CANTLON: (FRI) The Pack Rally Past the Bruins
VERSUS 
BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack scored four goals in the third period allowing them to overcome a 3-2 deficit and knocked the AHL’s third-best team, record-wise but fifth in points, over the rival, Providence Bruins, 6-4 on Friday night at the XL Center.
The Pack (13-12-1-3-3) climbed above .500 for the first time since the first month of the season. Despite Bridgeport’s 5-2 loss to the Springfield Thunderbirds, the Sound Tigers (29 points) remain ahead of the Pack (32 points) due to the winning percentage of .518 to.516.
The Pack will be back in action tomorrow afternoon against those very same Bridgeport Sound Tigers in a holiday matinee at 3 pm.
“Our habits are in a good place right now,” a happy Pack head coach Keith McCambridge said. “We gave ourselves a chance to win that game after clawing back into it. Give credit to the group overall for making sure we got the two points.”
The Pack also kept their streak alive of gaining at least a point in the standings to eight games (6-0-1-2) and have won five of their last six.
In the third period, after failing to score on the first half of a five-on-three man-advantage, cashed in just as the PP was about to expire and tied the game at three.
On the goal, Steven Fogarty took Ryan Sproul’s pass down the left wing and used Bruins defenseman Tommy Cross, (A Simsbury native) as a screen and zipped a shot that Bruins’ goalie Zane McIntyre saved. McIntyre left a rebound and Scott Kosmachuk got inside position on the 6’8 Chris Breen and batted in the bouncing biscuit at 7:06.
“You got to battle hard in this league,” Kosmachuk, who has seven points in his last six games, stated.” Fogs made a great play off the rush. I got rewarded by going to the net.”
Upon video review, the goal stood after the Bruins challenged stating they felt that the net was dislodged prior to scoring the goal.
“That was a big goal,” said McCambridge. “It came off the rush and Kos pushing to the inside. It was a very timely goal for us.”
The Pack grabbed a 4-3 lead when Gabriel Fontaine broke up an outlet pass in the neutral zone that allowed Eric Selleck to burst down the left wing. Selleck fired one past McIntyre for his first goal and point of the season.
“First off, he’s a good man and a great teammate. It’s tough not to have him in the lineup, but we have to deal with the numbers here. Guys have to wait for their opportunities. He has that big presence and plays a heavy game. It brought a smile to my face and his teammates too,” McCambridge said after the bench erupted on Selleck’s goal.
Peter Holland, who knows a thing or two about scoring, vouched for Selleck’s shooting prowess saying the goal was no fluke.
“I have seen him shoot like that in practice. He has a very good shot. It’s great to see him do it in a game. Everybody is happy when somebody like that does some of the heavy-lifting here. Seeing him contribute like that is great, especially after he had a couple of big hits in the game. He was a big important veteran presence for us tonight.”
Selleck had the hit of the game on his first shift. It set the tone for the Pack in their home barn when he knocked two Bruins down on the hit. Selleck has not played in the last eight straight games.
Marek Mazanec (32 saves) was solid and did his fair share in helping the Pack maintain the lead.
“He’s been unbelievable. He’s been making some incredible saves lately,” Holland said.
The Pack grabbed a three-goal margin on an unconventional shorthanded goal.
A two-on-one fizzled between Dawson Leedahl and Fontaine. McIntyre then sent the puck right to Leedahl who had stayed with the play. Leedahl used his body to shield the puck from Ben Marshall and spotted Fontaine who snapped in his sixth goal of the season at 14:06 giving the Wolf Pack a 5-3 lead.
Vinni Lettieri scored an empty-netter, his 12th goal of the season with 1:11 to go. The Bruins did pot one as Justin Hickman scored his second of the night to close out the scoring for the game at 19:18.
The Bruins wasted little time at the start of the second period in breaking the tied game.
Off a turnover, Colton Hargrove and Ken Agostino had a two on one for the Bruins. Pack defenseman Brandon Crawley played it perfectly and deflected Agostino’s shot attempt. The puck went up in the air to Hargrove on the right wing. Hargrove caught it like on the infield fly rule and dished off a short pass to Austin Czarnik. After skating around, Czarnik found Agostino on the right wing. The former star of the Yale Bulldogs pumped in his eighth goal of the season at 19 seconds.
In the first period, the Pack held serve with the game’s first five shots and scored at 47 seconds off Holland’s stick off a perfect break out play.
Holland was sent down the left wing on a cross-ice pass from Kosmachuk. Holland used good speed to get past defenseman Jakub Zboril and had a partial screen as he arrived in the deep part of the left wing circle, before firing his shot. Holland beat McIntyre to the far side for his eleventh goal of the season and his third as a member of the Wolf Pack.
“I had the step on the D-man and I looked over quickly,” Holland stated. “It looked like he was cheating to that side. It’s a game of inches. I could say I was looking for that spot, but just sometimes you get the shot to a miracle spot. I’ll take it,”
Holland had eleven points in nine games since his trade from Laval.
The P-Bruins showed why they are atop the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference and remain in the top echelon of the AHL, outshooting the Pack 11-1 in a stretch they had before tying the game.
At 12:50 the Bruins’ Justin Hickman took a Ryan Sproul turnover off a faceoff from outside the Pack zone and fired his shot from thirty feet out that beat Mazanec glove side. It was a bad goal.
The Bruins extended their lead to 2-1 at 14:52.
Ben Marshall was at the right point and backhanded the puck on the right wing wall. Recently, he sent down Belesky, who had taken the puck with good speed and circled to the blue line, He stayed onside and wired a shot that seemed to be redirected by Hennessey fifteen feet out from dead-center. Someone screened Mazanec, but it was Belesky, the official scorer, with his first P-Bruins goal.
The Wolf Pack came back and tied the game at two late in the first period.
Holland cleanly won the draw and got the puck to Anthony DeAngelo who quickly passed it over to Ryan Graves.
Graves moved in quickly from the left point and used his 6’5 frame to shield off Chris Porter. He tried to check him and wristed one. Cole Schneider offered a moving screen and had his stick waist high. The puck seemed to get a piece of it and flittered past McIntrye at 18:01. Graves, however, is credited with his third of the season.
McIntyre made a case to the referee that Schneider had hit his glove to no avail.
Holland faceoff skills have made a major difference for himself in the Wolf Pack’s recent success.
“It’s such a big part of the game now. Coming up in juniors, it wasn’t talked about as much. Now every place you go coaches harp on it. I have taken it to heart and tried to get better at it. It’s the battle of the game sometimes it goes unnoticed by fans. It was definitely nice to be able to get things started in creating offense like it did on Gravey’s goal tonight.”
Puck possession is the best defense,” said Holland whose recent play would clearly make him a first recall option for the Rangers.
NOTES:
With the short turnaround, Alexander Georgiev will start tomorrow for Harford in net.
Wolf Pack lines
Holland-Kosmachuk-Schneider
Lettieri-Tambellini-Leedahl
Chapie-Whitney-Fogarty
Fontaine-Selleck-Herbert
Crawley-Sproul
Graves-DeAngelo
Gilmour-Pionk
Pack Scratches:
Ryan Gropp (upper body day to day)
Dan DeSalvo (upper body week to week at this point)
Vince Pedrie (healthy)
Dan Catenacci (upper body likely out another week)
Bruins scratches:
Colby Cave (Just sent back from Boston)
Connor Clifton, (Former QU player)
Sena Acolatse
Ryan Fitzgerald
Jordan Swarz
Jeremy Lauzon
An alumnist of the University of Maine (HE), Spencer Abbott, played with Holland in the Toronto organization with both the Leafs and Marlies. After being traded from San Diego to Binghamton two weeks ago, Abbott has elected to sign with EHC Kloten (Switzerland-LNA) the rest of the year.
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