END OF WHAT SEEMED LIKE AN ERA 

    VERSUS    

The Hartford Wolf Pack ended their six game losing streak, the team’s longest since the 2000-2001 season, with a 2-1 gutsy victory in overtime over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers Saturday night at the XL Center. The 5,752 in attendance on “Hometown Heroes Night” saw an outstanding finish to a highly entertaining game as Dale Weise buried a spectacular pass from Brodie Dupont on the left doorstep at 1:15 of the extended session.

Weise’s goal was redemption for the Winnipeg, Manitoba native after being issued a ten minute misconduct for protesting the lack of, what the right winger felt, were two obviously blown calls by referee Terry Koharski. As he left the ice behind the bench, Wolf Pack head coach Ken Gernander was incensed and shouted at Weise before slamming the door hard behind the departed forward.

“(Weise) got a chance to redeem himself for the penalties in the second there and came through for us there,” Gernander said afterwards. “(Weise’s effort) compared to a lot of people there that really fought to get themselves off the mat.”

On the play, Dupont cleanly won a faceoff against ex-Pack captain Greg Moore back to Bobby Sanguinetti on the left point. The Jersey defenseman fired a low hard shot on Bridgeport starting netminder Scott Munroe, (27 Saves, 8-7-1). The shot rebound kicked out to Dupont who was tied up by both Bridgeport defenseman, Mark Wotten and Jon Gleed. Wotten knocked Dupont to the ice, but he didn’t give up on the puck. “I more or less just threw it into an area,” Dupont said speaking of the play in the locker room to reporters. “We (he and Weise) have a pretty good chemistry, so whenever he yells, generally he’s open.”

Weise received the puck just inside the left circle. With Munroe down trying to cover a potential Dupont shot, it was left to Gleed to try and cover the vacated net. Gleed gave a baseball sliding attempt to distract Weise, but to no avail as the Pack’s best player since the departure of P.A. Parenteau wristed it hard into the twine for the victory.

“It was pretty important for us,” Gernander said. “We’ve been struggling to get points the last few nights.” He then added that, “It was probably as big as the two points was, the effort that we had.  The guys really gutted it out and ground one out. It was a good win and hopefully we got things turned around now.”

Also scoring highly on the redemption front was goaltender Steven Valiquette. The veteran netminder, to be kind, has been struggling to rediscover the game that got him a three year stay in New York as Henrik Lundqvist’s backup, also came up with a huge performance that didn’t go unnoticed by his coach.

“Valiquette had a couple of rough starts,” Gernander said. “We needed a big game from him and he came through for us…He was an important part of our win. There was a lot of pieces  and he was one of them. He had a good night”

What Gernander and the Pack have most to be excited about was the effort and heart that had so been lacking the past couple of weeks.

“I can’t complain (about the effort) there were some guys there that played some big minutes . Again, we still have some discipline things that we got to clean up. We kind of put ourselves behind the eight-ball and tagged some of our better players but the guys on the ice really gutted it out.”

The Pack broke through in the first period and got a lead at 13:33. Evgeny Grachev scored his first goal since November 25th in a 4-1 win against Lowell, when he took another terrific pass from Dupont on the right side of the crease and put it past Munroe on the short side. What made the shot truly amazing was that it so appeared that Munroe had the entire short side covered, that it seemed like a magic trick that he got it through there. Matt Gilroy, playing in his second AHL game recorded his second assist in as many nights on the play.

The game remained a physical positional game throughout the remainder of the first and through the second period. Both teams had excellent scoring changes thwarted by some spectacular goaltending by both Valiquette (25 saves, 1-2-0).

At 7:13 of the second, Munroe was incredible swallowing up a Paul Crowder one-on-one battle in front of the net while Valiquette negated a Greg Mauldin breakaway.

In the third, at 1:26 Munroe kept it a one goal game when he absolutely robbed the AHL’s leading scorer, Pack center Corey Locke.

Corey Potter hit a crossbar at 8:35 off a Dane Byers feed, but on the ensuing defensive play in his own zone, Potter fumbled the puck in front and left a gift for Matt Martin right in front of the crease. Martin picked it up and backhanded it over Valiquette’s glove tying the score at one.

But the Pack goaltender’s battle didn’t falter just 35 seconds later when Valiquette stoned Mark Flood going post-to-post to deny the Tiger defenseman of the go–ahead goal.

Munroe answered with some nifty saves when from 12:30 to 14:40 the Pack put on puck possession show and didn’t leave the Tiger zone in what might have been their best shift of the season, despite not scoring over the span.

Gilroy then showed why the New York Rangers signed the Hobey Baker winner when he took the puck from behind his own net and skated around and through all five Sound Tiger players and nearly scored on a wraparound try and would have if not for a spectacular recovery by Munroe who just got a piece of the puck to deny the North Bellmore, Long Island native his first AHL goal.

“(Being in contention for the division) was one of the things we stressed before the game,” Gernander stated.  “We’re not playing our best hockey right now; things haven’t been going our way. But if you look at the standings and how tight things are they can change in a good weekend, so like I said it was a good win, the guys gutted it out and we’re pretty happy right now.”

The head coach added that he hoped, “there’s some carry over (from Saturday’s win) that good feeling tonight carries over (Sunday) and we can get another good 60.”

 Brian Ring has the Hartford story at Hartfordwolfpack.com.  One of our favorite scribes covers the story for Bridgeport as Mike Fornabaio can be read in the Connecticut Post.

 GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

 NOTES:

* The Pack entered the third period having not registered ten shots in a single period in five periods. The last 10+ shot period came in the third period of Sunday’s 9-2 loss at Hershey spanning five periods of play.

* After the game the Rangers Goaltender Shuffle continued as Zaba was sent back to New York, Chad Johnson was returned to Hartford which means he will be in net this afternoon against Albany.

* With all the congestion in the Atlantic Division, the Pack are in seventh place with 31 points, but are only two points out of second place behind Lowell’s 33. Only Manchester seems to be pulling away a bit in first with 41 points.

* Corey Locke still sits atop the AHL scoring race wit h35 points (12g, 23a)

* Dale Weise and Steve Pinizzotto of Hershey are tied for the AHL lead with three shorthanded goals

* Bobby Sanguinetti is the most prolific scorer in the AHL. He has 6g and 17 helpers for 23 points. Andy Wozniewski has the same production, but in two more games.

LINES:

Byers © –Dupont – Couture

Locke – Crowder – Weise

Grachev – Garlock – Hoffman

DiDiomete – Carroll – Ambϋhl

Potter – Sanguinetti

Williams – Gilroy

Urquhart – Sauer

Valiquette

(Assistant Captains bold & italicized)

SCRATCHES:

Jared Nightingale – Healthy

Justin Soryal – Upper Body – Day-to-Day

Matt Zaba – On recall with the NY Rangers

Illka Heikkinen – On recall with the NY Rangers

Mathieu Dandenault – Lower Body – Indefinite

Jordan Owens – Facial Injury – Indefinite

Brent Henley – Lower Body Injury – Four to Six weeks

THREE STARS:

1. HFD – B. Dupont
2. HFD – S. Valiquette
3. HFD – D. Weise

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:
Terry Koharski (10)

Linesmen:
Derek Wahl (46)
Paul Simeon (66)

NEXT GAME:

The Pack are right back at it again as they host the Albany River Rats and look to find the “Carry over” that Gernander spoke of when they go to battle at 4pm.  The game will be broadcast on WTIC-AM starting with the Pre-game at 3:30. Bob Crawford, Mark Bailey and Scott Gray will have the call which can also be purchased at AHL-live.

SCORE-SHEET:

Dec 12, 2009 – XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Bridgeport 0 0 1 0 – 1

Hartford 1 0 0 1 – 2

1st Period-1, Hartford, Grachev 7 (Dupont, Gilroy), 13:33 (pp). Penalties-Byers Hfd (high-sticking), 3:31; Rechlicz Bri (misconduct – unsportsmanlike conduct), 10:16; Haskins Bri (holding the stick), 11:42; DiBenedetto Bri (roughing), 17:33; Gleed Bri (fighting), 17:33; Carroll Hfd (fighting), 17:33; Garlock Hfd (roughing, unsportsmanlike conduct), 17:33.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Klementyev Bri (high-sticking), 2:05; Rechlicz Bri (fighting), 7:34; Hoffman Hfd (fighting), 7:34; Smith Bri (interference), 9:12; Weise Hfd (unsportsmanlike conduct, misconduct – abuse of officials), 10:35; DiBenedetto Bri (roughing), 17:44; Carroll Hfd (roughing), 17:44.

3rd Period-2, Bridgeport, Martin 6   9:03. Penalties-No Penalties

OT Period-3, Hartford, Weise 9 (Dupont, Sanguinetti), 1:15. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Bridgeport 8-11-6-1-26. Hartford 7-9-11-2-29.

Power Play Opportunities-Bridgeport 0 of 3; Hartford 1 of 3.

Goalies-Bridgeport, Munroe 8-7-1 (29 shots-27 saves). Hartford, Valiquette 1-2-0 (26 shots-25 saves).

A-5,752

MEANWHILE DOWN IN CHARLOTTE:

    VERSUS     

CHECKERS DOWN FLORIDA 3-0 IN RUBBER MATCH 

Munce Stops All 47 Shots To Earn Shutout

The Charlotte Checkers jumped out to an early lead and Ryan Munce took care of the rest as the team downed the Florida Everblades, 3-0, on Saturday. With the win, Charlotte earned five of a possible six points in the three-game mini-series.

Kenny Roche led the way offensively for the Checkers with two goals, including the game-winner. Munce stopped all 47 shots he faced and, for the second night in a row, was named the game’s first star.

Just over a minute and a half into the game, Roche was awarded a penalty shot when he was hauled down by a Florida defender but could not solve Florida goaltender Barry Brust. He would make good just three minutes later, however, as he one-timed a Tyler Doig pass through the legs of Brust for his team-leading 11^th of the season.

The Checkers then took a 2-0 lead for the third game in a row against the Everblades on another one-time shot from Roche, his second of the game and 12^th of the season.

Charlotte held a 22-11 shot advantage after the first period and would add another goal just under eight minutes into the second. T.J. Reynolds took a shot from the point and Mike Harder grabbed the rebound and scored on the wraparound for his second in three games since joining the Checkers.

Florida would apply constant pressure and Munce turned away several scoring chances before an unusual event took place. With 1:15 to play in the second, a Florida player hit the post and the fans at Germain Arena prematurely threw stuffed animals on the ice as part of “Teddy Bear Toss” night. The officials decided to head to intermission and complete the remaining 21:15 of the game after clean-up and a resurfacing.

The stoppage seemed help the Checkers as Florida could not seem to get the momentum back. Munce turned aside all 10 shots he faced in the third and the Checkers earned their second win in as many nights.

The Checkers (14-6-3-0) will continue their five-game road trip on Sunday in South Carolina and will return to Time Warner Cable Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 16 to host South Carolina. Game time is 7 p.m. and ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com

 GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

NOTES:

* Ryan Munce has stopped 83 of the last 84 shots he has faced

* Kenny Roche is on a three-game goal streak (4g) and has 11 goals in his last 13 games

* Mike Harder has two goals in three games since joining the team

* T.J. Reynolds leads all ECHL defensemen with 97 penalty minutes and 11 fighting majors and leads the Checkers with a +14 rating

* In Friday’s game, Randy Rowe played in his 500^th pro game and Harder his 600^th

* Trevor Glass, Codey Burki and Aaron Slattengren are on the 21-day injured reserve.

THREE STARS:

1. CHR – R. Munce
2. CHR – K. Roche
3. CHR – J. Brouillette

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:
Joe Sullivan (4)

Linesmen:
Matt Devivo (44)
Jay Jacobs (54)

SCORE SHEET:

Charlotte Checkers 3 At Florida Everblades 0 – Status: Unofficial Final

Dec 12, 2009 – Germain Arena

Charlotte 2 1 0 – 3

Florida 0 0 0 – 0

1st Period-1, Charlotte, Roche 11 (Doig, Taylor), 4:28. 2, Charlotte, Roche 12 (Schepke, Chabot), 14:59. Penalties-Chabot Chr (tripping), 8:37; Taylor Chr (slashing ), 9:34; Reid Fla (unsportsmanlike conduct), 9:34; Morrison Fla (tripping), 11:27; Doig Chr (roughing, roughing), 12:42; Lang Fla (roughing, roughing), 12:42; Duffy Fla (delay of game), 16:00; Dowzak Chr (unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:59; McJannet Fla (unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:59.

2nd Period-3, Charlotte, Harder 5 (Reynolds, Chappell), 7:54. Penalties-Dowzak Chr (fighting – major), 2:20; McJannet Fla (fighting – major), 2:20; Harder Chr (hooking), 3:42; Lang Fla (interference), 5:47; Snavely Chr (slashing ), 15:59.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Rowe Chr (hooking), 8:22; Doig Chr (slashing ), 13:56; Schepke Chr (tripping), 15:50; Carlson Fla (slashing ), 16:16.

Shots on Goal-Charlotte 22-8-12-42. Florida 11-26-10-47.

Power Play Opportunities-Charlotte 0 of 4; Florida 0 of 6.

Goalies-Charlotte, Munce 4-2-0-0 (47 shots-47 saves). Florida, Brust 3-1-0-2 (42 shots-39 saves).

A-6,586

Referees-Joe Sullivan (4).

Linesmen-Matt Devivo (44), Jay Jacobs (54)