IT DON’T COME EASY 

  VERSUS   

The theme song for the 1978 World Champion New York Yankees was Ringo Starr’s 1971 top 5 hit, “It Don’t Come Easy.” If this season continues to play out for the Hartford Wolf Pack the way the first four games of the 2009 – 2010 season have gone, perhaps the ex-Beatle will have some royalty money coming from the Rangers organization.

In their first visit to the Dunkin Donuts Center, the Pack were just brutal on their was to a 5-3 spanking by the home team. On Sunday afternoon, the Wolf Pack were back in P-town for a matinee rematch. Where on Friday, the special teams were the instrument of destruction on Sunday afternoon it was a power play tally from the red hot P.A. Parenteau and Dale Weise’s penalty shot goal awarded from a shorthanded rush that would be deciding factor in a 3-2 win that evened the team’s record at 2-2-0 .

In the second period, with center Corey Locke in the Sin Bin doing a two-minute stretch for a slashing penalty, second year pro, Dale Weise made a solid move defending at the top of the Pack defensive zone and intercepted an Adam McQuaid pass. Weise took the puck and made a mad rush up ice. McQuaid knowing that there was no one between him and his rookie netminder had no choice but to put a hook into Weise and dragged him down. Referee Nygel Pelletier called for a penalty shot. Weise, who is playing with an air of confidence and jump in his game, converted when he came right the slot on Dalton and put a quick release shot that ripped like a bullet right through Dalton’s pads that would prove to be the game-winner.

After coming into the second period of Saturday night’s Fight Night game with Springfield, Chad Johnson (2-1-0 22 saves) was right back in net looking to improve on his questionable performance Friday night against the Providence Bruins where he gave up four goals on twenty-five shots. While he was still far from spectacular, his performance gave his team the chance to win and that’s what you want form your netminder on any given night.

In the first contest, the Pack got themselves in trouble right away by taking unnecessary penalties. This one started off much the same. Just like they have in each of their four contests, the Pack came out right from the opening drop of the puck putting heavy forecheck pressure on their opponent. The pressure on the Baby Bruins produced a lot of quality scoring chances against first time starting netminder Matt Dalton (0-1-0, 28 saves). 

But just as they did Friday night, the Pack got into early penalty trouble and it cost them.

Just 2:35 into the contest, Pack defenseman Brent Henley took a lackadaisical hooking call putting the Pack’s struggling penalty killers (6 goals surrendered in 18 tries) on the ice. The Bruins worked the standard power play perfectly moving the puck and getting the killers moving. At 3:45, Drew Fata ripped a hard shot from just inside the blue line and it blew right past Johnson for an early 1-0 deficit.

Unlike Friday night’s game though, the Pack didn’t wilt. The team actually lifted their game and put even more pressure on the puck.

At 12:31 the team from Connecticut’s capitol got on the board. Finnish defenseman Ilkka Heikkinen tallied his first North American goal when his slap shot from the right point stayed low and found the back of the cage as Dalton hardly moved before it was behind him.

The period ended with Paul Crowder in the box on a hooking call and the Pack putting 12 on Dalton while only 5 got through to Johnson.

Coming into the game the Pack were atop the AHL power play list converting seven of twenty-one tries for 33.3%. Providence started off the period by taking the period’s three consecutive penalties including putting themselves behind the eight ball by giving the Pack power play a 50 second 5-on-3 man advantage to work with and they paid the price for it.

P.A. Parenteau increased the Pack margin when he took a pass from Heikkinen low on the left side and crashed the net. His attempt to pass the puck across the crease hit Dalton in the right pad. The puck stayed right with Parenteau while the effort to reach for the puck by Dalton seemed to move the Bruin netminder ever so slightly off the corner post. Parenteau, looking like a shark smelling blood at feeding time, jumped on it and slammed away at the puck until it got behind the Bruin netminder for the 2-1 lead at 7:32.

By the end of the second period, the Pack held a healthy 23-12 advantage in shots on goal.

But with this team, “It Don’t Come Easy.” With a two goal lead entering the third frame, the Pack could have easily gone into a prevent defense stance, but the emerging personality of this group has been their collective no quit attitude backed by aggressiveness on both ends of the ice. The only thing was they got overly aggressive and forward Dane Byers took two ill advised penalties. The first one came with just 3:17 remaining when he was called for interference.

Brad Marchand capitalized with just a single tick remaining before Byers returned to the ice when he took a cross crease pass from Jamie Arniel on the right crease, and in a bang-bang play, deposited the pill past Johnson cutting the lead to just a single tally.

With Dalton pulled from his net and with 45.6 left, Byers really took a bad hooking penalty and gave the home team a two man advantage. However the Pack stood tall against the onslaught and were able to hold on to the margin of victory.

Bob Crawford recaps the game at HartfordWolfPack.com. For the Providence perspective, the Providence Journal might decide to post something.

GAME SUMMARY  and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

NOTES:

* P.A. Parenteau leads the team in scoring with 7 points (4g, 3a). Corey Locke is second with 6 (5g, 1a)

* The Pack entered the game atop the AHL on the PP (33.3%) and were 28th in the PK (66.7%)

* The Pack are now 20-13-2-3 against the B’s in the last 5 years.

* After four games the Pack are plus-one in the goals for (16) versus Goals against (15)

LINES:

Grachev– Crowder – Parenteau

Byers–  Rissmiller – Owens

Dupont – Locke – Weise

Soryal – Arnason – Ambuhl

Williams – Potter

Heikkinen – Henley

Sauer – Sanguinetti

Johnson

SCRATCHES:

Devin DiDIomete – Broken Arm – Six Weeks

David Urquhart – Healthy

THREE STARS:

1. HFD – 49 Ilkka Heikkinen
2. PRO – 9 Zach Hamill
3. HFD – 29 Chad Johnson

ON
ICE OFFICIALS:

Nygel Pelletier (41), Referee
Scott Whittemore (96), Linesman
Todd Whittemore (19), Linesman

NEXT GAME:

Friday night in Portland against the Pirates. This is the fourth game of six that the Pack play on the road to open their first seven games of the ‘09-‘10 season.