CANTLON: HARTFORD WOLF PACK OFFSEASON VOL 4 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – The New York Rangers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in a dramatic first-round playoff series and now face an elimination game with the Carolina Hurricanes (nee Hartford Whalers) who lead the series three games to two in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Meanwhile, back in the American Hockey League (AHL), the two teams in the Atlantic Division, the Springfield Thunderbirds and the Charlotte Checkers, are meeting in a 2-3-2 format. Springfield dominated from start to finish in Game 1 on Sunday afternoon at the Mass Mutual Center, crushing the Checkers 6-0. Sam Anas had two goals and an assist, while Joel Hofer, the game’s First Star, had a 35-shot shutout. (GAME SHEET)

EX- HARTFORD WOLF PACK PLAYERS MOVING

Ex-Hartford Wolf Pack forward Brodie Dupont has officially retired and becomes the full-time head coach for the Cardiff Devils (Wales-EIHL). Under Dupont’s leadership behind the bench, Cardiff won the EIHL championship. He is the 96th ex-Wolf Pack/CT Whale player to enter coaching. Dupont played as a Wolf Pack and CT Whale member and was weighing an offer to return to Connecticut.

Ex-Wolf Pack, Ryan Gropp departs IF Björklöven (Sweden Allvenskan).

Another ex-Pack, Nick Ebert, leaves Örebro HK (Sweden-SHL) for HV 71 (Sweden-SHL) next year.

In his tenth year of Polish hockey, New Britain’s Mike Cichy leaves GKS Tychy (Poland-PZIHL) and signs with Unia Oswiecim.

Rayen Petrovicky, the son of former Hartford Whaler Róbert Petrovicky, moves from TUTO (Finland-Mestis) home to HK Dukla Trencin (Slovakia-SLEL).

Brooklyn Kalmikov, the son of former Sound Tiger Konstantin Kalmikov, saw his Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL) eliminated. So he’s now heading from “The Q” and signs with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for next season.

MORE MOVES

Closer to home, following his sophomore year, Ryan Doolin (Westminster Prep) left Sacred Heart University (AHA) and transferred to D3 Colby College (ME) (NESCAC).

Travis Turnbull, the younger cousin of former New Haven Nighthawk Randy Turnbull, heads from Schwenniger (Germany-DEL) to EHC Straubing (German-DEL).

Jack Marottollo (North Haven), the son of Sacred Heart University (AHA) head coach C.J. Marottollo, goes from South Shore (NCDC) and enrolls at Wesleyan University (Middletown) (NESCAC) in the fall.

THOSE STILL PLAYING MEANINGFUL HOCKEY…

In June, the major junior playoffs continue in Canada, leading to a later-than-planned Memorial Cup in an old AHL city, Saint John, New Brunswick.

In the WHL, current Ranger’s prospect Matt Rempe, who’s playing with the Seattle Thunderbirds, has four goals and five points in ten games, won their Game 7 finale against the Portland Winterhawks to advance to the next round.

Goalie Dylan Garand, heading to Hartford on his Entry-Level Contract (ELC) in the fall, moves on. Garland’s Kamloops Blazers (48-17-3-0) will play against Rempe’s Thunderbirds (44-18-4-2) in the WHL Western Conference championship beginning Friday.

Garand’s 1.51 Goals-Against-Average (GAA) is the WHL’s second-best in the post-season. The Red Wing’s 6’6 prospect, Sebastian Cossa of the Edmonton Oil Kings, is slightly better at 1.48. Both have three shutouts.

OTHER HARTFORD WOLF PACK PROSPECTS

Another fall training camp player is winger Ryder Korczak of the Moose Jaw Warriors. Korczak was last week’s WHL Player of the Week with ten points in ten games. Unfortunately, the Winnipeg Ice eliminated the Warriors.

In the WHL Bantam Draft, Lochlan Tetarenko, the son of Joey Tetarenko (Beast of New Haven), was selected in the third round (62nd overall) by the Saskatoon Blades.

In the US Priority portion of the draft, the son of Whaler Grant Jennings, forward Gordon Jennings, was taken in the second round (35th overall) by the Prince Albert Raiders. The Alaskan native played last season for the U-14 Alaska Oilers AA team.

California had the most players taken, with 44 drafted at 17, followed by Minnesota with 13 and Texas with nine.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Over in the OHL, two top Rangers prospects will compete against one another in the Western Conference Championship.

Will Cullye of the Windsor Spitfires has eight points in eleven games. That’s good for second-best on the team. Their opponent, Brennan Othmann of the Flint Firebirds, has a team-best 17 points on eight goals in 12 games.

Othmann had three assists in a series-clinching Game 5 with a big 7-1 clincher over Sault Ste. Marie.

Each of these players is the captain of their respective team. They met in February in a wild 7-6 overtime game, with each recording a hat trick. Cullye wears #13 and Othmann #78. The Spitfires won seven of the eight games in the regular season, and they will play for the Wayne Gretzky Conference trophy.

The series started on Saturday in Windsor. Cullye had an assist and game-high eight shots while Othmann went pointless and had one shot. Game two is on Monday.

WINDSOR SERIES

Listen to the Windsor series on old school over-the-air radio on CKLW-AM 800 (Windsor-Detroit) and online. The Eastern Conference series begins on Friday between Hamilton and North Bay. The game can also be heard on CHML-AM 900 (Hamilton).

There were no Ranger prospects in the QMJHL, but former Wolf Pack, Ranger, and Springfield Falcon, and now a head coach, Gordie Dwyer, saw his Saint John Sea Dogs eliminated in the first round of the President Cup playoffs. However, the team does get an automatic Memorial Cup cup berth as the host city.

ANOTHER RANGERS SIGNEE

Centerman Gustav Ryhahl signed a one-year, one-way, free-agent deal with the Rangers paying him $750K in the NHL and AHL. Rydahl, 27, is a 6’3 and 201-pounds physical player from the LeMat Trophy Swedish Hockey League champs Färjestad BK (Sweden-SHL), where he amassed 30 points in 44 games.

In the Clark Cup (USHL) best-of-five series final, the Sioux City Musketeers are tied at one game apiece with the Madison (WI) Capitols.

A few CT names dot the rosters of both teams.

Jake Percival (Avon) plays for Sioux City and is a UCONN recruit for the fall.

Madison has Ohio State (Big 10), Richard (DJ) Hart (Stamford), and Westport’s and QU-bound in the fall Matt McGroarty (Brunswick School). Hart, who played at UCONN in Hartford twice this year, is a fall commit.

COLLEGE HOCKEY

The changes at Storrs keep coming.

According to sources heading to Boston University will be UCONN’s associate head coach West Haven’s Joe Pereira, an ex-Sound Tiger, also formerly of South Kent Prep. He played as an undergraduate for 139 games. He was a  captain his senior season, as one of the new assistant coaches for Jay Pandolfo’s staff after his nine-year run as an assistant to the Huskies Mike Cavanaugh.

He began his college coaching career at Sacred Heart University (ACHA Division-2) as the head coach of their D2 club team, winning the Northeast Collegiate Hockey League championship in 2012-13. As a player, he spent two years as a minor league professional.

Augustana (SD) University Vikings, the 62nd and newest NCAA D1 program, has been accepted as a new conference member for the CCHA, bringing the league to eight teams.

TRANSFERS ACCEPTED

One way for a team to improve its roster is to dip into the transfer portal. NCAA D1 Independent, the Long Island University Sharks, announced seven transfers on Thursday.

The transfers are of all types, undergraduate, grad, inter-conference, non-conference, several Division-3s to Division-1, and even several cross-continent moves. As of this week, the total jumps to a staggering 157, comprised of 88 grad transfers and 69 school transfers.

The Sacred Heart Pioneers (AHA) gets Julian Kislin from Northeastern (HE).

The Quinnipiac Bobcats lose sophomore winger Ty Smilanic to Wisconsin (Big 10). Smilanic’s NHL rights were traded from Minnesota to Arizona. Meanwhile, the Bobcats received three grad transfers.

Over at Yale, they saw a grad transfer in goalie Justin Pearson who heads to UCONN (HE) next year.

UCONN’s Cassidy Bowes has yet to declare his next destination. Still, according to several sources, he’s likely to play Canadian college hockey out in Western Canada, which is closer to his home in either the CWUAA, ACAC, or the BCIHL.

MORE MOVES

Rangers prospect Simon Kjellberg has left RPI (ECACHL) for the greener pastures of Northern Michigan (CCHA).

A laundry list of players remains uncommitted, including Kyle Johnson of Yale and John Fusco of Harvard.

Eric Gotz, the nephew of former Hartford Wolf Pack player and Head Coach Ken Gernander, heads from Michigan Tech (CCHA) to Vermont (HE), where his twin uncles matriculated as young men, Jim and Jerry Gernander.

John Emmons Jr. commits to Miami (OH) (NCHC) from the Oakland (MI) Grizzlies (HPHL).

IIHF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

US had a close call winning 3-2 in OT over defensive-minded Austria. Ex-Sound Tiger Kieffer Bellows scored in the game. Unfortunately, the US dropped their second game 4-1 to Finland.

Next was a battle with Great Britain, which had Jackson Whistle in the net. He is the nephew of former New Haven Nighthawk Rob Whistle. Bellows scored twice in a 3-0 win.

The US knocked off Sweden on Adam Gaudette’s hat trick as ex-Springfield Falcon TJ Tynan, the two-time reigning AHL MVP, set him up with his second helper of the game.

Canada saw Pierre-Luc Dubois score twice in an opening 5-1 win.

In other games, the Czechs fell to Sweden 4-3 as ex-Pack Tomáš Kundrátek, and ex-UCONN recruit Matej Blümel scored in a comeback bid, but a 5-3 loss and then lost to Austria in their second game.

Michael Spacek scored in a 5-1 win over Latvia.

HUSKA

Current Wolf Pack Adam Húska was in net for Slovakia’s 5-1 loss to Canada and 5-3 loss to Switzerland. Huska gave up a goal to ex-Springfield Falcon Denis Malgin (one of five ex-Falcons playing in the tourney). Even though he made some acrobatic diving saves, the lack of goal support followed him to Finland from Hartford.

The Slovaks did make the quarterfinals with a 4-3 win over Kazakhstan. Húska faced little work (11 shots), and all three goals resulted from direct rebounds. Huska picked up a secondary assist on the third goal. The Slovak team capitalized with three power play goals on Pavel Akolzin’s ill-advised major for charging in center ice right in front of the Kazakhstan bench.

The Slovaks secured their chance to continue to play by beating Italy 5-2, with Húska manning the cage. Surefire top draft pick in July, Jaroslav Slafkovky, scored again.

Ex-Pack Andres Ambühl was the hero setting up the game-winning goal with 4:21 left for Switzerland in a 3-2 win over Kazakhstan.

Sweden has played ex-Pack Magnus Hellberg in the net for three of their four games. One of them was winning a championship-level-like final, a 3-2 shootout win over Finland.

Former QU Bobcat Latvian Kārlis Čukste earned the secondary assist on the game-winner with 6:19 left to play as Latvia rallied for a late 4-3 win over the British.

HARTFORD WOLF PACK

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