IT’S A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE… 

    VERSUS    

Referee Terry Koharski handed a controversial major penalty to the Hartford Wolf Pack’s Devin DiDiomete which gave the visiting Manitoba Moose a full five minute power play. The Moose capitalized on the momentum and scored two power play goals in a span of 41 seconds which was all they would need to close out a 4-2 win in front of 2,127 at the XL Center Wednesday night.

Moose defenseman Zack Fitzgerald was down on the ice for quite a while after DiDiomete finished his check. However, the hit was controversial in that depending upon who you ask, the hit was either legal, late or up high with his elbows.

“I thought it was a great call,” Moose coach Scott Arniel told reporters after the dust had settled. “(Fitzgerald) made the reverse to his partner, and it was four, five, six seconds later that the guy (DiDiomete) blindsided him.”

“I disagree,” Wolf Pack coach Ken Gernander said to the press. “(DiDiomete) hit the puck carrier, so it’s pretty hard to call interference. (Koharski) offered no explanation.”

As for the player who actually made the hit, his explanation would be one you might expect. “(Fitzgerald) reversed the puck and had his head down, and I just finished my check,” DiDiomete emphasized that, “There was no intent to hurt him or anything. I’m a physical player who when I have checks that need to be finished, I finish them.” He then added that “I didn’t think it was dirty at all. I didn’t have my elbows up or anything. I just try to finish my checks when I have an opportunity, and that’s all I did. But the ref thought it was worthy of a five-minute major, and that’s what he gave me. There’s nothing I can do about it now. It (stinks), but that’s hockey.”

On the play, Mike Ouellette followed Fitzgerald behind the net. Fitzgerald, skating from the right side behind the net reversed the puck as he continued to head to the left side. Replays shown in the arena indicated that DiDiomete, traveling hard down the Pack right wing, did arrive on the scene late and leveled the Moose defenseman with a crushing shoulder-to-shoulder hit.

According to AHL Rule 56.1, “A player may “block” path of an opponent provided he is in front of his opponent and moving in the same direction. Moving laterally and without establishing body position, then making contact with the non-puck carrier is not permitted and will be penalized as interference.”

In section 56.4 regarding the assessment of a Major Penalty, it reads as follows: “The Referee, at his discretion, may assess a major penalty, based on the degree of violence, to a player or goalkeeper guilty of interfering with an opponent.”

Based upon his interpretation of the rules, it appeared as if Koharski’s interference call was the right call to make, however whether or not the play warranted a five-minute major is where the controversy lies. Apart from the fact that Fitzgerald was hurt on the play, the hit did not appear to warrant a five-minute major.

With the score still tied at two each and 2:43 into the power play, Ouellette was attempting to clear the puck out of the zone. However, the flying puck hit Koharski and stayed in the Pack zone. Former New York Ranger, Jason Krog recovered the loose rubber and fed veteran teammate Nolan Baumgartner who in turn moved the puck to wing Michael Grabner on the right point. Pack netminder Miika Wiikman, playing in his first game since recovering from a liver ailment that kept him sidelined for five games, was screened in front by the 6’3” Guillaume Desbiens. Grabner’s hard shot beat Wiikman high to the stick side for what would prove to be the game winning goal.

Desbiens was then rewarded 41 seconds later when Krog, the reigning AHL MVP when he was a member of the Chicago Wolves, found the forward all alone and sealed the deal with a backhander past Wiikman (27 saves).

The Pack started this game fast against the AHL’s best goaltender, Cory Schneider (24 saves). Schneider has been having a magnificent season for Manitoba. He’s tops in the AHL with a minuscule 1.67 GAA and a .936 save percentage and leading the Moose to an 18-3-0-1 record when he’s between the pipes. Just 54 seconds into the contest, Patrick Rissmiller took a shot from the slot that Schneider made the initial stop on, but Johnny-On-The-Spot Tommy Pyatt was right there to slap the puck through the five-hole for the games first tally.

Manitoba tied the score at 5:16 of the second period. The Pack were unable to clear the puck out of their own zone. Jason Jaffray sent a cross ice pass behind the Pack net to Krog. The 5’11” forward then found Grabner sneaking in along the right side unencumbered by any defense and sent a perfect pass to the right-winger who fired a shot right over Wiikman’s outstretched glove.

Pyatt scored his second of the contest at 13:13. Greg Moore stripped Baumgartner in the Manitoba zone and fired a shot that rebounded off Schneider into the crease. Pyatt again slapped the rebound under the Moose netminder. But the lead would only last 1:39 as Desbiens and Baumgartner worked the puck on the left wing. Desbiens gave the puck  to Baumgartner who then made up for his previous giveaway by going hard to the net and slamming the puck past Wiikman in a goal he would most certainly want back and it beat him under the pads on the short side of the post that he was hugging.

The second period couldn’t have ended more even; seventeen shots each and two goals apiece on the scoreboard.

“It was a pretty even game, and Miika was all right,” Gernander said assessing the bottom line for reporters. “But we needed two points. It comes down to a power play, and they get (two) power-play goals.”

Bruce Berlet once again works the keyboard like a fine artist with a terrific job at Hartfordwolfpack.com. For the Manitoba perspective read the Tim Campbell piece in the Winnipeg Free Press. Isn’t it amazing how even in tough economic times a local newspaper finds it newsworthy to sends a reporter to cover their hometown MINOR LEAGUE team across the globe for a ten game road trip. Meanwhile in Hartford, the Pack’s local newspaper (the Hartford Courant) can’t even be bothered to regularly send a reporter a mile UP THE STREET to cover theirs? To give credit where credit is due, The Courant did send a reporter to stalk follow Sean Avery into the building… apparently having a Blackberry (what, no mention of what model?) and greeting the security guard qualifies as news, but the game itself gets a one paragraph recap. Read the joke of what is considered team coverage at Courant.com. They do take some nice pictures though.

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

NOTES:

* The win or Manitoba was their first since Dec. 4, 2002

* Manitoba’s leading goal-scorer is Michael Grabner (21-9-30) rejoined the Moose after missing five games to represent his native Austria in an Olympic qualifying tournament.

* Defenseman Nolan Baumgartner has scored three of his seven goals this year against Hartford, including the game-winner with 1.7 seconds left in overtime on Jan. 7

* The AHL's third- and fourth-ranked scorers in Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau (22-36-58) and Artem Anisimov (22-32-54). both saw scoring streaks snapped. Parenteau’s  six-gamer (3-7-10), and Anisimov’s four-game run (1-5-6) both came to an end.

* Here…Howlings will be the first to say it… since he’s being paraded out there as such a savior, if Sean Avery were in the game Wednesday night the team wouldn’t have lost. They’d have scored more goals and would have had 5,000 in attendance. There…it’s out there. Now let’s move on and see what The Grate One can do after not having played in a game in almost two months.

* After a streak of winning four of five, the Pack have now lost two straight.

* It’s another in a long series of accolades that deserve to be placed next to Head Coach Ken Gernander’s name when analyzing the magnificent job the former team Captain is doing that the Pack are in the position they are when the team has scored 147 goals and surrendered 153.

* The Pack are now 11-5-0-1 when leading after the first period, 8-5-0-0 and have not won once when trailing after three… a bit of humor there for your reading pleasure. Add in 13-10-1-2 when outshot and 8-7-0-0 in games decided by two goals. Manitoba conversely is 12-2-0-0 in games decided by two goals.

LINES:

Dupont – Anisimov – Parenteau

Pyatt – Rissmiller – MOORE

DiDiomete – Ouellette – Weise

Ford – (Rotated) – Sugden

Potter – Sanguinetti

Urquhart – Sauer

Denisov – Fahey

Nightingale rotated in all game long

Wiikman

SCRATCHES:

Byers – Knee – Season

Stefanishion  – Healthy

Soryal – Hand – Six Weeks

Owens – Undisclosed

THREE STARS:

1. MTB – 40 Michael Grabner
2. HFD – 47 Tommy Pyatt
3. MTB – 5 Nolan Baumgartner

ON – ICE OFFICIALS:

Terry Koharski (10), Referee
Jim Briggs (83), Linesman
Frank Murphy (29), Linesman

STANDINGS:

The Pack find themselves sitting in third place despite having the same 57 points as Portland. The Pirates sit in second because they have a game in hand. Providence starts the day atop the Atlantic division with 61 points. Worcester is in fourth at 56 points and has a game in hand on Hartford as well. Lowell has two games in hand on the Pack at 53 points in fifth. Manchester is sixth at 49 and Springfield is at the bottom of the division with 39. 

NEXT GAME:

Friday night at home against the Lake Erie Monsters. Sean Avery is not expected to play but do check the Hardly Courant to see what he orders for breakfast at the hotel and how much he tips the help.

SCOREBOARD WATCHING:

No games Thursday.

Friday night sees Springfield at Albany, Worchester visits Portland, Providence hosts San Antonio and the Moose move up to Manchester to challenge the Monarchs before returning Saturday night to take on the Pack in the back end of the two game mini-series.