LOCKE SEALS THE DEAL 

     VERSUS     

The Springfield Falcons entered Sunday’s game at the MassMutual Center against the Hartford Wolf Pack a desperate team. They entered the game winless in their last 14 (0-11-2-1), and the AHL’s leading scorer, Corey Locke, extended their pain for another day when his overtime goal sent the Pack home winners against their I-91 rivals, 4-3 Sunday afternoon.

Before the game Pack head coach Ken Gernander stressed the importance of not looking past Springfield, even with their struggles. “It gives them a little heightened sense of urgency for one thing,” Gernander said. “You look through their lineup there’s some talented players upfront and if you make mistakes they can cash in.” The third-year head coach then added, “Obviously we don’t take teams lightly. This is pro hockey. Everybody’s good. You’re going to battle night in and night out.”

“(P.A. Parenteau) made a great play to beat a guy (center Ryan O’Marra) down the wall in the neutral zone ” Locke said of his fourth game winner since signing as a free agent with the Rangers in July. “I just came over to support him and he put the puck right on my stick. I just tried to drag it and give myself a different shooting angle. The goalie bit on it a little bit.” Locke’s toe-drag of the puck took O’Marra, who’d come to the slot after leaving Parenteau along the right wing boards, out of the play and also created a block that kept defenseman Alex Plante from getting to him. Locke’s snap shot beat the left-handed J.P. Levasseur over the glove and into the top corner of the net at1:09 into the extra frame.

Asked if there was pressure to play a team that hasn’t won since November 21st at Hershey, “We’re not playing the best of hockey.” Locke said. “We’re playing in spurts and stuff like that. It’s always tough when you’re playing a team that hasn’t won in regulation in so many games.  You don’t want to be that team that ends it. There was some pressure and it was nice to get the two points and three-out-of-four on the weekend.”

The Pack didn’t start off this game like a team hungry for the two points. Springfield dictated the pace of the game and got on the board first. At 8:14, the game’s second star, Bill Thomas’ shot hit the glove of Pack starter Steve Valiquette and rebounded in front. Ex-Pack (and a former linemate of Gernander’s) Chad Wiseman got to the puck first and fired but that shot rebounded into the right wing corner. There Liam Reddox brought it out unchallenged and put it in front right on Wiseman’s stick and redirected it past Valiquette.

Andres Ambϋhl answered right back for the Pack 1:03 later with his fourth of the season when he found a loose puck in the slot off a Derek Couture shot.

But Springfield came right back pressuring the puck and put a shot on goal that was negated by an early whistle from Chris Cozzan. The referee felt that Pack defenseman Michael Sauer had closed his hand on the puck and sent him to the penalty box for it.

It only delayed the Falcons celebration 1:30. The Pack’s Ryan Garlock lead an odd-man, short-handed rush into the Falcon’s zone with Dane Byers and both Nigel Williams and Corey Potter pinching in. When Garlock’s shot missed, Taylor Chorney made an outstanding outlet pass that split right between Williams and Potter and found recent ECHL call-up Nikita Kashirsky all alone on a breakaway. Valiquette (28 saves, 3-3-1) went for a poke check on the young Russian but missed it and the left winger backhanded the puck over the Pack goaltender for the go-ahead power play goal.

The Pack didn’t give up and despite being badly outshot, kept coming.

Dale Weise missed on a breakaway attempt at 14:45 but then made a real sharp play pulling a Bobby Sanguinetti cross-ice pass out of his skates on the left wing side and then feeding it back in front to the right side to Brodie Dupont. The Russell, Manitoba native the out-muscled ex-Pack defenseman Dean Arsene and put it past Levasseur (28 saves, 0-6-0) for the equalizer.

Gernander’s troops came out highly motivated and ready for the second period. There were few whistles and a lot of up-and-down play over the first ten minutes of the period with the Pack holding a commanding lead in shots taken on goal.

The pressure paid dividends when Levasseur gifted the Pack a goal at 10:05. Levasseur went behind the net to play a dump in and was attempting to feed defenseman Bryan Young to his right. But as a child is instructed to look both ways before crossing the street, that would have been good advice for the young netminder as he blindly threw the puck in Young’s direction. The only problem was that Locke was standing in between the two. Levasseur’s attempted feed went right to Locke’s stick. The Pack’s first line center knew just what to do with and found linemate Parenteau all alone in front of the net and put it right on his stick. Parenteau then finished on his 11th of the season into the vacated net.

By the 15 minute mark of the period the Pack were outshooting the Falcons 11-3. But the Falcons didn’t give up.

Wiseman got pulled down by Urquhart on a breakaway and was called for tripping at 17:38 giving the Falcons their third power play opportunity of the game. Ironically, it was Urquhart who hooked Bridgeport’s Matt Martin on a similar situation that resulted in a penalty shot that shouldn’t have been while this one easily could have gone the that route but didn’t.

On the man advantage, Cody Wild had a wide open net right in front of him but mishandled the set up pass and the chance to tie the game was gone. It’s those kinds of things that plague a team when they are on a streak that the Falcons are on.

After having such a dominant second period but still only leading by a goal, the message coming out for the third period from Gernander was direct. “We didn’t want to sit back and let them attack. We wanted to play within reason and make sound decisions or make high risk plays or anything like that. But we wanted to be aggressive and stay on the attack.”

At 8:52 of the final stanza came a huge turning point. Viacheslav Trukhno fired a hard but tricky shot on net that pin-balled all over the place before Valiquette dove to his left to cover the puck with his glove before it crossed the goal line. “It hit my hip, then hit my glove, landed on my skate and then rolled off my skate towards the goal. Three ricochets.” Valiquette said.

The Wolf Pack netminder couldn’t keep it out of the net though 5:06 later when he returned the gift goal favor by misplaying the puck behind the net and had it taken away by Thomas who found Colton Fretter in front. Thomas hit Fretter with the pass and Dupont, who was the nearest one to Fretter, could not get back in time to keep the Falcon right wing from putting it in the empty net.

Bob Crawford had the call from the booth and files this game report at Hartfordwolfpack.com.  Ron Chimelis of The Republican files this report on what it was like in the Springfield locker room, which couldn’t have been a happy place, at MassLive.com.

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

STANDINGS:

NOTES:

*Among goalie Steve Valiquette’s many travels before settling into the Rangers organization was a short twenty-game stay with Springfield back in 200-2001.

* Nigel Williams set up the game winner with a pass that sprung Parenteau. Williams’ game and minutes have continued to improve. “(Williams) was pretty creative on the blue line. He had a nice game offensively I thought.” Gernander said in assessing Williams, who came to the organization in a trade in July for Brian Fahey. “We encourage them (the defenseman) to be part of the attack. A lot of times we’d rather see them support the attack from behind but (Williams) has done that a couple of times in the last couple of games he’s fronted a puck or intercepted a pass and had room to skate and when he reaches the neutral zone with it he makes a good sound play and so it’s not high risk.”

* The Pack are now 14-1-0-1 when leading after two periods and conversely are 0-11-0-2 when trailing after two. They are also 0-6-1-2 when trailing after one period.

* In one goal games, Hartford is 6-4-1-4.

* The Pack power play is fourth overall at 19.6% (31/158) and 26th on the penalty kill at 80.2% (33/167).

*Parenteau has points in three of the four games he’s played in since returning from NY (1g, 4a, 5pts) and eleven of his last twelve in the AHL (7g, 11a, 18pts).

*The much heralded Evgeny Grachev has shown that he has a lot more to learn at the AHL level before even being remotely considered for NY. In the last 13 games he has one goal and one assist and scoreless in his last five.

LINES:

Byers © – Locke – Parenteau

Grachev – Dupont – Weise

Ambϋhl – Crowder – Couture

DiDiomete – Garlock – Hoffman

Heikkinen – Sanguinetti

Potter – Williams

Urquhart – Sauer

Valiquette

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

SCRATCHES:

Jared Nightingale – Healthy

Chad Johnson – On recall with the NY Rangers

Mathieu Dandenault – Lower Body – Three – Four weeks

Jordan Owens – Facial Injury – Indefinite

Justin Soryal – Facial Injury – Indefinite

Brent Henley – Knee  – Season

THREE STARS:

1. HFD – C. Locke
2. SPR – B. Thomas
3. HFD – P. Parenteau

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:
Chris Cozzan (68)

Linesmen:
Rich Patry (52)
Robert St. Lawrence (10)

NEXT GAME:

The Pack have six Home-and-Home series this season total. They played their first against Manchester in mid November and split them, losing in Manchester 2-1 but coming back two days later and winning in Hartford 2-0. Now Springfield is up next on Wednesday at home as they look to extend their franchise worst 15 game winless streak (0-11-3-1). Game time is 7pm.

To watch the game live, you can purchased it for $6.99 at AHL-live.

The game is the last game of 2009. If you can attend the cost is as little as $10 a ticket, why not just go? For Ticket information call (860) 548-2000.

Too far away or can’t make it? Listen live at WTIC.com.

SCORE-SHEET:

Hartford Wolf Pack 4 (OT) At Springfield Falcons 3 – Status: Final OT

Dec 27, 2009 – MassMutual Center

Hartford 2 1 0 1 – 4

Springfield 2 0 1 0 – 3

1st Period-1, Springfield, Wiseman 9 (Reddox, Thomas), 8:14. 2, Hartford, Ambuhl 4 (Couture), 9:17. 3, Springfield, Kashirsky 1 (Chorney), 13:54 (pp). 4, Hartford, Dupont 7 (Weise, Sanguinetti), 18:25. Penalties-Hoffman Hfd (fighting), 5:46; Brennan Spr (fighting), 5:46; Sauer Hfd (closing hand on puck), 12:24; DiDiomete Hfd (roughing, fighting), 14:21; Plante Spr (fighting), 14:21.

2nd Period-5, Hartford, Parenteau 11 (Locke), 10:12. Penalties-Plante Spr (holding), 5:22; Chorney Spr (slashing), 10:34; Urquhart Hfd (tripping), 17:38.

3rd Period-6, Springfield, Fretter 14 (Thomas), 13:58 (pp). Penalties-Couture Hfd (high-sticking), 13:38; Dupont Hfd (holding), 18:14.

OT Period-7, Hartford, Locke 15 (Parenteau, Williams), 1:09. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Hartford 8-12-11-1-32. Springfield 15-4-12-0-31.

Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 0 of 2; Springfield 2 of 5.

Goalies-Hartford, Valiquette 3-3-1 (31 shots-28 saves). Springfield, Levasseur 0-6-0 (32 shots-28 saves).

A-3,061

MEANWHILE BACK IN CHARLOTTE

     VERSUS

CHECKERS EDGE STINGRAYS IN SEE-SAW BATTLE 
Rowe’s Two Power-play Goals Lead Charlotte To 5-4 Victory

The Charlotte Checkers got two power-play goals from Randy Rowe and Andrew Carroll scored his second game-winner in three games as the team defeated the South Carolina Stingrays, 5-4, on Sunday.

Rowe now has four goals in the last three games and 10 overall in just 16 games. Miika Wiikman stopped 21 of 25 shots for the win and is now undefeated in regulation in his last eight games (5-1-1). Michel Leveille, in his fourth game since returning from injury, chipped in with three assists.

Less than four minutes into the game, Charlotte opened the scoring and is now 11-1-4 when doing so. Aaron Slattengren brought the puck around the net from the right wing and centered to Jean-Philipp Chabot who redirected it between the legs of Stingrays goaltender Todd Ford.

The Checkers would double their lead, midway through the first period, on a power play goal by Rowe. Julien Brouillette launched a shot from the point, Ford could not control the rebound and Rowe was there to bang home the rebound.

Just over three minutes later, South Carolina got on the board as Matt Fornataro took advantage of a turnover in the Checkers’ end and beat Wiikman between the legs. They would then tie the game early in the second period on a goal by Dain Prewitt.

Charlotte, working on the power play again, took the lead at the 12-minute mark of the second period when Rowe converted a rebound past Ford on a shot by Leveille.

Again, South Carolina was there to tie the contest when Gregg Johnson, working a give-and-go play with Fornataro, notched his 10^th of the season.

In the first half of the third period, the teams would trade goals again as Tyler Doig beat Ford with a wrist shot before Stingrays forward Prewitt responded on the power play.

The stage was set for late-game heroics and Andrew Carroll delivered once again. Chabot took a shot on the South Carolina and Carroll was there to pot the rebound, his third game-winning goal of the season.

With time winding down in the third period, the Checkers were assessed two penalties and South Carolina pulled their goaltender for a six-on-three advantage. Wiikman, however, made several key saves and the Charlotte defenders were able to clear the zone, sealing the 5-4 victory.

The Checkers (16-10-4-0) will host Gwinnett on Sunday, Jan. 3. Game time is 2 p.m. and ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL GAME SHEET 

NOTES:

* Ryan Munce ranks second among all ECHL goaltenders with a .922 save percentage…

* Tyler Doig has 13 points in his last 11 games…

* Randy Rowe has four goals in the last three games and now has 399 career ECHL points…

* Miika Wiikman has only one regulation loss in nine games this season (5-1-2)…

* Rookie Andrew Carroll has three game-winning goals in the last eight games…

* T.J. Reynolds leads all ECHL players with 137 penalty minutes, and is tied for the lead league in plus-minus with a +18 rating…

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

THREE STARS:

1. CHR – R. Rowe
2. CHR – T. Doig
3. CHR – M. Leveille

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:
Jason Rollins (13)

Linesmen:
Mark Hamlett (81)
Terry Wicklum (98)

NEXT GAME:

The Checkers have a week off and don’t play again until Sunday January 3, when they start off the new year at home against the Gwinnett Gladiators at 2pm.

SCORE SHEET:

Charlotte Checkers 5 At South Carolina Stingrays 4 – Status: Final

Dec 27, 2009 – North Charleston Coliseum

Charlotte 2 1 2 – 5

South Carolina 1 2 1 – 4

1st Period-1, Charlotte, Chabot 5 (Slattengren), 3:47. 2, Charlotte, Rowe 9 (Brouillette, Leveille), 9:38 (pp). 3, South Carolina, Fornataro 18 (Ricci), 13:07. Penalties-Reynolds Chr (fighting – major), 2:21; Kiser Sc (fighting – major), 2:21; Johnson Sc (hooking), 7:18; Romfo Sc (cross-checking), 8:53; Brouillette Chr (tripping), 11:23; Johnson Sc (high-sticking), 12:14; Kiser Sc (holding), 14:22; Berube Chr (fighting – major), 17:18; Scherer Sc (tripping, fighting – major), 17:18; Roche Chr (hooking), 18:54.

2nd Period-4, South Carolina, Prewitt 3 (Ricci, Johnson), 5:50. 5, Charlotte, Rowe 10 (Doig, Leveille), 12:05 (pp). 6, South Carolina, Johnson 10 (Fornataro, Prewitt), 17:03. Penalties-Reynolds Chr (roughing, roughing), 1:32; Roche Chr (roughing), 1:32; Carbery Sc (roughing), 1:32; Romfo Sc (cross-checking), 11:23; Kroll Sc (roughing), 14:32; Reynolds Chr (slashing ), 19:57.

3rd Period-7, Charlotte, Doig 9 (Leveille, Reynolds), 5:41. 8, South Carolina, Prewitt 4 (Campbell, Johnson), 9:54 (pp). 9, Charlotte, Carroll 11 (Chabot, Slattengren), 15:26. Penalties-Taylor Chr (slashing ), 9:21; Romfo Sc (tripping), 10:26; Reynolds Chr (tripping), 17:56; Carroll Chr (delay of game), 18:55.

Shots on Goal-Charlotte 12-8-10-30. South Carolina 5-12-8-25.

Power Play Opportunities-Charlotte 2 of 8; South Carolina 1 of 7.

Goalies-Charlotte, Wiikman 5-1-1-1 (25 shots-21 saves). South Carolina, Ford 16-6-0-1 (30 shots-25 saves).

A-4,242