The Wolf Pack are a team peaking at the right time…Here’s what lies ahead in the Wolf Pack Weekly…
WOLF PACK WEEKLY: March 31-April 6, 2008
The Wolf Pack swept a four-game week this past week, allowing them to break the 100-point mark for the fourth time in the last five seasons, and the fifth time in the team’s 11-year history. The Pack established what was at that point a team season high in goals Wednesday, in an 8-2 victory at Lowell. Friday saw the Wolf Pack knock off Worcester, 3-2, at the XL Center, giving the Pack a sweep of the season series with the Sharks (8-0-0-0), the first time in franchise history that the club has been perfect in a season series as long as eight games. Saturday was a record-setting night, as the Wolf Pack drubbed Springfield at home by a score of 10-1, the most lopsided victory ever by the Pack. The ten goals also tied the franchise record most goals in a single game. Then, in a GEICO Connecticut Cup Game on Sunday in Bridgeport, the Wolf Pack edged the Sound Tigers, 4-3 in a shootout, snapping a string of six straight losing shootouts for the Pack. The Wolf Pack have now won five straight games, and are unbeaten in regulation in seven in a row (7-0-0-1) and 10 of their last 11 (9-1-0-1). Greg Moore (3-4-7) and P.A. Parenteau (2-5-7) led the Wolf Pack scoring parade during the 4-0-0-0 week.
This week:
The Wolf Pack hit the road for a pair of key Atlantic-Division contests, then play their last Sunday home game of the year. The Pack get their last crack at first-place Providence Friday in Providence (7:05), then visit the team with whom they are battling for second place in the Atlantic, the Portland Pirates, on Saturday (7:05). Sunday’s home game faces off at 4:00, and pits the Wolf Pack against the Lowell Devils.
Tuesday, April 1st – “Wolf Pack Confidential”, on ESPN Radio 1410
This week’s edition of the Wolf Pack’s weekly Tuesday-night talk show features Wolf Pack veteran Thomas Pöck and rookie Jordan Owens as scheduled guests. Wolf Pack Confidential airs live from the M&M Restaurant at the Hilton Hartford, located at 315 Trumbull St. in downtown Hartford, from 7:00-8:00 PM. Fans are welcome to be on hand at M&M for an exclusive opportunity to ask questions and speak one-on-one with the guests. Wolf Pack Confidential can be heard live on the radio home of the Wolf Pack, ESPN Radio 1410.
Friday, April 4th at Providence (Dunkin’ Donuts Center Providence), 7:05 p.m.
• This is the last of eight regular-season battles between the Wolf Pack and the Bruins. The Pack are 2-3-1-1 thus far in the season series, but have gained at least a standings point in all three of their previous visits to Providence (1-0-1-1).
• The Bruins are 50-16-3-4 for 107 points, and lead the Wolf Pack by six points for the top spot in the Atlantic Division. The P-Bruins have lost in regulation only once in their last 12 games (8-1-0-3).
• Pascal Pelletier (35-35-70 in 67 GP) is tied for the AHL lead in goals and tied for seventh in the league in points, and Jeff Hoggan leads all AHL players in plus/minus, at a +37.
• Broadcast – live with Bob Crawford at www.hartfordwolfpack.com, or watch on B2 Networks! Go to www.hartfordwolfpack.com for details.
Saturday, April 5th at Portland (Cumberland County Civic Center), 7:05 p.m.
• Head Coach Kevin Dineen’s Pirates broke a four-game losing streak with a 2-0 home shutout of Albany on Sunday, running Portland’s record to 43-26-2-4 for 92 points. The third-place Pirates trail the second-place Wolf Pack by nine points, and one more win by the Wolf Pack, or regulation loss by the Pirates, clinches at least a second-place finish for the Pack.
• The Wolf Pack are 3-2-1-1 in the season series vs. the Pirates, but have lost two of their three previous trips to Portland, including a 3-0 shutout defeat in their last visit, March 2nd.
• Andrew Ebbett leads the Pirates in point-scoring, with 17-50-67 in 69 games, tied for ninth in the AHL and three points up on teammate Geoff Platt. Platt’s 32 goals tie him with the Wolf Pack’s P.A. Parenteau for fourth in the league in goals, and Platt sits tied for 11th in the AHL in points, with 64 in 70 games.
• Broadcast – live with Bob Crawford at www.hartfordwolfpack.com, or watch on B2 Networks! Go to www.hartfordwolfpack.com for details.
Sunday, April 6th vs. Lowell at the XL Center, 4:00 p.m.
• This game will feature a pre-game sled hockey game between the CT Sled Hockey Team and a team comprised of local celebrities, including former Hartford Whalers Russ Anderson, Yvon Corriveau, Bob Crawford, Chris Govedaris, Chris Kotsopoulos, Gerry McDonald and Garry Swain, as well as former Wolf Pack Todd Hall.
• Doors will open at 1:30 PM for the sled hockey game, which faces off at 2:00, and a ticket to the Wolf Pack game is also good for admission to the sled hockey game. Fans can purchase red-level seats, normally $23 each, for $17 apiece for this game, by going on-line to www.hartfordwolfpack.com, clicking on “Buy Tickets Now” and entering the special offer code “SLED”. $3 from each ticket purchased through this special offer code will go to support the CT Sled Hockey Team. That offer applies only to tickets purchased on-line in advance.
• The Wolf Pack encourages fans to bring their skates, as everyone holding a ticket to the game will be invited to come down on to the ice for a post-game skating session.
• The “Family Value” packages available for Friday-night games will also be available for this game. Family Value Night packages include tickets, hot dogs or pizza slices, sodas and a Wolf Pack souvenir, and start as low as $39 per family. To purchase a Family Value Night package, call the Wolf Pack ticket office at (860) 548-2000, or go on-line to www.hartfordwolfpack.com, click on “Buy Tickets Now” and use the special offer code “TFAM”.
• Postgame activities also include the Wolf Pack’s annual team awards ceremony.
• After their 8-2 win over the Devils in Lowell on Wednesday, the Pack are 5-1-0-1 in the season series against the New Jersey farmhands.
• The Devils trail the field in the Atlantic Division, with a record of 24-38-7-4 for 59 points, but have won two in a row coming into this week and are 3-2-0-0 in their last five.
• Radio – live with Bob Crawford on ESPN Radio 1410, and on the web at: www.hartfordwolfpack.com, or watch on B2 Networks! Go to www.harfordwolfpack.com for details.
Recent Transactions:
Bruce Graham – Reassigned by the New York Rangers from the Wolf Pack to Charlotte (ECHL).March 26th.
Mike Taylor – Signed by the Wolf Pack to an Amateur Tryout (ATO) agreement March 27th.
Pack Tracks:
The Wolf Pack’s final home game of the regular season, Saturday, April 12th, a GEICO Connecticut Cup battle with Bridgeport (7:00 faceoff), is the Wolf Pack’s annual “Fan Appreciation Night”, sponsored by NAVYForMoms.com. 29 lucky fans will go home with an authentic game jersey, courtesy of the Pack players giving the “Shirts off Our Backs”.
Wolf Pack winger Mitch Fritz, who last week was named the Wolf Pack’s American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year, will be making a pair of appearances this week. On Tuesday, April 1st, Fritz will be on hand at Wolcott Elementary School, 71 Wolcott Rd., West Hartford (860-561-2300), from 2:00-3:00 PM. Then this Thursday, April 3rd, Fritz will visit patients at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, 282 Washington St., Hartford (860-545-9000) from 1:30-2:30 PM.
Sonar, the Wolf Pack’s lovable mascot, will visit the McDonald’s Active Achievers program at Highland Park Elementary School, 397 Porter St. in Manchester, CT (860-647-3430), this Tuesday, April 1st from 9:00-11:00 AM.
96.5 TIC’s Acoustic Café Volume 7, the proceeds from which benefit the Hartford Wolf Pack Community Foundation, is on sale now at the Wolf Pack store at Hartford 21, Strawberries and FYE stores and on-line at www.965tic.com. Acoustic Café Volume 7 features exclusive performances by Daughtry, KT Tunstall, Lifehouse, Avril Lavigne, Mat Kearney, Bowling for Soup, The Fray, Collective Soul and Mandy Moore. The CD costs only $9.65, and each CD also includes a voucher redeemable for a free ticket to a Wednesday or Sunday Wolf Pack home game.
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