CANTLON: Bears Win In Wild Fashion Late Over the Wolf Pack
VERSUS 
By Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – A wild frenetic final 2:03 of the game saw four goals scored and the Hershey Bears managed to pull out a critical intra-divisional win, 4-2 over the Hartford Wolf Pack.
“You would like to have at least gotten one point,” Pack head coach Keith McCambridge remarked after the chaotic ending. “We had been generating good scoring chances and you think you have a good grasp and control of the game, but we let breakdowns take place and we find the puck in the back of our net.”
The game-winning goal came just nine seconds after the Wolf Pack (25-24-4-3) had tied the game.
Hershey’s Tyler Grabovac was in the right-wing corner and got to a loose puck heading up the boards ahead of the Pack’s Ryan Graves who went to lift his stick and clipped him instead. Grabovac still got the pass over to Nathan Walker.
Walker had inside position on veteran Pack d-man, Brendan Smith, and wasted little time sweeping in his sixth goal of the season by putting it right on the ice. It was also the second of the game past a stunned, Chris Nell and the crowd of 6,778 for the game-winning goal.
“That was a good forecheck there and we were all in positions. It’s pretty easy to score when you got linemates like him,” Walker said with a deep Australian accent.
In Graves’ post-game exhortations as he walked from the locker room to the bench area he had a deeply anguished look on his face, speaking volumes about what the loss meant to him.
Walker missed a hat-trick on an empty net attempt that saw Scott Kosmachuk raced back and lifted his stick. Walker hung around and gathered the loose puck on a missed shot by Grabovac and fed Jeremy Langlois for an empty-net power-play goal at 19:27 completing his three-point night.
“They came into our building and gave us a tough time, so we owed them one back,” said Walker of the Wolf Pack 5-2 win last week.
For Walker, the first Australian to score in the NHL with the parent Capitals, it’s been an up and down year. He briefly played in Edmonton when he was claimed off waivers only to be claimed back is finally feeling comfortable.
“I’m definitely in a much better rhythm right now and we need the two points. We got a good team here now and we gotta make our playoff push and it starts with this win. We know what works for us when you play a division rival like Hartford you gotta get at least two (points) and that’s what it might have been and we know we have our work cut out for us (to get into the playoffs).”
Oh, the bitter irony it would have been when the Bears (23-25-3-4) took the lead at 2-1 right off a faceoff with 2:03 remaining in regulation when the ex-Pack captain Joe Whitney got a puck that was drawn cleanly by Travis Boyd from Boo Nieves. Whitney one-timed the loose puck by an unsuspecting Nell for his 11th goal and first in a Hershey uniform.
His accented fist pump down on one knee said it all.
“I don’t think I ever have seen that many goals scored in that short amount of time. We won that draw. It’s hard to win games in this league and we were able to tie it up there. It was just a great effort by Walker on the game winner.
“I don’t know what happened here. I was very happy when I signed and I (felt I) was very fortunate to be here. It’s where I wanted to be, but I landed in a good spot in Hershey and now I’ve just got to make the best of things and we got a hill to climb (to get in the playoffs).”
The Pack did manage to tie the game at two when they pulled Nell just 26 seconds after Whitney’s tally. Schneider was strong on the puck all game and put the puck up the right wing wall to Ryan Sproul. He was at the right point who quickly sent it over to Kosmachuk in the left wing faceoff circle. Sproul wired his 13th goal into the back of the net.
“We did bounce back with a quick goal. We pulled our goalie and it was a beautiful goal by Kosmachuk. We had all that energy (in the building) and then the next shift we don’t win the draw in our zone. There is a bouncing puck. We didn’t have the right guys in the right place. We know our structures and where we’re supposed to be on the ice and they’re an opportunistic team. We (still) have to learn about those shifts right after goals for and goals against,” said an exhausted looking McCambridge.
The Bears tallied the game’s first goal early in the second period.
Jeremy Langlois, the former QU Bobcat on the left wing played puck control warding off the checking of Vince Pedrie and Ryan Gropp spotted an open “Stormy” Walker. He used his fine set of wheels to create space for himself then whipped a 35-foot wrist shot by Nell who was totally screened by a combination of Gropp and the Bears’, Wayne Simpson at 4:25.
“It was Simpson that was in front and when guys play like that it definitely makes it a lot easier to shoot the puck and pick your spots where the goalie can’t see a lot. So it was a great job by him,” remarked Walker.
The Wolf Pack broke through as Schneider scored with just 1:15 left until the second intermission. Schneider came from behind the net to the left-wing circle and turned and snapped his 11th of the season over Copley’s shoulder to even the game at one.
The point was Schneider’s 300th career AHL point.
NOTES:
Schneider was the game’s second star and was getting post-game medical treatment was unavailable for an interview.
Pack scratches were; Brandon Crawley (upper body out today and tomorrow), Marek Mazanec (groin week to week), Shawn O’Donnell (facial fractures week to week), Dawson Leedahl (healthy) and Sergei Zbrovisky (healthy).
Line Combinations:
Chytil-Kosmachuk-Schneider
Andersson-Tambellini-Gropp
Nieves-Albert-DeSalvo
Catenacci-Fontaine-Fogarty
Pedrie-Graves
Sproul-Brendan Smith
Joey Leach-Hubert Labrie
Assistant captains were; Graves, Fogarty, and Schneider.
Congrats to Alex Georgiev, who despite losing his pro debut, his 38 saves set a new Ranger record for saves by a rookie goaltender in his pro debut. That record has stood since 1955.
He posted 33 saves in a 4-2 loss to Minnesota Friday night in his MSG debut.
For the second time in a month, John Gilmour got to play in front of his family in Montreal. The St. Lambert native played in Laval last month and of course Thursday night at the Bell Centre.
Rangers made the first of what is expected to be several big deals as come to Monday’s 3 pm trade deadline earlier in the day.
Michael Grabner was traded to cross-river rival New Jersey Devils for defenseman prospect Yegor Rykov currently with the KHL best team SKA St. Petersburg and a second-round draft pick.
Rykov 6’2 215 lbs. will likely to be at training camp in the fall was drafted last summer by the Devils in the 5th round 132nd overall.
Hershey scratched ex-Wolf Pack defenseman, Tommy Hughes.
Reminder tomorrow two big promotional events as part of Hartford Hockey Heritage Weekend first the Whaler/Wolf Pack Alumni Team takes on the Hartford PAL in a game that begins with a 4:15 pm faceoff.
Among the ex-Pack slated to be skating are Calder Cup winning, Terry Virtue.
Former Whalers Norm Barnes, Bill Bennett, Yvon Corriveau, Bob Crawford, Scott “Chief” Daniels, David Jensen, Brian Propp, Steven Rice are on the list.
Two late deletions from the roster were former Whalers, Terry Yake and Blaine Stoughton.
Doug Smith, the character from the movie “Goon,” and goalie Kevin Regan (former Providence Bruin) have been added.
The first 5,000 fans will get a Gordie Howe Bobblehead Doll courtesy of Infinity as the Pack tangle with Providence.
Hockey jerseys of the night; New England Whaler #14 Doug Roberts, Hartford Whaler #32 Stu Grimson and a #5 Wolf Pack Tommy Hughes and a #5 Dale Purinton. I wonder if they fought who would win !!?
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