BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack (5-8-1-3) scored a late powerplay goal to force overtime and then won it in the extended period, 4-3, in the team’s annual Edu-Skate game with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (9-5-1-3) before 3,952 at the XL Center.
The Hartford win ended the Sound Tigers’ five-game winning streak with Bobby Butler’s game-winning goal at 23 seconds sealing the matinee victory.
The game-winner came during the three-on-three session when Peter Holland hit John Gilmour in full-flight up the right wing. He sent a backhanded pass to Butler who was coming off the left-wing and deposited his fourth of the year behind Bridgeport goalie, Christopher Gibson.
“Finally, a bounce went our way and Gilly made a nice play, and good things happen when you go to the net,” remarked Butler. “He had a great game with two big goals for us. So once he got the puck, I knew good things were going to happen.”
Snatching a victory from an opponent, as opposed to it being the other way around, was critically important for this Wolf Pack team with just two wins in their last ten games.
“We have to build off this; not worry about the next day. Take it one day at a time, try to put things in the past, and move on from here.” Butler said.
In registering a three-point effort, Gilmour also stressed how important the game was for team chemistry. “Coach said after the game it was a game where we learned to trust one another. It was a good start; got a little crazy, and the second was hard, but we hung together and got our chances in the third and made it happen.”
For Pack head coach, Keith McCambridge, it was a game needed to salve the self-inflicted wounds from the past three weeks. “A solid effort from top-to-bottom to come from behind and win this game.”
Gilmour’s speed is a big advantage in OT and McCambridge made full use of it.
“With three-on-three, there is lots of room out there. He’s able to play at top-speed and create chances and he did there. It’s fun to watch.”
Across the way, it was an opportunity missed by Bridgeport as they embark on their Canadian road trip starting in Laval.
“We had a chance to put the nail in the coffin on the power play, and we didn’t. Give credit to Hartford, they worked hard, were resilient, used their powerplay in the third. We played too casual in the third period, We gotta play sixty minutes, not forty,” said Bridgeport head coach, and ex-Pack, Brent Thompson.
The Pack had a great chance early in the third period while shorthanded. Just nine seconds in, Boo Nieves had a clean breakaway, but elected not to make any move and just shot right into Gibson at 4:55.
The Wolf Pack finally got their offense going with two late power plays scoring a goal on the second one to tie the game late.
Just 29 seconds after Travis St. Denis was sent to the box for a marginal crosscheck, the Wolf Pack tied the game at three.
Nieves, in his second game back in the lineup, made a perfect feed to Gilmour, who looked off for Ville Meskanen and wristed it low stick side to even the game at three at 16:15.
“The power play is important and you can get frustrated when it isn’t working and wait for those opportunities so when you capitalize it makes the all the difference,” McCambridge said of his special teams unit that went one for four.
The second period was tamer than the first, but a snoozefest. The Wolf Pack managed just three shots on goal and were unable to sustain any real offensive flow.
In one stretch, they had five consecutive icings and were offside on an early power play. McCambridge switched his lines around in an unsuccessful attempt to jumpstart their offense.
After a difficult first period. the Wolf Pack’s goalie for the day, Alex Georgiev, settled down in net making key saves in a late stretch of the period making three strong saves on Travis St. Denis.
The Wolf Pack got scoring at the 46-second mark as the two teams combined for five goals.
Meskanen came down the right-wing fanned on his shot but stayed with the puck that was blocked by Sound Tigers’ defenseman Parker Wotherspoon’s stick. Meskanen got a shot off that went off Gibson’s stick, but Nieves, who was battling at the left side of the net with the Sound Tigers, Mike Sislo, had it deflect either off him, for his first of the season.
The Sound Tigers evened the game at one on the powerplay scoring just 26 seconds into the man advantage.
Kieffer Bellows was at the left point and let go a shot from the left point which was stopped, but got by Georgiev and trickled past him allowing Tanner Fritz to easily bang it into the net for his first of the season.
The Wolf Pack answered back with Gilmour shooting from the left point with a hard shot on net. Gibson was distracted by Cole Schneider battling in front at 4:26.
The Sound Tigers collected the next two goals and Georgiev would want both of them back.
Gibson, who was shaky in goal, but did well on the offensive side of things. He got the puck behind the net to former QU Bobcat, Devon Toews, near their blue line. He spotted Fritz along the right wing boards with an open lane to the net.
Fritz sped past Libor Hajak and incredibly beat Georgiev on the power play to the far side to even the game at two at 9:29 for his second of the game.
Gibson factored in the Sound Tigers third goal, zipping the puck up the left wing boards to Otto Koivula, who outmuscled Ryan Gropp at the blue line. He passed the puck to Jeff Kubiak who went down and opened up the left wing and snapped a high shot over Georgiev’s glove at 13:37 for a 3-2 lead.
NOTES:
A morning transaction saw Marek Mazanec recalled by the New York Rangers while Georgiev was assigned to the Wolf Pack and was in net to start the game. Later in the day, Georgiev was recalled.
The team also bid adieu to forward, Mikael Lindqvist. After 16 games and seven points, returned to Sweden to play with Farjestad BK for the rest of the year. He will be playing this weekend against the Vaxjo Lakers according to a team press release.
The Sound Tigers were down two players from AHL suspensions. Steve Bernier was serving game one of a two-game ban. Captain Kyle Burroughs sat for this game.
The linesman for today’s game were the Briganti brothers, Kevin and Nick.
Pack scratches listed were; Lindqvist and Vince Pedrie
WOLF PACK LINES:
Schneider-Butler-Holland
Nieves-Belesky-Meskanen
Fogarty-Gettinger-Ronning
Fontaine-O’Donnell-Gropp
Gilmour-Lindgren
Bigras-O’Gara
Crawley-Hajak
Georgiev
Gibson’s two assists fell one short of the AHL record for goalie assists in a game which is three and held by four other netminders.
The last one to do it was Mike Smith, now with the Calgary Flames while with the Iowa Stars in the 2005-06 season against the Utah Grizzlies. It was first done by Lynn Zimmerman of Rochester in 1972-73. He was followed by Jim Weaver of Hershey in 1977-78, and the fourth player is recently minted NHL Hall of Famer on Monday, Martin Brodeur with the Utica Devils in 1992-‘93.
Tip of the chapeau to AHL VP of Communications Jason Chaimovitch for that golden nugget.
Ex-Wolf Pack and Nighthawk goaltender, Robb Stauber, who is also the head coach of last year’s US Women’s Olympic gold medal-winning squad has new reasons to celebrate. His son, Jaxson, is playing with Sioux Falls (USHL) and has made a verbal commit to Minnesota St.-Mankato (WCHA) for 2019-20.
Gibson Homer, the son of former New Haven Knights (UHL) defenseman, Kenzie Homer, has a made a verbal commit to the University of Miami (OH) for 2022-23.
