BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – With three goals in the third period, the Providence Bruins edged out the Hartford Wolf Pack 4-2 and sent the team to their third straight loss on Saturday afternoon at the XL Center.
Providence’s record improves to 5-2 (10 points). They sit atop the Atlantic Division and have defeated the Pack the last three games.
The Wolf Pack record falls to 2-3-0 (4 points). They are ahead of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (2-4-0) by having played one fewer game.
“I thought we came out ready to play. We had some really good chances. We checked well, but as the game went on, however, our intensity dropped off,” Wolf Pack Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said, sounding a bit sullen. “We extended our shifts like the first goal against. We weren’t playing as sharp or crisp or with purpose as we were in the first.”
The two teams battle Tuesday afternoon at 1 PM in Hartford.
THIRD PERIOD DOOMS PACK
In the third period, the Bruins used the powerplay to score their second tally.
Pack netminder, Adam Huska (28 saves), getting his first start of the season, attempted to clear the puck himself from his end. The puck hit a stanchion of the glass and darted to the open left-wing. Providence tracked down the loose puck and kept it in. The B’s impressive rookie rearguard, Jack Ahcan, was at the right point and fired a shot that went through traffic and beat Huska for his first professional goal at 2:55. The assist on the goal came from long-time Pack killer Paul Carey and Cameron Hughes with the first of his two assists.
Huska (28 saves) played in his first game of the season. His play was not among Knoblauch’s concerns in the loss.
“I thought he played very well, and there was a lot of intensity to his game. He recovered quickly on plays, and for the most part, handled the puck well and gave the players a chance with his play.”
THIRD GOAL
Providence added their third goal and what would be the game-winner when Czech rookie Jakub Lauko, who was wide-open on the left-wing, took a feed from Hughes that went past defenseman Vincent LoVerde. Hughes had won the one-on-one battle with Darren Raddysh. The goal was the second of the season for Lauko and came at 13:12.
At 13;12, the Wolf Pack tightened the score on rookie Alex Whelan’s score (Quinnipiac University).
Austin Rueschhoff won the face-off cleanly from the Bruins Ian McKinnon. Raddysh took a shot that rebounded to the right point. Whelan got position inside Cooper Zech and used a backhanded chip that got past Bruins’ netminder, Jeremy Swayman (27 saves), for his first pro goal, narrowing the gap to 3-2. Raddysh and Paul Thompson picked up the helpers.
“The play was made by a really nice shot from the point by Raddysh in the third. We started winning key face-offs, so it was nice to see that we put some pressure on Swayman that gave ourselves a chance,” Knoblauch said.
Anton Blidh scored the empty-netter off Carey’s second assist in the game to close out the scoring in the Bruins’ favor at 19:44. Samuel Asselin got the secondary assist.
SOLID FIRST PERIOD FOR PACK
The Pack had a substantial first period and brought momentum and many good intangibles into the second period, which became a scoreless tight-checking 20-minutes with each team having just five shots on goal.
Knoblauch stated he would have to look at the video to answer where those things went in the second frame. “We just didn’t play with a sense of purpose. You can’t have success without it.”
Over the final seven minutes of the period, the Pack could not register a shot on goal.
“I don’t know what the shots totals are or how long it is. We can get all the shots we want, step over the red line, and shoot. Shot totals are irrelevant to me; getting quality chances are.”
PACK SCORE FIRST
A strong start in the first period led to the Wolf Pack’s and game’s first goal.
An aggressive forecheck sequence spearheaded by Morgan Barron led to the walling-off of the Bruins’ Joona Koopannen on the left-wing boards. He then got the puck, kept it in, and put it behind the Baby Bruins’ net.
LoVerde advanced the puck in the right-wing circle and fed Barron, who had a quality chance turned aside by Swayman. The puck went to Tarmo Reunanen. The prized New York Rangers defensive prospect then made a diagonal pass to Patrick Newell in the right-wing circle. Newell snapped a wrister to the back of the net for his third goal of the season at 8:01.
Last season, Newell didn’t register his third goal until the 25th game of the season. This season, he’s achieved that in six games.
“Most goals come about because of some pressure (Barron), and then the pass by Tarmo to Newell was a heck of a pass, which was nice to see,” Knoblauch said.
BARRON REACTION
Barron wasn’t a happy player after the game.
“(The loss was) disappointing. We had opportunities to win that game. We lapsed offensively and defensively in this game. We’re gonna have to figure out how to fix things going forward to win some games.”
The Bruins tied the game with a good forecheck of their own. Ahcan dumped the puck in. Zach Senyshyn was able to outmaneuver LoVerde for the puck, and then he curled into the left-wing circle and snapped his team-leading fourth goal of the season past Huska at 14:30.
LINES
Richards-Barron-Newell
Khordorenko-Ronning-Cuylle
Rueschhoff-Whelan-Thompson
O’Leary-Greco-Gettinger
LoVerde-Reunanen
Raddysh- Geersten
Taylor-Crawley
Huska
Garand
SCRATCHES
Ryan Dmowski
Gabriel Fontaine (upper body)
Jake Elmer
Zach Guattari
Tyler Wall
Patrick Sieloff
NOTES
Tommy Cross (Simsbury/Westminster Prep) played his first game on loan with Providence. He was the Bruins captain for three seasons in his first stint with the P-Bruins.
