BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack won a see-saw battle with the visiting Providence Bruins 4-3 in overtime at the XL Center on a Vinni Lettieri goal.
After taking a pass from goaltender Dustin Tokarski, Lettieri took advantage of all the open ice during the three-on-three overtime session and used all his speed and after a shoulder fake, he whistled the game-winner past the Bruins’ Zane McIntyre at 3:30 of overtime.
“I kind of caught them in the neutral zone on a change and I haven’t scored in some time. I put it on myself to get the shot and we deserved the win. If we get into OT, it’s always important we get that win. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first shift or last shift. You just have to work hard every shift and hope something good comes of it which what happened to be the case form goal.” Lettieri said of his first AHL goal of the year and hasn’t scored in over a month.
Keith McCambridge was happy his teams scrapped together another two points to get their record to 7-9-2-2.
“We did a better job in the second third of executing plays and played a heavier game and got pucks to the net.”
Winger Matt Beleskey summed it up beautifully, “Sometimes you don’t deserve them all and get two points and sometimes you do and don’t get anything. Even though they were on the PK, we had guys laying it on the one blocking shots out there it was good to get those two points.”
The Wolf Pack saved their best for the third period and it looked like they just might squeeze out a win, but another ill-timed penalty allowed Providence to tie the game.
Providence’s Ryan Donato was able to track down a loose puck before a Pack players put a short pass to Ryan Fitzgerald who moved 10 feet sent it over to Kyle Cumiskey at the left point and drilled a slapper that beat a screened Dustin Tokarski.
“We can’t be taking penalties at that point of the game.”
Before the goal was scored, the Pack PK was effective in blocking shots with Tokarski making saves.
“That was big for us. We’re blocking shots. Leedahl had a couple, and Tokarski too. You want to reward these guys with getting a goal and I was able to,” Lettieri said as he’s now sporting a mustache and shorter hair.
Tokarski continued his strong play in the third stopping Martin Bakos on the breakaway shutting the five-hole at 7:42.
“Dustin made key saves whenever there were breakdowns in the game and it was good for him to put a game like that in his back pocket,” said McCambridge.
Halfway through the third, the Pack broke a two-all tie with two sets of strong plays. First, Cole Schneider got to a loose puck behind the Bruins net and made Emil Johansson chase him, which opened the lane on the right wing side. He then zipped a pass to Shawn O’Donnell, who wasted no time burying his third of the season.
Like the first period, the Wolf Pack had great difficulty getting any sustained offense putting just five shots on net nearing the end of the period, but some good goaltending and some good puck fortune help them tie the game at two.
Tokarski provided the goaltending stopping shots in the period and his two best saves came back to back.
With 1:52 left, the Bruins’ Anton Blidh was in front of the net and made a perfect deflection. Tokarski snatched the puck looking to go the far corner.
Off the ensuing faceoff, the Bruins’ Jordan Swarz fell down on a cross-ice feed from and extended his stick out it looked like a sure goal, but Tokarski’s glove snatched it up.
The Pack got the puck luck they needed when Ville Meskanen was in front of the Pack bench and fired an off-balance dump in and fell down in front of the Wolf Pack bench.
The puck hit the glass behind the net and came back out in front to Matt Beleskey, who was in on the forecheck. McIntyre came out to play the puck, which slid past the net as he was trying to get back to the net, as his backhander sailed into the open net for his second of the night and third of the season.
“Sometimes puck luck hasn’t been on my side lately and it was nice to get a bounce up the middle to put it in,” Beleskey said with a smile.
McCambridge appreciated the veteran’s patience.
“A lot of guys might have slapped at the puck. He didn’t. He got that play. We have had others go the other way on us, so will definitely take that one.”
Lettieri made a great observation. “That’s just not puck luck. That comes in the summer when you working out hard and do those extra workouts. That’s where conditioning and timing come in.”
The game changed early in the second period when at 2:10 there was a scrap between O’Donnell and Tanner Pond.
O’Donnell put a strong hit on Pond along the offensive right-wing sideboards. Despite it being a clean, hard hit, Pond went after O’Donnell. O’Donnell dominated the fight and scored a 100 on his teammate’s card.
“It’s a lost art in our game. It’s a clean hit. The guy comes at him, he got the energy to get our team going, coming from an old man like Odie,” Beleskey said with wry laugh and smile.
McCambridge praised O’Donnell’s decision making.
“The way the game is going he made the right decision at the right time and the right reason. It made a difference.”
The Pack was once again victimized on the first goal on the power play no less.
The puck came from a pass from off the sideboards. Nobody was there and Karson Kuhlman picked up the loose puck was off to the races. Kuhlman went in forehand and made a nice forehand deke before slipping a backhander, his second of the season, past Tokarski.
The Pack’s lack of offense was on display taking nearly 10 minutes to register their first shot on goal which came from Lettieri.
On one of their few serious offensive cycles of puck possession, they tied the game at one. On their second power play, which had been as ineffective as their first one, connected with 39 seconds left.
Peter Holland launched a shot from the right point and Beleskey, who was in front, was able to snag a rebound and put in his second goal as a member of the Wolf Pack at 13:49.
The Bruins zapped the Pack when Kyle Cumiskey shot from the left point with a perfect screen on Tokarski who was able to stop the shot, but it trickled off his right pas and Fitzgerald jammed home the loose puck for the 2-1 Providence lead at 18:28.
NOTES:
Newcomer Terrance Wallin wore #34.
PACK SCRATCHES:
Ryan Gropp, Gabriel Fontaine, and Vince Pedrie
WOLF PACK LINES:
Nieves-Lettieri-Gettinger
Holland-Beleskey-Meskanen
O’ Donnell-Schneider-St. Amant
Wallin-Butler-Leedahl
Gilmour-Lindgren
Bigras-O’ Gara
Crawley-Hajak
John Gilmour saw his point-scoring streak stopped at four games.
Donato, the son of ex-Pack and Sound Tiger, Ted Donato, has a four-game point streak with four goals and an assist snapped as well.
The New York Rangers won 5-0 over the New York Islanders. Alex Georgiev picked up his first NHL shutout and Filip Chytil scored in his 5th consecutive game.
