BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – Rourke Chartier scored his second goal of the game at 1:08 of overtime to complete a Belleville Senators comeback 3-2 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack at the XL Center on Wednesday night.
The Senators rallied with two late regulation goals to force the extra session and then overcame a late tying goal by Hartford in the win.
Chartier broke in on the right-wing side and lifted his ninth goal of the season as the backhander beat Pack starting netminder Adam Huska for the game-winner.
The Pack (25-16-5-2) remains in third place with a .594 winning percentage ahead of the fourth-place Charlotte Checkers. A mere five points separate the top five teams in the Atlantic Division. However, the second-place Providence Bruins kept ahead of the Pack with a 5-3 win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Belleville (24-21-0-0) stays near the bottom of the North Division, just ahead of the Syracuse Crunch by the slimmest of margins, .533 to .531, for fifth place.
STANDINGS
The Wolf Pack earned a standings point with a goal while playing with an extra attacker. The goal was the first while playing with an empty net since January 2nd. Anthony Greco scored his second goal from the high slot with 1:18 left in regulation time. The Wolf Pack have only lost two games while maintaining a lead in the third period.
“It was tough to swallow. We battled hard. We’ll move on to the next one. It was good to get two (goals) tonight, but a little too much, too late,” a dejected Greco said after a strong game with the puck and nine shots on goal.
His coach, Kris Knoblauch, was delighted.
“Grec’s played a very good game for us. He couldn’t have been more timely with his second goal. He came up big and we’re missing a lot of guys right now (because of injuries and recalls).” Knoblauch stated.
SENATORS SCORE
For the second game in a row, the Senators found some third-period magic off their sticks.
Belleville scored the first of their late goals off a pool table-like shot by ex-Connecticut Whale Michael Del Zotto. The shot came from the left-wing side and went off Huska’s helmet, up into the air, hit the crossbar, and then off the back of the Pack goaltender, and trickled over the goalline. It was Del Zotto’s ninth tally of the season.
Three minutes later, the Senators struck again to tie the game.
Chartier, the most consistent Senator on the evening, tallied off a breakaway after stealing the puck from Austin Rueschoff in his zone. His shot rang off the post and amazingly hit the back of Huska’s skate and into the net at 15:26.
“You have to be resilient and roll with it a little bit. We continued (with our) foot on the gas pedal, and did good job of that, “remarked Greco.
Knoblauch acknowledged the two weird goals. However, he was still happy with his goaltending.
“Those were two tough breaks for Adam (Huska). The first one was unfortunate; off his helmet, off the crossbar, and him and in the net by three inches. The next one going off the goalpost and off his leg and into the net,” The coach said. Knoblauch was shaking his head in apparent shock and disbelief at how not just one but two pucks entered the net in that fashion.
KNOBLAUCH SEES POSITIVES
“The guys did a good job coming back late with a game tying goal. I think outside of the first five minutes, we played a very good game.”
Belleville goalie Filip Gustavson kept the Wolf Pack at bay all night, especially in the third. Gustavson made a huge save, stopping rookie Cristiano DiGiacinto halfway through the third frame and denying Patrick Khordorenko on two chances and Anthony Bitetto on yet another.
Huska deserved a better fate after playing a solid game.
“He played a very good game for us,” said Knoblauch.
FIRST TWO PERIODS
The Pack was solid through the game’s first forty minutes.
“I liked our effort. All four lines competed. O’Leary and Skinner, who hasn’t practiced in so long as a defenseman, let alone forward, to come in and play forward.”
LINES
Fritz-Rueschoff-Ronning
Richards-Gettinger-Greco
Khordorenko-Whalen-Lorito
DiGiacinto-Whalen-Skinner
Jones-Lundkvist
Robertson-Giuttari
Reunanen-Bitetto
Huska
Kinkaid
SCRATCHES
Tinordi
Taylor
Luchuk
Pajuniemi (“50/50 he will play this weekend, He just started skating and practicing. We’ll find out over the next two days. Friday will be a full-contact practice.”)
Wall
NOTES
Following the game, Tim Gettinger was recalled and left to join the New York Rangers after Kevin Rooney suffered an upper-body injury in the Rangers 5-3 win over St. Louis.
Tanner Fritz was lost for the second half of the game and was being medically evaluated for an upper-body injury afterward. No status update was available.
The announced crowd of 1,737 was 19th lowest in franchise history, and 36th of the 49th lowest (under 2,000) crowds under the Spectra/Global Spectra/OVG banner.
Belleville’s Chris Wilkie is the son of ex-Wolf Pack, David Wilkie.
This was the first of four meetings between the Wolf Pack and the Senators during the 2021-22 season delayed by COVID.
The two sides will meet again at the XL Center on Friday, April 1st, while they will also play a pair of games in Belleville at the CAA Centre on March 19th and April 13th. After not meeting during the truncated 2020-21 season. This was the first time the Pack and the Sens met since November 9th, 2019.
That Pack at the XL Center skated by the Senators to a 4-3 shootout victory.
The Wolf Pack finished the 2019-20 season 0-0-0-2 record against the Sens. They also fell 5-4 in a shootout in Belleville on November 2nd, 2019. Hartford’s last win in regulation against the Senators came on October 19th, 2018, by a score of 4-3. Former Pack captain Cole Schneider (now with Milwaukee) scored the winning goal.
The Rangers announced the extension of the contract of current Wolf Pack captain Jonny Brodzinski for two more years rewarding the leading scorer (39 points) for his two years of loyalty and hard work.
The contract for two years encompasses two-way money at $750K-$775K-NHL/$315-$325K-AHL.
Brodzinski was recalled to New York with Zac Jones being sent down for significant ice time and game action.
James Sanchez was sent back to the Jacksonville Icemen, the Pack’s ECHL affiliates, to get some ice time as well.
Ex-Pack goalie Tom McCollum is loaned from HC Innsbruck (Austria-IceHL) to SC Bietigheim/Bissen (Germany-DEL) for the rest of the year.
Ex-Sound Tiger, Shane Prince, heads from Avtomobilst Yekaterinburg (Russia-KHL) to HC Lugano (Switzerland-LNA), coached by former New Haven Nighthawk/Springfield Indian Chris McSorley.
The GM for HC Lugano handing out his last foreign player licenses is former Hartford Whaler, Hnat Domenichelli.
Prince is also part of a handful of Western players in the KHL in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine that are seeking to terminate their contracts.
The Pack’s Matt Lorito left the Baltic nation of Latvia last month ahead of the invasion of their neighbor during the KHL Olympic pause.
Tarmo Reunanen just celebrated his 24th birthday.
Goalie Michael McNiven of the Laval Rocket was shipped off to the Calgary Flames from the Montreal organization ending that experiment.
Ex-Sound Tiger Kevin Poulin was undefeated (5-0-1) in February for Laval and named AHL Goalie of the month.
Jake Lechyshyn, the son of former Whaler Curtis Lechyshyn, is recalled from the Henderson Siler Knights to Vegas.
Ex-Pack Lias Andersson is recalled from the Ontario Reign by the LA Kings.
Drake Rymsha, the son of former New Haven Nighthawk, Andy Rymsha, is recalled from the Ft. Wayne Komets (ECHL) by the Hershey Bears.
Ryan MacKinnon, an ex-Sound Tiger, goes from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms back to the Reading Royals (ECHL).
Canon Pieper (Quinnipiac University) goes from the Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL) to the Adirondack Thunder (ECHL).
