AND THEN “THE NINE…” 

(41-19-2-6)
The season is heading down the home stretch as time is running on the ’07 – ’08 Hartford Wolf Pack season.

This team has been VERY resilient and a fairly sound team all season long. As all good teams do, they’ve had their share of hot streaks, two five-game, three four-game and one three-game winning streak. They have only lost consecutive games twice and have just a lone three-game losing streak all season long. With the victory over the Phantoms on Wednesday night, the team recorded it’s fifth straight 40-win season and ninth in their 11 seasons of existence. They’ve also managed to win four of five and are coming together and raising their game at a time when they need to.

Throughout this entire campaign the team has managed to stay in just about every game. In fact in games where the differential is three-goals or better, the Wolf Pack record is 14-5. In games decided by a margin of less than three, the team’s record is 26-14-2-6.

The success of this team is in no small manner directly attributable to the magnificent teaching and managing job from rookie Head Coach Ken Gernander. He has had to deal with his best players being called up, inconsistent play from players expected to contribute at a much higher level and haven’t, then there have been the injuries, getting the ECHL guys to play at AHL level on VERY short notice and of course all with a young team even by AHL standards.

Gernander has been supported by the work a pair of top notch Assistants in J.J. Daigneault, Pat Boller and part-time goaltending coach Benoit Allaire, who spends most of his time with Henrik Lundqvist and Steven Valliquette in New York. Allaire has spent a lot of time mentoring the team’s young netminders and the results clearly show. The Pack are one of only two teams in the entire AHL that have both of their tandem of goaltenders in the Top 15, the other being Houston.

The Pack enter the weekend riding the high of a very dramatic comeback win Wednesday night when they beat the Philadelphia Phantoms on a P.A. Parenteau just 38 seconds into overtime goal. As dramatic as that goal was, it wouldn’t have happened had Greg Moore not topped it with a shot through traffic that got past Goaltender Matt Houle with just 15 seconds left in regulation. The win was especially sweet since it came against a motivated first place team that totally dominated them for fifty of the sixty minutes in the contest.

VERSUS PHILADELPHIA (40-23-3-3)

On Friday night, the Pack will learn right away if their Wednesday night comeback win either demoralized or really ignited the players into a more cohesive Phantom locker room. This game is the second of the home-and-home series and the end of their battles with the Eastern Division.

The line-up is certain to look much the same as it did Wednesday night. Houle (1-2-0 2.19GAA .910%) should make his third start as a Phantom netminder. While he did lose the game and gave up five goals, he played fairly well the entire contest.

The Pack will need to keep a little closer eye on Triston Grant who had two goals and was named the games Second Star. Pete Zingoni, Ryan Potulny, and Jared Ross all had two assists while Lars Jonsson had a goal and two assists.

VERSUS SPRINGFIELD (31-27-5-5)

After the Friday night contest the Pack will take back to the bus and head back to the XL Center. On Saturday, it’s back on the bus for a short trip up I-91 for the first of the final three meetings between the two long time rivals.

Springfield currently sits in the fourth position in the Atlantic division and lead fifth place Worcester by three points for the final play-off spot.

Falcons are lead up front by the ninth leading scorer in the AHL, the talented Robbie Schremp (17G, 45A, 62pts in 65 games). There are plenty of others who can put rubber to twine; they are Marc Pouliot (20, 22, 42), T.J. Kemp 6G, 35A, Grant Potulny with 25G, 15 Assists for 40 points and There are a lot of others. The Pack must stay sharp this entire game.

Jeff Deslauriers (24-20-5 2,86 GAA .913%) has been in net for all seven contests against the Pack. He last picked up a victory on Jan 18 when he beat them 3-1 in Springfield. He’s been lifted in two of the contests for back-up Devan Dubnyk (7-12-0 2.93GAA .906%).

The Wolf Pack have owned the Falcons this season posting an impressive 6-1-0-0 record in seven games. In their last meeting the Pack trounced the Falcons 6-1 in Springfield, on February 15th.

VERSUS LOWELL (21-35-7-4)

Wednesday night the Pack complete their three game road trip for their final visit of the season to Lowell, Massachusetts. There they will take on the soon to be vacationing Lowell Devils. The Devils are perhaps the biggest disappointment of all 29 AHL teams given their make-up of so many veterans of the NHL on their roster. Given the talent in their line-up, you would think they would have a desire to demonstrate, not only for their parent club, but to scouts for other teams as well, that they deserved to earn the kind of money they were being paid and that they should be playing in the NHL, well they haven’t. The team has mailed it in all season long. They are entrenched in last place and with a measly 153 goals are the second lowest scoring team in the league. The boys in the red, white and blue jerseys have done well against the Devils posting a 4-1-0-1 against the Devils. The Devils do have AHL All-Star Petr Vrana (13G, 35A 48 points in 67 games) and Barry Tallackson (21, 20 41 points in 59 games) are the two Devils at least putting up something resembling points.

For the Wolf Pack this is an important game. They cannot let down and drop a game like this that they should win. They need every point they can get as they are neck-and-neck with the Portland Pirates for second place in the Atlantic Division. The winner will have home ice advantage in the play-offs which will be crucial if the Pack are to make any sort of run towards the Calder Cup.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

All of the games are 7:05 starts. You can catch Bob Crawford with the pre-game show at 6:30 on ESPN1410AM or check out the TV broadcast (which broadcast starts usually at 6:55pm at B2Livtv.com

IN OTHER NEWS

Bruce Berlet has a feature on the many travels of Manchester Monarch goaltender, Jonathan Quick in the Hartford Courant and also takes a look at the Week Ahead.

Ex-Pack, Ex-Ranger, Dale Purinton cannot stay out of trouble. After having been suspended for two games for his fourth game misconduct and having served a 25-game suspension earlier this season, came this news last night…

Dale Purinton is a VERY nice person in a one-on-one relationship. He is always good to the fans and is a strong and vocal leader and well-liken in the dressing room. However, it’s time for him to hang up his hockey career. Between the antics during the strike year when he was booted out of the ECHL for refusing to release the hair of a guy he was fighting among other things, he’s come to the point where he’s just making a fool out of himself and that’s VERY sad. In all seriousness, given his physical size, his enforcer status, his intensity level in competition and his “nasty” reputation and you could throw in his propensity for trouble, perhaps he should consider contacting Vince McMahon and the WWE and begin a career in professional wrestling. How about posting some ring name or gimmick suggestions? Here’s ours… DALE “PURE TROUBLE” PURINTON…