12 points does it. Any combination of points by the Hartford Wolf Pack (43-19-2-7) and point losses by the Portland Pirates (42-24-2-4) will clinch second place and seal home ice advantage against the third place team for the NY Rangers top farm club.
Theoretically that could happen this weekend as both teams will be in action for three games in three nights. Should the Pack win out the weekend against Worcester, (27-31-5-6 6th place in Atlantic) Springfield (31-30-5-5 5th place in Atlantic) and Bridgeport (36-30-1-2 6th place in East) and the Pirates be swept by the trio of Lowell, (22-38-7-4 7th place in Atlantic) Providence (48-16-3-3 1st in the AHL) and Albany (40-26-2-4 3rd place in East) that would do it.
FOR THE WOLF PACK…
The team is starting to peak at just the right time. Mitch Fritz will be in the lineup after missing all but the first two games with a shoulder injury. They will also have newcomer, Harvard Crimson center Mike Taylor in the lineup . Taylor was just signed to an ATO on Thursday.
P.A. Parenteau has had a magnificent season with 31 goals and 42 assists for 73 points and a plus-11 in 68 games. In his last five games he’s put up ten points with 6 goals and 4 helpers. It’s currently the top streak in the AHL.
Andrew Hutchinson is the Captain and clearly the team’s MVP. The Pack are just 6-6 with him out of the line-up as opposed to 37-13-2-7 with him in it. In the 59 games Hutchinson has played in he’s posted 16 goals (13 on the power play) and 43 assists for 59 points just 64 minutes in the sin-bin and an impressive plus-24.
Mike Ouellette is coming off a hat trick performance against Lowell and has shown steady and consistent improvement in all areas of his game this season. He’s been especially proficient defensively and has been the team’s go-to guy for face-offs, particularly on defensive zone draws.
Other players are stepping up as well. Josh Gratton has been good, but will likely sit with Fritz’s return to the line-up. Greg Moore has been finding the back of the net again and Lauri Korpikoski has been solid and contributing.
On the back end, Thomas Pock has been incredibly durable all season long and effective no matter where the team has played him on the ice. For most of the last two weeks, Pock has been playing on the left wing as a forward. Corey Potter has had a stellar sophomore season and is one of the league’s leaders in the plus/minus category currently second to Providence’s Jeff Hoggan (plus-38) at plus-29, while Ivan Baranka, when healthy, has been very good.
In the net David LeNeveu has been very good this season posting a 12-10-4 with a 2.45GAA and a .913%. However, since coming over in the trade from San Antonio for Al Montoya, has sizzled with a 3-3-1 record a 1.85GAA and a.918%. He’s running mate, Miika Wiikman (19-7-3 2.30GAA .918% with two shutouts) has also had an excellent season. Both will see time in net this weekend.
On the specialty teams, the Pack have passed the lethal Chicago Wolves into second place with a 21.2% conversion rate behind Manchester’s pace of 23.5%. The Penalty kill has been decent but not great. Currently ranked 19th allowing 59 markers on 340 attempts for an 82.6% success rate. This will need to improve as the play-offs approach.
FRIDAY VERSUS WORCESTER in Hartford
The Wolf Pack are hot currently riding a 6-1-0-1 streak. The Pack have virtually owned their Massachusetts neighbors as they have never trailed the Sharks for even a single minute in any of their seven meetings this season. The Sharks are ten points behind fourth place Manchester for the last playoff position in the Atlantic Division but do hold two games in hand on their neighbors to the North. However, making up ten points with only eleven games left will be a daunting task to say the least.
The Sharks do have talent. Up front the Sharks have AHL All-Star Mike Iggulden (24, 35 for 59pts in 67 games) and Graham Mink (21, 26 for 47pts in 61 games). Tom Cavanaugh (15, 30, for 45pts in 69 games) and Lukas Kasper (15, 18, for 33pts in 63 games) round out the top four scoring threats for the Sharks.
On the defensive side there is Tom Walsh (5, 18, for 33pts in 68 games) and Derek Joslin (9, 19, for 28pts in 69 games) and the always fighting it seems Brad Staubitz (176PIM).
In the net is likely to be Thomas Greiss (16-19-0-2 3.16GAA .892%) who is 0-3-0-0 against the Pack this season. If not, then they will face Dimitri Patzold (7-7-3 2.68GAA .905%) who the Pack beat 5-2 in Hartford back on Jan. 16.
SATURDAY VERSUS SPRINGFIELD in Hartford
This one could be a battle. Even though the Pack have pretty much had their way with Springfield all season long winning seven of eight, the Falcons could have payback on their minds after losing 4-1 a week ago where the Pack put three in the net over the last 1:54 of the game after playing a virtual dead heat for 58 minutes. The Falcons are fighting not only for their playoff position, having fallen three behind rival Manchester having dropped three straight matches, but they’re fighting for their very existence. GM and part-owner Bruce Langdon has stated publicly that if they don’t sell more season tickets, and soon, the team will be forced out of business.
This team has talent. Don’t let their fifth place standing fool you. Up front they have All-Star Left-Wing Rob Schremp, (19, 47 66pts in 69 games). Rumors circulated at the trade deadline that the parent Edmonton Oilers were talking to the NY Rangers about moving Schremp in a deal that would have included enigmatic forward Hugh Jessiman. Talk had it that GM Kevin Lowe wanted a high round draft pick in addition to just Jessiman, and the Rangers closed the door on that move and it never materialized.
T.J. Kemp (6, 36, for 62pts in 64 games) is the top defensive threat for the I91 rivals. Former Bridgeport Sound Tiger Allan Rourke (3, 11, for 14pts in 40 games) is the other.
The Falcons also have a couple of real tough guys in Tim Sestito (154 PIM) and rookie Theo Peckhan (150 PIM)
The Pack will not face season long starter Jeff Deslauriers (24-22-0-5, 2.91GAA .911%) in goal as he was recalled by Edmonton on Tuesday. They will face Devan Dubnyk (7-13-0-0, 2.91GAA .911%), who was simply amazing in a 41 save effort in Saturday’s loss to the Pack.
SUNDAY VERSUS BRIDGEPORT in Bridgeport
The Pack have struggled this season against their fellow Connecticut residents this season. The Tigers goaltender Joey MacDonald, has been almost impossible for the Pack to solve this season as he has posted a 5-1 record this season against them. While the Pack had won nine straight against the Tigers in as many tries last season, this year the team is an uninspiring 2-3-0-2.
Perhaps the Pack have figured out a way to beat the Tigers as they won the last time the two teams faced on February 23 with 2 goals by Lauri Korpikoski and a great effort by P.A. Parenteau who had a goal and an assist and backed by excellent goaltending from Miika Wiikman in a 5-2 win in Hartford.
Because the parent Islanders have been so decimated by injuries this season, the Tigers are short five regulars including their two best players, All-Star Jeff Tambellini and rookie Kyle Okposo. The Tigers are fighting for their playoff lives trailing fourth place Hershey by five points with two games in hand. The Tigers play Hershey Friday night and then the following Saturday. Friday night’s contest will really determine if they stand a real chance of getting into the play-offs so they could either be super motivated or playing out the string by the time the two teams meet Sunday afternoon in Bridgeport.
AS far as who’s left, the Tigers still have Ben Walter (17, 32 49pts in 57games) and Steve Regier (19, 22 41pts in 55 games). Colton Fretter has been coming on of late with eight goals in the 10 games he’s played in since coming over from Chicago in a trade deadline deal.
The Tigers are not afraid of throwing down the gloves with the oft-suspended Kip Brennan’s 247PIM, Drew Fata’s 186PIM, Matthew Spiller’s 171PIM or Pascal Morency’s 112 minutes spent in the penalty box.
In the nets, they have the aforementioned MacDonald (13-16-1-2, 2.78GAA .913%) and Mike Morrison (22-13-0-1, 2.68 GAA, 913%) who shut out the Pack 2-0 in his only time facing them on December 29.
Game time for the Firday and Saturday night affairs are at 7:05 and Sunday’s contest with Bridgeport starts at 4:05. All games can be heard with Bob Crawford’s pregame kicking off a half hour prior on ESPN 1410AM or you can watch the games live for only $6 each by tuning in to B2Livetv.com.
In the news, Bruce Berlet takes his look at the upcoming weekend in the Hartford Courant and profiles Chris Bourque, son of the great Ray Bourque in this player profile.
Meanwhile over at the AHL website, the Pack are included in the Eastern Conference Notebook Mitch Fritz is mentioned in a piece as the winner of the Pack’s “Man of the Year” award.
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