CANTLON: (SAT) WOLF PACK DROP BACK END OF HOME-AND-HOME WITH SOUND TIGERS 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – Travis St. Denis scored on a breakaway during the three-on-three overtime period to allowing the visiting Bridgeport Sound Tigers to escape with a 3-2 win and a sweep of the team’s home-and-home series.

The Sound Tigers record improves to 21-9-4-1 (47 pts) continue their march to catch the first place Charlotte Checkers as they now trail them by just three points. The Wolf Pack record drops to 14-15-2-2 (32 pts) as they slide back into the sixth spot place, one point ahead of the Providence Bruins, and have lost two in a row.

“I like our game. We were very aggressive on the puck. We played a physical style. We had some really good structure, and level of play. I’m just disappointed we didn’t get the full two points, but the guys who came in and filled in those minutes for (Peter) Holland, (Cole) Schneider and (Steven) Fogarty, they made the most of those opportunities,” Pack head coach Kevin McCambridge said.

The game-winning play came from the Islanders #1 draft pick, Otto Koivula. He sent St. Denis, the former Quinnipiac University star, away on a clean breakaway and was able to beat Dustin Tokarski through the five-hole, at 4:26 of overtime.

Tokarski was simply fantastic in overtime with numerous monster saves. Tokarski stopped Koivula twice, ex-Pack, Chris Bourque on a “grade-A scoring chance, and Mike Sislo twice earlier in overtime. One particular Tokarski save, when Sislo was wide-open on the left wing wide side, was a bullet of a one-timer that left him dropping his head down. Over two games, Sislo has had 12 shots on Tokarski and has come up empty.

Over the past several weeks, Tokarski has raised his game and been outstanding.

“The saves he made were amazing, and he helped us in this game,” defenseman Chris Bigras stated. “His play the last handful of games before the break has been unbelievable for us. At times we just wish we could give him that win in overtime. It didn’t happen, so we get prepared for tomorrow.”

McCambridge was happy with his goalie and impressed by the work of the opposing netminder.

“Dustin was just great for us and made key saves, but you can’t take away anything from their goalie. When we had some Grade-A quality chances, he took them away from us. Dustin has been making saves and giving us a chance to win and that’s what you want your goalie to do.”

The Wolf Pack tied the game at one early in the third period.

Bigras took a feed from Gabriel Fontaine after Lias Andersson, who was double shifted for the game, got things started at 1:41 of the third.

“(Bigras) has been playing really well for us. He’s moving the puck very well and we want our defense involved in the offense, and he certainly was.”

The Sound Tigers regained the lead off a two-on-one break in when St. Denis was on the left wing side and slipped a pass over to Koivula. The 6’4 winger tallied his ninth of the season.

The Wolf Pack answered back seconds later when Bigras crossed the blue line with his head up spotted Bobby Butler on the left wing. He fired a one-timer past Sound Tiger goalie, Jeremy Smith, to tie the game at two.

“I think I heard him,” Bigras said with a laugh. “Bobby did a great job on that play. That whole line did a great job to get the puck in their zone.”

The last seven or eight minutes the Wolf Pack maintained strong offensive zone pressure and it seemed like a game-winner was coming.

“We were able to get pucks deep and we had everybody pushing and were able to keep on them, but Smitty played well and stopped us,” Bigras said.

His performance in the second period clearly demonstrated why the New York Rangers brought Tokarski into the organization. Tokarski stopped all 12 Sound Tiger shots and prevented them from extending their lead.

With three of their top forwards (Holland, Schneider, and Fogarty) all suspended, nobody was going to be able to complain about ice time, especially Andersson who was sent back to Hartford by the Rangers yesterday.

The Sound Tigers struck gold on their first shot of the game.

At 1:34, ex-Pack captain Ryan Bourque outworked a Pack player and fed Kieffer Bellows streaking down the middle and he snapped a wrist shot over Tokarski’s glove hand for his ninth goal, and second in as many games.

While the Wolf Pack outshot the Sound Tigers 13-6, the quality chances were spaced out far in-between with the best chance for the Pack coming from Ryan Gropp off a good setup by Fontaine from 10 feet out that Smith denied with 4:25 left.

Matt Beleskey did have solid bids on back-to-back shifts just before Gropp’s bid that was scuttled by Smith.

The Sound Tigers Matt Gaudreau, who was just recalled from Worcester, had a strong shot for the Sound Tigers and that was stopped.

NOTES:

Marek Mazanec will start in net tomorrow for the Wolf Pack.

Vinni Lettieri matched Sislo with seven shots to pace the Pack offense. Ville Meskanen had five and  Beleskey had four.

Holland is on his second of a two-game suspension. Schneider was suspended just for this game. Both will be eligible to play against Springfield.

Fogarty’s suspension was announced earlier and he will be gone for both of the weekend’s games.

He was tagged for two games for a boarding minor that sent the Sound Tigers Jeff Kubiak heavily into the backboards. Kubiak is out with a lower-body injury.

This is the first time in Wolf Pack history that three players have been suspended at the same time and none of them are named Purinton.

“That was the first I ever saw that,” Bigras said shaking his head in amazement. “Somebody had a lot to do over the break (regarding the number of suspensions issued by the league this week).

The AHL determined that Bridgeport would lose Connor Jones for their next game as a result of his hit to Schneider’s head.

In 21 games, Andersson tallied a lone goal and three assists for the Rangers. He had four goals and 12 points with the Pack in 14 games prior to his recall.

WOLF PACK LINES:

Andersson-Beleskey-Meskanen
Fontaine-Lettieri-Gropp
Butler-Leedahl-Wallin
St. Amant-Melanson

Bigras-O’Gara
Gilmour-Lindgren
Hajak-Crawley
Sean Day

WOLF PACK SCRATCHES:

Peter Holland (Suspension)
Cole Schneider (Suspension)
Steven Fogarty (Suspension)
Tim Gettinger (Concussion)
Shawn O’Donnell (Injured in pre-game skate)
Vince Pedrie (Healthy)

Joey Keane, a Rangers draft pick from last summer, was dealt at the OHL holiday trade deadline from the Barrie Colts to the London Knights. He joins his younger brother, Gerard Keane, who also plays defense for the Dale Hunter coached Knights.

Keane was among the last cuts from US WJC team last week.

Connor LaCouvee, who was in training camp with the Pack, was loaned from the Maine Mariners (ECHL) to the Laval Rocket (AHL) where he picked up his first AHL win in Laval by a 4-2 score over Belleville. The Canadiens recalled Charlie Lindgren from Laval because of Carey Price’s injury.

The Mariners signed Hannu Toivonen, yes the same person who played with the Bruins. He played one game with HIFK Helsinki (Finland-FEL) pitching a shutout before signing with Maine.

Joseph Masonius (UCONN-HE) signs with the Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) his fourth team already. He played one game with the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins was sent to the Wheeling Nailers (ECHL) his contract terminated. He signed for one game with the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL) and was released.

Michal Cajovsky of Charlotte has left and signed with Dynamo Moscow (Russia-KHL) the rest of the year.

At the WJC tourney in Vancouver and Victoria, BC Rangers #1 pick Vitali Kravtsov scored the first goal of the tourney for the Russians and picked up and assist in 5-2 win over Denmark. In a spirited contest, between the Russians and the Czech Republic, Russia held on for a 2-1 win.

Current UCONN Husky, Jachym Kondelik, tallied the lone goal for the Czechs literally off his face into the net.

Pack fan jersey of the night: #10 Tommy Grant (CT Whale) and #35 J.F. Labbe. Grant currently plays senior league hockey in BC for Quesnel (CIHL) and Labbe an AHL Hall of Famer, is the goalie coach for Sherbrooke (QMJHL) and San Diego (AHL).