WOLF PACK WEEKLY: January 18-24, 2010 

The Wolf Pack (22-16-1-4, 49 pts.) headed into the AHL All-Star break by splitting a pair of Atlantic-Division games this past week.  On Saturday at home vs. Providence, the Wolf Pack scored their sixth overtime victory of the season (tied for the league lead), and their second straight over the Bruins, with a 3-2 triumph.  On Sunday afternoon in Manchester, however, the Pack fell into 3-1 first-period hole and never recovered, losing to the Monarchs, 4-1.  Evgeny Grachev notched his third two-goal game of the season, including his first career pro overtime goal, in Saturday’s game, and then set up Jordan Owens for the Wolf Pack’s only goal in Sunday’s contest.

This week:

The Wolf Pack return from the All-Star break with a three-game weekend, starting with a Guida’s Family Value Night home game against division-leading Manchester at the XL Center on Friday (7:00) faceoff.  The Pack then hit the road to take on Springfield Saturday night (7:30) and Manchester again on Sunday (3:00).

Monday, January 18 and Tuesday, January 19 – The Time-Warner Cable 2010 AHL All-Star Classic, at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, ME

Wolf Pack representatives are Corey Locke on the Canadian team and Bobby Sanguinetti on the Planet USA squad, for the AHL’s yearly All-Star event.  The Ducks Unlimited 2010 AHL Skills Competition begins the excitement tonight at 8:00 PM, and the 2010 AHL All-Star Game is tomorrow night, Tuesday, January 19, facing off at 6:00 PM.  It all takes place at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, ME, and both the Skills Competition and the All-Star game will be telecast live on NESN and MSG Network.

Friday, January 22 vs. Manchester at the XL Center, 7:00 PM

· Being a Friday home game, this is a Guida’s Family Value Night.  Family Value packages start as low as $45 and include three tickets, three hot dogs or pizza slices, three sodas and a Wolf Pack souvenir.  Guida’s Family Value Night packs are available at the XL Center box office and on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com.

· This is the second game of a stretch of the Wolf Pack’s schedule that sees them play three out of four games, and four out of seven, against the first-place Monarchs.

· At 26-13-1-4 for 57 points, Manchester leads second-place Worcester by two points in the Atlantic.  Sunday’s 4-1 win over the Wolf Pack in Manchester was only the Monarchs’ third victory in their last nine games (3-4-0-2).

· The Monarchs’ Jonathan Bernier, who stopped 35 out of 36 shots Sunday against the Wolf Pack, will be the starter for the Canadian team in Tuesday night’s AHL All-Star Game.  Manchester head coach Mark Morris will be behind the bench for the Planet USA squad.

· The Wolf Pack are 2-3-0-0 on the season against Manchester, but have won both previous meetings at the XL Center, 3-2 in overtime on November 1 and 2-0 on November 13.

· Radio – live with Bob Crawford in HD on WTIC’s 96.5 HD 2 and on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com and www.wtic.com. 

Saturday, January 23 at Springfield (MassMutual Center), 7:30 PM

· The Falcons are 3-1-1-0 in their last five games, and 4-4-1-0 in nine games since suffering through a franchise-record 17-game winless streak (0-12-4-1) from November 25 through December 30.

· Former Wolf Pack Chad Wiseman had an AHL season-high six points, including four goals, for the Falcons Sunday, in their 6-3 home win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

· The Wolf Pack are 3-1-0-0 in four meetings with the Falcons this season.  The two teams have split a pair of games in Springfield, where the Pack have won nine out of their last ten visits.

· The Falcons (14-22-8-2, 38 pts.) trail the field in the Atlantic Division, five points in back of seventh-place Providence.

· Radio – live with Bob Crawford in HD on WTIC’s 96.5 HD 2 and on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com and www.wtic.com. 

Sunday, January 24 at Manchester (Verizon Wireless Arena), 3:00 PM

· This is the Wolf Pack’s last of four visits on the season to Manchester.  The Pack are 0-3-0-0 at the Verizon Wireless Arena this year, and have been outscored by a combined margin of 11-2 in their last two trips there.

· Only league-leading Hershey, with 17, has more home wins among AHL teams than the Monarchs’ 16 (16-5-0-2).

· Radio – live with Bob Crawford in HD on WTIC’s 96.5 HD 2 and on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com and www.wtic.com. 

Recent Transactions:

Chad Johnson – recalled from the Wolf Pack by the New York Rangers January 11.

Matt Zaba – returned to the Wolf Pack by the New York Rangers January 11.

Pack Tracks:

The Wolf Pack’s home game Saturday, January 30 against Manchester at the XL Center is the Pack’s annual “Scout Sleepover”, sponsored by Click It or Ticket.  Boy Scouts are invited to camp out in the XL Center’s Exhibition Hall for a sleepover after the game, and experience all kinds of jamboree-type fun.  To order Scout Night tickets, and reserve spaces for the sleepover, call the Wolf Pack ticket office at (860) 548-2000.

The Wolf Pack’s annual “Tip-a-Player” Dinner and Sports Carnival is coming up Sunday, January 31 at the XL Center.  The event runs from 4:00-7:00 PM and features the Wolf Pack players serving dinner, with food donated by top Hartford-area restaurants.  Players compete to earn tips in “puck bucks” for their service and for entertaining guests.  Proceeds from “Tip-a-Player” benefit Gaylord Specialty Healthcare.

At every Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday-night Wolf Pack home game for the balance of the regular season, fans can enjoy $3 drafts and snacks in the XL Center Atrium.  Also, the Comcast Coliseum Club features a “Warmup Menu”, with $3 domestic drafts and appetizers, before every Wolf Pack home game at the XL Center.

Individual tickets for Wolf Pack games are on sale now at the XL Center Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations including Macy’s at the Buckland Hills Mall and at the Westfarms Mall. Tickets may also be charged by phone at 1-800-745-3000 or online at www.hartfordwolfpack.com.  Information on all of the Wolf Pack’s many terrific ticket options, including group discounts, season tickets, partial plans, Birthday Bash packages and more, is available by calling the Wolf Pack ticket office at (860) 548-2000, and on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com.

Every Friday-night Wolf Pack home game at the XL Center is Guida’s Family Value Night.  Family Value packages start as low as $45 and include three tickets, three hot dogs or pizza slices, three sodas and a Wolf Pack souvenir.  To order your Guida’s Family Value Night pack, visit the XL Center box office, or go on-line to www.hartfordwolfpack.com.

Once again this season, the Wolf Pack are partnering with WTIC Radio to air Wolf Pack hockey action.  All of the Wolf Pack’s regular-season and playoff games will air on 96.5 WTIC-FM’s HD 2 channel and will be streamed on-line at www.wtic.com. Select games will be carried live on the 50,000-watt AM powerhouse, WTIC NewsTalk 1080.  The next Wolf Pack game scheduled to be on WTIC NewsTalk 1080 is Saturday, February 27, when the Pack host the Portland Pirates at 7:00 PM.

The AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack is operated by Northland AEG LLC, a joint partnership between Northland Investment Corporation and AEG Facilities.  The team is the top player-development affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers.

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