SNAKE BITTEN 

     VERSUS    

The Hartford Wolf Pack lost for the fourth straight time and are winless in their last five (0-4-1-0) after being shut out by the first place Manchester Monarchs in front of the biggest crowd of the season, 8,539 at the XL Center Saturday night.

For the Rangers top farm team, who’ve made an AHL record twelve straight appearances into the playoffs, this season is on the brink of getting away from them and ending that streak

Seems awfully negative and early to be saying something like that since it’s just the end of January. Afterall, the team finds itself just three points out of a playoff spot and there’s sill 31 games left to be played. Totally true. Totally good point.

But what cannot be avoided or ignored is the depth of problems this team has with injuries. This is not a knock against the guys who’ve been called up from Charlotte to play with the bigger club. Just the opposite. They have performed admirably. The call-ups are working as hard, maybe harder then can be expected and are certainly doing the best that they can with their opportunity. But remember, there’s a reason these players were in Charlotte and not the American League.

In Saturday’s lineup, there were three starters who were in Charlotte just a week or so ago. Of the rest, there are seven of the nineteen on the bench that have spent time in the ECHL this year. Of the rest of the roster, only Dale Weise, Dane Byers and Corey Locke, of those not on the injured list, are of any serious threat to score.

Some would say, “You didn’t mention Evgeny Grachev?”  No we didn’t. The 19-year old rookie from Khabarovsk, Russia has eleven goals in 49 games this season. He has just four goals in his last twenty. Of the four goals he does have, they were both two-goal game performances. So stated another way, Grachev has scored in two games in his last twenty. Do you think it MIGHT be possible that Wolf Pack head coach Ken Gernander had Grachev in mind as one of those he’s speaking of when he made this comment to reporters after the game Saturday night?

“They’re a pretty good defensive squad, but there are some guys who have to elevate their game with a sense of desperation given our current circumstances,” Gernander said, “They have to start generating some offense, and those who do bring it are probably being overtaxed.” He then added, “You just can’t be a bystander or think you’re going to play even hockey. If you’re just going to try to fit in or go unnoticed, eventually somebody is going to have some success. You have to be able to counterpunch.”

Add goaltender Steve Valiquette to the injured list. He suffered an undisclosed injury in practice which necessitated the call up of Miika Wiikman, who dressed for Saturday’s game. So add Valiquette’s name to the rest of the injured, P.A. Parenteau and Corey Potter both out indefinitely with concussions, Mathieu Dandenault with a lower body injury that has kept him out of the past 26 games and counting, Brent Henley played in 16 games before having to shut it down for the season with a knee injury and Mike Hoffman, who showed real promise up front, blew out his shoulder after seven games. Bobby Sanguinetti, one of two Pack All-Stars this season is gone for an indeterminable period of time with a lower body injury.

No team can lose that level of talent and still be in top form. With this many call-ups there are going to be games like these where they are just plain out-manned by a team with more talent.

By NO MEANS, was this team out worked. These players went out in this one and WORKED HARD right from the drop of the puck.

The Pack would need to cope with Jonathan Bernier. The former first round pick by the Los Angeles Kings in 2006 (#11 overall) came into this meeting with the Wolf Pack red hot off a 2-0 shutout the previous night in Providence. Matt Zaba took to guarding the Pack cage coming off a valiant effort in relief the night before where he surrendered just a single goal off 25 shots in a tough defeat to Lowell. With two hot netminders in goal, scoring was going to come at a premium.

Hartford had an early power play when David Kolomatis took a slashing call at 5:54. On the ensuing power play, Weise got a tremendous chance right in front only to see it erased by an equally spectacular save by Bernier.

Later in the first period, consecutive penalties to Grachev and Jared Nightingale just 33 seconds apart left the Pack penalty killers the responsibility of killing off 1:27 of five-on-three. The Pack played a tight triangle and in probably their best kill of the season, denied Manchester any goal celebrations.

As the first period came to a close, the Pack put up ten shots to Manchester’s eleven and ended without a puck crossing the goal line for either team.

In the second period it was Zaba who came to his teammates aid. He denied Dwight King early and then Geoff Walker moments later as he attacked the Pack net off the rush. But Zaba’s best effort was saved for his stop at 6:49 of the period. A poor centering pass by Locke was intercepted by Walker. The right winger had a clean breakaway only to his forehanded shot turned aside by Zaba

The game continued to be tightly played to the vest the rest of the way. Both teams each turned aside power play opportunities for the other.

At 14:55, Zaba came up huge again and again it was Walker whose shot hit a goal post and slid just out of Zaba’s reach in the goal mouth. Nightingale made a big play diving down into the crease behind Zaba to stop the puck and giving his netminder a chance to recover it.

But Manchester kept up their pressure and the attack finally paid off as the Pack relented.

John Zeiler gets a pass from Joe Piskula in front of Zaba even as recent call up Julien Brouillette was all over him. Not even the efforts of a sliding Ilkka Heikkinen could prevent Walkers shot from getting under and behind Zaba for the 1-0 lead.

The Pack’s best scoring chance came with 2:50 left in the period. One of the few offensive thrusts the Pack made in the period led to a Grachev chance in front, but the rookie hit the crossbar.

The Pack just could not mount any sort of offensive pressure in the period and were outshot 14-7.

It was much of the same in the final frame. It was Zaba going up, down, in and out denying Monarch’s all over the ice. “Your goalie is usually why you’re in or out of a game,” Dupont said. “(Zaba) was huge for us, so we have to start giving our goalies a little more help because we know they’re going to be there for us.”

Bernier, remember him, showed why he leads the AHL with six shutouts when from dead red, he denied a Nightingale blast from right in front of the net.

Manchester would ice the game however at 12:41 when a centering pass from Corey Elkins hit the post and went airborne in front of the net. Jon Rheault out-battled Nigel Williams for position and batted the puck into the net baseball style just below the crossbar for what would be the games final tally.

“I thought we played well and worked hard, but we have to find ways to score,” said Wolf Pack center Brodie Dupont after the game. “We’re fighting for a playoff spot, so we have to get back to our game and start winning those games.”

Bruce Berlet paints a word picture of the event at the XL Center. Find it at Hartfordwolfpack.com.  The UnionLeader has a brief recap from Manchester’s perspective.

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

STANDINGS

NOTES:
* Howlings has started something new for it’s readers. In addition to keeping you posted here on all major news stories, visit www.twitter.com/howlingstoday for in-game coverage of both Wolf Pack and Checkers games. Please “Follow” us on Twitter.

* Devin DiDiomete was in the lineup but saw less ice than a desert camel. Given DiDiomete’s agitating style on the ice and the fact that he has a history of being able to put it in the net in juniors, why isn’t the pesky forward getting more time on the ice?

* Sunday is the Wolf Pack’s “Tip-A-Player” charity event at the XL Center. It’s by a long shot the most fun event that the Pack put on all season and is a great chance for fans to meet their favorite Pack and future Ranger players.

LINES:

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

Heikkinen – Nightingale
Urquhart – Williams
Brouillette – Schaeffer

Zaba
Wiikman

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

SCRATCHES:

Steven Valiquette – Undisclosed – Day-to-Day
Michael Sauer – Undisclosed – Day-to-Day
Bobby Sanguinetti – Lower Body – Day-to-Day
Corey Potter – Concussion – Indefinite
P.A. Parenteau – Concussion – Indefinite
Mathieu Dandenault – Lower Body – Indefinite
Chad Johnson – On recall with the NY Rangers
Brent Henley – Knee  – Season
Mike Hoffman – Shoulder – Season

THREE STARS:

1. MCH – J. Zeiler
2. MCH – J. Bernier
3. HFD – M. Zaba

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:
Ghislain Hebert (49)

Linesmen:
Glen Cooke (6)
Kevin Redding (16)

NEXT GAME:
The Pack must pack and will hit the road. They have a Wednesday night showdown with the back end of the home-and-home and then head off to Virginia for two games Friday and Saturday with the Norfolk Admirals. 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:

Manchester Monarchs 2 At Hartford Wolf Pack 0 – Status: Final

Jan 30, 2010 – XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Manchester 0 1 1 – 2

Hartford 0 0 0 – 0

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Westgarth Mch (roughing), 4:27; Soryal Hfd (roughing), 4:27; Kolomatis Mch (slashing), 5:54; Grachev Hfd (hooking), 10:49; Nightingale Hfd (delay of game), 11:22.

2nd Period-1, Manchester, Zeiler 5 (King, Piskula), 15:16. Penalties-Kroll Mch (tripping), 2:22; Schaeffer Hfd (hooking), 9:01; Westgarth Mch (slashing), 11:31.

3rd Period-2, Manchester, Rheault 2 (Elkins, Cavanagh), 12:41. Penalties-Zaba Hfd (tripping), 1:44; Martinez Mch (holding), 13:35; Kolomatis Mch (roughing), 15:22; Voynov Mch (roughing), 15:22; Byers Hfd (roughing), 15:22; Weise Hfd (roughing), 15:22.

Shots on Goal-Manchester 11-14-10-35. Hartford 10-7-3-20.

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

Goalies-Manchester, Bernier 21-11-5 (20 shots-20 saves). Hartford, Zaba 3-7-1 (35 shots-33 saves).

A-8,539

MEANWHILE BACK IN CHARLOTTE

     VERSUS     

CHECKERS RUN INTO HOT GOALTENDER, LOSE 3-1

Reading Rookie Netminder Dalton Stops 44 Shots For Victory

The Charlotte Checkers threw everything they could at Reading Royals goaltender Matt Dalton but could not capitalize as they were downed 3-1 on Saturday evening. It was the first loss in seven games for the Checkers against an East Division team.

The good news for Charlotte, who played shorthanded after Julien Brouillette and Miika Wiikman were called up to Hartford earlier in the day, is that division rivals Gwinnett and Florida also lost. Kenny Roche and Kevin Schaeffer were also loaned to Hartford earlier this week.

Dalton stopped 44 of 45 for the East Division-leading Royals, while Ryan Munce stopped 23 shots in a losing effort for the Checkers.

Reading opened the scoring, two minutes and 40 seconds into the game, when Royals forward Marc Cavosie sprung out of the penalty box and started a three-on-one rush toward the Charlotte goal. Cavosie slid a pass over to Charlie Kronschnabel who slipped the puck between the pads of Munce for the 1-0 lead.

The goal was the lone tally of the period despite the Checkers putting 13 shots on the Reading net and going to work on two power plays.

The Royals extended their lead midway through the second on a goal by defenseman Ryan Crane. Crane snuck in from the blueline and one-timed a pass from Jimmy Fraser over the glove of Munce at the 8:51 mark of the period.

The Checkers held a 24-20 shot advantage through two periods of play.

Charlotte was finally able to solve Dalton, just under 12 minutes into the third period, when Aaron Slattengren lifted the puck into the top corner from a near-impossible angle on the power play.

The comeback did not last long, however, as Reading regained the two-goal lead just 35 seconds later. Cavosie fired a shot at Munce and Chase Watson was on the doorstep to bang home the rebound.

Dalton, a Boston Bruins product, stopped 20 shots in the third period for his 14th win of the season. The 43 saves were a season high for the rookie from Clinton, Ontario.

Charlotte (23-15-5) will travel to Johnstown tomorrow and are 3-0-0 against the Chiefs this season. The team will return home on Thursday, Feb. 4 to host the Florida Everblades Ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com.

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

NOTES:

* Andrew Carroll, who has perhaps the best attitude of any athlete in professional sports, entered the game leading the ECHL in shooting percentage with 20 goals on 70 shots for 28.6%. Perhaps another trip, for more than a coup of coffee, to Hartford is warranted.

* If Derek Wilkinson does not get serious consideration for coach of the year given what he’s been able to accomplish with a team in almost constant flux is nothing short of amazing. Despite yesterday’s loss in Reading the Checkers are 8-5-1, including two-three game winning streaks, in their last fourteen games. Realize most of that is with ten forwards, five defenseman and last night, one goaltender. Astonishing!

* Derek Couture, Tyler Doig, Kenny Roche and Kevin Schaeffer are with Hartford (AHL) while Matt Ford and Randy Rowe are with Lake Erie (AHL)

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

* Charlotte has still not lost a game after leading ending the first or second period. 11-0-2-1 after one and 15-0-2-1. For a team that doesn’t pride itself on defense, that too is a pretty good stat. They’ve conversely shown a propensity for coming from behind. When trailing after one period they are 5-11-0-1 and after two, 2-13-1-0…not bad either.

LINES:

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

Berube – Reynolds
Graham – Ward
Dowzak

Munce

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

SCRATCHES:

Chris Snavely – 21-day IR
Trevor Glass – Close to returning
Chris Chappell – Season ending injury

THREE STARS:

1. REA – M. Dalton
2. REA – R. Crane
3. REA – M. Cavosie

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:
TJ Luxmore (23)

Linesmen:
Ryan Knapp (96)
Luke Murray (79)

NEXT GAME:

The Checkers, who with all the call-ups and injuries don’t even need a team bus anymore, just a van and a U-Haul leave Reading and return to Johnstown for a Sunday evening match at 5:30.

You can buy tickets for any Checkers game home or away at Ticketmaster.com.

Should you want to watch this very exciting team from the comfort of your computer chair, all Checkers games are available on B2Live.

SCORE-SHEET:

Charlotte Checkers 1 At Reading Royals 3 – Status: Final

Jan 30, 2010 – Sovereign Center

Charlotte 0 0 1 – 1

Reading 1 1 1 – 3

1st Period-1, Reading, Kronschnabel 8 (Marquardt, Cavosie), 2:40. Penalties-Cavosie Rea (hooking), 0:30; Reynolds Chr (slashing ), 4:54; Laughlin Rea (hooking), 11:37; Tkaczuk Chr (hooking), 14:19; Carroll Chr (roughing), 17:29; Sarauer Rea (roughing), 17:29.

2nd Period-2, Reading, Crane 1 (Fraser, Laughlin), 8:51. Penalties-Tkaczuk Chr (hooking), 0:23; Sarauer Rea (slashing ), 11:14; Marshall Chr (instigating, fighting – major, misconduct), 13:18; Stamoulis Rea (fighting – major), 13:18; Doig Chr (fighting – major, game misconduct – secondary altercation), 13:51; Reynolds Chr (instigating, slashing , fighting – major, game misconduct – aggressor), 13:51; Cavosie Rea (fighting – major), 13:51; Marquardt Rea (game misconduct – third man in), 13:51; Sarauer Rea (fighting – major, game misconduct – secondary altercation), 13:51; Leveille Chr (slashing ), 14:08; Fletcher Rea (roughing), 20:00.

3rd Period-3, Charlotte, Slattengren 11 (Tkaczuk, Graham), 11:54 (pp). 4, Reading, Watson 2 (Cavosie, Fletcher), 12:29. Penalties-Stamoulis Rea (delay of game), 11:25; Taylor Chr (roughing, roughing, misconduct), 19:44; Fletcher Rea (roughing, roughing, misconduct), 19:44.

Shots on Goal-Charlotte 13-10-21-44. Reading 7-13-6-26.

Power Play Opportunities-Charlotte 1 of 4; Reading 0 of 7.

Goalies-Charlotte, Munce 8-9-1-0 (26 shots-23 saves). Reading, Dalton 14-12-0-2 (44 shots-43 saves).

A-6,792