PACK BRUIN OVERTIME VICTORY AT DUNKIN DONUTS CENTER

Over the course of an 80 game season, you’re going to win some you don’t deserve to win and lose some you don’t deserve to lose. This battle between Atlantic Division rivals saw the Hartford Wolf Pack outwork the Providence Bruins earning a well deserved 2-1 overtime win at the Dunkin Donuts Center Sunday afternoon.

Third line center Paul Crowder’s ninth goal of the season at 2:06 into overtime was the difference. It seemed fitting that the goal would come with Crowder on the ice. His line with Devin DiDiomete and Derek Couture were the hardest working line of the night. Over and over again they would keep the puck buried in the Bruins zone and pin their hosts down. After the Pack penalty killers successfully fended off the Bruins man-advantage attack for AHL All-Star Bobby Sanguinetti’s retaliatory hooking call that came at 12:28, Head Coach Ken Gernander sent his third line onto the ice. Crowder, DiDiomete and Couture then simply out-worked, out-hustled and out-battled the Bruins defenders. The Third line Hartford unit held onto the puck in the offensive zone for almost three solid minutes firing four shots on net until Bruins netminder Kevin Regan (27 saves, 3-5-0) was able to get hold of the puck and freeze it. It was probably the Pack’s most dominant shift of the season. Without question the Pack’s best shift of the game.

The game winner came with the Pack storming the Bruins yet again. After a Crowder face-off win, Ilkka Heikkinen brought the puck down low along the right wing side. Heikkinen then fought off fellow Finn Mikko Lehtonen and made his way with the puck to the front of the net. Heikkinen’s shot attempt was blocked and the puck moves up through the left wing circle and to the point. Michael Sauer, who had a strong game himself, corralled it in and handed it off to Dane Byers. The Pack left winger then moved the puck just inside the left circle and unloaded a hard slap shot. Regan was square to Byers but was unable to handle it cleanly and it bounced out in front of the crease. Crowder got inside positioning on defenseman Jeff Penner and was able to fire a follow up shot that found it’s way into the back of the net for the game winner. The goal was Crowder’s first AHL game winner.

Hartford scored the first goal of the game breaking a streak of four consecutive games where the opposition tallied first at 12:56 of the second period.

Lane MacDermid was given a cross checking call for knocking down DiDiomete after it looked like the Pack agitator was about to get his first tally of the season giving the Pack their second power play of the game. The Pack controlled the puck in the offensive zone and were moving the puck without much difficulty from the Bruins defenders. P.A. Parenteau made a cross ice feed from low on the left side out to Heikkinen on the right point. Heikkinen then fed Sanguinetti on the left point. The puck hit Regan and the Bruin netminder could not hold on to it and the puck rebounded into the crease. Dale Weise battled down low against Andy Wozniewski and Drew Larman and got his stick on it and poked it into the net behind Regan for his fifteenth of the season.

Regan did manage to keep his team in the game making a remarkable stop minutes later. With Evgeny Grachev holding the puck on the right side, the young Russian rookie made a great pass that found Brodie Dupont all by himself. Regan dove to his left to deny Dupont’s bid for his eighth of the season.

By the way they were playing and dictating tempo and controlling the puck it looked like the Pack were going to take this one from their hosts in regulation. With just 3:40 left in the third period, just two seconds after the Pack had killed off Dane Byers tripping call, Chad Johnson, just back from the Rangers for this game, could not handled Kirk MacDonald’s shot and the puck fell in front of him. The teams scrambled to get it, but Zach Hamill was able to poke it past Johnson (30 saves, 13-7-2) and send the game to the extra frame.

The win was the third straight in net for the Pack rookie netminder and insured that the Pack have put standings points on the tally sheet in ten of their last thirteen (8-3-0-2) and is a major reason why the Pack wake up Monday morning finding themselves in fourth place all by themselves. The Pack are just eight points behind Manchester for top spot in the Atlantic Division. They will play their third home-and-home against Providence next Saturday. They follow that up with playing three of their next four, and four of their next seven, including a home-and-home, against first place Manchester.

Bob Crawford reports his game summary at Hartfordwolfpack.com.  The Providence Journal doesn’t even have a story on the game. The only coverage of the game from the Providence side can be found at the Bruins own site, ProvidenceBruins.com.

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

STANDINGS:

 

NOTES:

* The Pack improved their road record to 8-12-0-2. In case you’re curious they are 13-3-1-2 at home in the XL Center. If they can work their magic on the road and get to say at least .500 on the road, this will become a VERY dangerous team come playoff time. What will be a VERY interesting story to watch is down the stretch who’s in the net for the Pack. Zaba has regained the form that he had last season. Valiquette has the veteran presence and has been there before but has been very hot and cold since being sent down by the Rangers and Johnson, to quote Zaba, has been “playing out of his mind,” but is still a rookie and will still be shuttling back-and-forth with New York.

* The Wolf Pack are averaging 20.2 minutes a game in penalties good for third in the division. Springfield averages 21.8 and the Sound Tigers are second at 20.7. Manchester, as you might imagine averages the fewest with 14.0 per while the Sharks clock in at 15.4. The Bruins follow up next at 16.3 with the Devils at 17.85 and Portland at 18.95. Devin DiDiomete leads the team with 85 minutes of isolation time in the box.

* This was the first time in the last four games that the Pack were the first team to score.

* 8-8-0-2 is the Pack record when being outshot by opponents. 13-7-1-2 when they are the ones putting more shots on goal.

* 9-5-1-4 in one goal games is nothing to sneeze at. If you consider that the OTL and SOL are still losses, that makes them 9-10 in one-goal games which could pose them great problems come playoff time when games are played much closer to the vest and scoring goes down.

LINES:

Byers © – Locke – Parenteau
Grachev – Dupont – Weise
DiDiomete – Crowder – Couture
Ambϋhl – Garlock – SoryalSauer – Williams
Potter – Sanguinetti 
Heikkinen – Nightingale

Johnson
Valiquette

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

SCRATCHES:

Dave Urquhart – Healthy Scratch
Daniel Tkaczuk – Healthy Scratch
Mike Hoffman – Undisclosed injury – Day-to-Day
Matt Zaba – On recall with the NY Rangers
Mathieu Dandenault – Lower Body – Three – Four weeks
Jordan Owens – Facial Injury – Indefinite
Brent Henley – Knee  – Season

THREE STARS:

1. HFD – P. Crowder
2. HFD – C. Johnson
3. PRO – Z. Hamill

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:
Ryan Fraser (14)

Linesmen:
Luke Galvin (2)
Mark Messier (12)

NEXT GAME:

The Pack are off until Saturday the 16th when they will finsih this home-and-home with the Bruins at the XL Center. Game time is 7:05.

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

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 2 (OT) At Providence Bruins 1 – Status: Final OT

Jan 10, 2010 – Dunkin’ Donuts Center

Hartford 0 1 0 1 – 2

Providence 0 0 1 0 – 1

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Nightingale Hfd (fighting), 1:57; MacDermid Pro (fighting), 1:57; Wozniewski Pro (boarding), 1:57; Weise Hfd (fighting), 4:38; LoVecchio Pro (fighting), 4:38; Sanguinetti Hfd (hooking), 12:28.

2nd Period-1, Hartford, Weise 15 (Sanguinetti, Heikkinen), 12:56 (pp). Penalties-Parenteau Hfd (tripping), 0:09; MacDermid Pro (cross-checking), 11:54; Weller Pro (holding), 15:25; DiDiomete Hfd (interference), 18:42.

3rd Period-2, Providence, Hamill 7 (Knackstedt, Fata), 16:20. Penalties-Nightingale Hfd (cross-checking), 3:34; Byers Hfd (tripping), 14:18.

OT Period-3, Hartford, Crowder 9 (Heikkinen, Byers), 2:06. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Hartford 9-12-6-2-29. Providence 11-12-8-0-31.

Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 1 of 3; Providence 0 of 5.

Goalies-Hartford, Johnson 13-7-2 (31 shots-30 saves). Providence, Regan 3-5-0 (29 shots-27 saves).

A-6,269

 

MEANWHILE BACK IN CHARLOTTE

     VERSUS              

CHECKERS’ ROAD WOES CONTINUE IN TOLEDO
Four Power-play Markers Help Walleye Down Charlotte 6-3

The Charlotte Checkers fell behind on three power-play goals in the first period and were not able to bounce back as they were defeated, 6-3, by the Toledo Walleye on Sunday evening.

Kenny Roche notched a goal and an assist while Ryan Munce stopped 29 shots in a losing cause for the Checkers. The Walleye scored five special-teams goals – four on the power play and one by way of a penalty shot that was called with the man-advantage.

With the loss, the Checkers were held without a point on their three-game road trip after heading up north on a three-game win streak.

Toledo got on the board first, on the power play, just over four minutes into the game as Bryan Ewing grabbed the puck at the point, skated into the slot and beat Munce between the legs for his eighth of the year.

The Walleye then added two more with the man-advantage before the period would end. Derek Nesbitt made a cross-ice pass to David Phillips who redirected it past Munce before Evan Rankin skated toward the net and tipped home an Adam Hobson pass with one second to play.

Toledo then added another, just over six minutes into the second, before the Checkers replied with two of their own. Aaron Slattengren tipped a Steve Ward point shot home for his fourth of the season before Codey Burki buried a Jean-Philipp Chabot rebound just 16 seconds later to cut the Walleye lead to two.

The Checkers would fall behind by three again when J.C. Sawyer blasted a point shot past Munce on the power play with just over two minutes to play in the second. The goal was Sawyer’s 16th of the season which leads all ECHL defensemen.

Things did not get any easier from there as Toledo, working on the power play again, were awarded a penalty shot. Maxime Tanguay made no mistake as he stopped at the net, deked Munce and slid home his 13th of the season.

Midway through the third, Kenny Roche cut the Walleye lead to three as he forced a turnover in the slot and buried a shot past Thomas McCollum for his 15th of the year. The goal put Roche in a tie with Andrew Carroll for the team lead, however, it wasn’t enough and Toledo walked away with the 6-3 victory.

The Checkers (18-13-4-0) will return home to host the Gwinnett Gladiators on Wednesday. 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

STANDINGS:

TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	PTS	GF	GA	STK	P 10	PIM
1. South Carolina Sting Rays	40	25	9	2	4	56	139	128	0-1-1-0	5-3-1-1	578
2. Charlotte Checkers	35	18	13	3	1	40	124	119	0-3-0-0	4-6-0-0	773
3. Florida Everblades	38	17	15	2	4	40	121	117	0-2-0-1	4-4-1-1	773
4. Gwinnett Gladiators	34	17	13	2	2	38	125	122	2-0-0-0	4-5-0-1	598

NOTES:

* Andrew Carroll has five goals in his last six games…

* Miika Wiikman has only two regulation losses in 12 games this season (7-2-2)…

* Aaron Slattengren has six points (3g, 3a) in his last six games…

* Tyler Doig ranks tied for seventh in ECHL scoring with 39 points (9g, 30a)…

* T.J. Reynolds leads all ECHL defensemen with 147 penalty minutes, and is second in overall ECHL plus-minus with a +20 rating…

* The Checkers are 10-3-1 in their last 14 home games…

* Trevor Glass and Chris Chappell are on the 21-day injured reserve

LINES:

Doig – Leveille © – Roche
Burki – Harder – Slattengren
Carroll – Taylor – Chabot
Marshall

Graham -Ward
Berube – Reynolds
Brouillette – Schaeffer

Munce
Wiikman

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

THREE STARS:

1. TOL – E. Rankin
2. TOL – J. Sawyer
3. TOL – B. Ewing

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:
Curtis Marouelli (24)

Linesmen:
Bob Marcis (94)
Brian Oliver (79)

SCORE-SHEET:

Charlotte Checkers 3 At Toledo Walleye 6 – Status: Final

Jan 10, 2010 – Lucas County Arena

Charlotte 0 2 1 – 3

Toledo 3 2 1 – 6

1st Period-1, Toledo, Ewing 8 (Charlebois, Hedden), 4:02 (pp). 2, Toledo, Phillips 1 (Nesbitt, Robertson), 15:30 (pp). 3, Toledo, Rankin 14 (Hobson, Sawyer), 19:59 (pp). Penalties-Marshall Chr (delay of game), 1:36; Berube Chr (hooking), 3:24; Nebus Tol (slashing – major), 7:29; Marshall Chr (tripping), 14:12; Ward Chr (hooking), 17:30; Slattengren Chr (tripping), 19:52.

2nd Period-4, Toledo, Rankin 15 (Sawyer, Hobson), 6:04. 5, Charlotte, Slattengren 4 (Ward, Roche), 13:52. 6, Charlotte, Burki 1 (Chabot, Schepke), 14:08. 7, Toledo, Sawyer 16 (MacMillan, Ewing), 17:53 (pp). Penalties-Nebus Tol (slashing ), 2:03; Tremblay Tol (hooking), 11:44; Doig Chr (hooking), 14:46; Doig Chr (interference on the goalkeeper), 17:28; Suda Tol (hooking), 18:30.

3rd Period-8, Toledo, Tanguay 13   6:24 (ps). 9, Charlotte, Roche 15 (Marshall), 9:49. Penalties-Carroll Chr (fighting – major), 3:08; Osman Tol (fighting – major), 3:08; Schepke Chr (high-sticking), 5:17; Carroll Chr (fighting – major), 9:26; Osman Tol (fighting – major), 9:26; Doig Chr (fighting – major), 9:29; Hedden Tol (fighting – major), 9:29; Leveille Chr (hooking), 12:10.

Shots on Goal-Charlotte 9-12-7-28. Toledo 14-8-13-35.

Power Play Opportunities-Charlotte 0 of 4; Toledo 4 of 9.

Goalies-Charlotte, Munce 5-7-1-0 (35 shots-29 saves). Toledo, McCollum 1-1-0-0 (28 shots-25 saves).

A-4,359