BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – The Providence Bruins captain, Jordan Swarz, went right to the net and redirected a Connor Clifton pass giving the Bruins to a 3-2 OT win over the Hartford Wolf Pack before a high-energy, season-best crowd of 8,608 at the XL Center.
The Wolf Pack record drops to 22-25-6-3 (53 points), and remain eleven points behind Providence whose record improves to 28-197-1. The Wolf Pack record, when trailing after two periods, is 2-18-3-0.
The game-winning play started with Clifton, a former QU Bobcat, came down the right-wing in the three on three OT session and was patient as he waited to get around a diving Steven Fogarty. He hit Swzarz perfectly just as he arrived at the net and the redirect went over Pack netminder, Brandon Halverson, for his 18th goal of the season.
Pack Head coach Keith McCambridge looked at the game from a glass-half-full ideology.
“I liked the way we played. I thought we played a hard, heavy game, took care of the puck, battled from behind twice, and overtime is anybody’s game, but I loved the effort of the group there.”
Ty Ronning who had another strong game for the Wolf Pack with four shots on goal. ”I think our start was a little choppy, but I think we picked it up and we battled back. We tied the game up, and we, unfortunately, didn’t get that bounce in the end.”
The Pack tied the game at two early in the third period.
On a shorthanded play, Fogarty ziplined a perfect lead pass to Vinni Lettieri, who took a page from Ronning’s playbook with a right leg kick, and slipped his 17th goal under the Bruins Dan Vladar at 2:59.
The Pack put everything into play seeking to win it in regulation. Even Halverson got into the act skating out to the blue line to retrieve a puck and did a spinarama to advance the biscuit.
In the second period, the Wolf Pack couldn’t put two passes together and its first real quality shot didn’t occur till Tim Gettinger alone on the right was stopped by Dan Vladar at 9:15.
On the next shift, the Wolf Pack got their first goal on a giveaway.
The Bruins’ Emil Johanssen was at the blue line along the left wing boards. He muffed his pass attempt and Ronning was right there. He snatched the loose puck and raced towards the net off the left wing and tallied his third goal, and second in as many games, low to the glove side past Valdar at 9:52.
“I was just trying to read off the goalie. Right when I got the puck in that area, I do like to go backhand on that angle. But just reading him, I stuck with my guns, realizing I kind of did the same thing last night. I was kind of feeling it and lucky enough to get it in.”
The Bruins had control over most of the first period and tallied the only goal.
Casey Fitzgerald put a lead pass through the legs of Matt Finn to NHL veteran Lee Stempniak, playing his third game, for a clean breakaway. Halverson was not set properly allowing Stempniak to bury a backhander via the five-hole at 13:22.
Sean Day, on a Wolf Pack powerplay, rang one off the crossbar. A turnover by the Bruins’ Urho Vaakainen went right to Shawn O’Donnell. Vladar incredibly stretched out and kept it out of the net with his left skate.
The Pack lost Ryan Lindgren in a first-period fight/wrestling match with former Yale Bulldog Michael Doherty because his tie down snapped.
NOTES:
Goaltender Chris Nell will get his first AHL start in Providence tomorrow against the Bruins. He will be the fifth Pack goalie this season.
Pack not only lost Lindgren, but Ville Meskanen suffered an upper-body injury in the first period and did not return.
SCRATCHES:
Rob O’Gara (lower body)
Chris Bigras (ankle)
Brandon Crawley (upper body)
Dustin Tokarski (healthy)
Dawson Leedahl (healthy)
Zach Tolkinen (healthy)
Drew Melanson (healthy)
LINES:
Fontaine-Ronning-Meskanen
Fogarty-Lettieri-Gropp
Butler-Gettinger-Beleskey
O’Donnell-St. Amant-Lynch
Gilmour-Lindgren
Raddysh-Hajak
Day-Finn
Former Wolf Pack players, Stefan Cherneski, and Richard Scott dropped the ceremonial opening game pucks. The PA announcer misidentified Cherneski as being a former Hartford Whaler.
On Brady Skej Bobblehead Night, the former Wolf Pack defenseman scored a goal on the Rangers 5-2 win over New Jersey Saturday afternoon.
Pack Fan jersey of the Night: #37 Bryan Rodney and 22 CT Whale Ryan Garlock.
A changing of the guard in Wolf Pack-land.
Director of Ice Officials, Bob Gurrente, stepped down officially due to his battling an illness. Gurrente has held his post since 1975 when he started with the New England Whalers, the entire Hartford Whalers period, and of course the Wolf Pack.
That’s 44 years of service and he has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of pro hockey in the city of Hartford. He’s got an amazing sense of humor whether it’s telling or hearing a good joke.
He also served his country. He was in Cuba during the Cuban Missile crisis in 1962 where he was guiding Air Force recon runs over the island.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
