better and better and that showed at the end of the game." The already python-like playoff squeeze was made even tighter as the Bridgeport Islanders won a controversial game on Tuesday morning in OT over the Springfield Thunderbirds, who were last year’s Calder Cup runner-up. This now sets up a monumental game Friday night between Bridgeport and Hartford. Following a Wolf Pack 2000 Calder Cup championship Celebration Night, the game will be played with ten former players in the house, including the former captain and head coach Ken Gernander. Since being sent down, Lechyshyn has found some hockey nirvana in Hartford. “It's the first time coming to a team (traded) in my pro career. The guys have been so helpful, created the chemistry we needed and now we have to not take a step back, and it’s good to get the ice time. I think I have had a good opportunity with more ice time here in all situations that I did combined its all the other places I played (this year)," remarked Leschyshyn. In the third period, after some pinball-like play, where the Pack struggled to get the puck out of the zone, the Marlies' Kyle Clifford found the puck and had an open chance on the right wing but hit the post at 1:53. Keith Petruzzelli squared on Tim Gettinger, took away the short side as a shooting option, and stopped him at 3:42. Toronto’s Graham Slagggert followed with an inadvertent high stick on Ty Emberson behind the net and went to the penalty box. After the refs checked to see if there was blood, and when there was none, he went for a two-minute minor. It opened the door for the Wolf Pack. While shorthanded, the Marlies Pontus Holmberg got around Ryan Carpenter, but netminder Louie Domingue moved right across the top of the crease to stay with him and make the save at 10:46. The Wolf Pack finally broke the scoreless duel late in the third. After solid board work and puck possession by Tanner Fritz and Lauri Pajuniemi, Emberson sent a good low shot from the right point. Leschyshyn got to the rebound first and was stopped. Anton Blidh got a second crack at the puck and put his 12th of the season past Petruzzelli with just 1:12 left in regulation. “It was similar to the goal we had in Toronto. Late in the game. A last second tying goal to force overtime. It was a good all-around effort by everybody to get that goal,” remarked Leschyshyn. The Marlies are holders of the league's fifth-best record. They demonstrated why, showing no quit. With Petruzelli pulled, the Marlies' Alex Steeves had a great chance with 32 seconds left to tie it from the right-wing side, but Domingue made a 10-bell save. “He’s one of those guys we lean on, maybe a little too much sometimes. We got rewarded with his play tonight with a win,” said Leschyshyn. With 12.2 seconds left, they managed to tie the game. Topi Niemelä registered his first goal of the season when he picked up the rebound of Steeves' shot and buried it to force extra time. “It was a tough game all night for both teams to get real good chances and find open ice. There wasn’t a lot going on for much of the game at times. We stuck with it, stayed patience and it paid off for us by persevering,” commented Leschyshyn. LINES: Cullye-Leschyshyn-Brodzinski Gettinger-Lockwood-Carpenter Fritz-Pajuniemi-Blidh Elson-Henriksson-Trivigno Jones-Emberson Hájek-Scanlin Clendening-Kalynuk Domingue Garand SCRATCHES: Matt Rempe (Healthy) Blake Hillman (Healthy) Adam Edström #34 (Healthy) Brett Berard (Healthy) Adam Sýkora  #29 (Healthy) Bryce McConnell-Barker #8 (Healthy) Matt Robertson (Upper-body, Week-To-Week - Could be ready for the playoffs) Patrick Khordorenko (Season-ending shoulder surgery). C.J. Smith (Hip surgery, Done for the season) NOTES: The Marlies are coached by ex-Pack captain/Sound Tiger/Springfield Falcon Greg Moore. He has been at the helm for a year and a half. Former UCONN forward Ryan Tverberg just signed his NHL ELC deal with the Maple Leafs. His Marlies ATO deal came two weeks ago. he will be forgoing his senior season at Storrs. He was a scratch for the game. The other CT connection is G Keith Petruzzelli (Quinnipiac University). His alma mater is in the Frozen Four in Tampa Bay against Michigan Thursday night; the ETA of the game is 8:30 pm on ESPN. The NHL parent Toronto Maple Leafs recalled forwards Nick Abbruzzese and Wayne Simmonds on emergency recall. Off to St. John’s, Newfoundland (ECHL) are Todd Skirvington, Matt Hellickson, and Jack Badini (Old Greenwich). Jonny, Brodzinski was the second Wolf Pack this year to win an in-season AHL award as AHL Player of the Month for March. Cayden Primeau, son ex-Whaler Keith, was recalled again from the Laval Rocket to the parent Montreal Canadiens. Springfield signed Garrett Sparks after being sent back to Orlando (ECHL) as St. Louis recalled Vadim Zherenko. So too, was defenseman Matt Kessel. Lehigh Valley gets Samuel Ersson back in goal from Philly, sitting in for Connor Hart. He was suspended from the Canadian National Team with the WJC team because of a sexual assault incident that happened years ago. The claim was settled with the Canadian WJC team and, in turn, sent Pat Nagle back to the Reading Royals (ECHL). Peter DiLiberatore, is reassigned to Wheeling Nailers (ECHL) by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Jon Gillies (Salisbury School) continues his shuttle between Columbus and Cleveland. Luke Stevens (Yale University-ECACHL) is reassigned to Kansas City (ECHL) by Coachella Valley Firebirds. CHICAGO WOLVES The Chicago Wolves sent a press release to all agents of minor league players yesterday that they will operate as an independent team next year, jettisoning Carolina after just two years. They aren't any more independent teams in the AHL. The last two were the Worcester (MA) Ice Cats in their first season under the late Roy Boe in 1993-94. The 1991 New Haven Nighthawks were the other. Worcester is no longer in the AHL. It’s now an ECHL city and long gone. The Nighthawks were comprised of Quebec Nordiques (nee Colorado Avalanche) farm hands and free agents. Dual affiliations are a thing of the past too. The Charlotte Checkers were being split by the Florida Panthers and Seattle Krakken last year while the new building in the California desert was being built. This was the first one since the ill-fated, two-year experiment called the Beast of New Haven in the late ’90s, which Carolina and Florida shared. Chicago has had four affiliations in the last seven years. They have had a tough going with every NHL affiliate. Several years ago, a St. Louis organizational source said, “We'll never go back there. We rather be in Mexico City than deal with them!” The owner of the defending Calder Cup Champion Wolves is Donald Levin; he likes winning titles and entertaining fans. He has the money to do this. This divorce comes two years earlier than was expected. It's been reported to be difficult to deal with  Tom Dundon of the Carolina Hurricanes since he brought the team from Peter Karmanos. CARON BRIERE Caron Brière, the eldest son of current Flyer GM and a former Springfield Falcon, Daniel Brière, was dismissed from his second NCAA team. Mercyhurst University (Erie, PA) (AHA) did so for his despicable actions in knocking an unoccupied wheelchair down a long flight of stairs to a bathroom area of a local Erie nightclub. The act was caught on a video surveillance camera and posted on Twitter. Brière was dismissed before even playing a game for Arizona State University (NCAA Independent). HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

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CANTLON'S CORNER: HOCKEY NEWS AND NOTES OFF SEASON Volume 10

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - After a vote by its membership, the NHLPA has approved the NHL's decision to move to a 24-team playoff format to bring to a conclusion the 2019-20 NHL season. With that announcement coming earlier this week, it capped off a seven-day period of a great deal of hockey activity. PLAYER TRANSACTIONS Some AHL players have confirmed their decision to head to Europe while several others are patiently awaiting the NHL's final decision about their season. Ex-Pack Brian Gibbons (Salisbury Prep) is said to be close to signing a deal with HC Lausanne (Switzerland-LNA) after spending a part of this past season with the Charlotte Checkers and 50 games with the Carolina Hurricanes (NHL). Gerry Fitzgerald of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms has signed with Vasterviks IK (Sweden-SHL). He joins Vile Saarijarvi, who split the year with the Tucson Roadrunners and the Grand Rapids Griffins. He heads back to Finland to play for Lukko Rauma (Finland-FEL) making 17 players in total who have moved and 13 of 31 AHL teams who have lost players. In the college ranks, Cam Wright of Stonehill College (NE-10) signs with Amals SK (Sweden Division-2). The signing makes 29 college players signing in Europe and a total of 156 college players to sign pro deals in North America and Europe combined. Jeff Kopek of Gunnery Prep (Washington, CT) commits to Utica College (UCHC). COLLEGE HOCKEY The WCHA's University of Alabama-Huntsville Chargers announced late on Friday that effective immediately the school was canceling their Division I hockey program. The program has been a Division I team for 20 years and have had an active varsity program in Division I and II, plus an ACHA club team for 31 years. It was the only program in the Southern portion of the US for years until Arizona State launched a Division I independent program four years ago. The team was coming off a horrible season, 2-26-6, the worst in the nation and in the program’s history. In fact, over the last nine years, the program has struggled to amass a record of 54-230-22 over that time span. The hockey program started in 1979 and won ACHA National Club titles in a three-peat from 1982, 1983, and in 1984. They won two Division II national titles in 1996 and 1998. From 1986-1999 the Chargers bounced between Division I (originally in the NAIA conference) and Division II, but after the NCAA eliminated Division II level hockey, they made it to the top tier again. Despite the poor on-ice performance and terrible gate receipts, averaging just 1,419 last season (47th among 60 Division I teams), they also had the second-worst capacity of attendance at a meager 21.5%. Even though the school knew the numbers issue, they said last year they were planning to build a new on-campus arena taking them from their home rink, the Von Braun Center, which is also the home of the SPHL Huntsville Havoc. The most famous graduate of UA-H was ex-Hartford Wolf Pack goalie, Cam Talbot, who's now playing for the Edmonton Oilers. The first player to make it to the NHL from their program was forward, Jared Ross. of the Philadelphia Flyers, a few years before Talbot did. Among the other notable alumni are, Jay Woodcroft, the current head coach of the Bakersfield Condors (AHL), former Bridgeport Sound Tiger goalie, Scott Munro, who is now a goalie coach at Trinity College (NESCAC), and Dennis Skapski, the father to former Wolf Pack goalie, Mackenzie Skapski. The WCHA conference was set to lose seven schools after the 2020-21 season to form the new CCHA conference. The league is now down to eight teams. The last Division I program to exit was Wayne State in 2008. As UA-H leaves, Long Island University Sharks announced they were entering D1 hockey and becoming the 61st NCAA program and would play this comings season as an Independent. Like everything else, COVID-19 has infected the expected expansion of Division I hockey over the next two years. The University of Illinois was scheduled to make an announcement in March that they were going DI and going to the Big 10 conference. The WCHA was getting closer to announcing it will become the first true Western US states Division I college hockey conference. Sadly, this may not be the only University to cut back on their D1 hockey program. There may be many other program cuts as two WCHA schools in Alaska are likely to merge at some point this summer as a cost-saving measure. Some media reports state several Division I teams, particularly at state schools, and due to expected budgetary and health concerns are dropping non-conference games involving flying across the country in close quarters. UCONN, who's was looking to make an announcement next week in releasing their complete schedule according to Hockey SID Bill Peterson is still on schedule as planned. The season including its only major travel to a Christmas tournament in Milwaukee to be hosted by the University of Wisconsin. In addition to the host U-of-W, also participating in the tourney is UCONN, Arizona State, and Clarkson University. The hope is that safety will be less of a concern as far as travel by late December and the New Year. The Huskies are scheduled to host the Ohio State Buckeyes (Big 10) and the Arizona State Sun Devils (NCAA Division I Independent) at the XL Center and open the season at home against the Sacred Heart University Pioneers (AHA) in October. PRO HOCKEY While the AHL has ended the 2019-20 season and the NHL is closer to reopening in a 24 team playoff format with details still being worked on. Among the major issues is travel both to-and-from the United States and Canada as the border remains closed by mutual consent until June 21st. There could, however, be an exception that would apply to hockey players. The National Hockey League and NHL Players’ Association do not believe Tuesday’s extension, according to published reports, will alter their plans as they continue to work toward resuming the 2019-20 season this summer. The optimism comes from the belief that the border only remains closed for “non-essential travel,” which is defined as tourism, recreation, and entertainment. It affects the NHL and the AHL who are now trying to plan the start of the 2020-21 season. The NHL has seven Canadian franchises, while the AHL has three. Healthy people may continue to cross the border for “non-discretionary” reasons – for work and employment purposes - and NHL players and team personnel would be classified into that category according to two pro hockey sources familiar with the issue. Most non-Canadian players on Canadian NHL clubs hold a work permit, which would qualify them as temporary workers and allow them to cross the border during the pandemic for a limited period of time as specified under the border closure guidelines. A similar work visa exists for Canadian players who play for US-based teams and in the mutual consent decree by each government would naturally apply to Canadians here. Players from Europe still have a serious hurdle to clear. One of the few worldwide universal restrictions in this pandemic has been flying to another country requiring a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Approximately 17 percent of current NHL players are from Europe, according to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. He disclosed in an interview on Monday that these players are currently enduring the COVID-19 pandemic in various countries in Europe scattered throughout the continent. The AHL has a significant European player population. Then there's the Canadian government's provincial pandemic guidelines which further hamper plans and adds another layer of bureaucracy to overcome. Alberta and Quebec both have canceled all inside and outside large public gatherings until September 1st. Alberta announced another set of requirements. In addition to being quarantined for 14-days, a quarantine plan must be presented to public officials for review. For the NHL it could scuttle plans to use Edmonton as one of its NHL hub cities for its Stanley Cup playoffs as currently being designed. The AHL and NHL both season was paused their seasons on March 12th. The AHL season was formally canceled on May 11th. The Wolf Pack 2020-21 schedule has only one game date set, the home opener is scheduled for October 9th and that is now not set in stone. The start of the 2020-21 season will most certaintly not begin in October. Read HERE in Thursday’s Providence Journal-Bulletin how if things were not tough enough, even the mere public mention of a facility being closed the rest of the year creates serious issues for the AHL. AHL AWARDS The American Hockey League announced Friday that Karl Taylor of the Milwaukee Admirals is the winner of the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding coach for the 2019-20 season. Under Taylor’s guidance, the Admirals finished with the best record in their 19 seasons of play in the American Hockey League in 2019-20, going 41-14-5-3 (90 points, .714) and capturing the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as regular-season champions. Milwaukee allowed a league-low 2.24 goals per game and ranked seventh in scoring (3.35) – the third-highest goals-per-game differential (+1.11) in the AHL in the last decade – and established a team record with a 13-game winning streak from November 2nd to December 1st. Milwaukee’s special teams were outstanding in 2019-20 as well. They ranked second in the league on the power play (25.2 percent) and sixth in penalty killing (85.5 percent). Taylor, who coached the Central Division team at the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic, has sent nine of his Admirals players to the National Hockey League to compete with the Nashville Predators this season. The Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award winner was selected and awarded to San Jose Barracuda, John McCarthy, on Thursday. The award recognizes an AHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of sportsmanship, determination, and dedication to hockey. The captain of the Barracuda since 2016, after 18 games with four goals, McCarthy ended a distinguished 11-year pro career suddenly in December after suffering an ischemic stroke due to a previously undetected hole in his heart. Following swift attention from the team’s medical staff and physicians at Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center, McCarthy made a complete recovery and joined the Barracuda coaching staff as an assistant on Dec. 27, allowing him to continue mentoring the San Jose Sharks’ top prospects. McCarthy, 33, played 577 games in the American Hockey League – all but 25 of them (Chicago Wolves) were with the Sharks’ affiliates in San Jose (2015-19) and in Worcester (2009-15) before he left with the team when the Pacific Division was created in 2015. He totaled 130 goals and 167 assists for 297 points in the AHL and is the Barracuda’s all-time leader in games played (275), goals (62), assists (76) and points (138). McCarthy notched four goals in 18 contests with San Jose in 2019-20. Originally drafted by the Sharks in 2006, McCarthy also had three goals and three assists in 88 career NHL games with San Jose. He was a member of the United States Olympic men’s hockey team in 2018 and co-captained Boston University to an NCAA championship in 2009. Six players were named to the American Hockey League All-Rookie Team on Tuesday. The All-Rookie team were Boston Bruins' forward prospect, Jack Studnicka (Providence), and forwards Josh Norris, and Alex Fomenton (Belleville Senators). Also given the honor were defensemen prospects, Brogan Rafferty of the Vancouver Canucks (Utica Comets), and ex-Wolf Pack Joey Keane of the Carolina Hurricanes (Charlotte) who was traded for Julien Gauthier in February, and Montreal Canadiens goalie prospect, Cayden Primeau (Laval Rocket), the son of former Hartford Whaler, Keith Primeau. The American Hockey League announced the 2019-20 AHL First, and Second All-Star Teams, as voted by AHL coaches, players, and media in each of the league’s 31 member cities. Two former Quinnipiac University Bobcats, one on the first team (Sam Anas of the Iowa Wild) and the other on the second team, (Brogan Rafferty of Utica). 2019-20 AHL First All-Star Team G – Kaapo Kahkonen, Iowa Wild (34 GP, 25-6-3, 2.07 GAA, .927 save percentage, 7 SO) D – Jake Bean, Charlotte Checkers (59 GP, 10 G,38 A 48 TP 3 PPG and 18 PPA) D – Brennan Menell, Iowa Wild (57 GP, 5 G 42A 47 TP, plus 8, 3 PPG and 23 PPA) LW – Reid Boucher, Utica Comets (53 GP, 34 G, 33 A, 67 TP, plus 8, 9 PPG and 7 GWG) C – Josh Norris, Belleville Senators (56 GP, 31 G,30 A, 61 TP, plus 9, 10 PPG and 4 GWG) RW – Sam Anas, Iowa Wild (63 GP, 20 G, 50 A, 70 TP, 7 PPG, and 35 PPA) 2019-20 AHL Second All-Star Team G – Connor Ingram, Milwaukee Admirals (33 GP, 21-5-5, 1.92 GAA, .933 save percentage, 2 SO) D – Jacob MacDonald, Colorado Eagles (56 GP, 16 G, 26 A, 42 TP, plus 7, 7 PPG and 14 PPA) D – Brogan Rafferty, Utica Comets (57 GP, 7 G, 38 A, 45 TP, plus 17, 3 PPG and 17 PPA) LW – Gerry Mayhew, Iowa Wild (49 GP, 39 G,22 A, 61 TP, plus 16, 13 PPG and 10 GWG) C – Alex Barre-Boulet, Syracuse Crunch (60 GP, 27 G, 29 A, 56 TP, plus 2, 9 PPG and 3 GWG) RW – Drake Batherson, Belleville Senators (44 GP, 16 G, 38 A 54 TP, plus 14, 3 PPG and 2 GWG) Each All-Star Team member will receive a custom-designed crystal award in recognition of his selection to the 2019-20 AHL First and Second All-Star Teams. HOCKEY NEWS Jim Rutherford, who has been the General Manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins since June of 2014, and who was also a former Whalers GM and a New Haven Nighthawk, and who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame last year, now has an award named after him. The OHL unveiled the Jim Rutherford Trophy that will go to the OHL Goaltender of the Year. The first recipient was Nico Daws of the Guelph Storm. Remember potential Whalers future star, Hnat Domenichelli? He is the GM of HC Lugano (Switzerland-LNA). His son, Leonardo, plays for the HC Lugano U-15 team. Amanda Boulier (Watertown/Westminster Prep/Yale University) signed a deal to play for another year with the NWHL Minnesota Whitecaps (her third) and was named head coach of Duluth Marshall HS (MNPUB) varsity girl’s program. She was an assistant coach last season and started her pro career with the Connecticut Whale. Among her teammates is Emma Stauber, the niece of former Wolf Pack and Nighthawk goalie, Robb Stauber. She also coaches a Minnesota high school hockey program Proctor/Hermantown. Her uncle, Dan Stauber, coaches the boy's team. Read the full article

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CHAIMOVITCH: 2019-20 AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE ALL-ROOKIE TEAM NAMED

BY: Jason Chaimovitch, American Hockey League SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League has announced the 2019-20 AHL All-Rookie Team, as voted by coaches, players and media in each of the league’s 31 member cities. 2019-20 AHL All-Rookie Team Goaltender - Cayden Primeau, Laval Rocket (33gp, 17-11-3, 2.45gaa, .908sv%, 4so) Defenseman - Joey Keane, Hartford Wolf Pack/Charlotte Checkers (58gp, 9+28=37pts., 1 PPG, 1 GWG) Defenseman - Brogan Rafferty, Utica Comets (57gp, 7+38=45pts., +17, 3 PPG) Forward - Alex Formenton, Belleville Senators (61gp, 27+26=53pts., +8, 7 PPG, 5 GWG) Forward - Josh Norris, Belleville Senators (56gp, 31+30=61pts., +9, 10 PPG, 4 GWG) Forward - Jack Studnicka, Providence Bruins (60gp, 23+26=49pts., +9, 3 PPG, 7 SHG) Each player will receive a custom-designed crystal award in recognition of his selection to the 2019-20 AHL All-Rookie Team. Previous selections to the annual AHL All-Rookie Team include Zdeno Chara (1998), Ron Hainsey (2002), Jason Spezza (2003), Cam Ward (2005), Thomas Vanek (2005), Kevin Bieksa (2005), Jimmy Howard (2006), Dan Girardi (2006), Mike Green (2006), Jaroslav Halak (2007), Troy Brouwer (2007), Ryan Callahan (2007), Bobby Ryan (2008), Brian Boyle (2008), Alex Goligoski (2008), Justin Abdelkader (2009), Alex Stalock (2010), John Carlson (2010), P.K. Subban (2010), Logan Couture (2010), Lars Eller (2010), Brendan Smith (2011), Tyler Johnson (2012), Gustav Nyquist (2012), Justin Schultz (2013), Sami Vatanen (2013), Jason Zucker (2013), Tyler Toffoli (2013), Ryan Strome (2014), Matt Murray (2015), Connor Brown (2015), Viktor Arvidsson (2015), Charles Hudon (2015), Ryan Pulock (2015), Juuse Saros (2016), Brandon Montour (2016), Austin Czarnik (2016), Frank Vatrano (2016), Mikko Rantanen (2016), Casey DeSmith (2017), Devon Toews (2017), Jake Guentzel (2017), Mark Jankowski (2017), Daniel Sprong (2018), Dylan Strome (2018), Jake Bean (2019) and Drake Batherson (2019). The 2019-20 First and Second AHL All-Star Teams will be announced on Wednesday. 2019-20 AHL All-Rookie Team Cayden Primeau, Goaltender (Laval Rocket): Turning pro in 2019-20 after two seasons at Northeastern University, Cayden Primeau appeared in 33 games for Laval and posted a record of 17-11-3 while leading all AHL rookies with a 2.45 goals-against average. Primeau, who also had a .908 save percentage and four shutouts with the Rocket, made his NHL debut with Montreal on Dec. 5 vs. Colorado and earned his first NHL victory with a 35-save effort vs. Ottawa on Dec. 11. Primeau, a 20-year-old native of Voorhees, N.J., was drafted by the Canadiens in the seventh round in 2017. Joey Keane, Defenseman (Hartford Wolf Pack/Charlotte Checkers): Joey Keane skated in 58 AHL games between Hartford and Charlotte in 2019-20, totaling nine goals and 28 assists for 37 points while earning a trip to the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic. Originally a third-round pick by the New York Rangers in the 2018 NHL Draft, Keane was acquired by the Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 18 and amassed seven points in nine games after joining the Checkers. The 20-year-old native of Chicago, Ill., played three seasons of major junior in the OHL with Barrie and London. Brogan Rafferty, Defenseman (Utica Comets): Brogan Rafferty had a standout 2019-20 season with Utica, placing third among all AHL defensemen in scoring with 45 points and first among all league rookies with 38 assists. The 24-year-old native of Naperville, Ill., also posted a plus-17 rating in 57 games and contributed 20 points on a Comets power play that ranked fourth in the AHL. Rafferty signed as a free agent with Vancouver on April 1, 2019, and appeared in two NHL games with the Canucks last season. Alex Formenton, Forward (Belleville Senators): A second-round pick by Ottawa in the 2017 NHL Draft, Alex Formenton scored 27 goals and added 26 assists for 53 points in 61 games for Belleville in his first full pro season. The 20-year-old native of Barrie, Ont., finished second among league rookies in both goals and points, helping the Senators claim the highest-scoring offense in the AHL. Formenton played his junior hockey with London in the Ontario Hockey League and won gold with Canada at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship. Josh Norris, Forward (Belleville Senators): The league leader among rookies with 31 goals and 61 points in 56 games this season, Josh Norris paced Belleville’s offense and was the only rookie in the AHL to average better than a point per game in 2019-20. The 21-year-old native of Oxford, Mich., also made his NHL debut with Ottawa on Feb. 22 and appeared in three games with the parent Senators. Norris was a first-round choice (19th overall) by San Jose in the 2017 NHL Draft and was acquired by Ottawa in a trade on Sept. 13, 2018. Jack Studnicka, Forward (Providence Bruins): Boston’s second-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, Jack Studnicka led the Atlantic Division champion Providence Bruins in goals (23), assists (26) and points (49) while skating in 60 games in 2019-20. The 21-year-old native of Tecumseh, Ont., also tied an AHL rookie record with seven shorthanded goals, and picked up an assist in his NHL debut with Boston on Nov. 26 at Montreal. Studnicka played four seasons of junior hockey with Oshawa and Niagara (OHL), totaling 233 points in 252 games. Read the full article

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GRUNDY: (FRI) PACK TRIPLE UP ROCKET

Hartford Wolf Pack 3, Laval Rocket 1 BY: Bryce Grundy, Hartford Wolf Pack Hartford, CT, February 12, 2020 – The Hartford Wolf Pack rebounded from a Wednesday-night home loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in commanding fashion Friday night, beating the Laval Rocket 3-1 at the XL Center. Goaltender Tom McCollum got his first win in a Wolf Pack uniform with a 20-save performance, in his first home-ice action in six Wolf Pack appearances. “He did well for us,” Wolf Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch said of McCollum. “His passing skills alleviate a lot of pressure. Making saves is really important, but not letting them establish a forecheck, I know our defense appreciate that.” “I felt really good tonight,” said McCollum. “I think a lot of it really boils down to a total team effort. The guys in front of me did a really good job, they were blocking a lot of shots and giving me clean lanes to see pucks. Our forwards were doing a good job to create backpressure, which helped our defense.” A struggling Laval team, which was 1-4-2-1 in its previous eight games was no match for a dominant Wolf Pack team that is now 21-2-0-2 on home ice. “The fans bring a lot of good energy,” said Wolf Pack forward Danny O’Regan. “Especially on the weekends. It’s fun to play in front of a crowd when they’re excited about it. We just have that confidence; we know we’re a good team at home. I think confidence is the key.” Hartford’s early and often attack gave a quick 2-0 lead in the first period. O’Regan put on a stellar display of stickhandling right in front of Rocket netminder Cayden Primeau for a 1-0 Wolf Pack lead at the 5:28 mark. Vitali Kravtsov and Vincent LoVerde assisted on the goal. “Danny has been very important to us throughout the year, and that was maybe his best game,” said Knoblauch. “I thought he won a lot of key faceoffs, the majority of his shifts were against their top line, which is pretty dangerous.  So not only was he providing offense, he did a lot of defensive responsibilities. I thought his game was really good.” Team leading scorer Vinni Lettieri followed with a goal of his own shortly thereafter, at 8:55. Lettieri collected his own rebound at the top of the circle, skated into open ice toward the point and sniped one through traffic. Nick Ebert and Matt Beleskey had the assists. “The first period, I don’t think we could’ve played any better. I thought we did an outstanding job,” mentioned Knoblauch. “I thought it was a pretty good effort here with everybody.” Laval was next on the board after a scoreless second period. Riley Barber buried a rebound in the slot midway through the third period to cut the deficit in half. This was not enough for Laval, however, as Tim Gettinger put away an empty-net goal in the final minute of the game, securing the two points for Hartford. The Wolf Pack are back in action Saturday night, traveling to Allentown, PA to take on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.  Faceoff is 7:05.  The Wolf Pack’s next home game is next Saturday, February 22, when they host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 7:00.  That is “Hartford Hockey Heritage Night”, as the Wolf Pack celebrates over 40 years of Hartford hockey history.  The first 2,00 fans into the game that night will receive a free 2020 Wolf Pack Sonar bobblehead, presented by Xfinity. Tickets for all 2019-20 Wolf Pack home games are on sale now at the Sunwave Gas & Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (860) 722-9425.  Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $10 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase. To speak with a Wolf Pack representative about season or group tickets, or any of the Wolf Pack’s many ticketing options, call (860) 722-9425, or click here to request more info.  To visit the Wolf Pack online, go to hartfordwolfpack.com. Laval Rocket 1 at Hartford Wolf Pack 3 Friday, February 14, 2020 - XL Center Laval       0 0 1 - 1 Hartford 2 0 1 - 3 1st Period-1, Hartford, O'Regan 10 (Kravtsov, LoVerde), 5:28. 2, Hartford, Lettieri 22 (Ebert, Beleskey), 8:55. Penalties-No Penalties 2nd Period- No Scoring.  Penalties-Newell Hfd (delay of game - faceoff violation (batting puck with hand)), 7:53; Kravtsov Hfd (tripping), 16:30; Olofsson Lav (tripping), 19:32. 3rd Period-3, Laval, Barber 13 (Varone, Olofsson), 10:14. 4, Hartford, Gettinger 12 (Fogarty), 19:45 (EN). Penalties-Lettieri Hfd (slashing), 4:42. Shots on Goal-Laval 7-7-7-21. Hartford 10-10-6-26. Power Play Opportunities-Laval 0 / 3; Hartford 0 / 1. Goalies-Laval, Primeau 12-9-3 (25 shots-23 saves). Hartford, McCollum 1-2-2 (21 shots-20 saves). A-4,089 Referees-Terry Koharski (10), Peter Schlittenhardt (12). Linesmen-Jonathan Deschamps (84), Glen Cooke (6). Read the full article

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CANTLON: WOLF PACK LOOK TO BREAK LOSING STREAK IN SPRINGFIELD

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The Hartford Wolf Pack will have three cracks at ending their losing streak this weekend. Just one will do in Springfield Friday night in their fifth consecutive road game. The hope is to start a winning streak at the XL Center on the back end of a hockey doubleheader against the Binghamton Devils at 7:30 PM. On Sunday the Pack gets on the bus to travel to Providence for a 3 PM puck drop against the Baby Bruins. “Things could be different. We went to overtime (the last two) games. However, they're still two losses. Our powerplay had some scoring chances. It helped us against Hershey, but still isn’t performing as we would like. Maybe we won some games early in the season we shouldn’t have, and now we're losing games we deserve to win,” team captain, Steven Fogarty, stated. “We're still in the games," Fogarty added. "We're not getting blown out. I thought we played really well the first two periods against Lehigh Valley, but they took it to us in the third, but we were there in overtime. "In Hershey, it was a weird game. Special teams, lots of teddy bears, (Hershey had their Teddy Bear toss). I don’t want to make excuses. We're not gonna win every game. No team has ever done that,” Fogarty said with a laugh and a wry smile. "If we stick to the small things will get back to where we were.” There will be some lineup changes for the weekend. Defenseman Sean Day was reassigned to the team's ECHL affiliates, the Maine Mariners. Yegor Rykov (pronounced Ree-kov) will make his regular season debut after missing the first two months of the season while recovering from a high ankle sprain suffered in the Traverse City prospects camp in early September. He was given full medical clearance last week and was formally reassigned Wednesday to Hartford where he has been skating for the past month. “We have an excess of defenseman now with Yegor coming back to play this weekend, and Jeff Taylor is playing great. He a very valued prospect. He was originally scheduled to be here for the opening day roster, but unfortunately, the injury pushed him back. There were discussions about (where he would go), but it was felt best that this is where he should be,” Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch said of the Russian rookie rearguard. Taylor was signed in the off-season from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins roster. He has been scratched more than he has played. He did well enough last weekend that the New York Rangers/Wolf Pack elected to keep him and to send Day back to Maine for a second time in his brief pro career. “The way (Taylor) is playing, there is no way we're going to send him back. Sean is a good defenseman. He’ll be back. He was helpful when he was here, and we want to make sure he gets his minutes (in Maine),” Knoblauch said flatly. Upfront, Tim Gettinger, who missed both of last weekend’s game with a lower-body injury, will be back, as will Lewis Zerter-Gossage (upper body). “I think five-on-five we need to generate more offense, and in those games, that’s where you need your power play to come through for you, and lately it hasn’t come through as often as we'd like. "Our last game, (in Hershey), we were terrible five-on-five, but there, our powerplay did give us an opportunity with two power play goals and that makes a huge difference and special teams are very important,” Knoblauch said in speaking of his 27th ranked power play which is operating at a flaccid 11.0%. In net, Igor Shesterkin is slated to start the game Friday with Adam Huska going Saturday against Binghamton. Knoblauch has no qualms about the play he's receiving in the 4x6 cage. “Our goaltending has been outstanding and has been very good. It looks bad right now, but that is a reflection of how we have been playing in front of them. We are defending more than we should be, that’s because we're not making the simple passes. We're trying the longer ones, which are more low percentage, and we give away possession (of the puck), so we're back more in our zone and that leads to breakdowns and scoring chances.” Fogarty thinks there could be something to their recent play relying on their two brick walls in net a little too much. “Maybe subconsciously we might be doing that a bit, but we're trying to cheat and maybe make plays we shouldn’t have. They're still making those saves for us and it certaintly is not in our game plan." The main game plan is to win in regulation and start a new winning streak. NOTES: Late note... Shesterkin could be recalled in the morning depending on the condition of Henrik Lundqvist who took ill before the Columbus game a 3-2 Rangers win. The emergency goalie was in the house, but Alexander Georgiev went between the pipes and was spectacular making 45 saves. Cayden Primeau, the son of former Hartford Whaler, Keith Primeau, made his NHL debut in Montreal and was on the short lost a 3-2 decision to Colorado. The Thunderbirds gave up 63 shots on goal in regulation at home on Wednesday night to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. They recalled defenseman Dylan MacPherson from the Greenville Swamp Rabbits (ECHL). Former Wolf Pack goalie, Chris Nell, is now on his third ECHL team in the first two months of the season. He was traded from the Adirondack Thunder to the Florida Everblades. Ex-Bridgeport Sound Tiger, Jared Gomes, leaves the Brampton Beast (ECHL) to head to EC Bad Nauheim (Germany DEL-2). Kristoff Kontos, the son of ex-New Haven Nighthawk and Ranger, Chris Kontos, signs a deal for the rest of the year with Vimmerby HC (Sweden Division-1). The World Junior Championship tourney comes up in three weeks with rosters starting to get filled in with names. Canada has one local name. Peter Diliberatore from Quinnipiac University (ECACHL). The team's goalie coach is Pack all-time great, Jason LaBarbera. Sweden has announced the names of two Rangers prospects on the initial roster. They are defenseman Nils Lundqvist, and center Karl Henriksson. Read the full article

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CANTLON'S CORNER: MUCH TO DISCUSS

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT -  The Hartford Wolf Pack went to Pennsylvania in search of a couple of wins, but despite some strong play, they returned to Insurance City with two losses which ran their current losing streak to five games. The team started off the season with a nine-game winning streak. It wasn't going to last forever. This is an expected bump in the road for a team whose fans who have suffered through a long five years where a long losing streak has been the signal that a season was about to unravel. The Pack has fallen from the top spot in the AHL during their quick start, but have since fallen into the eighth spot overall in the last two weeks. They now trail the Milwaukee Admirals, Toronto Marlies, Providence Bruins, Tucson Roadrunners, Rochester Americans, Stockton Heat, and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Pack is now third in the Atlantic Division behind both Providence and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. It is not a good development. This crew seems to possess both the design and the mental toughness differently than teams past and should be able to weather this storm. At the same time, however, some hard truths have surfaced. The Pack's two goalies, Igor Shesterkimn, and rookie Adam Huska have provided a lot of cover with their exceptional play and have allowed Hartford to jump through the escape hatch too many times for this early in the season. Their over-reliance on these two top-notch goalies that they will always bail them out often leads to taking shortcuts. The team's offense has been all over the place. They're living on the ledge in so many one-goal games. There seems to be a brief period of popping 4, 5, or 6 to the overall offensive shortage that has been lost in the wins. Now, with the inevitable injury and lineup changes, the veneer has sustained a few chips. Captain Steven Fogarty has been consistent and leading by example. He's scored late goals twice that forced overtime, but other veterans have had struggles. The team’s leading scorer, Vinni Lettieri, has been all over the map in this early part of the season. He's either shown a vintage windup cannon of a slapshot or he's not as involved in the flow of the game as the coaches would like. Finding a way to increase his consistency would be a huge help to this team. After a strong start, Phil DiGiuseppe has cooled off. Though in his case, it's not from lack of trying. It's just that his stick has gotten frosty. Matt Beleskey has had his issues too. He's had great chances, but too many are missing the net. Those three are not alone. To no one's surprise, rookie, Patrick Newell, making the move up from college and playing his first pro season has seen him go very quiet. Meanwhile, Lias Andersson continues to be an enigma. He seems to have come to Connecticut's capital city with the right temperament. He wants to use the time in Hartford wisely, but he has just contributed two chippy goals in five games, on just eleven shots on goal. He's also sporting a minus-five, which is just not good enough for the third-year pro. Add in that he is playing at center, where the Rangers have a logjam of talent. The 21-year-old has another year to go on his Entry-Level-Contract. Should the Rangers brass decide to trade him,  hopefully, they get someone back that will fit in better with the scheme of things and add production? Maybe they consider shifting Andersson to the left-wing or they find a spot for him in Europe like the Swedish Hockey League for him to get more time to develop? The team has also had its share of injuries. The Pack has lost Gabriel Fontaine for the season. They are now hurting for his leadership and his helping with line consistency. Lewis Zerter-Gossage now finds the Pack testing the outer range of their depth chart entering the third month of the season. The Pack must get more goal production, and spend more time in their opponent's end of the ice to alleviate the pressure on their goalies and defense. COACHING CHANGE IN TORONTO  On Monday morning, Ex-Wolf Pack captain, and former Sound Tiger, Greg Moore, was surprisingly named the new head coach of the Toronto Marlies. He replaces the departed Sheldon Keefe, who was promoted to the Maple Leafs last week after Mike Babcock was given his walking papers. Moore was a "guest coach" in training camp for the Marlies, and was hired away from the USHL Chicago Steel, where his team led the East Division and tied for the overall league lead with Waterloo at 15-4-1. He inherits the AHL’s second-best team, who sit atop the North Division with a record of 15-3-2. There are far worse ways to start. The hire was an out-of-the-box move by Leafs GM, Kyle Dubas, who went outside the Marlies' structure. The team's three assistants, Rob Davison, Jack Han, and AJ Mclean must be feeling left out. Moore's first game is Wednesday night in Rochester. He then returns home for a pair of weekend 4 pm games with the San Antonio Rampage, who are also coached by a former Wolf Pack, Drew Bannister. Moore will now miss the USHL outdoor game as part of the Bridgestone NHL Classic Series between Chicago and the Green Bay Gamblers scheduled for January 3rd. UP AND DOWN The Montreal Canadiens have made two recalls from Laval. They are former QU Bobcat, Matt Peca, and goaltender, Cayden Primeau, who is the son of ex-Hartford Whaler and NHL’er, Keith Primeau, and he's considered a very promising prospect. Two generations ago, another big, young goalie was recalled to Montreal. Ken Dryden came up from the Montreal Voyageurs and had a spectacular, but just nine-season career winning the Conn Smythe (playoff MVP) before winning the Calder Trophy the following season. Over those nine seasons, Dryden won five Stanley Cups. Dryden's last AHL game on March 15, 1971. It was a 9-3 stinker against Hershey. His first NHL game was against the Buffalo Sabres. The opposing goalie… his older brother Dave. It would be the only time a pair of goalie brothers faced each other in an NHL game. Ex-Pack and Sound Tiger, Joe Combs, leaves Wichita (ECHL) for EC Bad Nauheim (Germany-DEL-2). Ex-Pack Shawn O’Donnell’s five-game tryout EV Ravensburg (Germany-DEL-2) with five points has been extended for the remainder of the season. Former UCONN Husky, Evan Richardson, leaves from HC Briancon (France-FREL) to HC Amiens (France-FREL). After seven games, Ryan Horvat of Charlotte opts to sign with Nottingham (England-EIHL) for the rest of the season. USA vs. CANADA In a little over two weeks, the women’s hockey world will be spotlighted in Hartford for the first of a five-game Rivalry Series between the US and Canadian programs. It kicks off at the XL Center on Saturday, December 14. Simply put, these two are indisputably the best national women’s programs. It would make sense to turn the Olympics into a Best-of-Seven series between the two countries. That would be a winner in the ratings. They will have to settle for a Best-of-Five tournament. Their meetings in the Olympics have been among hockey’s most classic games. The second game between the North American neighbors will be on Tuesday, December 17th in Moncton, New Brunswick Canada at 7:30 PM AST at the Avenir Centre, which is home to the QMJHL's Moncton Wildcats. The other three games will be played out West. Two will be in Canada. One will be on Monday, February 3rd at 7 PM PST in Victoria at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, the home of the WHL's Victoria Royals. The second will be held in Vancouver on February 5th at the Rogers Arena, the home of the NHL's Vancouver Canucks. The series concludes in Anaheim, California at the Honda Center, the home of the NHL's Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, February 8th at 7 PM PST. The US will also be holding its camp from December 9-13 at the XL Center in preparation for the big game. The US squad has a lot of young ladies whose fathers and brothers had NHL careers. They are led by Alex Carpenter, one of the top female college hockey players who hales from Boston College. Her father, Bobby Carpenter, was a first-round pick (3rd overall) in the NHL Entry Draft. Carpenter was picked right out of high school by Washington in 1981. Her brother, Robert, is presently injured, otherwise, he likely be playing in Bridgeport for the AHL Sound Tigers. Hilary Knight is scheduled to skate. The three-time US Olympian, where she's picked up two silvers and a gold medal, played at Choate Rosemary Hall (Wallingford) and on the CT Polar Bears (Northford), the first all-girls program started in the Nutmeg state in 1985. Melissa Samoskevich of Sandy Hook, a former Quinnipiac University Lady Bobcat, is playing professionally with Brynas IF (Sweden-SDHL). Her brother, Mackie Samoskevich, is currently playing with the Chicago Steele (USHL) and is University Michigan (Big 10) commit for next year. His twin sister Madison plays prep hockey for Shattuck’s St. Mary’s in Minnesota. Other notables include; Jesse Compher, who's brother, J.T., skates with the Colorado Avalanche, Amanda Kessel, the sister of Phil Kessel, is with Arizona and Blake is with Orlando (ECHL). Hayley Scamurra, who's father Peter Scamurra played with the Washington Capitals. Two players are coming over from playing in China with KRS Vaske Rays in Shenzhen, China in Megan Bozek and Carpenter, who has played in China for the last three years. Read the full article

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CANTLON: PACK LOSE IN A SHOOTOUT TO LAVAL

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings LAVAL, QUEBEC - After a truly hard fought 65 minutes of Sunday afternoon hockey, the Hartford Wolf Pack saw Alex Belizle scoring the lone goal in the shootout to give the Laval Rocket a 2-1 win. Belizle used a delayed toe drag and then flipped a backhander past Wolf Pack netminder, Adam Huska. Ice bags would be necessary for both teams in this highly physical contest that took nearly three hours to play. The third period saw the two teams push hard to score the second goal. The Wolf Pack thought they had a game winning goal when defenseman, Mason Geersten, was in front of the net only to have his first shot stopped by Cayden Primeau. On his second chance, Geersten was knocked into Primeau by Laval’s Antoine Waked with 8:16 left. The red light was on and the Wolf Pack were celebrating, but a little prematurely as the referees and lineman consulted and waved off the goal for a crease violation. They looked at the video board showing a replay and denied Geersten the game winner and what would have been a, "Gordie Howe Hat Trick." Wolf Pack head coach, Kris Knoblauch, raced down the bench screaming at the officials Connor O’Donnell, and Carter Sandlak. He was very unhappy with their decision when asked about it in the post game. “’We thought we had scored the go-ahead goal. The arena puts the replay on the screen (video board), which they are not allowed to do (when its under review). The referees are looking at that replay, so they changed their minds. "I’m very frustrated. We worked so hard, and played so hard, to have it taken away like that,” Knoblauch said while doing his best to contain himself. When asked if a notice would be sent by the team to the league, Knoblauch replied, “The league has already commented on it, that it was the wrong play (call) very simply, they (the officials) messed up." Geersten had a jagged Zorro-like cut on his nose and was a bear on his skates as he made his presence felt all night. He was stoic about the events as he headed for post game medical treatment. “They're a quick, fast team out there. It was a pretty physical, chippy game. I really thought I had it there,” He said. The defensive duo of Geersten and Joey Keane were excellent from the start of the game and on both ends of the ice. “They were both so good out there all night. Defensively, being physical, and offensively they were solid. Geersten obviously has the reputation of being a physical defenseman. (Joey) Keane doesn’t get enough recognition for his play as a physical defenseman. He’s always giving his body laying it down out there and finishing his checks. Those two were just outstanding.” After a long stretch with the Wolf Pack tightening the defensive screws, Huska came up with a ten-bell-ringer save on Jake Evans. Huska was ready as Evans was in the right wing circle and dove forward and getting a piece of the shot with just 1:12 remaining in regulation. “I was just lucky there. I threw myself out there,” Huska said with a Cheshire cat smile. It was a skill move by the humble rookie goalie to make that stop. At the start of the second period, the Pack continued their late first period progress and tied the game just 49 seconds into the second frame. Keane was at the right point and took his defensive partner's pass and just sent it on net where it eluded Primeau, who was screened by Matt Beleskey. For Keane, it was his team leading fifth of the season. “It was a good, low shot on net, and it was made possible by the screen of Beleskey taking away Primeau’s eyes. He doesn’t get the assist, but that play made it possible,” Knoblauch said of the veteran winger. Huska was named the game’s Third Star and was able to repel several of Laval's wide open chances. Matt Peca, the one time Quinnipiac University product, is off to a slow start. He's a minus-six through five games. He had a solid goal scoring opportunity at 8:18 off a breakaway chance that Huska denied Then he made another gorgeous pad save on Ryan Poehling’s wide open chance. With 3:01 remaining, Huska stopped Michael McCarron twice, the second time coming with a screen from ex-Pack, Dale Weise. Vejdemos' backhanded attempt was denied by Huska's left pad and then he was denied again a shot from the left wing side. “In the second period, we gave up way too many quality chances. Adam was just sensational. We’ve had a lot success so far this season because of our goaltending,” commented Knoblauch. The game was physical and a chippy contest from the outset. There was plenty of hitting with skirmishes breaking out several times in the second period as both teams had played three times in the last eight days with animosity getting well-established. Geersten was in the middle of it. After hitting Laval’s Jake Evans with a clean hard hit, in the left wing corner, he turned and dropped his gloves knowing somebody was coming. Anthony Waked was outmatched against the much bigger player. On the next shift, Vinni Lettieri and Weise jostled each other and near the end of the period Danny O’Regan was hit with a double minor for high sticking. Vejdemos tried to wrestle him to the ice with 7.5 seconds left in the period. The Rocket started their game picking up were they left off in the last one with a 7-2 shot advantage over the first half of the opening period. Huska was in top form, especially on Victor Olofsson’s open blade redirect that looked like it had the top shelf. Huska made a strong lateral save using his right shoulder to make the stop. Alex Belizle followed with a quality opportunity from 20-feet-out several seconds later. “I felt pretty good today. It was the best I felt so far in the AHL. I saw him coming backdoor and I knew he was gonna pass it to him. I just waited for him to make that pass,” Huska said ever so nonchalantly of the superb play. The Rocket's next shift and next shop came with the shot hitting the back of the net. Former Quinnipiac University product, Matt Peca, came down the left wing and got a gift as Vincent LoVerde’s clearing attempt hit the metal stanchion and the puck came right to him. From 15-feet out he made the pass to Antoine Waked who found the puck through a maze of players, and then registered his first goal at 12:28. Waked was just recalled from Adirondack (ECHL) and earned a half bear hug from head coach ex-Pack, Joel Bouchard. At that point, the Pack needed a quick pick-me-up and Mason Geersten tried his best to please his teammates. First, he challenged Michael McCarron in front of the Pack bench and he wouldn’t go. He got him with a high-stick earlier and was cut that neither official called. Then his next shifty he lined up Waked for a good clean hard hit at center ice that was amazingly called a roughing penalty. The Pack killed off the chance and then got a surprising late power play chance as Laval got their man-advantage. It looked like Keane and Belizle had dropped the mitts after a collision near the Pack blue line, but the linesman stepped in but gave Belizle got the extra two for a crosscheck. That woke up the Pack offense. They went on to launch six shots on net before finally forcing Primeau, the son the ex-Whaler Keith to have to work. Phil DiGuiseppe fired two and Matt Beleskey had one. The two teams don’t meet again till Valentine’s Day. Pretty safe bet that they will not be exchanging candy or flowers. PACK LINES: Nieves-Beleskey-Di Giuseppe Gettinger-Lettieri-Fogarty O’Regan-Fontaine-Newell Jones-Meskanen-Zerter-Gossage LoVerde-Raddysh Taylor-Ebert Geersten-Keane SCRATCHES: Sean Day Ty Ronning NOTES: The Wolf Pack power outage on the power play continues as the team went 0-for-6 with their success rate dropping to an abysmal 8.8%. When asked if Geersten had had any "Gordie Howe Hat Tricks" in his career, he responded with a laugh saying, “Had a few in juniors none yet in the pro’s. Thought I had one tonight.” One of the first "Gordie Howe Hat Tricks" in Wolf Pack history came from big Steve McIntyre in Hershey circa 2004-05. Weise was in the opening lineup with McCarron and Charles Hudon. Igor Shesterkin continues to produce strong numbers in the AHL on par with what he did in the KHL. He was rewarded with being named, "The CCM/AHL Goaltender for the Month of October." In six games, Shesterkin has a 5-1-0 record, with the AHL's fifth best GAA of 1.49. He's surrendered just nine goals. The three he allowed on Wednesday were the most in any of his six games. He also sports a .942 save percentage, good for the AHL's sixth best. The Russian rookie is not classified as such because of his time in the KHL. He has the AHL's sixth highest minutes played at 363:19 behind only Cal Petersen (Ontario), Garrett Sparks (Toronto), Ville Husso (San Antonio), Casey DeSmith (Wilkes Barre/Scranton) and Chris Dreidger (Springfield). Shesterkin will start Saturday night in Belleville. Ex-Pack, Josh Wesley, was recalled from Tulsa (ECHL) from San Antonio. Cole Cassels, the son of former Hartford Whaler, Andrew Cassels, was loaned from Utah (ECHL) to Belleville, where the Wolf Pack play tomorrow night at the CAA Arena. After five games, ex-Pack, Shawn O’Donnell, has three points. He has left Allen (ECHL). The Toronto Maple Leafs continue their roster shuffle to remain cap compliant and it affects their AHL farm team, the Toronto Dreidger. Nic Petan was reassigned this morning after playing just four games with the Leafs. He had two goals and an assist against Belleville in a 7-4 win where he played on a line with former Yale Bulldog, Kenny Agostino. The team also traded former Canadiens farmhand, Ryan Johnston, to the San Diego Gulls. He was with Montreal for two years. Johnston was in Sweden last year with Mora IK, but the Leafs signed him to a one year AHL-deal in July. He has yet to play this year. Johnston played ten games with no points over two seasons with Montreal and played on the last two of the Canadiens' farm teams in St. John’s. The Flyers sent down Big Samuel Morin, and recalled three players from Lehigh Valley in German Rubtsov, Carsen Twarynski, and Philippe Myers. Tanner Jago was recalled by Texas from Idaho (ECHL). After just nine games, ex-Sound Tiger, Mike Sislo, had three assists with EHC Wolfsburg (Germany-DEL). He has requested that his contract be dissolved and he announced his retirement because of a back injury. He played 483 games in the AHL, mostly with Albany, but he has also spent time with San Antonio, Toronto, Tucson, and Bridgeport. Future Wolf Pack center, Karl Henriksson, a second round pick (59th overall) last summer by Vancouver was elevated from Frolunda HC J-20 (Super Elite) to Sodertalje SK (Sweden-Allsvenskan). Henriksson is off to a strong start. In 17 games, he has 18 assists and 23 points for Frolunda and is now playing in the second highest league in Sweden as an 18 year old. He had a very strong camp in Traverse City opening the eyes of many. More than likely, Henriksson will be on the Swedish WJC team in December when the annual Christmas time hockey tourney hits the Czech Republic in Ostrava, and Trinec. While currently unsigned don’t be surprised next spring when his Swedish season is done, he will be pulling a Wolf Pack sweater over his head. Read the full article

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CRAWFORD: WOLF PACK WEEKLY: October 21-27, 2019

BY: Bob Crawford, Hartford Wolf Pack HARTFORD, CT - The Wolf Pack (5-0-0-1, 11 pts.) continued their unbeaten-in-regulation start to the season this past week, with a pair of one-goal wins.  On Friday night at the XL Center, in the last of five straight home games to begin the year, Igor Shesterkin stopped 36 Springfield Thunderbird shots for his first North American pro shutout, in a 1-0 Wolf Pack win.  Phil DiGiuseppe’s second-period goal was the only scoring in that game, and DiGiuseppe posted his third game-winner in as many goals-scored Saturday night in Binghamton, capping a Wolf Pack comeback from a 3-1 deficit in a 4-3 overtime win over the Devils, in Hartford’s first road game of the season.  Vinni Lettieri had a goal and two assists in that game, and Joey Keane and Filip Chytil had a goal and an assist apiece. This week: The Wolf Pack face their first three-game weekend of the season this week, with two of the three games at home. The Wolf Pack host the Laval Rocket this Friday night, with faceoff at 7:15 PM, and then play a home-and-home with their in-state rivals the Bridgeport Sound Tigers Saturday and Sunday.  The Sound Tigers come to the XL Center for a 7:00 game on Saturday night, and the rematch is a 3:00 faceoff in Bridgeport on Sunday. Friday, October 25 vs. the Laval Rocket (Montreal) at the XL Center, 7:15 PM This and every Friday-night Wolf Pack home game features $1 hot dogs, and $2 draft beers and fountain sodas, through the start of the second period, presented by Nomads Adventure Quest. The Rocket, coached by former Wolf Pack and New York Rangers defenseman Joel Bouchard, is off to a 3-4-0-0 start and has won three of its last four after losses in the first three. Laval rookie goaltender Cayden Primeau, son of former Hartford Whaler Keith Primeau, is 2-1-0 in his first three pro appearances, with only five goals-against on 87 shots (1.68 GAA, 94.3% save percentage). This is the first of four meetings this year between the Wolf Pack and the Rocket, and the first of two XL Center visits for Laval.  The two teams split a two-game series last year, the Wolf Pack winning 3-1 in Hartford October 7 and dropping a 5-2 decision on the road October 17. At this and every Wolf Pack Friday or Saturday home game, fans are encouraged to come early for “Hockey Happy Hour” in the XL Center’s Coliseum Club.  From 5:15 PM until puck drop, a $5 wrist band gives fans access to the “Chill Zone” of the Coliseum Club, which features an appetizer buffet and $2 beers, presented by Minuteman Press. Tickets for this and all 2019-20 Wolf Pack home games are on sale now at the Sunwave Gas & Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499.  Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $10 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase. Broadcast – live with Bob Crawford and Mark Bailey on on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com.  Video streaming at ahllive.com. Saturday, October 26 vs. the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (Islanders) at the XL Center, 7:00 PM This is the Wolf Pack’s “Witches & Wizards night”.  There will be all kinds of Halloween fun, including trick or treating on the concourse, an intermission costume parade, and a youth backpack giveaway to the first 1,000 fans 12 or younger, courtesy of Carvel. This is the second encounter of the season between the Wolf Pack and their Connecticut rivals.  In the first, October 6 at the XL Center, the Wolf Pack pulled out a 4-3 overtime win. Bridgeport has at least a standings point in three of its first five games, but only one win on the season, having gone 1-2-1-1 thus far.  The Sound Tigers’ last action was a 3-2 shootout loss Saturday night in their home opener vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Matt Lorito leads the Bridgeport club in points and goals through the first five games, with 3-1-4. At this and every Wolf Pack Friday or Saturday home game, fans are encouraged to come early for “Hockey Happy Hour” in the XL Center’s Coliseum Club.  From 5:00 PM until puck drop, a $5 wrist band gives fans access to the “Chill Zone” of the Coliseum Club, which features an appetizer buffet and $2 beers, presented by Minuteman Press. Broadcast – live with Bob Crawford on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com.  Video streaming at ahllive.com. Sunday, October 27 at the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (Islanders) at Webster Bank Arena, 3:00 PM This is the first of six visits on the year to Bridgeport for the Wolf Pack, who were 2-2-1-0 in five games at the Webster Bank Arena last season. After seven of the Wolf Pack’s eight games of the season were at home, this contest starts a stretch of four straight and six out of eight on the road. Broadcast – live with Bob Crawford on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com.  Video streaming at ahllive.com. Wolf Pack Community Appearances: The Wolf Pack have the following appearances scheduled this week.  For further information on these, or any other Wolf Pack community initiatives, contact Wolf Pack community relations manager Frank Berrian, at (860) 541-4728: Thursday, October 24, 9:00 AM, Corpus Christi School, 581 Silas Deane Highway, Wethersfield, CT Sonar, the Wolf Pack’s lovable mascot, attends Corpus Christi’s Walk-a-thon event to help raise funds for the school. Saturday, October 26, 1:00-2:00 PM, Lessard Lanes, 136 New Britain Ave., Plainville, CT Sonar hits the lanes for Junior Achievement’s bowling event. Recent Transactions: None Pack Tracks: The Wolf Pack’s home game Saturday, November 9, when the Belleville Senators visit the XL Center for a 7:30 PM start, will feature the Wolf Pack’s annual “Teddy Bear Toss”.  Fans are invited to bring soft toys to the game and fling them on to the ice when the Wolf Pack scored their first goal.  All the toys collected will be donated to Operation ELF and Toys for Tots. On Saturday, November 16, when the Wolf Pack battle the Providence Bruins at 7:00 PM, it’s “Hockey Fights Cancer Night” at the XL Center.  The Wolf Pack will be teaming up with Hockey Fights Cancer to support those who are battling cancer, and their families.  Also, the first 2,000 fans will receive a free Wolf Pack lanyard, courtesy of CM Concessions. The Wolf Pack’s annual “Sonar’s Edu-skate” school-day game is coming up Wednesday, November 20 vs. the Syracuse Crunch, with faceoff at 11:00 AM.  Lots of educational fun will be on tap throughout the day, and for information on bringing a school group to the Edu-Skate game, contact the Wolf Pack ticket office at (860) 722-9426. Once again this season, fans can enjoy $1 hot dogs, and $2 draft beers and fountain sodas, at every Friday Wolf Pack home game, through the start of the second period, presented by Nomads Adventure Quest.  After this Friday, the Wolf Pack’s next Friday-night home outing is November 8, when they entertain the Hershey Bears in a 7:15 PM game. Each of the Wolf Pack’s Sunday and Wednesday home games will feature the Wolf Pack’s “Click It or Ticket Hat Trick Pack”.  The Hat Trick Pack includes two tickets, two sodas, and a large popcorn, all for just $40.  The next Hat Trick Pack game is the “Sonar’s Edu-skate” school-day game Wednesday, November 20 vs. the Syracuse Crunch, with faceoff at 11:00 AM. In partnership with the Hartford Chamber of Commerce, the Wolf Pack this year will be offering “Suit to Sweater Wednesdays”, to wash away the mid-week work blues.  Any fan showing a company ID at the Sunwave Gas & Power Ticket office can purchase Blue-Level tickets to Wolf Pack Wednesday home games for only $15 each (limit two tickets per ID).  The Wolf Pack’s first Wednesday home date is November 20, the 11:00 AM “Sonar’s Edu-skate” school-day game vs. the Syracuse Crunch. Wolf Pack home game tickets can be purchased at the Sunwave Gas & Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499.  Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $10 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase. To speak with a Wolf Pack representative about season or group tickets, or any of the Wolf Pack’s many ticketing options, call (860) 722-9425, or click here to request more info.  To visit the Wolf Pack online, go to hartfordwolfpack.com. TRACK THE PACK ONLINE AT HARTFORDWOLFPACK.COM Read the full article

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CANTLON'S CORNER: WOLF PACK PREPARE FOR FINAL SIX GAMES

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The sun is close to setting on the Hartford Wolf Pack's 2019-20 season. The Wolf Pack have their last midweek contest in Springfield in a building that has haunted THEM the past two seasons and presently the Thunderbirds lead the series five games to four. Both teams are looking at some serious roster makeovers in the offseason and maybe changes in coaching staffs. On Saturday, the Pack host the sliding Utica Comets who have gone 1-8-1 in their last 10, and on Sunday afternoon, the Binghamton Devils come to town at 3 pm. The Devils are tied for the worst goals against in the AHL with Ontario at 253, the Pack is third with 243. The Pack at 28-32-7-3 and 66 points and the eighth and last spot in Atlantic Division are six points behind Springfield with each having six games left and Hartford is four wins from the .500 mark. The Rangers end their regular season on Saturday against Pittsburgh and it's very unlikely Vinni Lettieri and/or John Gilmour will be assigned back to the Wolf Pack for the last four games of the season. PACK SIGNINGS & MOVEMENTS The direction for the 2019-20 edition of the Wolf Pack can be seen in the signing of Patrick Newell of St. Cloud St. (NCHC) to an ATO deal. Despite being upset by the Springfield-based American Internation College (AIC) 3-1, the biggest NCCA post-season upset since R.I.T. (Rochester Institute of Technology) knocked off Minnesota in 2012 Newell has an impressive resume. He was on three consecutive championship teams in three separate leagues. In 2013-14, he was a Clark Cup champion with the Indiana Ice (USHL), 2014-15 BCHL Fred Page Cup champion with the Penticton Vees and won an NCAA championship with St. Cloud St. in his freshmen season. At St. Cloud St., they also won three Penrose Cup NCHC conference titles. He was on the First All-Star team and a Hobey Baker nominee this season for the 23-year-old from Thousand Oaks, CA. The Wolf Pack released Greg Chase from his PTO deal. Defenseman Josh Wesley, still in the Carolina organization, was reassigned to the Maine Mariners (ECHL) for a day and then reassigned back by Carolina in what was clearly a paper transaction by the Hurricanes who still have Wesley as a part of their organization. NOTES: The first two AHL’ers to sign for Europe next year has occurred. Axel Holmstrom of the Grand Rapids Griffins returns to his native Sweden to play for HV 71 (Sweden-SHL). Linus Bystrom of Springfield will play for Karpat Oulu (Finland-FEL). Read that HERE.  However, the teams have not made an official announcement which will likely come next week when the AHL regular season concludes. Former Yale Bulldog, Joe Snively, had his first pro goal with Hershey, a game-winner against Providence. Dominic Turgeon, the nephew of former Hartford Whaler, Sylvain Turgeon, was recalled by Detroit from Grand Rapids. He joins ex-Pack Dylan McIlrath, who was recalled last week. Andrew Peeke Notre Dame (Big 10) signs with Cleveland (AHL). Laval gets two prized underclassmen, Ryan Poehling St.Cloud St. and goalie Cayden Primeau of Northeastern (HE), the son of ex-Whaler Keith Primeau. The college player signings continue on pace as Shane Bowers BU goes to Colorado (AHL). Daniel Perez Maine (HE) heads to the Greenville Swamp Rabbits (ECHL). Joe Daccord of Arizona State and an NCAA Division I independent signs with Ottawa after the Sun Devils were eliminated by Quinnipiac over the weekend. The Bobcats Brogan Rafferty signed a one-year deal two-way deal with Vancouver and could play for  Utica when the Comets take on the Pack this coming weekend. Teammate Craig Martin signed with Springfield while Northeastern’s Liam Pecararo could be in the lineup for the Thunderbirds tomorrow when they host the Pack for the last time this season. The total number of Division I players who have signed is 123. The total number of signings, including Division II, who have signed pro deals in the US and Europe is 140. Congrats to ex-Wolf Pack assistant coach JJ Daigneault, who has been in the same position with San Antonio, will head to Quebec City this weekend where he will be inducted into the QMJHL Hall-of-Fame joining a pretty distinguished class along with goalie coach, Francois Allaire, the brother of Rangers' goaltending guru, Benoit Allaire, former NHL’ers goalie, Stephane Fiset, defenseman Bob Murray, and Mario Tremblay one of the Montreal Canadiens all-time greats. The QMJHL one of Canada’s three major junior leagues is celebrating its 50th anniversary this season. In Daigneault’s first junior season, he played with the Laval Voisins with a player named Mario Lemieux, and he was on the Montreal Canadiens last Stanley Cup winner, which ironically is the last NHL team to capture Lord Stanley in 1993. The Canadian Junior A BCHL Final Four is set with the Vernon Vipers featuring Ben Sanderson, son of ex-Whaler Geoff and is coached by former New Haven Nighthawk Mark Ferner. The Victoria Grizzlies feature UCONN recruit offensive defenseman standout Carter Berger and Wenatchee (WA) Wild with Wilton native Matt Gosiewski and the Prince George Spruce Kings will play for Page Cup trophy. The BCHL Surrey Eagles hired ex-Pack, Cam Keith, as their new head coach and associate GM. Ex-Pack, Ahti Oksanen, stays in Finland, but signs with the KHL team for next year in Jokerit Helsinki. Ex-Pack, Malte Stromwall, is moving from KooKoo (Finland-FEL) to HK Sochi (Russia-KHL) next season. Former Springfield Falcon, Mike Blunden, goes from HC Bolzano (Italy-EBEL)  goes to ERC Schwenniger (Germany-DEL) next season. HK Mogo Riga won the Latvia Hockey title in six games over HK Kurbads who feature ex-Pack Juris Stals in six games. Some bad news for women's pro hockey with the sudden and unexpected folding of the CWHL (Canadian Women’s Hockey League) a week after the Calgary Inferno won what is the last Isobel Cup title in league history. The only other women’s pro hockey league now is the NWHL (National Women’s Hockey League) already announced it will expand to Toronto and Montreal. Merger talks have been off and an on between the two leagues and the players were in support of a merger, but an agreement was never reached. The 40th anniversary of the NHL-WHA merger is coming up. It radically changed the salary structure of professional hockey at that time. It ushered in a new era for the game in new markets. One of the architects of the merger was the owner of the New England Whalers and eventually the Hartford Whalers, Howard Baldwin, Sr. who was rhapsodic about the process that eventually led to the eventual union of the two leagues. Only the Edmonton Oilers remain from the original merger. The current Winnipeg Jets came from Atlanta and have a totally new logo of course. Only Quebec City has a slim, and outside chance of returning to the NHL with its brand new Videotron Centre. Read about it HERE. Read the full article

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CANTLON: (FEB 7) UCONN BEATS NORTHEASTERN IN OVERTIME 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The UCONN Huskies reversed what could have been another looming one-goal loss and instead in dramatic fashion, turned it into a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory over the 13th ranked, Northeastern Huskies 3-2. UCONN improves their record to 8-17-2 overall (3-12-2 in Hockey East) while Northeastern's record slips to 16-9-1 overall (9-6-1 in the conference). UCONN will play Merrimack on Saturday at 5 pm at the XL Center in an extremely critical Hockey East matchup for both teams. UCONN moved into a tie for the tenth spot with one less loss, and one less win than Merrimack. UConn is now seven points behind eighth spot holding Maine. “We're excited with the win and we have been playing pretty well during this homestand. We just haven’t gotten the results, and tonight we stayed with it,” UCONN head coach Mike Cavanaugh said with a clear sigh of relief. The OT game-winner came when Northeastern‘s Jordan Harris lost control of the puck as a result of pressure from Sasha Payusov from behind and just outside the crease area. The puck found the right player for UCONN, as Jachym Kondelik wasted little time feathering a perfect pass to Payusov, who corralled a rolling puck and went upstairs with it on 6’4 netminder, Cayden Primeau, ending the game at the 1:05 mark of the extra session. “We just made eye contact and he got it right to me. It was rolling a bit, I just got it on the net,” Paysusov said. After four other of Paysusov's previous bids stopped by Primeau, he observed something he was able to use. “He (is) so good down low. I wasn’t getting one there, so I tried to go upstairs and that worked better,” Payusov said with a very broad smile. For Paysusov, it was his team-leading 14th goal and first game-winner of the season. Kondelik picked up his team-leading 20th assist and completing a two-point effort for the game. Northeastern head coach Jim Madigan was red-faced and direct in how he felt regarding his team play over the final period and overtime in what was just a twelve-second press conference, likely a new post-game record. “Our puck management sucked, any questions?” Madigan said, then stood up and charged out of the room. The Huskies tied the game late after pulling starter Tomas Vomacka with 1:37 remaining. They got a double screen on Primeau with the 6'7, Kondelik, and 5'8, Brian Rigali. The shorter of the two got the deflection of Ruslan Iskhakov’s right point shot. “I just showed my stick on the play. He (Iskharov) put it right there and was able to get it,” said a smiling Rigali. “We have been working all week on this type of play, the six-on-five and it paid off,” Rigali said. Karl El-Mir's hard work resulted in a forced turnover in the Northeastern zone. It got the whole play started. “That’s the only way to beat him,” Cavanaugh said chuckling while offering his analysis of the Hockey East goaltending. “There are a lot of good goalies in this league, Joe Woll (BC), (Tyler) Wall (UMASS-Lowell), (Jake) Oettinger (BU), who’ll we'll face next week. If you don’t take their eyes away from them it's going to be awfully hard to beat (any) of them.” Cavanaugh's two goalies, Adam Huska, and Tomas Vomacka also rank right up there with the names he mentioned. Knowing the team's post-season hopes are slim, Cavanaugh was very happy with the team character they showed in the third period, even while trailing and seeing several good shots go wide that would have tied it earlier in the period. “I liked how we stuck with it, staying with it no matter what happens. Miles (Gendron, the team captain) challenged the team to score the first goal and we did. When they scored early in the third period, I liked how we stayed with our game plan and it's a good win. We're very happy with,” Cavanaugh remarked. The early part of the third period saw the Huskies come out flying and with their feet moving in the offensive zone. Isharov hit the post at 1:28 on a quick breaking two-on-one. Payusov was denied a bid on the right wing try. Isharov was then denied on a left-wing rush at 4:56. The first solid scoring chance Northeastern got they buried in the net. On a strong cycle off the left wing, Grant Josezek, before he circled the UCONN net, reversed the puck back to the left side to Eric Williams, who was wide. Williams easily fired his third goal of the year past an unsuspecting Vomacka at 2:03 to give Northeastern the lead. “That was some blown coverage when you have guys get two players chasing one, but I like our mindset. We have played good third periods in our last three games, and that wasn’t the case early in the year. We have made it a focal point of our team in the second half that we want to win third periods.” Tyler Madden, who was quiet for Northeastern in the first period, but was very noticeable in the second. He was stopped twice and was a forechecking menace throughout the second frame. One of those chances came in the last minute of play and he got into two skirmishes as well. UCONN had a stellar chance on a redirect by El-Mir, but Primeau, the son of the ex-Hartford Whaler and NHL’er, Keith Primeau, did a great job tracking the puck. UCONN’s Tomas Vomacka (31 saves) was equal to Primeau 29 saves) knocking aside a redirect by Zach Solow. Jeremy Davies of Northeastern was at the left point and chipped the puck down the wall to Solow. He was able to come out of the left wing corner uncontested on Vomacka. He deked and swept the puck past Vomacka scoring his 12th goal of the season at 6:15 of the second period. The goal tied the game at one. UCONN was able to start generating some quality offensive pressure late in the period and collected the first goal of the game. A beautiful three-way passing play started by Roman Kinal at the right point to El-Mir in the lower left wing corner. He sent it to Kondelik in front, who put it past Primeau at 15:21. The UCONN Huskies really started to apply some offensive zone pressure to get Primeau to move, but UCONN’s Marc Gatcomb and Jordan Timmons were denied. NOTES: Offensively, UCONN is ranked last with 30 goals for, but they're also first in goals against with 67. Northeastern is in fourth place in the conference. They are tied for the third-best in scoring offense and fourth best in scoring defense. Their PP is seventh while UCONN’s is tenth.  The Northeastern PK is seventh and UCONN is tenth. El-Mir has six powerplay goals are is second in Hockey East and ninth in the nation. Kondelik has 22 points, good for third among freshmen and fifth in the nation. Madden is the son of the former NHL’er, John Madden, who is now the head coach of the Cleveland Monsters (AHL). He also attended Avon Old Farms for one year. Besides Primeau, there is one more son of a former NHL’er on the team. He is the fourth-line center, Eutu Selanne, the son of NHL great Teemu Selanne, but not nearly as much of an offensive threat as his father with no points in 13 games. Former UCONN goalie, Garrett Bartus, who's currently with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits (ECHL), has signed to play this summer with the Sydney Ice Dogs (Australia-AIHL). Last summer, former UCONN Husky, Trevor Gerling, scored the overtime game-winner to help his CBR (Canberra) Brave win the Australian Goodall Cup championship. Read the full article

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CANTLON: (FRI) PACK TAKE REMATCH WITH T-BIRDS

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Dustin Tokarski’s 26 saves, a strong two-point game from Lias Andersson, and a game-winning powerplay tally by John Gilmour combined to propel the Hartford Wolf Pack to their fourth win in a row and second consecutive victory over the Springfield Thunderbirds, 3-1 before 3,798 fans on Friday night at the XL Center. “I liked our start," a relaxed Pack head coach Keith McCambridge said. "We created some good energy to start the game and both teams traded chances back and forth on special teams. We liked the type of game we played tonight." The Wolf Pack record improves to 16-15-12-2 (36 points) and the team sits in sixth place. They are now just one point behind Springfield (15-12-4-3). The Pack will entertain the third-place Lehigh Valley Phantoms Saturday at 7 pm. In the third period, the Wolf Pack penalty kill continued its strong play. Andersson nearly had a shorthanded tally on the PK while the overall team defense handled the high octane Springfield offense quite well. “We weren’t happy with how many penalties we took, but we're happy how we defended against them. Springfield has a lot of offense over there. We did video before the game so we know how good they are.” While Tokarski did not face a lot of shots, the ones he did were high-quality scoring chances and led to two big third period saves on Jonathan Ang at 12:31 and then 15 seconds later on Matt Mangene. The Pack pushed back hard on their next shift as Chris Bigras and Steven Fogarty had great chances stopped by the Thunderbirds' Samuel Montembeault. “We know we have to close out games in the third period and tonight we really did just that.” The second period was filled with a series of power plays for each squad with limited five-on-five play. The save of the game, and perhaps the season, would rank with any of the best from some made by other Wolf Pack greats including J.F. Labbe, Jason LaBarbera, Dov Grumet-Morris and Yann Danis. Tokarski's magic came when Springfield’s Blaine Byron was at the left point and ripped a low slap-shot that the Pack netminder handled. The rebound came right to Mangene who fired a bullet that Tokarski somehow found, and gloved on the ice, Mangene reacted by holding his head in his hands as he skated around the net in frustration. The entire XL Center crowd and the Wolf Pack players were blown away as well. “To be honest, I thought it was going in because you saw how the rebound popped out. He got all the wood on that one, and we all were silent for a second, then we all went nuts. It was a great save and he has shown he is capable of doing that every night,” Gilmour said. McCambridge has named Tokarski his starter for Saturday. Each team had seven shots on net with few serious quality chances, with the Pack's best coming off the stick of Dawson Leedahl. The Wolf Pack grabbed a 2-0 lead and had good control of the game in the first period. The Pack made it 1-0 when Andersson, on his second shift, was alone on the right wing side and converted a rebound from Ryan Gropp, who was in the lower left wing circle, at 7:08. “It just bounced out to me. It was really nice play by him and it felt good putting one in,” Andersson remarked. The Pack made it 2-0 on the powerplay. Ville Meskanen made a perfect diagonal pass from the left side to point to Gilmour, who will represent that Wolf Pack at the AHL All-Star game. Gilmour's blast at 10:59 was his tenth of the season and went over Montembeault's glove to the short-side and just inside the post. “He‘s a very deceiving, shifty player out there," Gilmour said of Meskanen. "He shot the puck out there flat to me, and I just wanted to get everything behind the shot and it went in I was pretty ecstatic about it.” Gilmour gave an extra fist pump after the goal horn went off. The Pack was strong in controlling play. The only issue was penalties they were taking. The last near the end of the period came back to bite them. Jason MacDonald was at the left point and took a feed from Mangene, his defensive partner. MacDonald whistled a low wrist shot with all sorts of traffic in front of Tokarski, who was thoroughly screened by Paul Thompson, just as MacDonalds shot came and it eluded him at 18:25. Just before the Thunderbird goal, the Pack almost made it 3-0 with Beleskey's shorthanded bid where he used MacDonald and Mangene as a screen. His shot hit Montemebeault in his right shoulder. WOLF PACK LINES Fontaine-Butler-Leedahl Andersson-Gropp-Lettieri Holland-Meskanen-Beleskey Fogarty-Schneider-Gettinger Gilmour-Hajak Bigras-O’ Gara Day-Lindgren SCRATCHES Shawn O’Donnell (Flu/Injury) Brandon Crawley (Healthy) Shawn St. Amant (Healthy) Terrence Wallin (Healthy) NOTES: McCambridge said he has no plans to change his lineup for Saturday’s game. The Wolf Pack's Vince Pedrie has seen his time with the New York Rangers organization come to an end. The defenseman was placed on unconditional waivers with the purpose of terminating his contract. Congratulations to Ryan Graves of the Colorado Avalanche. The ex-Pack scored his first NHL goal (ironically) at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers. The goal put the cap on a 6-1 win and came unassisted out in front of the Rangers net. The US World Junior (U-18) team beat Russia 2-1 in Vancouver to advance to the gold medal game. The Americans will play in the final for the second time in three years and take on  Finland who rolled past Switzerland 6-1 in the other semi-final. Cayden Primeau, the son of ex-Whaler Keith Primeau, made 32 saves and was a standout during the final four minutes in handing the Russians their only loss of the WJC tournament. Several AHL players have returned to the league from their various World Junior teams, among them are, Martin Necas (Charlotte/Czech Republic), Tobias Geisser (Hershey/Switzerland), plus Erik Brunnstrom, (Chicago/Sweden) and Timothy Lilejgren (Toronto/Sweden). UCONN lost the first game of their two-game tourney in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile arena to the nationally ranked #17 team, Western Michigan Broncos, 5-1. The Broncos are 10-6-1 overall and were led by Cam Lee, and Austin Rueschhoff, who each had a goal and an assist. UCONN did have freshmen center, Jachym Kondelik, back from the Czech Republic WJC team. He picked up an assist on the lone Huskies goal. Huskie goalie, Adam Huska, stopped 36 of 41 shots in the loss for the Huskies who are now 6-12-1 overall. The Huskies will play St. Lawrence at 8 pm EST on Saturday in the consolation game of the tournament. Read the full article

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CANTLON: (FRI) ROCKET CRASHES IN HARTFORD

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The Hartford Wolf Pack scored two early goals and utilized a stingy defense along with solid goaltending from Tom McCollum and upended the visiting Laval Rocket, 3-1, before 4,089 on Friday night at the XL Center. The Wolf Pack improved their record to 28-13-5-5 (66 points). Their home record elevates to 21-2-0-2 while their record when leading after two periods remains perfect at 20-0-1-2. The Pack now trails the Hershey Bears by two points who lost in overtime to the Binghamton Devils, 4-3. The Wolf Pack takes on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms Saturday at the PPL Center and seeks to improve their woeful play and record on the road. Laval's record falls to 23-22-5-2 (53 points). They are in sixth place in the North Division and play in Providence against the Bruins on Sunday. Laval made the game close forcing the Wolf Pack to sweat it out in the third period as two-thirds of the scoring came from players who have hurt the Wolf Pack in the past. Phil Varone got a pass from defenseman, Gustav Olofsson, in the left-wing circle. His shot was perfectly kicked out by McCollum’s right pad. Unfortunately for the Pack, the rebound went right to Riley Barber who had position on Mason Geersten and was easily able to pot his 13th of the season into the net. The Wolf Pack’s Tim Gettinger scored his 12th goal of the season depositing the puck into an empty net with 14.6 seconds remaining sealing the Hartford victory. Laval came out with a bit more fire in the second frame and started taking the body. McCollum played a well-structured first period but had to do some diving and acrobatics to keep the Rocket off the scoreboard. He stopped Quinnipiac graduate, Matt Peca, at 6:18. Barber was denied from off the left-wing and leading Laval’s leading scorer, Philippe Hudon, from in the right-wing circle all-alone and Olofsson who was pinching off the left-point with just about 7:50 to go in the second period. “I felt really good tonight," remarked McCollum. "I think a lot of it really boils down to a total team effort. The guys in front of me did a really good job. They were blocking a lot of shots and giving me clean lanes to see pucks. Our forwards were doing a good job to create backpressure, which helped our defense." His secondary skillset as a good puck handler made a tremendous difference in the game’s outcome for head coach Kris Knoblauch. “He did well for us. His passing skills alleviate a lot of pressure. Making saves is really important, but not letting them establish a forecheck (equally important). I know our defense appreciate that.” The Wolf Pack grabbed a quick 2-0 lead early in the first period. The breakout was made possible by Mason Geersten who won a one-on-one battle along the right-wing boards getting the shot/pass to Kravtsov and the scoring sequence began. At 5:28, Vincent Loverde came across the Laval blueline and sent a short pass to Vitali Kravtsov, who did the same for Danny O’Regan in front of the net. O'Regan was all-alone and went backhand-to-forehand, slipping the puck past Cayden Primeau, the son of former Hartford Whaler, Keith Primeau, for his tenth of the season. “Our D played awesome tonight. Those small places like that made a difference whether up along the wall or from behind the net makes a big difference,” said O’Regan. The move in front of the net on the 6’4 Primeau came about as a result of a veteran's patience with the pay off being a goal. “Instinct just took over there. I was able to pull it around him and get in the harder work was done by everyone else,” remarked O’Regan while complimenting his teammates. O’Regan has quietly gone about being a stabilizing force down the middle. “Danny has been very important to us throughout the year, and that was maybe his best game," Knoblauch. stated. "I thought he won a lot of key faceoffs. The majority of his shifts were against their top line, which is pretty dangerous. So, not only was he providing offense, but he did a lot of defensive responsibilities. I thought his game was really good.” Then at 8:55, Nick Ebert skated backward to the blue line and took a pass from Matt Beleskey, who let a hard wrist shot that was blocked and the puck went right to Vinni Lettieri. Lettieri took a shot that was blocked by Laval defenseman, Josh Brook, and the came right back to him. Lettieri skated back to the blue line and sent a low wrist-shot through a Beleskey/Brook screen. Primeau never saw Lettieri’s shot, which would become his 22nd goal, go past him, “I don’t think we could have played any better in the first period. Laval got better as the game went along. We had to defend a lot more. It was a pretty good overall effort from everybody,” Knoblauch stated. Across the ice, a deeply frustrated Laval head coach, Joel Bouchard, whose Rocket squad is 0-3-1-0 in their last four, and 2-6-2-0 in their last 11, has had some tough times with recalls because of injuries in Montreal. The Laval lineup that has undergone major changes in the past two months. Bouchard and his staff are working to keep their players as upbeat as possible. “Every goal seems to weigh on us. We just sag down. We worked hard tonight, but right now we have no chemistry. We have three-or-four guys who were in the NHL most of the year and are adjusting here. Some of our veterans are not playing well. They're good guys. We just don’t have it right now. They're a good team (Hartford) and they got out quickly on us." LINES: O’Regan-Kravtsov-Fogarty Jones-Lettieri-Gettinger Newell-Beleskey-Elmer McBride-Dmowski-Ronning Hajek-Raddysh LoVerde-Geersten Crawley-Ebert SCRATCHES: Boo Nieves - (Upper-Body, Out Indefinitely) Nieves skated in practice the last few days for the first time in more than a week. Yegor Rykov - (Upper-Body) For the fourth time in the last five games is just about ready to return to action. Ryan Gropp - (Healthy) Gabriel Fontaine - (Shoulder-Surgery, Season-ending) NOTES: Pack defenseman Joey Keane was recalled to New York because Rangers rearguard, Tony DeAngelo, suffered an upper-body injury late in the Rangers 5-4 come from behind shootout victory. Keane did not make his NHL debut in Columbus as Marc Staal played despite having had the flu. Sadly, it was the last game for Minnesota head coach, Bruce “Gabby” Boudreau. He was relieved by the Minnesota Wild early Friday. The interim head coach is former Whaler, Dean Evason. Bouchard is an ex-Pack and Sound Tiger. Rocket, Hayden Verbeek, is the nephew of former Whaler great and Detroit assistant GM, Pat Verbeek, who was scratched. The AHL in a late afternoon press release announced the successor to retiring AHL President and CEO Dave Andrews on July 1st. Scott Howson, the current VP Hockey Operations, and Player Development in Edmonton. He has a relationship from their Canadian Maritime days when Andrews was the GM and Director of Hockey Operations in Cape Breton. Howson was his assistant GM and took over the reins when Andrews succeeded Jack Butterfield in 1994-95 as AHL President and CEO. According to a hockey executive who went to apply, they were told the process was being handled by Andrews himself. The fact Andrews knows Howson, he is with a Western NHL team and the league shift and focus is now more a Central and Western US-based league with the recent announcement of Las Vegas purchasing San Antonio and moving them to Nevada, the Palm Springs, CA expansion team that will begin play by the fall of 2022. WOLF PACK FAN JERSEY OF THE NIGHT: #19 Chris Mueller, #22 Tomas Kloucek and a #22 Thomas Pock whose name is really spelled Poeck. Barrett Hayton, the son of former New Haven Nighthawk, Brian Hayton, was recalled from his conditioning stint in Tucson by the parent Arizona Coyotes. Anton Sundin, the son of ex-Pack, Ronnie Sundin, heads from Hanhals IF (Sweden Division-1) to Karlskrona HK (Sweden-SHL) for the rest of the year. UCONN defeated the University of Maine in the first of two critical weekend games 3-2 handing the Black Bears their first home loss of the season. Benjamin Freeman, the Maine native scored the game-winner at of the third period. Carter Turnbull returned to the lineup with three primary assists and Freeman three points and a goal and assists from Sasha Payusov they combined for all eight UCONN points on the night. The two team splay again tomorrow at 7:30 pm (NESN). The Walter Brown Award is awarded to the top New England Division I collegiate player the award started in 1953. Of the 23 players submitted for consideration a few CT connections. The group includes two from Sacred Heart University (AHA) in Mike Lee (Hamden/Gunnery Prep) and Pioneer teammate Jason Cotton. Cotton’s brother, David of Boston College was nominated as well making them just the third brother combo nominated since the award’s inception. Billy and Bob Cleary and former Whaler Scott Fusco and Whaler draft pick Mark Fusco were the others all four attended Harvard. Jack Drury, the son of ex-Whaler, Ted Drury, and the nephew to current Wolf Pack GM, Chris Drury, who both grew up in Trumbull. Uncle Chris won the award twice while at BU. Five other players have won it twice including Ranger and ex-Pack Mike Mottau former New England and Hartford Whaler, Tim Sheehy, and former Ranger, Jimmy Vesey. Boston College’s Spencer Knight (Darien/Avon Old Farms) and Tyce Thompson from Providence College son of ex-Pack and current Sound Tigers head coach, Brent Thompson are under consideration. The winner will be announced at the end of the regular season and before the NCAA tourney begins and the winner will be presented the award on May 3rd at a banquet in Saugus, MA. Several former Wolf Pack players besides Mottau have won it. Matt Gilroy, Dov-Grumet Morris, Bobby Butler, and Ty Conklin. Rangers who have won it include current Blueshirt Adam Fox, Mottau and Brian Leetch (Cheshire). Several others with CT connections were awarded the honor, the late New England and Hartford Whaler, John Cunniff, Scott Harlow (New Haven Nighthawks) and John Curry (Taft Prep-Watertown). Keeping up with Gernander’s wonderful piece on their son, Micah, and being a part of the tradition of Greenway H.S. hockey in Minnesota. Read it HERE. Another superb piece on Brady Tomlak, son of ex-Whaler Mike Tomlak and his play the Air Force Academy. Read that HERE. Dean Bachiero (Southington/Salisbury Prep) commits to Brown University (ECACHL) for 2021-22 and the 6’3 forward is NHL Draft eligible this year. Ex-Pack, Jarko Immonen, signs a one-year extension with JYP Jyvaskyla (Finland-FEL). Ex-Pack, Marek Hrivik, is rumored to be moved from Leksands IF (Sweden-SHL) to Malmo IF (Sweden-SHL) next season. Ex-Wolf Pack, Josh Gratton, continues his career in Canadian senior league hockey with the Hamilton Steelhawks (ACH) joining another ex-Pack, Kris Newbury. A pair of former Wolf Pack players and defense tandem Dale “Diesel” Purinton and Marvin Degon are the latest pro athletes that have entered into the CBD ag-health business like retired Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski. 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CRAWFORD: PACK LEAVE LAVAL SHORT A SECOND POINT AFTER SHOOTOUT LOSS

Laval Rocket 2, Hartford Wolf Pack 1 (SO) BY: Bob Crawford, Hartford Wolf Pack Laval, Quebec, November 1, 2019 – Adam Huska made 27 saves, and Joey Keane scored his fifth goal of the season, for the Hartford Wolf Pack Friday night at Place Bell, but the Laval Rocket prevailed in a shootout, 2-1. That gave the Rocket a sweep of a pair of games between the two teams in Laval, as the home side had defeated the Wolf Pack 4-1 at Place Bell on Wednesday night.  The Wolf Pack, however, gained at least a standings point for the tenth time in 11 games on the season (8-1-0-2). Antoine Waked scored the Laval goal, and Alex Belzile had the only goal of the shootout.  Cayden Primeau made 27 saves for the Rocket and went 3-for-3 in the shootout. “I think Huska gave us every opportunity to win this game,” Wolf Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch said.  “In the second period, we gave up way too many scoring chances, and he was really good.  In the third period, I thought our team responded very nicely.  There was a lot of adversity, a lot of things to fight through, playing in front of their fans, who are very boisterous.  The Rocket are a good hockey team, and they didn’t get rattled.  They played strong, and I thought we should have had a better fate.” The Rocket controlled much of the early action in the first period and broke through to open the scoring at the 12:27 mark.  The Wolf Pack got a bad bounce on the play, as a clearing attempt by Vincent LoVerde hit one of the stanchions holding up the glass and deflected back deep in the zone.  Matthew Peca picked up the puck and passed it into the goalmouth, and Antoine Waked knocked it underneath Huska. Waked was playing his first AHL game of the season, up from Adirondack of the ECHL. The Wolf Pack were outshot 14-7 in the second period but would get the only goal of the frame 49 seconds in.  Mason Geertsen passed from the left point across to Keane on the right point, and his wrist shot found its way past Primeau.  That increased Keane’s team-leading goal total to five on the year. That would be it for the scoring, although the Wolf Pack had an apparent goal in the third period by Geertsen disallowed after it was ruled that he interfered with Primeau. The Rocket had a power play late in regulation after Nick Ebert was called for tripping at 16:49, and the Wolf Pack were up a man for 1:52 of overtime, as a result of a tripping call against Dale Weise with 7.8 seconds left in regulation.  Neither power play could convert, though. Belzile’s goal, on a backhand shot, on the Rocket’s second shootout attempt would prove decisive, as Primeau stopped Vinni Lettieri, Patrick Newell, and Danny O’Regan. The Wolf Pack finish a stretch of four straight road games Saturday night, traveling to Belleville, Ontario to take on the Senators.  Faceoff is 7:00 PM, and all of the action can be heard live on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com.  Video streaming is available at ahllive.com. The Wolf Pack’s next home game is next Friday, November 8, when they host the Hershey Bears at the XL Center.  Faceoff is 7:15, and once again this season, all Friday-night Wolf Pack home games feature $1 hot dogs and $2 beers through the start of the second period, presented by Nomads Adventure Quest. Tickets for all 2019-20 Wolf Pack home games are on sale now at the Sunwave Gas & Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499.  Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $10 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase. To speak with a Wolf Pack representative about season or group tickets, or any of the Wolf Pack’s many ticketing options, call (860) 722-9425, or click here to request more info.  To visit the Wolf Pack on line, go to hartfordwolfpack.com. Hartford Wolf Pack 1 at Laval Rocket 2 (SO) Friday, November 1, 2019 - Place Bell Hartford 0 1 0 0 - 1 Laval     1 0 0 0 - 2 1st Period-1, Laval, Waked 1 (Peca), 12:27. Penalties-Geertsen Hfd (roughing), 14:27; Keane Hfd (unsportsmanlike conduct), 17:17; Belzile Lav (unsportsmanlike conduct, cross-checking), 17:17. 2nd Period-2, Hartford, Keane 5 (Geertsen, Nieves), 0:49. Penalties-Evans Lav (holding), 9:47; Fontaine Hfd (hooking), 12:17; served by Cox Lav (bench minor - delay of game (faceoff violation)), 14:28; Geertsen Hfd (fighting), 17:34; Waked Lav (fighting), 17:34; Belzile Lav (roughing), 19:07; O'Regan Hfd (double minor - high-sticking), 19:52; Vejdemo Lav (roughing), 19:52. 3rd Period- No Scoring.  Penalties-Ebert Hfd (tripping), 1:56; Belzile Lav (interference), 7:44; Ebert Hfd (tripping), 16:49; Weise Lav (tripping), 19:52. OT Period- No Scoring.  Penalties-No Penalties Shootout - Hartford 0 (Lettieri NG, Newell NG, O'Regan NG), Laval 1 (Hudon NG, Belzile G). Shots on Goal-Hartford 9-7-8-4-0-28. Laval 8-14-6-0-1-29. Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 0 / 6; Laval 0 / 5. Goalies-Hartford, Huska 3-0-2 (28 shots-27 saves). Laval, Primeau 4-2-0 (28 shots-27 saves). A-4,650 Referees-Conor O'Donnell (41), Carter Sandlak (6). Linesmen-Nicolas Boivin (16), Benoit Martineau (87). Read the full article