Andres Ambühl is back from a very successful turn in the Vancouver Olympics. While Ambühl didn’t score any points, he played exceptionally well on defense and played center as well and was good on face-offs. In the games since Ambühl left Hartford on February 12th, the Wolf Pack have gone 1-6-0-0.
It’s unconfirmed from the team, but P.A. Parenteau, who has been out with an injury since the January 17th home game against Manchester, is likely to return to the Wolf Pack lineup. Without Parenteau on the ice, the team has dropped to seventh place in the Atlantic division. In his absence, the Pack record is 4-10-2-0. Worst of all, they have looked completely rudderless offensively and the power play has been a nightmare going 11/77 (14.3%).
It will be interesting to see who Head Coach Ken Gernander takes out of the lineup for such a critical game against the last place Springfield Falcons. As team Captain Dane Byers said after the loss Sunday in Bridgeport, “For us now, every game is the most important game of the year. For us, the playoffs start now. We need every point we can get.”
Also the Rangers have sent Chad Johnson back to Hartford and sent Miika Wiikman up to New York. Wiikman has been primarily serving as a back up since being brought back up from Charlotte. Johnson has been sstruggling between the pipes of late and want him to see action. Meanwhile, Matt Zaba has been VERY solid in the net for the Wolf Pack so who gets to defend the Pack goal will be quite interesting indeed when the team faces off against Springfield at the XL Center Friday night.
Here’s the official release of Ambühl coming back:
ANDRES AMBÜHL RETURNS TO WOLF PACK FROM SWISS OLYMPIC TEAM
* * * *Made Second Career Winter Olympic Appearance in Vancouver
Hartford Wolf Pack general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the parent New York Rangers have reassigned forward Andres Ambühl to the Wolf Pack from the Swiss National Team, after Ambühl skated for Switzerland in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C..
Ambühl was scoreless with five shots on goal in Switzerland’s five Olympic games, in which the team registered two wins, two regulation losses and a shootout loss. This was Ambühl’s second straight trip to the Winter Olympics, as he also was a member of Switzerland’s team at the 2006 Winter Olympiad in Torino, Italy.A native of Davos, Switzerland, Ambühl has played 50 games with the Wolf Pack this season, scoring four goals and adding three assists for seven points, while serving 28 minutes in penalties. Prior to signing as a free agent with the Rangers May 27, 2009, Ambühl played eight years in Switzerland’s top pro league for his hometown club, HC Davos, winning four league championships.
Here’s the goaltender changing release:
New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that goaltender Chad Johnson has been assigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL), and goaltender Miika Wiikman has been recalled from Hartford.
Johnson, 23, has appeared in five games with the Rangers this season, posting a 1-2-1 record, along with a 2.35 goals against average and a .919 save percentage. He notched his first career NHL win, while starting in consecutive games for the first time in his career, with a 34-save effort in a 3-1 win at Colorado on January 31. On January 7 at Atlanta, he became the first NHL goalie to register an assist in his first career start since Alex Auld on January 23, 2002. He made his NHL debut with 17 saves on December 30 vs. Philadelphia, and has dressed as Henrik Lundqvist’s backup in 22 games this season. Johnson returns to Hartford where he has posted a record of 14-11-2, along with a 2.45 goals against average, a .915 save percentage and three shutouts in 30 games this season. He ranked 12th in the AHL in goals against average, 16th in save percentage, and was tied for sixth in shutouts at the time of his recall on Wednesday. Johnson registered a season-high four-game winning streak, beginning with his first career AHL shutout on October 31 against Providence to November 7 at Bridgeport. He also notched back-to-back shutouts on November 13 vs. Manchester (26 saves) and November 14 at Worcester (35 saves). The AHL rookie made his debut with Hartford on October 9 at Providence, and recorded his first AHL win the following game on October 10 against Springfield.
The Calgary, Alberta native was acquired by the Rangers on June 27, 2009, in exchange for a fifth round selection (Andy Bathgate) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
Wiikman, 25, has appeared in seven games with Hartford this season, posting a 2-4-0 record with a 4.20 goals against average and an .869 save percentage this season. He posted back-to-back wins on October 24 vs. Lowell (5-2) and October 25 vs. Worcester (4-3), registering a 2.50 goals against average and stopping 66-of-71 shots for a .930 save percentage over the span. Wiikman has also appeared in 16 games with the Charlotte Checkers of the ECHL this season, posting a record of 9-2-1-2, along with a 2.77 goals against average, a .909 save percentage and one shutout. He led the Checkers in goals against average and save percentage, tied for first on the team in shutouts and ranked second in wins. Wiikman recorded his first career ECHL shutout, stopping all 36 shots faced in a 7-0 win vs. South Carolina on November 18. He also posted an ECHL career-high four-game winning streak from December 20 vs. South Carolina to January 6 vs. South Carolina.
The Mariestad, Sweden native was signed by the Rangers as a free agent on April 24, 2008.
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