BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack went to Pennsylvania in search of a couple of wins, but despite some strong play, they returned to Insurance City with two losses which ran their current losing streak to five games.
The team started off the season with a nine-game winning streak. It wasn’t going to last forever. This is an expected bump in the road for a team whose fans who have suffered through a long five years where a long losing streak has been the signal that a season was about to unravel.
The Pack has fallen from the top spot in the AHL during their quick start, but have since fallen into the eighth spot overall in the last two weeks. They now trail the Milwaukee Admirals, Toronto Marlies, Providence Bruins, Tucson Roadrunners, Rochester Americans, Stockton Heat, and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Pack is now third in the Atlantic Division behind both Providence and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. It is not a good development.
This crew seems to possess both the design and the mental toughness differently than teams past and should be able to weather this storm.
At the same time, however, some hard truths have surfaced.
The Pack’s two goalies, Igor Shesterkimn, and rookie Adam Huska have provided a lot of cover with their exceptional play and have allowed Hartford to jump through the escape hatch too many times for this early in the season. Their over-reliance on these two top-notch goalies that they will always bail them out often leads to taking shortcuts.
The team’s offense has been all over the place. They’re living on the ledge in so many one-goal games. There seems to be a brief period of popping 4, 5, or 6 to the overall offensive shortage that has been lost in the wins. Now, with the inevitable injury and lineup changes, the veneer has sustained a few chips.
Captain Steven Fogarty has been consistent and leading by example. He’s scored late goals twice that forced overtime, but other veterans have had struggles.
The team’s leading scorer, Vinni Lettieri, has been all over the map in this early part of the season. He’s either shown a vintage windup cannon of a slapshot or he’s not as involved in the flow of the game as the coaches would like. Finding a way to increase his consistency would be a huge help to this team.
After a strong start, Phil DiGiuseppe has cooled off. Though in his case, it’s not from lack of trying. It’s just that his stick has gotten frosty.
Matt Beleskey has had his issues too. He’s had great chances, but too many are missing the net.
Those three are not alone.
To no one’s surprise, rookie, Patrick Newell, making the move up from college and playing his first pro season has seen him go very quiet.
Meanwhile, Lias Andersson continues to be an enigma.
He seems to have come to Connecticut’s capital city with the right temperament. He wants to use the time in Hartford wisely, but he has just contributed two chippy goals in five games, on just eleven shots on goal. He’s also sporting a minus-five, which is just not good enough for the third-year pro. Add in that he is playing at center, where the Rangers have a logjam of talent.
The 21-year-old has another year to go on his Entry-Level-Contract. Should the Rangers brass decide to trade him, hopefully, they get someone back that will fit in better with the scheme of things and add production? Maybe they consider shifting Andersson to the left-wing or they find a spot for him in Europe like the Swedish Hockey League for him to get more time to develop?
The team has also had its share of injuries.
The Pack has lost Gabriel Fontaine for the season. They are now hurting for his leadership and his helping with line consistency. Lewis Zerter-Gossage now finds the Pack testing the outer range of their depth chart entering the third month of the season.
The Pack must get more goal production, and spend more time in their opponent’s end of the ice to alleviate the pressure on their goalies and defense.
COACHING CHANGE IN TORONTO
On Monday morning, Ex-Wolf Pack captain, and former Sound Tiger, Greg Moore, was surprisingly named the new head coach of the Toronto Marlies. He replaces the departed Sheldon Keefe, who was promoted to the Maple Leafs last week after Mike Babcock was given his walking papers.
Moore was a “guest coach” in training camp for the Marlies, and was hired away from the USHL Chicago Steel, where his team led the East Division and tied for the overall league lead with Waterloo at 15-4-1.
He inherits the AHL’s second-best team, who sit atop the North Division with a record of 15-3-2. There are far worse ways to start. The hire was an out-of-the-box move by Leafs GM, Kyle Dubas, who went outside the Marlies’ structure. The team’s three assistants, Rob Davison, Jack Han, and AJ Mclean must be feeling left out.
Moore’s first game is Wednesday night in Rochester. He then returns home for a pair of weekend 4 pm games with the San Antonio Rampage, who are also coached by a former Wolf Pack, Drew Bannister.
Moore will now miss the USHL outdoor game as part of the Bridgestone NHL Classic Series between Chicago and the Green Bay Gamblers scheduled for January 3rd.
UP AND DOWN
The Montreal Canadiens have made two recalls from Laval. They are former QU Bobcat, Matt Peca, and goaltender, Cayden Primeau, who is the son of ex-Hartford Whaler and NHL’er, Keith Primeau, and he’s considered a very promising prospect.
Two generations ago, another big, young goalie was recalled to Montreal. Ken Dryden came up from the Montreal Voyageurs and had a spectacular, but just nine-season career winning the Conn Smythe (playoff MVP) before winning the Calder Trophy the following season. Over those nine seasons, Dryden won five Stanley Cups.
Dryden’s last AHL game on March 15, 1971. It was a 9-3 stinker against Hershey.
His first NHL game was against the Buffalo Sabres. The opposing goalie… his older brother Dave. It would be the only time a pair of goalie brothers faced each other in an NHL game.
Ex-Pack and Sound Tiger, Joe Combs, leaves Wichita (ECHL) for EC Bad Nauheim (Germany-DEL-2).
Ex-Pack Shawn O’Donnell’s five-game tryout EV Ravensburg (Germany-DEL-2) with five points has been extended for the remainder of the season.
Former UCONN Husky, Evan Richardson, leaves from HC Briancon (France-FREL) to HC Amiens (France-FREL).
After seven games, Ryan Horvat of Charlotte opts to sign with Nottingham (England-EIHL) for the rest of the season.
USA vs. CANADA
In a little over two weeks, the women’s hockey world will be spotlighted in Hartford for the first of a five-game Rivalry Series between the US and Canadian programs. It kicks off at the XL Center on Saturday, December 14.
Simply put, these two are indisputably the best national women’s programs. It would make sense to turn the Olympics into a Best-of-Seven series between the two countries. That would be a winner in the ratings.
They will have to settle for a Best-of-Five tournament. Their meetings in the Olympics have been among hockey’s most classic games.
The second game between the North American neighbors will be on Tuesday, December 17th in Moncton, New Brunswick Canada at 7:30 PM AST at the Avenir Centre, which is home to the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats.
The other three games will be played out West. Two will be in Canada. One will be on Monday, February 3rd at 7 PM PST in Victoria at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, the home of the WHL’s Victoria Royals. The second will be held in Vancouver on February 5th at the Rogers Arena, the home of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks.
The series concludes in Anaheim, California at the Honda Center, the home of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, February 8th at 7 PM PST.
The US will also be holding its camp from December 9-13 at the XL Center in preparation for the big game.
The US squad has a lot of young ladies whose fathers and brothers had NHL careers. They are led by Alex Carpenter, one of the top female college hockey players who hales from Boston College.
Her father, Bobby Carpenter, was a first-round pick (3rd overall) in the NHL Entry Draft. Carpenter was picked right out of high school by Washington in 1981. Her brother, Robert, is presently injured, otherwise, he likely be playing in Bridgeport for the AHL Sound Tigers.
Hilary Knight is scheduled to skate. The three-time US Olympian, where she’s picked up two silvers and a gold medal, played at Choate Rosemary Hall (Wallingford) and on the CT Polar Bears (Northford), the first all-girls program started in the Nutmeg state in 1985.
Melissa Samoskevich of Sandy Hook, a former Quinnipiac University Lady Bobcat, is playing professionally with Brynas IF (Sweden-SDHL). Her brother, Mackie Samoskevich, is currently playing with the Chicago Steele (USHL) and is University Michigan (Big 10) commit for next year. His twin sister Madison plays prep hockey for Shattuck’s St. Mary’s in Minnesota.
Other notables include; Jesse Compher, who’s brother, J.T., skates with the Colorado Avalanche, Amanda Kessel, the sister of Phil Kessel, is with Arizona and Blake is with Orlando (ECHL). Hayley Scamurra, who’s father Peter Scamurra played with the Washington Capitals.
Two players are coming over from playing in China with KRS Vaske Rays in Shenzhen, China in Megan Bozek and Carpenter, who has played in China for the last three years.
