SOMETHING’S BRUIN AT THE DUNKIN DONUTS CENTER 

   VERSUS  

The Hartford Wolf Pack travelled up to Providence to play the Bruins for the fourth time in this early part of the 2009 –2010 season and won for the third time as they rode multi point games from five players including Brodie Dupont’s first multi-goal game as a pro and beat their neighbors from Rhode Island for the third straight time 5-3 in front of 6,746 at the Dunkin Donuts Center Friday night.

P.A. Parenteau had yet another very strong game with goal and an assist to extend his points streak to five games. Over the span the Hull, Quebec native has 5g and 6a, for 11 points. Jordan Owens demonstrated why the parent New York Rangers rewarded him with a two-way contract this past off-season with a goal and an assist. Evgeny Grachev had both as well ending a four game scoreless streak. Corey Locke held on to the team lead in the race for the team scoring title on Parenteau with two assists.

The Pack seemed to start this one right where they left off the last one, pressing hard on the forecheck and getting good scoring chances, but it was James Arniel who turned things for the Baby B’s when he took the puck away from Mathieu Dandenault who whiffed on a dump in from the red line and broke in all by himself. Arniel shot from the right circle and beat Pack starter Chad Johnson over the glove for a 1-0 lead just 5:02 into the contest.

But it only took the resurging Pack 1:23 to answer back. Former Pack forward Craig Weller nearly had his head separated from his body when Ryan Garlock hit the former Pack Captain square in the chest and VERY hard. The puck, and probably a couple of filling, were loose in the neutral zone. Brodie Dupont stormed in to pick up the loose vulcanized rubber and rushed up right wing. Dupont ripped a powerful shot that soared right past the stick side of Bruin starter Dany Sabourin.

The second period saw the Pack working a traditional road strategy of dump and chase hockey. The Pack benefited by continuously winning the individual battles along the boards. But just like the first period, it was the Baby Bruins who struck first.

Bruin defenseman Jeff Penner crossed the red line with the puck and timed a lob into the Pack zone perfectly which allowed Mikko Lehtonen to get under it and the Bruin right winger fought off Bobby Sanguinetti and put a soft shot on Johnson that the rookie netminder let slide between his legs for the go ahead goal at 6:48.

But the Pack are starting to show the resiliency that will take them a long way this season. Just 1:51 later P.A. Parenteau worked the puck loose behind the net and fed Jordan Owens who was completely alone in front of the net. The Pack fourth year pro immediately deposited the puck behind Sabourin for the equalizer at 8:39.

However this time the Pack wouldn’t fall further behind but take the lead for themselves. The heavy pressure on the puck kept the Pack with the puck for long stretches in the Bruin zone.  At 13:40 the Pack took the lead when Brent Henley shot from the point was beautifully deflected by Evgeny Grachev and past Sabourin. The tally for the  Khabarovsk, Russia native was his first in four games and only the third game in 13 where the left wing had registered a goal.

It only took 2:42 for the Pack to double their lead. Dale Weise, who just seems to be in the middle of everything these days, stole the puck behind the goal line but lost the puck. A B’s defender jabbed at it and the puck slid to Grachev’s stick and out to the center of the crease where Dupont jumped all over the puck and launched a cannon ball of a shot that Sabourin had no chance on. The goal was his second of the game and gave Grachev a goal and an assist in the period.

The Bruins came out in the third and completely took the game to the visitors with a hard forecheck and pressure on the puck all over the ice. It also appeared as if the Pack had lightened up a bit in their own intensity in the game and it would eventually come back to cost them.

The Baby Bruins has tremendous chances early in the period. The first, by Weller all alone in front with an open net shot high giving the Pack an early reprieve. Moments later, Johnson rose to the occasion making a stellar save stopping Jordan Knackstedt in the crease and smothering the puck.

Referee Jeff Smith, who generally just skates and watches the game and if he feels inclined will call a penalty or two, gave Providence their first power play opportunity of the game, the Pack failed on their chance at 8:51 of the first, at 10:12 of the third frame. Apparently Smith felt that a relatively harmless Grachev pick was as good a reason as any to cover himself by saying that he at least gave Providence a chance with a man advantage.

The Pack have struggled on the penalty kill all season and entered the game 28th in the league with a putrid 75% success rate (15/60 with a league leading 5 shorties). The Pack were scrambling around in their own zone. Andy Wozniewski’s shot from the point got through. Johnson could not handle it and the puck rebounded out to Penner in the right faceoff circle. Penner saw Lehtonen all by his lonesome on the left doorstep. Lehtonen’s shot hit nothing but the back of the net and the Bruins were within a goal with 9:08 to play.

The Bruins kept coming and the Pack continued to bend. But what makes a good team is they bend but don’t break and this team is starting to show that kind of resiliency. Most of the play was in the Pack zone but the team kept the Bruins to chances primarily from the outside.

With 43.3 seconds left, Parenteau would seal the deal with an empty netter from the left side of the slot. Linemates Corey Locke and Jordan Owens assisted on the clincher.

Bob Crawford has the view from the Broadcast booth at Hartfordwolfpack.com. If the Providence Journal even bothers to send someone up the street to cover the game you’ll find it at ProJo.com. The PBruins have their own recap at ProvidenceBruins.com.

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

NOTES:

* With the win, the Pack have their first three game winning streak of the season.

* The win put the Pack over the .500 mark for the first time of the season at 7-6-0-0 and now find themselves in fourth place just a point behind I-91 rival Springfield and six points behind first place Manchester.

* The Pack entered the game winners of four of their last five all at home. They knocked off Lowell, Worcester, Lost badly to Hershey and then put more than just a little hurting on Providence and then finished the run with a victory over Manchester.

* Corey Locke leads the AHL in Scoring with 8g and 11assists for 19 points in 13 games. Parenteau is second with 18 points, 9g,9a in 11 games. Ex-Pack Alexandre Giroux has 7 goals and 10 assists for 17 points in just NINE games.

* Pack defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti is 8th overall with 15 points 4g, 11a. Sangs is tied for second overall among D-men
with Jonas Junland of Peoria and trails Andy Wozniewski by two points. Wozniewski leads overall with 17 points (5g, 12a)

* Chad Johnson is ranked 29th overall in the AHL among netminders.

* The Pack still remain first overall in the power play at 29.0% (18/62) and 28th on the PK at 73.8% (16/61 but are number one in the AHL with 5 shorties)

* In other Pack related news, former Pack center Tom Pyatt is getting his first taste of the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens.

MEANWHILE DOWN IN CHARLOTTE:

The Charlotte Checkers will "Fight For Ellie" on Sunday when they play host to the Kalamazoo Wings at 2 pm. at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Ellie Shoal Potvin is a seven-year-old girl who, last July, was diagnosed with Stage 4 Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare childhood cancer. Last season, the Checkers hosted “Lift Up Ellie Night”, raising $9,600 for Ellie’s treatment and her family’s expenses.

To help with the ongoing financial burden facing the Potvin family during Ellie’s struggle the Checkers have set up a fundraising ticket initiative for this game. Fundraiser tickets can be purchased at $15 with $6 going directly back to the family. More information can be found at http://www.gocheckers.com/ellie or by contacting Danielle Adkins at 704-444-1876 or dadkins@gocheckers.com.

* Devin DiDiomete certainly made an impact in his second game in North Carolina. The Pack’s agitator is in Charlotte after spending the start of the season on the DL with a broken arm sustained from a slash in the last exhibition game against Worcester. DiDiomete got suspended for one game as a result of an incident from Thursday night’s 7-0 trouncing by the Florida Everblades.  After watching Mike Hoffman take a run at some of the Checkers’ smaller players as the game was coming to a close, the Stratford, Ontario native, and a guy not afraid to challenge anyone, immediately went over to the Everblades’ toughest fighter, defenseman Brad Zanon, and essentially beat him like a bad habit. For sticking up for his teammates, DiDiomete received a fighting major, an game misconduct aggressor penalty which resulted in an automatic one game suspension.

DiDiomete told Howlings, “No matter what league I’m in, I’m the type of player that doesn’t let other teams take liberties on there smaller guys.” He said. “I did what I thought was right and stuck up for a teammate.” He added, “I never fight because I want to hurt people.  I do it to fire the team up or make a point. If my teammates know I’m going to be there for them going to battle, for me and that’s what its all about.”

This is nothing new for the Pack’s version of Sean Avery. “I’m an emotional player and I try and play with my heart on my sleeve. Sometimes I’m going to get suspended because of it, but as long as I have the respect from my teammates and my teammates know I’m going to be there for them, that means a lot to me and hopefully it means a lot to them too.”

DiDiomete expects to be back in game shape and in Hartford in a couple of weeks.

LINES:

Owens – Locke – Parenteau

Grachev – Arnason – Weise

Garlock – Dupont – Couture

Soryal – Crowder – Ambuhl

Sauer – Dandenault

Heikkinen – Sanguinetti

Potter – Henley

Johnson

(Assistant Captains Italicized)

SCRATCHES:

Dane Byers – Recall with NY Rangers

Devin DiDiomete – Sent to Charlotte for Conditioning

Dave Urquhart – Healthy

Nigel Williams – Healthy

THREE STARS:

1. HFD – 9 Brodie Dupont
2. PRO – 8 Mikko Lehtonen
3. HFD – 19 Evgeny Grachev

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Jeff Smith (49), Referee
Chris Millea (33), Linesman
Mark Messier (12), Linesman

NEXT GAME:

It’s off to Bridgeport, A.K.A. The Newark of Connecticut. The Pack will see last season’s captain, Greg Moore, for the first time in the uniform of their GEICO Connecticut Cup rival as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and Wolf Pack renew their rivalry and start their season series at the best facility in the division, The Arena at Harbor Yard Saturday night.

SCORE-SHEET:

Hartford 1 3 1 – 5

Providence 1 1 1 – 3

1st Period-1, Providence, Arniel 1 (McQuaid, Bodnarchuk), 5:02. 2, Hartford, Dupont 2 (Garlock), 6:25. Penalties-Arniel Pro (hooking), 8:51.

2nd Period-3, Providence, Lehtonen 4 (Penner, Wozniewski), 6:48. 4, Hartford, Owens 2 (Parenteau, Locke), 8:39. 5, Hartford, Grachev 4 (Henley, Weise), 13:40. 6, Hartford, Dupont 3 (Grachev), 16:22. Penalties-No Penalties

3rd Period-7, Providence, Lehtonen 5 (Penner, Wozniewski), 10:52 (pp). 8, Hartford, Parenteau 9 (Owens, Locke), 19:16 (en). Penalties-Grachev Hfd (interference), 10:12.

Shots on Goal-Hartford 12-9-6-27. Providence 9-7-16-32.

Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 0 of 1; Providence 1 of 1.

Goalies-Hartford, Johnson 5-3-0 (32 shots-29 saves). Providence, Sabourin 5-4-0 (26 shots-22 saves).