OVER TIME PACK SET PROVIDENCE STRAIGHT BY BRUIN VICTORY 

     VERSUS     

Evgeny Grachev picked a fine time to reemerge from invisibility with a two-goal performance including the overtime winner as the Hartford Wolf Pack won for consecutive times over their Rhode Island neighbors with a 3-2 win at the XL Center Saturday night.

The 19-year old Russian rookie had not scored in his previous five games and had only two points in his last eleven games (2g, 0a). “That was a good shift by (Gratchev),” Head Coach Ken Gernander said after the game. “With that open ice there I thought he did some good things. A good wrist shot by (Dave Urquhart). Just get it to the net. Gratch was going their for a deflection. It was a good goal.”

“We had some good pressure and came out on a three-on-two rush,” Dave Urquhart said. “We had some good commotion around the net. Mike Sauer had a good shot and caused a big rebound. (Jordan) Owens picked up the loose puck and threw it over to me on the point.” The second-year Pack defenseman said with a smile. “I just got my head up, saw that someone was in front of the net and Gratch made a great play to get his stick and put the puck between the goalie’s legs for his second of the game and OT Winner. It was great.”

Jordan Owens, returning to the lineup after missing nine straight games (and eleven of the previous thirteen) from taking a puck to the face in a December 19th game with Hamilton, was key to the game winner. It was his forecheck and hard work retrieving the puck and then moving it to Urquhart on the left point. Grachev then got positioning on Jared Ross and deflected the shot under Dany Sabourin (36 saves, 17-14-0) and through the legs for the game winner.

The Pack started this one much as they ended the last one. They put a lot of pressure on the Bruins pinning them into their own zone for long stretches throughout the first period. At 7:18, the pressure paid dividends. Owens simply tattooed Jeff Penner into the left wing boards just outside the Pack defensive zone springing the puck loose. Owens poked the puck up the ice where the Bruins Drew Larman picked it up and tried to reverse it in his own zone. That puck was corralled by Ryan Garlock in the Bruins’ zone. Garlock then left a drop pass for Grachev who was closed in on by Alain Goulet and Larman. Grachev fired a missile that Sabourin watched sail over his glove and into the back of the net.

In between periods, Assistant Coach J.J. Daigneault suggested to Gernander that they shuffle the Pack lines as they needed an offensive spark to start the second period.

The move which essentially put Weise on the top line took a little while before it took hold and the visitors made adjustments of their own and come out with a renewed energy and got on the board at 3:37.

Andrew Bodnarchuk put a low hard shot on the Pack net. Matt Zaba (36 saves, 3-3-1) made the initial stop on the shot, but the puck fell into the crease. He and Mikko Lehtonen both fell trying to get at it. But Lehtonen got his stick on it and in a very athletic move, slid the biscuit past the Pack netminder for the equalizer.

The play of the game came almost 12 minutes later. P.A. Parenteau ended a six-game scoreless streak when he put the puck in the net with a highlight reel goal.

Kirk MacDonald brought the puck into the Pack zone where he collided with Nigel Williams. Dale Weise stripped the Bruins right-winger and brought the puck through the neutral zone and fed Parenteau on the left wing side just outside the neutral zone.

“(Goulet) kind of gave me a little space to get my speed going at the blue line.” The Hull-Quebec native said. “Then he kind of made the first move and turned his feet so I took him inside and got a good shot off.”

Parenteau blew right by Lehtonen, who’d come over to help cover the Pack winger. Parenteau’s laser beam of a shot that went just over Sabourin’s pad and just under the blocker for his thirteenth of the season.

“It was a couple of lateral nice moves there by P.A. to get the puck to the middle of the ice and a good wrist shot. It was a big goal.” Gernander said.

It looked like the Pack were going to win this one in regulation but with just 3:59 remaining Williams got locked up with Guillaume Lefebvre along the right wing wall and referee Chris Brown raised his hand to send the Pack defenseman for what appeared to be a hooking call. While on the delayed penalty, the puck was picked up behind Lefebvre by recent Charlotte Checker call-up Kenny Roche along the half-boards. Roche threw the puck cross-ice to Drew Fata on the left point. Fata’s shot took a weird bounce off the boards behind the net and bounced right out to Lefebvre. Williams was up too high and had left Lefebvre all alone. Lefebvre easily smacked the puck into the top of the net. Zaba had no chance on the bang-bang play.

“I’d have liked to have seen things been a little bit tighter toward the end there,” Gernander said. “But it’s a good character win.”

Brian Ring has the game recap at Hartfordwolfpack.com.  The Providence Journal actually has a story on the game…I know hard to believe isn’t it? You can also find something at the Bruins own site, ProvidenceBruins.com.

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

STANDINGS:

NOTES:

* Before the game, Kenny Roche of the Checkers, who’s currently on recall with the Bruins, and his teammate from earlier in the season, Devin DiDiomete were stretching together and giving each other the business. Both were laughing through most of it.

LINES:

Grachev – Dupont – Weise
Ambuhl – Locke – Parenteau
Byers © – Crowder – Couture
DiDiomete – Garlock – Owens

Heikkinen – Nightingale
Williams – Sanguinetti 
Urquhart – Sauer

Zaba
Valiquette

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

SCRATCHES:

Corey Potter – Illness, Day-to-Day
Justin Soryal – Healthy Scratch
Mike Hoffman – Shoulder Surgery, done for the season
Chad Johnson – On recall with the NY Rangers
Mathieu Dandenault – Lower Body – Three – Four weeks
Brent Henley – Knee  – Season

THREE STARS:

1. HFD – E. Grachev
2. HFD – P. Parenteau
3. HFD – J. Owens

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:
Chris Brown (86)

Linesmen:
Kevin Redding (16)
Paul Simeon (66)

NEXT GAME:

The Pack are back on the ice with the first of a key series of games where they will start with a home and home with the first place Manchester Monarchs. They play three of their next four (1 home 2 road) and four of their next seven (2 home, 2 road) against the division leaders. If they are going to make the playoffs and a push to win the division, how they fare over the next 7 games will go a long way to determining it as each of them are four point games. Game time Sunday is 3pm.

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:

Providence Bruins 2 At Hartford Wolf Pack 3 (OT) – Status: Final OT

Jan 16, 2010 – XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Providence 0 1 1 0 – 2

Hartford 1 1 0 1 – 3

1st Period-1, Hartford, Grachev 10 (Garlock), 7:18. Penalties-Fata Pro (slashing), 1:48; Larman Pro (delay of game), 3:50; MacDermid Pro (fighting), 18:36; Nightingale Hfd (fighting), 18:36.

2nd Period-2, Providence, Lehtonen 12 (Bodnarchuk, Larman), 3:37. 3, Hartford, Parenteau 13 (Weise), 15:20. Penalties-Fata Pro (fighting), 10:28; Owens Hfd (fighting), 10:28; served by Lammers Pro (bench minor – too many men), 11:22.

3rd Period-4, Providence, Lefebvre 5 (Fata, Roche), 16:01. Penalties-Sauer Hfd (tripping), 1:29.

OT Period-5, Hartford, Grachev 11 (Urquhart, Owens), 3:19. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Providence 10-14-11-3-38. Hartford 13-17-6-3-39.

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

Goalies-Providence, Sabourin 17-14-0 (39 shots-36 saves). Hartford, Zaba 3-4-1 (38 shots-36 saves).

A-7,839

MEANWHILE BACK IN CHARLOTTE

     VERSUS              

CHECKERS EDGED BY GLADIATORS IN SHOOTOUT

Wiikman Stops 42 of 45; Checkers Pick Up Fifth Point In Three Games Vs. Gwinnett

The Charlotte Checkers took a 3-2 lead into the third period and were edged by the Gwinnett Gladiators, 4-3, in a shootout on Saturday evening.

The Checkers and Gladiators have now combined for 27 goals in the last three games, with Charlotte earning five of a possible six points.

The Checkers opened the scoring for the 20th time this season and are 13-2-5 when doing so. Michelle Leveille grabbed the loose puck and wristed a shot from the bottom of the near faceoff circle that beat Gwinnett goaltender David Brown high over the catching glove.

Charlotte then took a two-goal lead, on the power play, when David Marshall deflected a Codey Burki point shot for his seventh of the season.

The Gladiators got on the board just under a minute into the second period when Drew Paris notched his ninth of the season on the power play. Paris let go a wrist shot that deflected off a Checkers player and fooled goaltender Miika Wiikman.

Charlotte would go ahead by two when Codey Burki took advantage of a turnover at center ice, skated in on a two-on-one and made a nice move to his backhand flipping over the catching hand of Brown.

With eight seconds left to play in the second period the Gladiators made it a one-goal game when ex-Checker Jason Lawrence fed Pat Galivan who wristed the puck over the left shoulder of Wiikman.

Gwinnett held a 29-20 shot advantage through two periods of play.

Five minutes into the third period, the Gladiators took advantage on the power play and tied the game when Chris Higgins deflected a Sam Roberts point shot past Wiikman. The goal came at 5:52 of the third period.

The two teams then played a scoreless overtime and prepared for shootout. In the shootout, each team used seven shooters and Gwinnett forward Matt Francis ended the game as he deked Wiikman and tucked it home. Wiikman stopped 42 of 45 shots he faced and fell to 8-2-3 on the season.

The Checkers (19-13-5-0) will host the Kalamazoo Wings on Sunday. 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 SCORERS SHEET

STANDINGS:

NOTES:

* Andrew Carroll has five goals and four assists in his last six games

* Miika Wiikman has only two regulation losses in 14 games this season (8-2-3)

* Aaron Slattengren has nine points (4g, 5a) in his last eight games

* Tyler Doig ranks sixth in ECHL scoring with 42 points (10g, 32a)

* T.J. Reynolds leads all ECHL defensemen with 151 penalty minutes, and is second in overall ECHL plus-minus with a +20 rating

* The Checkers are 11-3-1 in their last 15 home games

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

LINES:

Schepke – Tkaczuk – Slattengren
Doig – Leveille © – Chabot
Carroll – Taylor – Marshall
Burki

Brouillette – Schaeffer
Berube – Ward
Dowzak

Wiikman
Munce

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

SCRATCHES:

T.J. Reynolds – Suspension
Chris Snavely – 21-day IR
Mike Harder – Healthy Scratch
Ethan Graham – 7-day IR
Trevor Glass – 21-day IR
Chris Chappell – 21-day IR

THREE STARS:

1. GWT – C. Higgins
2. GWT – P. Galivan
3. GWT – D. Paris

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:
Paul Depuydt (26)

Linesmen:
David Jones (57)
Ben Shiley (92)

NEXT GAME:

SCORE-SHEET:

Charlotte Checkers 3 At Gwinnett Gladiators 4 (SO) – Status: Final SO

Jan 16, 2010 – The Arena at Gwinnett Center

Charlotte 2 1 0 0 – 3

Gwinnett 0 2 1 0 – 4

1st Period-1, Charlotte, Leveille 14 (Carroll), 1:46. 2, Charlotte, Marshall 7 (Burki, Tkaczuk), 12:06 (pp). Penalties-Brocklehurst Gwt (tripping), 8:52; Brocklehurst Gwt (hooking), 11:49; Schepke Chr (cross-checking), 14:41; Leveille Chr (hooking), 17:50; Brouillette Chr (delay of game), 20:00.

2nd Period-3, Gwinnett, Paris 9 (Siddall, Mifsud), 0:53 (pp). 4, Charlotte, Burki 2 (Taylor), 4:52. 5, Gwinnett, Galivan 18 (Lawrence), 19:52 (sh). Penalties-Filangieri Gwt (slashing ), 11:15; Marchesi Gwt (cross-checking), 14:24; Siddall Gwt (high-sticking), 18:55.

3rd Period-6, Gwinnett, Higgins 3 (Roberts, Brocklehurst), 5:52 (pp). Penalties-Carroll Chr (holding), 2:50; Slattengren Chr (high-sticking – double), 4:40; Caruana Gwt (hooking), 6:41; Slattengren Chr (roughing), 13:09; Roberts Gwt (slashing ), 13:09.

OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties

Shootout – Charlotte 2 (Slattengren NG, Tkaczuk G, Leveille NG, Burki G, Carroll NG, Marshall NG, Doig NG), Gwinnett 3 (Siddall NG, Galivan NG, Mifsud G, Higgins NG, Caruana G, Lawrence NG, Francis G).

Shots on Goal-Charlotte 11-9-7-2-0-29. Gwinnett 14-15-12-3-1-45.

Power Play Opportunities-Charlotte 1 of 6; Gwinnett 2 of 6.

Goalies-Charlotte, Wiikman 8-2-1-2 (44 shots-41 saves). Gwinnett, Brown 6-7-1-0 (29 shots-26 saves).

A-8,143