HALF EMPTY OR HALF FULL 

     VERSUS     

Everyone will get asked at some point in their life if they see a glass of a liquid as half-empty or half-full.” Your answer is supposed to dictate if you see life as an optimist or a pessimist. That philosophical challenge also sums up how you’ll judge how the Hartford Wolf Pack’s weekend in “The Great White North” went. There were four possible points available to be had by the team that is fighting so hard to make a thirteenth straight appearance in the post season. The Wolf Pack came away with two of the four points. The question; was it a good weekend for the team or not?

On Saturday, the Pack lost in a shootout when their four best “healthy” offensive players could not score a goal among them and goaltender Matt Zaba was only able to stop two of the four. Sunday afternoon came a heartbreaking loss as Brendan Mikkelson scored on a controversial play with just 1.1 left in overtime.

Chad Johnson (24 saves, 14-14-2) was in between the pipes for the New York Rangers top farm team. The Calgary native looked to end a team record for futility having lost his last six straight decisions against a team that could play only put fifteen healthy bodies on the ice and has an even more difficult time putting pucks in the net than the Pack do, but as they’ve done so many times this season, they dug a hole for themselves that they had to dig out of.

Towards the end of a lifeless first period in which the Pack only could muster three shots on starting netminder, James Reimer (22 saves, 9-4-1), Mikkelson would tally his first of the contest with just 43.7 seconds left in the period. Alex Foster recovered a loose puck in the corner and fed the Marlie defenseman at the top of the right circle. Mikkelson wasn’t challenged by a Pack defender until Corey Potter came to try and block his shot. But with Potter blocking a bit of the puck and Ryan Hamilton screening Johnson, the Pack netminder stood no chance as the puck flew right over his glove and into the top of the net.

Intensity was high and with referee Jeff Smith, and his practice of not calling penalties in full play, liberties were being taken by both teams and nothing was called until 2:49 of the second frame when Justin Soryal was called for a blatant holding call that he had no choice but to call.

The Pack were just ten seconds from killing it off but Johnson could not control Kyle Calder’s shot from the right wing circle. The puck went off to the left side where Justin Hodgman was waiting and lifted a backhander over the glove of Johnson who tried to get across the crease but could not set himself in time to stop the shot by the Marlie centerman.

Smith made a couple of calls, first on Brennan Evans for kneeing and then with just 16 seconds left in the power play called Ben Ondrus for holding giving the Wolf Pack a brief five-on-three advantage.

While the team couldn’t do anything with the two man, they found the back of the net on the second half of the power play when two of the Pack’s newest acquisitions got them back in the game at 17:41.

Kris Newbury, who played for the Marlies for parts of four seasons, scored his first goal as a member of the Wolf Pack when he took a hard pass from the Hartford’s other trade day addition, Anders Eriksson and one timed it from the left side of the crease and put it past Reimer.

Newbury has a goal and an assist since the trade that sent Jordan Owens to Grand Rapids and the assist was the first point for Eriksson since the trade.

The team’s play picked up once they got a taste of of offensive success.

With 27.8 left in the second, Bobby Sanguinetti took a cross checking call on Ondrus. As the period ended, the Pack had only had eight shots on goal total. But the team hadn’t given up. A good sign.

Hartford raised their intensity level to start the third period and it produced results. The penalty killers, last in the AHL, came through and they continually applied hard core forecheck pressure on the Marlies defenseman and were able to dictate play as they hadn’t done in a VERY long time and it finally paid off from the most unlikely of sources.

At 7:38, with Derek Couture pinned on the left wall fed the puck over to Donald Brashear. The Pack’s resident tough guy blasted a shot from above the left circle with Phil Oreskovic right in front of him and it may have fooled Reimer a bit and just like that the game was tied at two.

Brashear’s goal was his first since December 4th 2008 when he was with the Washington. He fired a backhander past Joey MacDonald, then in net for the New York Islanders, that broke a 2-2 tie and proved to be the game winner in a 5-2 victory for the Capitals.

Neither team was able to get a shot on goal but play went back and forth with chances in the extended frame. But as time was winding down and it looked like this game was headed for a shoot out, Eriksson had the puck in the defensive zone and was skating around apparently looking to send it to the shootout.

But Eriksson was clearly tripped and fell to the ice, and is the case with Smith and the whistle, no call came. When the puck was loose, Hamilton fed Mikkelson and he broke in alone and fired a missile past the glove of Johnson for the win.

The Pack picked up the point but still trail Wilkes Barre / Scranton (2pts),  Providence (3pts) and Bridgeport (6pts) for the final playoff position with sixteen games left to play.

Hartfordwolfpack.com is the place to find Bob Crawford’s recap of this heartbreaker. Toronto is the hockey capital of the planet. Nobody goes to Marlies games, but they get plenty of coverage. TSN.ca has a story from the Canadian Press. There’s a brief summary at TorontoMarlies.com.

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET 

STANDINGS

SCOREBOARD:

Bridgeport won their third straight knocking off Manchester on a Jon Gleed goal 1:41 into overtime 2-1 in Manchester. Chicago won a shootout against Lake Erie 5-4. Andrew Kozek had two goals for Chicago. Ex-Pack Jeff Taffe scored with just 1:05 left lifting Rochester to a 3-2 win over Portland. San Antonio got two goals from Alexander Picard and they just crushed Rockford 7-2. Providence lost their first shootout of the season against Lowell 3-2. Hershey doubled up Adirondack 4-2 behind two from ex-Pack Boyd Kane. Cam Paddock had two goals as Peoria whipped Milwaukee 4-2. In Binghamton, there were ex-Pack all over the place. Chris Holt lost in OT to Syracuse 4-3. Ex-Pack captain Greg Moore had two goals and ex-Pack Dave Liffiton had the game winner against his ex-teammate. 

NOTES:

* If you have yet to sign up for our new service to our readers on Twitter, you’re really missing out on the most extensive coverage of the Wolf Pack and Checkers you’ll find anywhere. 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.

* With a one-for-three night on the power play, that actually improved the team’s percentage, the Pack are still 18th overall at 17.2%. On the reverse, the team has the worst PK in the league and dropped further with another one goal allowed on four chances and is now at 79.1% On the plus side, they still are the leagues best team at scoring shorthanded with 15. Syracuse and Hershey (big surprise) both have 13.

* The Pack have not won two consecutive games since January 10th and 16 when they won both ends of a home-and-home with Providence. They only have one win in their last twelve games (1-7-3-1)

* Prior to Johnson’s streak of six consecutive losses, the record he beat was five by three ex-Pack netminders, J.F. Labbe, Vitali Yeremeyev and Al Montoya.

* Brashear’s goal was his first in the AHL since 1994-95 when he was with the Fredericton Canadiens. Here’s something that you probably don’t know about the Pack enforcer. He’s an accomplished Pianist and his uncle, the inspiration for the film Men of Honor (2000) starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Robert De Niro was based upon the life of Donald’s uncle, Carl Brashear.

LINES:

Byers © – Newbury – Weise
Soryal – Crowder – Couture
Ambϋhl – Garlock – Brashear
Dupont – Locke – Grachev

Eriksson – Sanguinetti 
Heikkinen – Nightingale
Brouillette – Potter

Zaba
Johnson 

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized) 

SCRATCHES:

Dave Urquhart – Healthy Scratch
Nigel Williams – Undisclosed Injury – Day-to-Day
P.A. Parenteau – Flu – Day-to-Day
Steven Valiquette – Hand Injury – Season over
Michael Sauer – Shoulder – Season over
Mike Hoffman – Shoulder – Season over
Brent Henley – Knee – Season over

THREE STARS:

1. TOR – B. Mikkelson
2. HFD – D. Brashear
3. TOR – R. Hamilton

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:
Jeff Smith (49)

Linesmen:
Kevin Hastings (61)
Matt Traub (88)

NEXT GAME:

The Pack will play their middle game of a five game road trip when they visit first place Worcester to take on the Sharks Wednesday night at 7:05. Bob Crawford is on the air half an hour earlier with the Pre-Game show.

To watch the game live, you can purchased it for $6.99 at AHL-live.

If you can attend the home games, they 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 or from your cell phone or computer visit www.twitter.com/howlingstoday for complete live in-game coverage.

SCORE-SHEET:

Hartford Wolf Pack 2 At Toronto Marlies 3 (OT) – Status: Final OT

Mar 7, 2010 – Ricoh Coliseum

Hartford 0 1 1 0 – 2

Toronto 1 1 0 1 – 3

1st Period-1, Toronto, Hamilton 9 (Mikkelson, Foster), 19:16. Penalties-No Penalties

2nd Period-2, Toronto, Hodgman 6 (Calder, Scott), 4:39 (pp). 3, Hartford, Newbury 12 (Eriksson, Sanguinetti), 17:41 (pp). Penalties-Soryal Hfd (holding), 2:49; Garlock Hfd (interference), 8:01; Evans Tor (kneeing), 15:27; Ondrus Tor (holding), 17:11; Sanguinetti Hfd (cross-checking), 19:32.

3rd Period-4, Hartford, Brashear 1 (Couture), 7:38. Penalties-Hodgman Tor (delay of game), 4:02; Locke Hfd (interference), 15:58.

OT Period-5, Toronto, Mikkelson 6 (Hamilton, Calder), 4:58. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Hartford 3-5-15-1-24. Toronto 10-6-9-2-27.

Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 1 of 3; Toronto 1 of 4.

Goalies-Hartford, Johnson 14-14-2 (27 shots-24 saves). Toronto, Reimer 9-4-1 (24 shots-22 saves).

A-3,730

MEANWHILE IN CHARLOTTE

     VERSUS             

CHECKERS OUTLAST WALLEYE FOR 2-1 WIN

Charlotte Picks Up Five Of Six Points In Three-Game Trip

The Charlotte Checkers scored two quick second period goals and hung on for the 2-1 victory over the Toledo Walleye on Sunday afternoon.

With the win Charlotte picks up five of a possible six points on its three-game northern road trip and opens up a five-point lead over Toledo for sixth spot in the American Conference.

Ryan Munce stopped 32 of 33 shots while Matt Schepke scored the game-winning goal, his third tally in the last four games.

Late in the first period, the Checkers went to work on a 5-on-3 power play however Toledo goaltender Alec Richards stood strong and turned away everything that came his way.

The Walleye opened the scoring 31 seconds into the second period when Evan Rankin let a shot go that deflected off the skates of a Charlotte defender and past Munce.

Charlotte would even the score at 1-1, with less than seven minutes to play in the period, when David Marshall took a nice pass from Jean-Philipp Chabot, cut to the left side of the net and flipped it past a sprawling Richards for his 16th of the year.

Just a minute and a half later, the Checkers took their first lead of the game when Daniel Tzachuk took advantage of a Toledo turnover and passed it over to a streaking Schepke. Schepke made no mistake and flicked the puck between the legs of Richards to go ahead 2-1.

Charlotte had a late power play chance toward the end of the second, but Richards made some key saves to keep it a 2-1 game.

With time winding down in the game and the Checkers holding a one-goal lead, Toledo pulled its goaltender for the extra attacker and went on the offensive. Munce, however, made several point blank saves to preserve the win and help Charlotte to a 2-0-1 record over the weekend.

The Checkers (32-20-7) will return home on Thursday, Mar. 11 to host Gwinnett. The puck drops at 7 p.m. and ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com. Season tickets for the inaugural 2010-11 AHL season are now on sale and 40-game packages start as low as $200.

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

STANDINGS:

SCOREBOARD:
A light schedule for a Sunday. Elmira came from behind to beat Johnstown 5-4. South Carolina, behind Rob Ricci’s hat trick, trounced Cincinnati 6-2. It only took 48 seconds into overtime and Oliver Labelle’s second of the game ended it as Reading beat Kalamazoo 6-5. Las Vegas defeated Ontario in a shootout 4-3.

NOTES:
* David Marshall has three goals in his last four games

* Michelle Leveille has nine points (2g, 7a) in his last five games

* Andrew Carroll leads the team with 24 goals and ranks tied for first among all ECHL players with three shootout-winning goals

* T.J. Reynolds leads the ECHL with 248 penalty minutes and leads the Checkers with a +18 rating

* Julien Brouillette and Derek Couture are up with Hartford (AHL), Kenny Roche is with Providence (AHL), Ethan Graham is with Texas (AHL) while Matt Ford and Randy Rowe are with Lake Erie (AHL)

LINES:
Slattengren – Leveille © – Taylor
Schepke – Tkaczuk – Stefanishion
Chabot – Carroll – Marshall
Doig

Berube– Reynolds
Dowzak – Schaeffer
Ward – Crane

Munce
LaGrand

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

SCRATCHES:
Devin DiDiomete – Healthy Scratch
Kenny Roche – Recall in Providence
Julien Brouillette – Recall in Hartford
Trevor Glass – Lower Body – Mid-March
Chris Snavely – Upper Body – 2-3 weeks
Codey Burki – Undisclosed – Season over
Chris Chappell – Shoulder Surgery – Season over

THREE STARS:
1. CHR – M. Schepke
2. CHR – D. Marshall
3. TOL – E. Rankin
 

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:
Tim Mayer (11)

Linesmen:
Joe DeMizio
Bob Marcis (94)

NEXT GAME:

Wednesday night, the Checkers start a run of three consecutive, extremely important, games against last place Gwinnett. The Checkers really need to win all three. Jason Shaya will be on the air at 7pm.

For live in-game coverage from your cell phone or computer, we’ll have the action for you at www.twitter.com/howlingstoday.

You can always 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 2 At Toledo Walleye 1 – Status: Final

Mar 7, 2010 – Lucas County Arena

Charlotte 0 2 0 – 2

Toledo 0 1 0 – 1
1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Stefanishion Chr (holding), 9:36; served by Peralta Tol (bench – too many men), 13:11; Zarb Tol (holding), 14:34; Reynolds Chr (roughing), 19:37; Keefe Tol (roughing), 19:37.

2nd Period-1, Toledo, Rankin 27 (Sawyer, Tanguay), 0:31. 2, Charlotte, Marshall 16 (Chabot, Carroll), 13:10. 3, Charlotte, Schepke 22 (Tkaczuk), 14:39. Penalties-Crane Chr (tripping), 1:23; Keefe Tol (holding), 4:04; Marshall Chr (high-sticking), 6:33; Reynolds Chr (slashing ), 7:04; served by Nebus Tol (bench – too many men), 8:13; Reynolds Chr (fighting – major), 10:53; Nebus Tol (fighting -major), 10:53; Dowzak Chr (roughing), 17:12; Stefanishion Chr (roughing, roughing), 17:12; Hedden Tol (roughing), 17:12; Keefe Tol (roughing), 17:12; MacMillan Tol (roughing), 17:12; Smith Tol (hooking), 18:19.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Tkaczuk Chr (holding), 11:24.

Shots on Goal-Charlotte 12-16-4-32. Toledo 11-13-9-33.

Power Play Opportunities-Charlotte 0 of 5; Toledo 0 of 5.

Goalies-Charlotte, Munce 17-13-2-1 (33 shots-32 saves). Toledo, Richards 16-10-0-3 (32 shots-30 saves).

A-7,084