CANTLON: PACK END 2021 WITH SHUTOUT LOSS 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – Oskar Steen’s and Steve Fogarty had two-point performances while Troy Grosenick’s 17 saves propelled the Providence Bruins to a 4-0 shutout win in a mid-afternoon last game of 2021 at the XL Center on New Years’s Eve.

The Wolf Pack are decimated from COVID cases and the NHL’s decision to reinstitute taxi squads. While every AHL team has seen players depart for the stands in their respective NHL cities, it’s worse for the Wolf Pack.

For the Pack, it’s so bad that two players they brought in to help couldn’t after testing positive for Covid-19. Despite all of those handicaps, the Pack was able to put a “W” in the books on Wednesday, but against the Bruins, they could not compensate for the skill differential. The Bruins’ special teams were the difference-maker and led to the Pack being shut out for the first time this season.

REACTION

“I had no problems with our effort five-on-five. We played a good game, but we got beat on special teams for three-of-the-four goals. They were a big part of this game, and we had so many guys getting used to each other,” said Pack Head Coach Kris Knoblauch in his post-game comments after an exhausting final week of 2021. “We weren’t better than them five-on-five, but we held our own. We got guys killing penalties who have never done it before. They made mistakes, and they capitalized on them.

“Providence is a very good, well-balanced team. We weren’t organized or ready to play them.”

FIRST GOAL

Jesper Froden was on the left-wing side and broke away from his check. He got to the rebound of Steen’s shot and, at 4:47 of the first, put it past Francois Brassard for a 1-0 lead.

The Bruins tallied twice in the second period to develop a stranglehold on the game.

The Bruins effectively played the power play, which tallied their second goal. Justin Richards lost a defensive zone draw to former Pack captain Steven Fogarty. Urho Vaakaninainen slipped over from his left point position to the right side and fired a perfect tape-to-tape cross-ice feed to Steen, who was wide-open in the lower part of the faceoff circle. Steen blasted home his team-leading tenth goal high to the stick-side with 23.6 left in the period.

After being just a practice goalie for the team last season, Brassard’s efforts kept the Wolf Pack within shouting distance.

THOUGHTS ON BRASSARD

“He made some exceptional saves in both games. Tonight he gave us an opportunity on some excellent scoring chances.
It’s tough and a big disadvantage going in. You hope things will even out for you, and in a season, it happens to everybody, and you hope things will equal out for you. It’s a bad time. We’re very shorthanded.”

Fogarty earned his second point in his Hartford homecoming when he snapped a shot over Brassard’s glove for the P-Bruins’ second power play goal that came with 8:16 left in the period.

BRUINS TALLY FOUR

In the second frame, the Bruins made it a 4-0 lead with another special teams goal with their fifth shorthanded goal against the Pack this year. Alex Olivier-Voyer broke out on the right-wing and left a drop pass for Cam Hughes. He made no mistake in putting everything he had into his shot that found the back of the net for his fourth of the season at 17:25.

“We have to do better with special teams. It’s tough with so many new guys to learn the systems in such a short time. It’s always gonna be a tough call. We did battle and gave it 100%. We just gotta be smarter and do better on special teams next time. We couldn’t get a power play goal and gave up two and a shortie (shorthanded),” a  dejected Patrick Khordorenko said. “(Brassard) played great. We kinda left him out to dry a few times. One was a back door goal, then we lost a faceoff and lost a man (and) they made a great play. We gotta be a little better. He’s been great, and made some outstanding saves.”

LINES

Greco – Ronning – Richards
Khordorenko -Pajuniemi – DiGiacinto
Rueschoff – O’Leary – Whalen
Sanchez – Elmer – Skinner

Guittari – Blake Thompson
Mike Lee – Michael Brodzinski
Zach Berzolla – Brandon Fortunato

François Brassard
Brandon Kasel

SCRATCHES

Bitetto (lower body)
Schneider (upper body, short term)
Reunanen
Labrie
Taylor
Wall

NEWS

Some new additions and deletions are likely by Sunday’s meeting with the Rochester Americans.

“The transactions from New York we’re not sure of yet, so I can’t say much to that. We hope to get Tarmo (Reunanen) back (against Rochester). (Braden) Schneider is questionable at this point. We got 14 guys out of our lineup and two players showed up who couldn’t play.”

THOMPSON SIGNED

On Friday afternoon, the Hartford Wolf Pack signed defenseman Blake Thompson to a PTO deal. As a result, he was pressed into service immediately. Thompson made his AHL debut this against Providence.

A native of Listowel, Ontario, Thompson has appeared in twenty games with the ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder. He has ten points (three goals and seven assists) and is a product of the Division-III’s St. Norbert College Green Knights (NCHA) program. Thompson has skated in 191 career ECHL games and scored 51 career points (12 goals 39 assists).

A member of the NCAA Division-III National Champion in 2013-14 with St. Norbert College, Thompson is a two-time All-Conference Team selection in the NCHA. He was named to the All-Conference team following the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

He becomes the fourth player named Thompson to play in 25 years for Hartford.

Brent, the head coach in Bridgeport for ten years, was the first in Year One. Tommy was there for three games and last years’ now ex-Pack a current Islander, Paul, and now Blake.

MORE NEWS

The 11-7 format devolved into a 12-6 setup for the Wolf Pack.

This season, Matt Foley (Yale) got his second AHL recall to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Fellow ex-Bulldog Ted Hart signs with Worcester (ECHL), and Evan Neugold (Goshen/Westminster Prep) signs with the Newfoundland (St. John’s) Growlers (ECHL), where he played two years ago.

Defenseman Dallas Drake (UCONN) is traded from the Reading Royals (ECHL) to the Wheeling Nailers (ECHL).

DEGON IS BACK PLAYING

Ex-Pack Marvin Degon Jr., living in Florida at age 38, signs a contract with player-shortened Florida Everblades. He played for a year with the Wolf Pack (2005-2006) and last played in the AHL with the defunct Hamilton Bulldogs, now an OHL city in 2007-2008. He hasn’t played hockey since his time in Slovenia in 2014-15 with HDD HK Olimpija Ljubljana in the Austrian league then called the EBEL now IceHL.

He has not been involved in hockey since 2018-19, when he was an assistant coach with ACHA Division 3 club hockey with Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles.

Ex-Sound Tiger Kristers Gudlevkis is released by Slovak League member HC Slovan Bratislava and signs with Brynäs IF (Sweden-SHL).

In search of live bodies, former Wolf Pack assistant coach David Cunniff, who is currently the Head Coach/GM for the Worcester Railers (ECHL), signs ex-Sound Tigers Matt Gaudreau was coaching a Philadelphia minor hockey team. He played just eight games in the Park City.

After six years of retirement, ex-Sound Tiger Jeremy Yablonski signs with the Idaho Steelheads (ECHL).

Nolan Stevens was moved in an AHL deal from Springfield to Iowa.

Garrett Gallagher, formerly of the Danbury Jr, Hat Tricks (FPHL), signs with Worcester (ECHL).

Ryder Ritchie, son Beast of New Haven Byron, just drafted in the WHL Bantam Draft, is called up by the Prince Albert Raiders.

Jack Gorton (Selects Academy at South Kent Prep), coached by former New Haven Knight (UHL), Bobby (Robert) Ferraris at Trinity-Pawling (NYPREP) playing with the Victoria Grizzlies (BCHL), makes a verbal commitment to Boston University Terriers (HE) for 2022-23. He is the son of Montreal’s new President and former Rangers GM, Jeff Gorton, and wife Cindi.

HARTFORD WOLF PACK

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