Howlings

SCORE ONE FOR THE HOME TEAM

    VERSUS   

The Hartford Wolf Pack nursed a shorthanded goal by the team’s newly chosen captain, Greg Moore, for 43 minutes, and rode the strong goaltending of Matt Zaba and another electric performance by Jordan Owens that put the team over the top beating the Bridgeport Sound Tigers 3-1 before 5,699 at the XL Center Friday night.

Moore, who was chosen by the players as team captain on Thursday, led his team out of the All-Star Break playing perhaps their finest all around game of the season.

“I was really happy with the team’s effort for the full 60 minutes,” Moore told reporters afterwards. “We really stuck to our systems, finished our checks and didn’t back down from any challenge on the ice. Usually after (All-Star Game) breaks, team ease into games, so there isn’t the intensity. But there was a lot of pace and physical-ness and definitely a good way to get us back into the rhythm of things for the rest of the season.”

The Pack controlled the game from the outset. The stat sheet will show the Pack were outshot 12-8 in the first period, but scoring chances were greatly in their favor. Zaba (25 saves) was sharp early as he made terrific stops on Bridgeport’s All-Star defenseman Andrew MacDonald and Sean Bentivoglio exactly three minutes apart stifling the Tigers two best chances of the period. However, it was the team’s newly minted Captain that got the team on the board first.

At 13:10, Mike Ouellette went to the sin bin on a tripping call. The Pack’s twelfth ranked penalty kill unit came on the ice again just five seconds after having finished off killing a Moore holding penalty. Moore won the ensuing face off and Michael Sauer picked up the loose biscuit. Sauer fed P.A. Parenteau along the right wing wall. Parenteau quickly advanced the puck up ice and saw Moore moving up left wing with speed and fed him a perfect tape-to-tape pass. Without missing a stride, Moore picked up the puck and beat Tiger defenseman Chris Lee to the outside. Moore sliced back in on net and fired a perfect backhanded shot that beat Lucas Lawson (26 saves) between his shoulder and the post. It was Moore’s second consecutive consecutive game tallying a goal after shooting blanks for eight straight.

“That’s the kind of play we want him to get back to,” Wolf Pack coach Ken Gernander said in his post game discussion with reporters. “He had a lot of those good, strong wide drives last season, and he did it again and got rewarded.”

The Tigers started the second by raising their physical play and intensity. However, referee Chris Cozzan wasn’t going to allow the tone of the game to turn ugly. He whistled the Tigers for three calls in the first 9:21 of the period. After playing a two-for-four night on the power play against Wilkes-Barre / Scranton before the break, the power play, which could have put this one away early, was largely ineffective ending the night without scoring in their six chances.

The Tigers almost tied the score at 12:50 of the second when a Ben Walter shot from behind the Pack net deflected off of defenseman Corey Potter and was smothered by Zaba. The Pack goaltender made another fantastic stop later in the period when he somehow was able to stop a wide-open Jeremy Colliton shot while lying on his back.

The third period saw the Tigers come out and try the strategy that had worked for them pretty well in the past against their Connecticut rivals. They sent two sometimes three players in to forecheck the young Pack defenseman. While it worked in the past, this time the Pack were ready as the forwards came back to support their defense and moved the puck out of the zone expediously.

With their best defensive strategy neutralized, the Pack established the pace and tempo and were in control of the game. At 12:12 the Pack took advantage of another Tiger misstep and Owens and Ouellette broke out two-on-one on the Tigers Jack Hillen. Ouellette took the shot that Lawson made a fine save to keep his team trailing by one. It was just postponing the inevitable.

Just over three minutes later, Brian Fahey made a terrific outlet pass that spun Callahan around and sprung Owens out on a two-on-one, this time with Moore. Racing up the right wing side and into the right circle and just Wotten back, Owens faked a pass to Moore and then launched a knuckler that would have made Tim Wakefield proud and beat Lawson to the left corner of the net. It was 2-0.

The Tigers ruined Zaba’s bid for his second shutout of the season shorthanded. With their own Mike Iggulden in the box for a high stick, a Pack turn over and a lost stick by Corey Potter created an odd man rush back the other way. Bentivoglio and Trevor Smith came in on Fahey. Bentivoglio fed Smith from the left side to the right face off circle where the North Vancouver, British Columbia native blasted the rubber past Zaba. It was a close as the Tigers would get at 2-1.

The Pack put the game away with just 1:12 remaining. Owens was everywhere on a forecheck and took the puck away from the Tiger defense. Ouellette then fed Michael Sauer at the right point. Sauer then moved the puck back down low into the corner to Owens. Owens drew both Hillen and Lee to him and fed the puck between them to the slot when Ouellette was waiting. Ouellette then slammed the puck from the slot past a helpless Lawson for the games final tally.

Summing up the game to reporters afterwards, Gernander said, “It’s tough after a long break like that.” The Pack coach said. “The real skilled plays that take a little more dexterity are the last to come back, so that’s why it’s important to keep things as simple as possible and rely a little more on hard work and grit.” Gernander continued, “You could probably be critical of some turnovers, but in the big picture we worked hard, kept it pretty simple and got our two points, so I’m pleased. And Zaba had a solid game and was another guy who grinded it out and got the win. It’s nice to have a share of first place, but it’s really close from top to bottom and a long way from the finish line. So we have to keep plugging, hopefully keep moving and stay the course.”

With the win the Pack joined a three way tie for first place with 53 points. However, the Pack do sit in third because Portland has a game in hand and Providence has one more win than the Pack. Worcester sits a single point back with a game in hand on their southern neighbors. Lowell in fifth place is just five back.

Bruce Berlet has the happy recap at Hartfordwolfpack.com and Mike Fornabaio displays his verbal proficiency over at CTpost.com.

For the stats, GAME SUMMARY and the OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET.

NOTES:

* Moore became the Pack’s fourth captain Thursday. Moore follows now head coach Ken Gernander who was captain for eight seasons. Now Minnesota Wild defenseman Craig Weller handled the next two with Andrew Hutchinson, now with the Dallas Stars, the team leader last season.

* Despite all the talk of curtailing fighting, this game had two bouts. The teams’ two number 29’s slugged it out. Brandon Sugden (6’4” 233lbs) and former Pack Mitch Fritz (6’8” 258lbs) tangled in a battle of the heavyweights at just 2:33 in to the first. The bout ended in a draw with each landing some very heavy shots that the other absorbed and both still standing as the refs broke it up. The only concern out of the fight is that Sugden may have reinjured his hand. The Pack enforcer did not play and was not on the bench for the rest of the game.

At 16:19 of the second period, a second heavyweight battle ensued. After Dale Weise put a questionable but hard hit on the Tiger’s defenseman Mark Wotten, his defensive partner Joe Callahan rushed over and attacked Weise. Callahan controlled the early part of this long scrap. Once Weise got his feet under him and wrapped up Callahan to settled the fight, after some tussling, Weise got his right hand free and scored with a huge uppercut that staggered Callahan. Weise then unloaded a flurry of hard shots to Callahan’s head that sent the 211 pound defenseman to the ice. This was the kind of fight that both fighting opponents and proponents would look to in their arguments. Proponents would say that this ignited the crowd and got the team pumped up. Opponents would raise their concern about the number of hard blows that Callahan took to the head.

* The Pack now lead once again four games to three in the race for the GEICO Cup. The Cup is given to the winner of the season series between the two Connecticut rivals which the Pack have won it all four times since it was offered.

* Artem Anisimov’s eight game scoring streak was stopped.

* The Pack are now 16-8-0-2 at home this season, 8-10-2-1 on the road

* With the 3-1 win the Pack have now scored 132 and surrendered 133.

* The six games over .500 is the first time the Pack have been that far over the even mark this year.

* The team is 10-4-0-1 when leading after one, 15-1-1-1 when leading after two and now 8-5-0-0 in games decided by two goals.

* From the ECHL, the Charlotte Checkers defeater the Gwinnett Gladiators 4-3 on the road.

LINES:

Owens – Rissmiller – Weise

Dupont – Anisimov – PARENTEAU

DiDiomete – MOORE – Sugden

Ford – Ouellette – Pyatt

Nightingale – Fahey

Sanguinetti – POTTER

Urquhart- Sauer

Zaba

SCRATCHES:

Byers – Knee – Season

Stefanishion – Healthy

Denisov – Healthy

Soryal – Hand – Indefinite

THREE STARS:

1. HFD - 15 Greg Moore
2. HFD - 46 Jordan Owens
3. HFD - 30 Matt Zaba

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Chris Cozzan (68), Referee
Jim Briggs (83), Linesman
Kevin Redding (16), Linesman

NEXT GAME:

Saturday night on the road against the tough Teddy Purcell and the Manchester Monarchs. Game time is 7pm

PACK ALREADY DOWN A "GOAL" to BRIDGEPORT

Okay, the headline is a bit misleading. In reality, the Pack will play tonight against the Sound Tigers without Miika Wiikman as the Pack have recalled Maxime Daigneault from Charlotte. Wiikman is feeling a bit under the weather and will be rested tonight. Bob Crawford will have the details when he broadcasts tonight’s game.

Here’s the official release:

WOLF PACK RECALL GOALTENDER MAXIME DAIGNEAULT FROM CHARLOTTE

Hartford Wolf Pack general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the team has recalled goaltender Maxime Daigneault from its ECHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers.

This is the second time up to the Wolf Pack for Daigneault.  He dressed as the Pack’s backup goaltender for games November 22 at Portland and November 23 in Providence.  In 17 games with Charlotte, the fifth-year pro is 8-8-0, with a 3.20 goals-against average and an 89.9% save percentage, and has won seven of his last nine decisions.

The 25-year-old, 6-3, 203-pound Daigneault signed an AHL contract with the Wolf Pack prior to the start of this season.  He split last season between the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL and the Cincinnati Cyclones, with whom he won an ECHL championship.  Daigneault was 4-5-0 in nine games with Milwaukee, with a 2.53 GAA and a 90.9% save percentage.  Two of his four wins were by shutout.  In 14 games with Cincinnati, the St.-Jacques-le-Minuer, Quebec native compiled an 11-3-0 record, a 2.62 GAA and a 90.5% save percentage, with one shutout.

A second-round draft pick (59^th overall) by the Washington Capitals in 2002 out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Daigneault has appeared in 56 career AHL games, with Portland, Hershey and Milwaukee.  His overall AHL record is 30-14-3, with a 2.64 GAA, a 90.9% save percentage and five shutouts.

The Wolf Pack return from the AHL All-Star break tonight, with a GEICO Connecticut Cup home game at the XL Center vs. Bridgeport.  Faceoff is 7:00, and it’s a Guida’s Family Value Night.  Family Value packages start at $39 and include three tickets, three hot dogs or pizza slices, three sodas and a Wolf Pack souvenir.  To order Family Value Night packs, visit the XL Center box office, or go on-line to www.hartfordwolfpack.com.  Tonight is also “Girl Scout Night”, with $25 tickets available to Girl Scouts for only $14 each.  Order by calling the Wolf Pack ticket office at 860-..., and the first 1,500 Girl Scouts will receive a free pink Wolf Pack beanie hat.

A STEP UP

Jared Nightingale will not likely be heading back to Charlotte any time soon. The 6’ 3” defenseman has signed an AHL Contract after playing 22 games on a Professional Try-Out Contract. Nightingale has done a good job patrolling the blue line for the Wolf Pack and continues to develop. His upside is as a physical defenseman and it seems as  if his future in the organization is bright.

Bob Crawford, the radio and television voice of the Hartford Wolf Pack tells Howlings, "Since his very first game this year with the Pack, when he scored a huge goal and was First Star in a big divisional win, Jared has been a solid contributor on the blueline.  I think he brings a real good combination of size, smart aggressiveness and positional play."

WOLF PACK SIGN DEFENSEMAN JARED NIGHTINGALE TO AHL CONTRACT

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AHL Deal Replaces Third-year Veteran’s PTO

Hartford Wolf Pack general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the team has signed defenseman Jared Nightingale to an American Hockey League contract.

Nightingale had been playing on a Professional Tryout (PTO) agreement since joining the Wolf Pack December 10 from the ECHL’s Charlotte Checkers. In 22 games with the Pack, the 6-3, 205-pound Nightingale has scored one goal and added four assists for five points, while logging 34 penalty minutes and posting a +5.

In 21 games with the Checkers prior to being summoned by the Wolf Pack, Nightingale, a 26-year-old third-year pro, had six assists and 106 penalty minutes. Last season Nightingale saw two games of action with the Wolf Pack, registering four PIM, and he also skated in five AHL games with the Chicago Wolves, picking up one minor penalty. In 65 games with Charlotte in 2007-08, Nightingale, a native of Jackson, MI, scored three goals and added 11 assists for 14 points, while amassing 196 minutes in penalties. That led the Checkers’ squad in PIM and was the third-most among ECHL defensemen.

Before turning pro, Nightingale played four seasons at Michigan State University. He got into 10 AHL games with Springfield in 2005-06, following the completion of his Senior season, posting a goal, an assist and 18 penalty minutes. He also suited up for nine AHL contests in 2006-07 for the Iowa Stars (2-0-2, 4 PIM).

(Jared Nightingale photo courtesy of msuspartans.cstv.com)

GREG MOORE NAMED TEAM CAPTAIN

Congratulations to Greg Moore who has been named the fourth team Captain in Wolf Pack history. More on Moore later…

Meanwhile, here's the official release:

WOLF PACK NAME GREG MOORE CAPTAIN

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Becomes Fourth Captain in Team History

Hartford Wolf Pack general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that forward Greg Moore has been named captain of the team for the balance of the 2008-09 season. The selection was made through a vote of the players. Fellow forward P.A. Parenteau and defenseman Corey Potter were designated alternate captains.

Moore, a third-year pro, becomes only the fourth team captain in the Wolf Pack’s 12-year AHL history. He follows current Pack head coach Ken Gernander (1997-98 through 2004-05), Craig Weller (2005-06 and 2006-07) and Andrew Hutchinson (2007-08).

In 46 games with the Wolf Pack this year, Moore has scored 13 goals and added 12 assists for 25 points, ranking him third on the team in goals and tied for third in points. Last year the 24-year-old Lisbon, Maine native finished second on the club in goals and points, with 26-40-66 in 72 games. He also suited up for six NHL contests with the parent New York Rangers, his first career NHL action. In 199 career games with the Wolf Pack, the 6-1, 210-pound Moore has amassed 48 goals and 70 assists for 118 points.

Moore was acquired by the Rangers from the Calgary Flames March 6, 2004, along with Blair Betts and Jamie McLennan, in exchange for Chris Simon and a seventh-round draft pick. He was a fifth-round selection (143^rd overall) by the Flames in the 2003 NHL Draft out of the University of Maine, where he played four seasons prior to turning pro.

(photo courtesy of Chris Rutsch via theahl.com)

FRITSCHE GONE

According to the Minnesota Wild’s website Dan Fritsche has been traded to the Wild in exchange for defenseman Eric Reitz. The Detroit, Michigan native, Reitz, 26 (7/29/82), had two points (1g, 1a, 2points) and 41 penalty minutes in 37 (31 this season) career games with the Wild. Reitz is likely the seventh defenseman that the team has been in need of. Reitz is 6’1” and 215 pounds and has essentially been bouncing up and down between the NHL and AHL the past several years. Long term, this has little to no affect apart form moving some spare parts.

The move clears another $375,000 off the Rangers salary cap.

Here's the official release:

RANGERS ACQUIRE ERIK REITZ

New York sends Dan Fritsche to Minnesota

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has acquired defenseman Erik Reitz from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for forward Dan Fritsche.

Reitz, 26, has appeared in 31 games with Minnesota this season, registering one goal and one assist for two points, along with 41 penalty minutes.  He was tied for fourth among Minnesota defensemen in goals (one), and tied for third on the club overall in penalty minutes (41).  Reitz also ranked second on the Wild with 58 hits.  He notched his first NHL point with a goal on November 15 vs. Columbus.  He also tallied his first career assist on November 22 vs. St. Louis.

The 6-2, 215-pounder has appeared in 37 career regular season contests with Minnesota, recording one goal and one assist for two points, along with 45 penalty minutes.  He made his NHL debut on April 7, 2006, at Calgary.  He has also skated in two career post-season contests with Minnesota.  In 363 career AHL games with the Houston Aeros, he registered 35 goals and 118 assists for 153 points, along with 721 penalty minutes.  He established an AHL career-high with 26 assists and tied his AHL career-high with 34 points in 49 games last season.  He also set his AHL career-high with nine goals during the 2006-07 season.  Reitz was named the Ontario Hockey League’s Outstanding Defenseman and an OHL All-Star First Team in 2002 as a member of the Barrie Colts.  Additionally, he was named to the Memorial Cup Tournament All-Star Team in 2000.  Internationally, he represented Team USA in the 2002 IIHF World Junior Championships, collecting one assist and 12 penalty minutes in seven games.

The Detroit, Michigan native was originally Minnesota’s sixth round choice, 170th overall, in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.

Fritsche, 22, appeared in 16 games with the Rangers this season, collecting one goal and three assists for four points, along with two penalty minutes after being acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets on July 2, 2008, along with Nikolai Zherdev, in exchange for Fedor Tyutin and Christian Backman.

Reitz apparently likes to drop the gloves, but if these videos are any indication, perhaps he should work on another aspect of his game.

(Eric Reitz card photo courtesy of checkoutmycards.com)

WOLF PACK WEEKLY: January 28 - February 1, 2009

The Wolf Pack (23-18-2-3, 51 pts.) headed into the AHL’s All-Star break by splitting a pair of home games last weekend.  The division-rival Lowell Devils eked out a 3-2 win over the Pack on Friday, but the Wolf Pack bounced back with a 4-1 triumph over the high-scoring Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday evening.  Tom Pyatt had 1-2-3 in the two games, and Artem Anisimov notched a goal and two assists for the Planet USA squad in Monday’s 2009 AHL All-Star Classic in Worcester, won by Planet USA, 14-11.  Bobby Sanguinetti also traveled to Worcester for the event, and participated in the AHL Skills Competition Sunday, but was prevented by injury from suiting up for the All-Star Game.

This week:

The Wolf Pack return from the All-Star break with a Guida’s Family Value Night game vs. their GEICO Connecticut Cup rivals, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, at the XL Center this Friday night, January 30^th (7:00 faceoff).  That is also Girl Scout Night at the XL Center.  Then the Pack make their first visit of the year to Manchester, NH Saturday to take on the Monarchs (7:00).

Friday, January 30^th vs. Bridgeport at the XL Center, 7:00 p.m.

· This is “Girl Scout Night” at the XL Center.  $25 tickets are available to Girl Scouts for only $14 each.  Order by calling the Wolf Pack ticket office at 860-548-2000, and the first 1,500 Girl Scouts will receive a free pink Wolf Pack beanie hat.

· Being a Friday night, this is also a Guida’s Family Value Night.  Family Value packages start at $39 and include three tickets, three hot dogs or pizza slices, three sodas and a Wolf Pack souvenir.  To order your Family Value Night pack, visit the XL Center box office, or go on-line to www.hartfordwolfpack.com.

· The Wolf Pack are an even 3-3-0-0 thus far in the GEICO Connecticut Cup series against the Sound Tigers.  The Pack have won both previous meetings in Hartford, 2-1 in a shootout October 12^th and 3-1 on January 16^th.

· Bridgeport is 2-4-1-0 in its last seven games, but still stands tied for second in the competitive East Division, with a record of 26-14-3-2 for 57 points.

· Goaltender Nathan Lawson is 10-4-0 in 15 appearances since coming up from Utah of the ECHL, with a 1.84 goals-against average, a 93.4% save percentage and one shutout.

· Radio – live with Bob Crawford in HD on WTIC’s 96.5 HD 2 and on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com and www.wtic.com.

Saturday, January 31^st at Manchester (Verizon Wireless Arena), 7:00 p.m.

· This is the Wolf Pack’s first of four visits on the season to Manchester.  They and the Monarchs have met twice previously at the XL Center, with the Wolf Pack winning both, 4-1 October 25^th and 2-1 on November 29^th.

· Monarchs forward Teddy Purcell (9-11-20 in 26 GP) had five assists for the Canadian team in Monday’s 2009 AHL All-Star Game, giving him eight career All-Star points, tied for the league record.

· Manchester’s current record is 18-22-0-5 for 41 points, which puts them sixth in the Atlantic Division.

· Radio – live with Bob Crawford in HD on WTIC’s 96.5 HD 2 and on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com and www.wtic.com.

Sunday, February 1^st - Wolf Pack Kids Club Day at the XL Center, 10:30 a.m.

The Wolf Pack’s annual Kids Club Day runs from 10:30 AM – 1:00 PM at the XL Center.  Kids Club Day gives Kids Club members a chance to watch a narrated Wolf Pack practice and get player autographs.  Kids 16 or younger can join the Kids Club by registering on the Wolf Pack’s official website, www.hartfordwolfpack.com, or at Kids Club Day.  Membership is free.

Recent Transactions:

Mike Taylor – returned by the Wolf Pack on loan to Charlotte (ECHL) January 24^th.

Pack Tracks:

Adult tickets for Wolf Pack home games can be purchased for as low as $10 each for the rest of the regular season, sponsored by Click It or Ticket.  Individual tickets for Wolf Pack games are on sale now at the XL Center Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations including Macy's at the Buckland Hills Mall and at the Westfarms Mall. Tickets may also be charged by phone at 1-800-745-3000, and on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com.  Season tickets, six and 10-game packages, coupon books and group tickets are also available.  Contact 860-548-2000 for more details.

The Wolf Pack has a new broadcast partnership this season with WTIC NewsTalk 1080 and WTIC-FM.  All of the Wolf Pack’s regular-season and playoff games will air on 96.5 WTIC-FM’s HD 2 channel and will be streamed on-line at www.wtic.com . Select games will be carried live on the 50,000-watt AM powerhouse, WTIC NewsTalk 1080.  And, as part of the partnership, all Wolf Pack full season ticket accounts will receive a free HD car radio, with installation from JoDi’s Sound Center, courtesy of the two stations and the Wolf Pack.  To purchase your season seats, contact the Wolf Pack ticket office at 860-548-2000.

TRACK THE PACK AT WWW.HARTFORDWOLFPACK.COM

SANGS SINGS SORTA...

Bobby Sanguinetti was the Rangers first round draft pick in 2006 (#21 overall). He’s having a breakout rookie season and was named to the AHL All Star Classic to play for PlanetUSA along with teammate Artem Anisimov. A deflected puck wound up in his mouth doing quite a bit of damage to his teeth. As a result, he was forced to miss his chance to play in the game, but did take part in the Hardest Shot contest.

In the competition, the Trenton, New Jersey native’s first shot was 93.2 and his second 88.5mph.

Howlings caught up with the future Ranger blueliner.

HOWLINGS: First off Bobby, congratulations on being named an AHL All Star. Your mouth must be pretty sore. Can you share what you think happened and what the dentist’s have done for you?

SANGUINETTI: Thanks Mitch. It's still pretty tough to talk with all the stitches and lack of teeth. To answer your question it was a deflected shot in the slot that came up directly and hit me square on the chin knocking out three of the bottom teeth and the fourth one was completely bent back into my gums. The dentist immediately pried the tooth out of my gum and put that one and one of the others back into place for the time being. I went to the dentist the day after where they removed the remaining teeth that were stuck deep into my gums and reinserted the same teeth with stitches this time. As well they removed one of the other teeth that was cracked beyond help.

HOWLINGS: It’s probably safe to say that you’ll be wearing a face guard while your mouth heals? Any indication of how long that might be?

SANGUINETTI: I’m sure that I will have to wear a full visor/cage for at least the week of practice and most likely for the games this weekend. After that I will discuss with the trainers if I can get back into the action with the half visor.

HOWLINGS: Can you describe your feelings after being selected for the All-Star Game? Who was the one who told you?

SANGUINETTI: I found out I was selected to the All Star game when we were on the road trip to Manitoba. So after putting aside the fact that I was freezing I was very excited and honored to be selected. There are a lot of great players in the league and on our team so to be nominated to play in the game was a great feeling. Coach Gernander along with JJ and Pat Boller were the ones who broke the good news to me.

HOWLINGS: Did your parents made the trip up to Worcester from New Jersey? Can you tell me how they reacted when you told them?

SANGUINETTI: When I found out I was selected I called my parents and let them know and as any parents would be they were really happy for me. They have been great as far as being there for my career starting out when I was young. From driving me hours on end to hockey games to now showing up for almost 90% of our games their support has been awesome. Unfortunately with me not being able to participate in the game they did not make the trip and instead decided to watch it on TV.

HOWLINGS: You had a chance in to participate in the Hardest shot competition. Your first shot was 93.2 and then dropped off to 88.5 on the second go round. Were you satisfied with the result? Most all the guys were slower the second go-round. What causes the drop off?

SANGUINETTI: My results in the hardest shot were actually right around where I thought I would be. Last year in the OHL All Star event I registered a 96 MPH shot but I didnt lose four teeth two nights prior and had a nice meal beforehand. No excuses, but obviously without being able to eat for a couple days it might have affected me, but in the end I had a great time being around all the guys and experiencing the All Star Skills Competition. As for the drop off, it might of been caused by trying to put a little too much into the second shot. That’s kind of what happend to me. I put my second one over the net. Even the champion of the event (Derek) Joslin from Worcester struggled with his second shot, so obviously it was in our heads.

HOWLINGS: Can you sum up for me how you felt at the end of the night?

SANGUINETTI: I think it was more of how I felt the 3 days after the incident. Everyday seemed as if the pain was getting worse and the lack of eating took all of my energy away from me. I wanted to attend the skills competition because it was an honor to be chosen and that was the least I could do for the fans who were attending. After the skills contest I almost couldn’t stand up from lack of energy, so along with Schoeny (Wolf Pack General Manager Jim Schoenfeld) we decided it was in my best interest to take the game off and recover from this and make sure im ready for our first game back after the break.

HOWLINGS: It’s a shame that you didn’t get to play because of your injury. Any idea how long you might be out of commission for? 

SANGUINETTI: I should be ready to come back for our first game on Friday night. Like I said I will probably have to wear some sort of facial guard but as long as I can play I’m happy. As for not playing, obviously it's pretty tough when you get chosen to play in such a fun game like the All Star game but hopefully at some point I’ll get to play in another one down the road.

HOWLINGS: Thanks for taking the time Bobby and we wish you nothing but the best… 

SANGUINETTI: My pleasure and I want to thank the fans for all their support.

(Bobby Sanguinetti photo courtesy of blueshirtbulletin.com)

FRITSCHE TO HARTFORD IS A POSSIBILITY

Dan Fritsche was waived by the New York Rangers first according to Sam Weinman and then Steve Zipay and Andrew Gross in their blog reports. If the center, who was obtained by the Rangers as part of the deal that sent Christian Backman and former Pack defenseman Fedor Tyutin to Columbus for he and Nick Zherdev, clears waivers, he would likely be assigned to Hartford for the rest of the season at some point. (***Update*** Fritsche did clear waivers but there has been no indication yet what the Rangers are going to do with him).

In the sixteen games that the Parma, Ohio native has played for the Rangers, he’s logged but a single goal and three assists for four points and a minus-2. Fritsche has been scratched in 21 of the last 22.

If Fritsche comes to Hartford and has a good attitude he could be a gigantic help to Head Coach Ken Gernander as he attempts to create a third line that could produce. In theory, Gernander already has the very productive “G-A-G Line” of Dupont – Anisimov – Parenteau. He then could return the “Triplets” (Owens - Ouellette - Pyatt) back together again and make a third line of Rissmiller – Fritsche – Moore. In theory anyway that could be a good threesome with all three capable of playing a solid two-way game.

(Dan Fritsche photo courtesy of NewYorkRangers.com)

SPECIAL TEAMS SPECIAL AS SPECIALS LEAVE FOR SPECIAL GAME...

  VERSUS 

The Hartford Wolf Pack came into Saturday night’s contest against a very talented Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins team having lost two-in-a-row at home and  needing a win heading into the AHL All-Star break. The Penguins came in to the game winners of three straight and six-of-ten (6-3-0-1). The Pack used solid special teams play and a three goal third period and rode that to a 4-1 win in front of 7,017 at the XL Center Saturday night.

Entering the third period the two teams were tied at one. Wilkes Barre/Scranton’s Mark Letestu scored early in the first at 3:39 and was later matched by the Pack’s David Urquhart at 9:30 of the second.

The Pack got on the board with what would prove to be the game winner just 1:37 in. Deryk Engelland took a delay of game penalty for flipping the puck into the stands from the defensive zone. On the ensuing power play the Pack controlled the puck and sent Brodie Dupont in front of the net to hassle the Penguins’ Adam Berkhoel (31 saves). Dupont drew the attention of both Wilkes-Barre / Scranton’s defensemen, Joey Momina and Ben Lovejoy. Brian Fahey took a blast from the from the left point that got on net. With the two defensemen and Berkhoel dealing with Dupont he still managed to get a stick on it for a shot and it bounced out a bit to the right doorstep where Artem Anisimov waited and snapped it into the net for his 21st of the season.

Lovejoy had a horrendous night, and took his third penalty of the game at 6:42. 1:10 later  Fahey recovered the puck in the defensive zone and made a terrific outlet pass to Tommy Pyatt. The left winger rushed up ice and found Mike Ouellette coming up the slot. A perfect pass to Ouellette’s stick blade gave the center just what he needed to rip the black out of the puck and put it past Berkhoel’s stick. An empty netter for Greg Moore off a Patrick Rissmiller feed with 57.5 seconds left capped the scoring and gave you the 4-1 final.

“It was a little more fast-paced than the Lowell game,” Brodie Dupont told reporters after the game. “It’s tough playing teams that sit back. I’d rather play a team that’s in your face. It gets me into the game, too.” The fulcrum of the Pack’s scoring line later added, “Everyone stepped up tonight and played a good team game. We did all the little things we had to and were finally able to put the nail in the coffin in the third. After the second goal, we kept building off that, and it’s real important that once you get the momentum, you keep coming.”

Dupont had two assists on the night and was constantly in Berkhoel’s face all night. Dupont was later named the game’s First Star by the media. Head Coach Ken Gernander was asked about the effect that Dupont has had on his team.  “I’ve been beating Brodie’s drum for a couple weeks because his linemates (Anisimov and P.A. Parenteau) show up with the big numbers on the score sheet all the time, but Brodie is doing a lot of the dirty work,” Gernander said of his left wing. “It’s a good line combination where everyone has his role, and they all work well together. Brodie goes unnoticed sometimes by lay people.”

“It was a big bounce-back win for us (after losing the night before to Lowell) with one of our better crowds. They were coming off a big, emotional win over Hershey, but I thought our guys really well. They have some very dangerous guys, and we did a pretty good job of containing them and creating our own offense. It’s a nice way to go into the break.”

Bruce Berlet has more at Hartfordwolfpack.com and for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton perspective try Tom Venesky at the timesleader.com and Jonathan Bombulie at scrantontimes.com.

 GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORER’S SHEET

 NOTES:

* Not to be the buzz kill after a good win against a solid opponent, but after having snapped a streak of playing win-one, lose-one for thirteen consecutive games with two wins in a row, the Pack have now picked up that pattern again over the last five.

* Anisimov’s goal was tied him with Parenteau for having earned points in eight straight games. (5g, 6a, 11 points). Parenteau’s streak, snapped against Lowell Friday night consisted of (4g, 10a 14 points).

* With the Providence win over Springfield (3-1), the Portland win over Bridgeport (2-1) and the Worcester loss to Lowell (6-4) the Pack move into a second place tie with Portland. Standings wise the Pack sit in third place because Portland holds a game in hand over the boys form Insurance City. Both teams trail Providence by a mere two points. Portland does have a game in hand on Providence as well. With Lowell continuing to pick up wins and just two points out of the playoffs, the race has really come down to five teams for four spots in the tournament. Can anyone say for sure where any of these teams are going to finish? It’s that close with no clear favorites. 34 more to go for Hartford and Providence and 35 for Portland.

* Bobby Sanguinetti lost four teeth when his mouth stopped a shot off the stick of Lowell’s Brad Mills. The dentist had his hands full to fix the damage. Sanguinetti will participate in the AHL All-Star game on Sunday and Monday. Howlings will speak with the 2006 Rangers first round pick on Tuesday. In our comments section feel free to leave questions for the New Jersey native and Rangers top pair d-man and we will try and get many of them answered.

* The Pack were two-for-four on the power play and are now eighth overall in the AHL at 19.1% and by surrendering a goal on their only short handed chance they drop from ninth to twelfth overall at 83.6%

* Inside the numbers: The Pack are now 4-8-1-1 when trailing after one period and 6-4-0-0 when tied after two and as you might imagine undefeated when leading after three, but that’s another story. Here’s a number to play. When outshooting their opponents the Pack are 11-11-1-1 and in games decided by three or more goals, they now stand at 4-5-0-0.

* Miika Wiikman has now won three of his last four games. This is the third time this season that Wiikman has had a three wins in four games streak. The first came at the end of October. The second was in mid December and now, after giving way to Matt Zaba for two games (won one and lost one), he’s done it again.

* The Charlotte Checkers, the ECHL affiliate of the Hartford Wolf Pack and of course the NY Rangers, played in front of the second biggest crowd in team history, 11,848 at Time Warner Cable Arena. They also managed to move within two points of second place in the South Division by beating the team they're chasing, the South Carolina Stingrays by a score of 3-2.

LINES:

Dupont – Anisimov – PARENTEAU

Pyatt – Ouellette – Ford

Owens – Rissmiller – Weise

DiDiomete – MOORE – Sugden

Denisov – POTTER

Nightingale – Fahey

Urquhart – Sauer

Wiikman

(Alternate Captains in BOLD CAPS)

SCRATCHES:

Soryal – Hand – Indefinite

Stefanishion – Healthy

Byers – Knee – Season

Sanguinetti – Mouth – Day-to-Day

THREE STARS:

1. HFD - 9 Brodie Dupont
2. HFD - 62 Miika Wiikman
3. HFD - 44 Mike Ouellette

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Zac Wiebe (89), Referee
Luke Galvin (2), Linesman
David Spannaus (8), Linesman

NEXT GAME:

The Pack reassemble after the All-Star break at home to take on in state and franchise rival Bridgeport at 7pm.

ONE DOWN...

VERSUS

You would think that having a teammate honored by being named to the AHL All Star Classic would motivate the Hartford Wolf Pack. You would think that having the opportunity to play for a share of first place in the Atlantic Conference, for the second time no less, would fire up the young Rangers prospects. You would think having a key player go down after having taken a puck in the mouth would inspire the team on to a better performance. You would think those things, right? Well, if you did; you’d be wrong.

With first place on the line; Artem Anisimov an All-Star, and Bobby Sanguinetti missing the third period after taking a puck in the mouth, and the fifth place Lowell Devils (21-19-1-3) in the XL Center, the Pack sleep-walked though Friday night’s meeting dropping a 3-2 decision before 3,634.

“They (Lowell) like to play it close to the vest and keep it low scoring, and we didn’t do a very good job of forcing the issue in terms of dictating play, forechecking, putting pucks on the net, driving wide and paying the price,” Said Wolf Pack coach Ken Gernander to reporters after the contest. “Too often we had one guy going and everyone else in a wait-and-see mode. We were content on watching the first guy do the work and hope.”

Wing Tommy Pyatt said “They’re a tough team to play against because they do a great job of getting sticks on the puck when you’re shooting,” he said. “It was a big game for us with first place at stake. It was right there in front of us, but we need a 60-minute game to get in that spot.”

The Pack (22-18-2-3) continue to try and find the consistency that they are going to need in the second half of the season if they are going to even make it into the play offs. The top six teams in the division are separated by only ten points meaning two teams will have a similar record and get to spend the summer asking themselves where it all went wrong. One of those teams could easily be the Pack.

While they have managed to derail the win-one, lose-one roller coaster they were on for 13 games, winning three of their last four, they just had no fire in their bellies and did not compete.

The Pack jumped out to a lead at 13:49 of the first period when Michael Sauer put a shot on goal from the right point. The puck then hit Devils d-man Matthew Spiller, battling Mike Ouellette in the crease. The puck deflected off Spiller’s skate and redirected by goaltender Jeff Frazee (28 saves), for the 1-0 lead.

That lead lasted all of 56 seconds.

Nicklas Bergfors outworked the Pack’s Devin DiDiomete and Corey Potter behind the left side of the net. The puck squirted out from the scrum to the right side where Ryan Murphy took it away from Mike Taylor. Murphy hesitated on his move for just a second causing Matt Zaba (31 saves) to flinch long enough for the Van Nuys, California native to come in on the wraparound and stuff it under the Pack’s netminder knotting the score at one each.

Apart from a couple of terribly boring fights involving Brad Mills and DiDiomete and another four seconds later between Brandon Sugden and Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond were the story of the early part of a pretty uneventful second period. That was until with three minutes remaining in the second period, former first round pick, defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti lost a couple of teeth when he was hit in the mouth by Mills’ deflected shot. Sanguinetti fell to the ice in a heap and looked to be in considerable pain. He did manage to get off on his own power and skated off the ice and did not return. The team reports that Sanguinetti will visit the dentist on Saturday and his participation in the All Star game is now in doubt. It’s safe to say that in all likelihood Sanguinetti will miss tomorrow night’s contest against Wilkes-Barre / Scranton meaning Vladimir Denisov will be on the ice for the Wolf Pack.

The Pack further hurt their chances when with just 26 seconds remaining in the period. Referee Nygel Pelletier didn’t see Potter take a dirty hit but did see his retaliation and sent him to the penalty box for interference. Ordinarily, a penalty, while a lack of discipline, is not the end of the world. This time though it was. Right after the hit, the Pelletier’s hand went up signaling the penalty just prior to David Urquhart’s shot from the left wing point which beat Frazee cleanly negating what would have been the go-ahead goal.

After an offensive zone face off win, Mark Fraser put a shot on goal from the left wing point that got through and past Zaba. In Zaba’s defense, he easily could have been distracted or didn’t see it as Letourneau-Leblond and Davis were in front of him. It was 2-1.

Tommy Pyatt, who had an exceptional game and was named Third Star, tied the game for the Pack at 12:03. Anisimov got an assist for his seventh consecutive game with at least one point, as he drew two defenders to him on the power play and made a tremendous pass to the front where Mike Ouellette fired it in on goal. The puck rebounded in front and Pyatt was there to put it into the twine to knot the score.

The Devils put the game away with 5:12 remaining. Alexander Vasyunov, an old teammate of Anisimov’s from Russia, took a shot from the left side that hit Zaba right in the glove. The Pack netminder failed to hold on to it and it fell to the ice where it was knocked past him by long time NHL veteran Barry Tallackson. This was a goal that Zaba would certainly want back as this was a save he clearly should have made.

Special teams will always win or lose you games and in this case it was the failure of the power play to produce against an inferior team that was the difference. While the Pack’s own penalty killers stopped the 19th ranked Lowell power play cold, keeping them off the ledger for all five of their attempts, the Pack’s tenth ranked power play had a one for seven night against the 19th ranked Lowell penalty kill. The Pack did manage to score at the tail end of a five-on-three on Pyatt’s goal, the two-man advantage was for 1:38 and the Pack never generated any good chances on the front end as over passing and poor shot selection permeated their play. In fact it permeated the entire game.

Pyatt explains it himself. “We might have been pressing a bit, but I think we have to play a bit simpler. We were making a lot of difficult passes, and while (Devils goalie Jeff Frazee) was giving up some rebounds, we didn’t shoot the puck enough. Getting pucks on goal and driving the net usually seems to work pretty good, but now we have to come back (tonight at home against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton).”

Bruce Berlet works the verbal magic at Hartfordwolfpack.com while for the Lowell perspective, try the Lowellsun.com.

For the stat junkies, there’s the GAME SUMMARY and of course the OFFICIAL SCORER’S SHEET.

NOTES:

* The Pack are now 0-2-0-1 versus the Devils in 2008-09, including dropping two at home.

* It was not a good night for the Pack’s top line or their top players. Corey Potter was on the ice for all three Lowell goals and was a team worst minus-3. P.A. Parenteau and Brodie Dupont each recorded a minus-2 and Anisimov was a minus –1. Only Michael Sauer, Ouellette, Pyatt and Matthew Ford were a plus on the night all with a plus –1.

* Anisimov, as you may have read on Howlings leads the Wolf Pack with twenty goals and is second on the team in overall points with 47. The Yaroslavl, Russia native is just one behind Parenteau. Talk about another injustice, Parenteau is not on the All-Star roster despite his third overall standing in the league in scoring. Speaking of Parenteau, his eight-game point and assist streaks ended, along with his streak of a goal and assist each in the last four.

* The Pack are now 5-4-0-0 when tied after two periods, 11-7-1-2 when being outshot and 11-6-2-3 in one goal games.

* Want to know how anemic the scoring is for the Pack. Parenteau and Anisimov are a point apart at 48 and 47 respectively. The next closest pair to them are Sanguinetti and Moore. Sanguinetti has 25 points (3g, 22a) and Moore has 24 points (12g, 12a).

* Of the thirty players that have taken the ice for the Wolf Pack this season, only 11 (8 on the active roster) are in plus column of the plus/minus stat led by Ouellette at plus-9. Of players on the active roster, only Jordan Owens is is close at plus-6. Vladimir Denisov is plus-4 and Jared Nightingale is plus-5. The other pluses are Anisimov, Soryal, and Sauer all at plus-1, with Matt Ford at plus-2.

Conversely, on the negative side, Sanguinetti is minus-15, Moore is minus-11, Rissmiller is minus-10, Parenteau is minus-9, Potter is minus-8, Dupont and Sugden are minus-7, Fahey and DiDiomete are both minus-4 with Urquhart and Stefanishion both at minus-2.

Dale Weise is even on the season.

HOT / COLD:

Parenteau since ending a three game drought December 20th, the Pack’s leading scorer has posted 8g and 14a for 22 points in his last 16 games. Anisimov has only been off the score sheet in ten games out of 45 on the season. Ouellette has points in three of his last four (1g, 3a). Pyatt has three points in his last two games (2g, 1a).

Potter, pointless in four straight. Greg Moore, pointless in his last five and only three points (2g, 1a) in his last fourteen. Patrick Rissmiller, who the Rangers signed as a free agent to bring his scoring touch with him, has either lost interest or lost his touch and posted a measly two assists in his last seven games and just two additional goals over the previous eight making it four points (2g, 2a) in his last fifteen games. Dale Weise has two assists in his last 27 games and nothing over his last eight. Sugden has but a single assist on the season (27 games). Devin DiDiomete has nothing in 17 games. Stefanishion, a goose egg for the last seven, Nightingale shooting bagels for the last four.

LINES:

Rissmiller – MOORE – Weise

Dupont – Anisimov – PARENTEAU

Ford – Ouellette – Pyatt

DiDiomete – Taylor – Sugden

Sanguinetti – POTTER

Nightingale – Fahey

Urquhart – Sauer

Zaba

(Assistant Captains in BOLD CAPS)

SCRATCHES:

Denisov – Healthy

Byers – Knee – Season

Stefanishion – Healthy

Soryal – Hand – Indefinite

Owens – Viral Infection – Day-to-Day

THREE STARS:

1. LOW - 24 Barry Tallackson
2. LOW - 31 Jeff Frazee
3. HFD - 47 Tommy Pyatt

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Nygel Pelletier (41), Referee
Paul Simeon (66), Linesman
Kevin Redding (16), Linesman

NEXT GAME:

Ex-Pack Jeff Taffe leads the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins into the XL Center. Taffe is tied with Parenteau for third overall in the scoring race and leads Artem Anisimov by a single point. Game time is 7:00.