CANTLON: ISLANDERS STIFFLE PACK 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

BRIDGEPORT, CT – Ken Appleby stopped all thirty shots he saw as the Bridgeport Islanders goaltender led his team to post a 2-0 win over the visiting Hartford Wolf Pack.

The Wolf Pack (23-15-4-2) slide into third place with a .591 winning percentage. The Pack trail the Springfield Thunderbirds and Providence Bruins and sit just ahead of the fourth-place Charlotte Checkers with a .585 winning percentage. They currently have three games in hand.

The Wolf Pack’s penchant for giving up the first goal and late period goals continues.

The Islanders’ Chris Terry scored twice including the game-winner.

TERRY’S GOALS

On their first power-play, at 14:57, Andy Andreoff was on the left-wing. Andreoff sent a blind backhanded pass across the crease with his back to the play. The puck went past everybody but found Terry, who quickly deposited his 15th goal of the year.

At 18:46, Terry and Collin Adams were together at the center slot area. Terry took the pass from the left-wing corner from Otto Koivula, who got his second point of the afternoon when Terry one-timed for his 16th goal of the season past Adam Huska.

SECOND PERIOD

Bridgeport played phenomenally well in the second frame as Appleby kept the Wolf Pack off the scoresheet. He kept control of the puck after making the first save and then froze it. Bridgeport outshot the Pack in every period.

The only thing lost in the second was winger Aaron Luchuk. He had been inserted for rookie Cristiano DiGiacinto as Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch sought to jumpstart his offense and add punch to the lineup. Instead, Luchuk suffered a lower-body injury in the left-wing corner as he was hit while trying to make a hit on the Islanders Jeff Kubiak.

He had great difficulty rising from the ice at the whistle and was helped off by teammates Matt Robertson and Nils Lundkvist with 11:53 left in the period.

LINES

Gettinger-Brodzinski-Greco
Ronning-Fritz-Loreto
Richards-Khordorenko-Ruesschoff
Whalen-O’Leary-Luchuk.

Tinordi-Lundkvist
Giuttari-Robertson
Reunanen- Bitetto

Kinkaid
Huska

SCRATCHES

Pajuniemi
Taylor
Skinner
Wall
DiGiacinto

EMILE “CAT” FRANCIS PASSES AWAY

Sad news for hockey and the New York Rangers as the colorful, bright, irreverent Emile “The Cat” Francis, their former head coach from (1962-1975) and former goaltender, who played 22 games in 1948, passed away at age 95.

Francis, also had strong Connecticut connections. He was the General Manager and President for ten years (1983-1993) for the Hartford Whalers, helping resurrect a dying franchise. In his playing days, he was a member of the AHL New Haven Ramblers for two years (1948-1950), starting a five-year run in the AHL where he earned his nickname, “The Cat” because of his energetic goaltending style. It would become a life-long moniker before getting to play in the six-team NHL at the time.

He ended his playing career in the old Western Hockey League circuit playing with the original Vancouver Canucks for a season and the Seattle Americans one game with the Seattle Totems in his six years in the league.

His son Bob Francis played at The University of New Hampshire in the mid-’70’s when they were in ECAC. He had a solid eight-year minor pro career in Salt Lake City in the old CHL and IHL.

His father’s connections got him into coaching. For seven years, he worked in the old IHL in Salt Lake City and in Saint John for two years. After that, he was in Providence for two years and in the NHL with the Boston Bruins for two years and five seasons in Phoenix.

NOTES

On Saturday, the scratches for the Providence game included ex-Sound Tiger defenseman Aaron Ness winding back from Beijing after representing the US Olympic Team.

After the game, the Rangers were in the Canadian capital city of Ottawa to play the Senators in a late afternoon/early evening game.

Columbus recalled Ex-Wolf Pack/Sound Tiger J.F. Berube from Cleveland.

Shawn Ouellette-St. Amant, an ex-Pack, was recalled by Laval from Trois-Rivieres (ECHL).

Chase Priskie (Quinnipiac University) is again sent to Charlotte by Florida (NHL).

Ex-Pack Adam Cracknell, returns from the Canadian Olympic Team to Bakersfield.

The Belleville Senators released Ex-Springfield Falcon Cody Golubefs, who’ll finish the season with SC Bern (Switzerland-LNA).

Anthony Rinaldi (Kent School) goes from Greenville (ECHL) and signs a PTO with Tucson.

Former Wolf Pack goalie Chris Nell leaves the Atlanta Gladiators (ECHL) signs a PTO deal with the Cleveland Monsters.

Nick Hutchison (Avon Old Farms) heads from the Wheeling Nailers (ECHL) and signs his PTO deal with the Manitoba Moose.

Ex-Pack Mike Lee (Hamden/the Gunn School/Sacred Heart University) heads from the Indy Fuel (ECHL) to the Kansas City Mavericks (ECHL), his fourth team of the year, including Hart City.

Former Sound Tiger Josh Winqist is traded from Reading Royals (ECHL) to the Allen Americans (ECHL).

He will be joining a slew of ex-Sound Tigers Chad Costello, Francis Marotte, former Wolf Pack/ Sound Tiger Jack Combs, ex-Pack Brandon Troock and who are coached by former New Haven Nighthawk, Steve Martinson.

Ex-Pack Nik Latta and nephew of former New Haven Nighthawk Dave Latta leaves his team EV Weiden (Germany Division-3) coached by his father Ken and where his brother Louis also plays is loaned to EV Ravensburg (Germany DEL-2) for the rest of the season.

Frédéric Létourneau (Hotchkiss School) departs Greenville Swamp Rabbits (ECHL) and is traded to the Idaho Steelheads (ECHL). His father,  Daniel Létourneau, is a former Division II player from the late 1970s and early 1980s with the University of New Haven Chargers.

HARTFORD WOLF PACK

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