“IT’S NOT MY FAULT” 

      VERSUS     

Just about every time Han Solo or Lando Calrissian went to jump into hyper-space in the film Star Wars and it didn’t work, that would be their first line of defense. In the past few years that we’ve been interviewing Wolf Pack head coach Ken Gernander and back when we watched him play, it’s a safe bet that those words have never come out of his mouth when talking about his team whether he was coaching them or playing for them. After Sunday’s 6-1 pasting by the Manchester Monarchs you wouldn’t blame him if he did…but he still never would. It’s what made him a great teammate and an even better coach.

When the team lost their hottest forward in Dale Weise (hand) and then their best playing defenseman in Bobby Sanguinetti (lower body) on consecutive nights to injury and they joined their star forward in P.A. Parenteau and most reliable defenseman in Corey Potter the previous week to concussions you knew this team was going to be in trouble. Of the eighteen skaters the Pack put on the ice against the first place Monarchs, six of them (Kenny Roche, Derek Couture, Ryan Garlock, Devin DiDiomete, Kevin Schaeffer, and Jared Nightingale) started the season in the ECHL in Charlotte, two of them (Roche, Schaeffer) as late as Friday night. Four others, Andres Ambϋhl, Ilkka Heikkinen, Evgeny Grachev and Paul Crowder are all rookies in terms of play in the North American hockey.

Their opponent meanwhile entered the game having struggled over the past ten games (3-4-1-2) and had lost the night before 5-3 to the Pack’s next opponent, the Norfolk Admirals. But at home, the Monarchs had a record of 16-6-0-2 and they had surrendered only 109 goals, third best in the entire league. Hershey has allowed only 102 and Hamilton 107.

The Pack also started Steve Valiquette in goal. Valiquette has been struggling to rediscover his game after being sent down to Hartford by the Rangers on December 3rd and he had not seen any time in the net in almost three weeks. His last start came in a January 6th 3-2 loss in Lowell. 

With all those factors in play, this one looked like it could be problematic…and it was.

Right from the drop of the puck, the Monarchs were skating at a different speed than the Pack were. It was only 4:15 into the contest when Bud Holloway would score his first of two on the power play. With Michael Sauer in the sin bin on a Boarding call, Geoff Walker advanced the puck along the right wing side. The Winger held the puck and got Kevin Schaeffer, playing in his first game with the Pack after being recalled from Charlotte last night, to slide. As he did, He fed Holloway with a pinpoint cross ice pass. Holloway then one-timed it by Valiquette (17 saves, 4-5-1).

The Pack tried to slow the game down by raising the physical level of their play, but to do that successfully, the team needs to stay out of the penalty box, and they didn’t. Paul Crowder was sent to the isolation booth at 9:06 on a boarding call. It only took Holloway and his teammates 39 seconds to make the Pack pay for their indiscretion as the left winger fired a Howitzer of a shot from just above the right circle over Valiquette’s glove and just under the crossbar. Valiquette probably never even saw the shot as David Meckler was right in his face screening him on the shot.

Manchester expanded their lead to 3-0 at 5:54 of the second period. Richard Clune made a pass reminiscent of Dane Byers overtime game winner Friday night. He hit Gabe Gauthier, who had beaten David Urquhart back up the pipe and redirected the pass in past Valiquette.

After the goal, Manchester continued their attack and the Pack just could not get the puck out of their own zone. Exactly sixty seconds after the third goal, Kevin Westgarth dumped the puck behind Valiquette from the right side. Holloway advanced it to the left side and saw Andrew Campbell in the left circle. The timing couldn’t have been better for Campbell or worse for the Pack because as the Monarch’s defenseman fired off the shot both Corey Elkins and Ilkka Heikkinen crossed through the Pack netminders line of sight distracting him enough for the puck to enter the netting over his glove. It was Campbell’s second goal of the season and both have come against Valiquette.

The Pack did show some life after they’d dug themselves the Grand Canyon of a hole.

Just twelve seconds after a power play from a David Kolomatis tripping call to Brodie Dupont had ended. Kenny Roche, playing in his first game with the Pack in nearly four years since being drafted by the New York Rangers in the third round (#75 overall) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, fired a cross ice feed from the left side over to Corey Locke’s favorite spot on the right. The third leading scorer in the AHL knew just what to do with it…he put everything he had into a flaming wrist shot. Had Jonathan Bernier (22 saves, 19-11-4) actually gotten a hand on it, he might have looked like a cartoon character with a hole right through his hand.

The three goal margin didn’t last very long as Manchester struck again 3:12 seconds later. With just 3:09 left in the second frame, Elkins snatched the puck from Michael Sauer’s stick along the left wing side and came in hard at the net. Valiquette made a stab at the puck just as Elkins was backhanding it. The puck then went airborne and just seemed to move in slow motion and came down and fell into the net behind Etobicoke, Ontario native.

Valiquette finished the period, but after allowing five goals on twenty-two shots, Gernander had seen enough and made the switch to rookie, Chad Johnson (11 saves).

Hockey players are a different bunch, that’s for sure. A very scary moment came for Jared Nightingale and he proved he has the heart of a lion. Just after the start of the third period, Nightingale was innocently passing through the crease defending in front of his own net. At the same moment, Holloway uncorked another hard shot that found the Jackson, Michigan native and hit him square in the face. Nightingale went right down and it looked like a VERY scary moment might have happened again for the Pack. Pack trainer, Damien Hess rushed out onto the ice and helped Nightingale off the ice. The Pack defenseman proved his metal when about ten or so minutes later, he was back on the ice and ready to go.

At 9:58, after another round of pressure that the Pack could not control, Manchester got what proved to be the game’s final tally. Elkins got his second assist of the night when he saw Dwight King had gotten away from Sauer in front of the net. So from behind the cage, Elkins put the puck right on King’s stick and the left winger beat Johnson to the stick side.

The Pack caught a minor break because just as the game ended, Walker would have scored as well, but the referees felt that the final buzzer had already sounded.

The Pack will have a healing day tomorrow and then regroup Tuesday and try and sort all this out. If there’s one thing that’s certain, it’s Gernander and his staff will get their team ready for Wednesday’s home tilt with the Norfolk Admirals.

Bob Crawford has the report from the broadcast booth at Hartfordwolfpack.com.  Manchester’s story is told by Ian Clark and can be found at UnionLeader.com.

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

STANDINGS

NOTES:
* Valiquette has surrendered 12 goals on 56 shots in his two games this season against Manchester for a save percentage of .786 and a goals against average of 6.00.

* The Pack were shut out from the win column against Manchester in the Verizon Wireless Center going 0-4-0-0 on the Monarch’s home ice. They are 3-0-0-0 in the XL Center against the first place Monarchs.

* In January, the Pack have played ten games. They started with two consecutive wins on the 2nd and 3rd then on the 10th and 16th won back-to-back. Other than that it’s been win one, lose one. If they continue this trend they should win on Wednesday at home against Norfolk.

* Dale Weise leads the team with four game winning goals. Byers is second with three.

* Brodie Dupont, Evgeny Grachev and Corey Locke are the only players to have played in every game for the Pack this season.

* Locke’s goal was his first in five games.

LINES:

Byers © – Locke – Ambϋhl
Grachev – Crowder – Owens
Roche – Dupont – Couture 
Soryal – Garlock – DiDiomete

Urquhart – Sauer 
Heikkinen – Schaeffer
Williams – Nightingale

Valiquette 
Johnson

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

SCRATCHES:

Tyler Doig – Healthy Scratch
Dale Weise – Hand – Day-to-Day
Bobby Sanguinetti – Lower Body – Day-to-Day
Corey Potter – Concussion – Indefinite 
P.A. Parenteau – Concussion – Indefinite
Mathieu Dandenault – Lower Body – Indefinite
Matt Zaba – On recall with the NY Rangers
Brent Henley – Knee  – Season
Mike Hoffman – Shoulder – Season

THREE STARS:

1. MCH – B. Holloway
2. MCH – C. Elkins
3. MCH – A. Campbell

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:
Chris Cozzan (18)

Linesmen:
David Spannaus (8)
Frank Murphy (29)

NEXT GAME:

The Norfolk Admirals and AHL All-Star Blair Jones, with ex-Ranger Adam Hall and ex-Pack Mitch Fritz continue their northern states visit when they steam into the XL Center for a battle on the ice with the Wolf Pack Wednesday night. One could say this one would be a sea battle since the Admirals embrace the Navy and the Wolf Pack are named after a fleet of submarines. Bob Crawford will have the pre-game at 6:30 and then the call of the contest starting at 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 1 At Manchester Monarchs 6 – Status: Final

Jan 24, 2010 – Verizon Wireless Arena

Hartford 0 1 0 – 1

Manchester 2 3 1 – 6

1st Period-1, Manchester, Holloway 13 (Walker, Meckler), 4:15 (pp). 2, Manchester, Holloway 14 (Campbell, Kolomatis), 9:45 (pp). Penalties-Sauer Hfd (boarding), 2:31; Martinez Mch (holding), 6:50; Crowder Hfd (boarding), 9:06; Byers Hfd (fighting), 17:59; Nolan Mch (fighting), 17:59.

2nd Period-3, Manchester, Gauthier 8 (Clune, Kroll), 5:54. 4, Manchester, Campbell 2 (Holloway, Westgarth), 6:54. 5, Hartford, Locke 18 (Roche, Sauer), 13:39. 6, Manchester, Elkins 15   16:51. Penalties-Westgarth Mch (boarding), 7:54; Kolomatis Mch (tripping), 11:27; Kroll Mch (tripping), 14:48.

3rd Period-7, Manchester, King 3 (Elkins, Meckler), 9:58. Penalties-Couture Hfd (fighting), 2:58; Clune Mch (fighting), 2:58; Nightingale Hfd (roughing), 17:08; Rheault Mch (roughing), 17:08.

Shots on Goal-Hartford 8-12-3-23. Manchester 13-9-12-34.

Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 0 of 4; Manchester 2 of 2.

Goalies-Hartford, Valiquette 4-5-1 (22 shots-17 saves); Johnson 14-8-2 (12 shots-11 saves). Manchester, Bernier 19-11-4 (23 shots-22 saves).

A-4,131