“BETTER LATE THAN NEVER…“

When the Hartford Wolf Pack go into the third period trailing, come-from-behind-wins are about as rare as hat tricks by Pack defensemen…okay not quite that rare but it’s close, at least this season anyway. Andrew Hutchinson is the only one who’s ever done that in team history, and until last night the Pack (41-19-2-6) were only 1-13-0-1 when trailing into the third period.

Wednesday night in the first of back-to-back games against the first place Philadelphia Phantoms, the Pack capped an improbable comeback on P.A. Parenteau’s second power-play goal of the game just :37 seconds into overtime for an incredibly dramatic 5-4 win before 2,972 at the XL Center.

The Wolf Pack’s performance was like a complete dual personality experience. The team that played in Hartford’s red, white and blue sweaters that “showed-up” for the first 40 minutes were out-hit, out-hustled, out-worked, and bottom line, out-everything’ed, by the Phantoms, (40-23-3-3). But like Clark Kent changing into his Superman persona, the squad that took the ice for the third period representing Hartford was a different team altogether.

The Pack entered the third period trailing 3-1 and went to work. At 13:05 with Denis Gauthier in the penalty box for hooking, Corey Potter fed a pass to Lauri Korpikoski on the right face-off dot. Korpikoski surveyed the landscape and found Parenteau racing down into the left circle and hit him with a magnificent pass that he buried short-side past Phantom netminder Martin Houle (26 saves) making only his second AHL start of the season after being recalled from the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL.

The goal ignited the Pack as the team turned up their intensity and for the first time in the game really attacked the Phantoms. Dividends came when Artem Anisimov fed Hugh Jessiman who made a huge rush down the right side and drove in hard on net. His shot rebounded into the crease and Dane Byers, in his first game back in action after having served a three game suspension, smacked it in tying the score.

Byers then went from hero-to-goat as two minutes later with just 1:43 remaining he took a terribly lazy hooking penalty. The Pack lost yet another face-off, this one to Jared Ross who fed Grant Potulny on the left point. Potulny fed Lars Jonsson at the left point blueline. Jonsson fired a rising shot that Miika Wiikman (35 saves) was screened on and didn’t have time to react on. The goal took all the air out of the building as many began leaving. That would prove to be a mistake.

With 47.8 left, Wiikman was pulled for an extra attacker.

With just 15 seconds left in the contest, Greg Moore was down low in the left corner on the goal line. Sensing time running out he fired a shot through a maze of legs and bodies and it beat Houle through the 5-hole and the building erupted with joy, no one more so than Moore.

Moore has had four call-ups by the parent NY Rangers this season. The call-ups were based upon his outstanding play in the first half of the season carrying the team on his back potting 17 goals and 16 assists in the first 40 games. In the second half of the season however, Moore’s play for some unknown reason has dropped off considerably. In the 25 games since returning from a four game call-up on Jan. 16 Moore has only put in 4 goals and 14 assists. But his dramatic return to the scoring sheet netting the game tying goal will hopefully reignite the soon-to-be 24 year old from Lisbon, Maine.

With the building rocking from the last second heroics, the Pack had momentum and energy. With the Pack flying right off the face-off in overtime, Stefan Ruzicka took a holding call at :28 seconds. It took the Pack just nine seconds to capitalize. After Thomas Pock and Hutchinson exchanged the puck, Hutchinson fed Parenteau on the left face-off dot and he saw daylight on Houle and fired beating him high to the blocker side for the game winner sending those still in the arena and the team into delirium. Here’s the video of the power play:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A1LPo7zEzM&hl=en]

Triston Grant scored his first of two goals for the Phantoms just 1:00 into the game after Wiikman mishandled the puck. Grant got his second at 1:59 of the second period. Former Wolf Pack wing Boyd Kane tallied at 5:35 of the second off a deflection of a shot from the high slot.

Korpikoski tied the score in the first period when Parenteau put in a shot that deflected off of Mark Lee that found Korpikoski alone on the right doorstep who tucked it in.

Bruce Berlet puts all the color in the canvas in a great piece at the Hartford Courant. For a brief view from the Philly perspective, there’s always the Philadephia Inquirer.

For stats check the Game Summary and the Official Scorer’s Sheet.

*****NOTES*****
* The Pack are now 18-3-0-3 when being out shot by opponents.

* P. A. Parenteau is currently sixth in the AHL in scoring with 67 points (28G, 39A).

* Andrew Hutchinson is 21st overall and #1 amongst D-Men posting 15G, 42A for 57 points in 56 games.

* Greg Moore is 28th with 22G, 31A for 53 points in 60 games.

* After struggling on the Penalty Kill for almost the entire season in the bottom third of AHL, the Pack have moved up to 17th

* When the Wolf Pack score 5-goals, they are 8-0-0-0

* The Wolf Pack last won in overtime at home on December 16th beating the Monarchs 2-1 on an Ivan Baranka score at 3:11 in OT.

* Both teams were 2-for-6 on the Power Play.

* With the win, the Pack moved into sole possession of second place in the Atlantic Division (90 points). The game was one of the Pack’s two games in hand on the Portland Pirates (88 points) who were off for the night.

*****LINES*****
Korpikoski – Moore – Parenteau
Pock – Anisimov – Dupont
Byers – Ouellette – Owens
Lee – Jessiman

Hutchinson – Potter
Brown – Baranka
Sauer – Taylor

Wiikman

*****SCRATCHES*****
David Liffiton – Concussion – Season
Alex Bourret – Concussion – Indefinite
Francis Lessard – Knee – Season
Mitch Fritz – Shoulder – Indefinite
Ryan Constant – Healthy
Josh Gratton – Healthy

*****THREE STARS*****
1. HFD – 17 Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau
2. PHI – 12 Triston Grant
3. HFD – 28 Lauri Korpikoski

*****OFFICIALS*****
Terry Koharski (10), Referee
David Spannaus (8), Linesman
Luke Galvin (2), Linesman

(P.A. Parenteau photo courtesy of Bob MacDonnell via courant.com)