BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack continued their losing ways by dropping their sixth straight 4-1 to Belleville Friday night as Mark Kastelic, Lassi Thomson, and Jake Lucchini each posted two points to pace the Senators’ effort.
The Wolf Pack’s (29-25-5-2-4) winning percentage of .516 compared to the Hershey Bears’ .533 has them looking on the outside of the playoff spot as they sit in fifth place. They play at home tomorrow night against Syracuse before leaving on a seven-game road trip starting Monday night in Providence.
“The difference in the game was the power play. We couldn’t score and they did on theirs. We had opportunities, we just couldn’t put the puck in. We had really good scoring chances in the third, we just couldn’t put them in. It’s tough at this time of year. Teams are defending more. Systems have been in place all year. It’s more organized.”
Hershey blew a 3-0 lead and lost 5-3 in regulation to the Charlotte Checkers and didn’t gain any ground. The Lehigh Valley Phantoms won the battle of central PA with a 3-2 win to keep the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins from overtaking them.
The Wolf Pack had looked to break the losing hex surrounding the team with their last win coming over Belleville 5-2 with a good third period. They have now lost nine of their last eleven games and the last six straight. They have two wins in March (Hershey being the other) as they come down the home stretch of the season.
FIRST PERIOD
In the first period, there wasn’t much five-on-five play, but the Pack scored the earliest goal they have all season, just 26 seconds in.
Cristiano DiGiacinto sent the puck to former UCONN star, Maxim Letunov, who flipped a backhander into the net to score his first Wolf Pack goal and 14th overall.
“Cristiano did a really good job on the forecheck, created the turnover; he (Letunov) did a really good job tonight. We had good puck management early,” said Pack Head Coach Kris Knoblauch.
However, Belleville tied it one on a delayed penalty. Jonathan Aspirot played well in Belleville on the left wing and ripped his fourth past a stickless Adam Huska at 12:34. Kastelic had two cracks at a shot to start the scoring sequence.
The Senators were much better with the puck than they were when the two teams tangled a few weeks ago in Canada at home at the CAA Centre.
SENS TAKE ADVANTAGE
They took advantage of on a five-on-three.
The Wolf Pack put pressure on Filip Gustavsson, but the Belleville goalie didn’t yield anything on an O’Leary shot shortly thereafter. Zach Sensyhn, a one-time menace while he was with the Providence Bruins, who was just acquired at the NHL trade deadline day, was on the left wing and denied as he got some open space.
Thomson scored his ninth goal from the right-wing with a cannon of a shot at 14:55.
“We’re very impressed with them. They are a very fast team; a very strong team and didn’t make many mistakes. They’re a good hockey team,” said Knoblauch.
Lucchini followed after being rescued from the Montreal organization and Kastelic fired it on the net.
TWO-GOAL LEAD
While on the power play, the Senators took a two-goal lead. Egor Sokolov got his 16th goal past Huska early in the second. Like the first goal, five-on-five play was hard to come by for the rest of the period. Zac Leslie was up top near the blue line and got the puck from Lucchini in the lower left-wing corner before whistling it past Huska at 1:26.
Knoblauch and his staff did a deep dive into the PK weakness but to no avail.
“We changed all our guys we were using and changed the systems we were using. Because of the schedule we have right now, we have very little practice time. A morning skate, a walkthrough, a little practice time, very, very little time to work on our systems. Unfortunately, sometimes we go in, sometimes we don’t. Guys are doing their best to pick up the (new) systems. It will get in a little while and you’ll see the results,” commented Knoblauch.
Anthony Greco had two shorthanded chances. The first came in the first at 13:22 and again in the second at 14:55. Three of his game’s total of four were stopped by Gustavsson.
“We did get off to a good start. We got pressure on them.”
LACK OF OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION FOR HUSKA
The lack of offensive production when Huska is in the net is quite noticeable.
“He’s been very good for us in goal all year. I can only think of a handful of (bad) games. It’s a shame we haven’t gotten goals for him when he’s in net for us. His win-loss record reflects that and it’s not an indication of his play. Rather, it’s an indication of our play (and lack of goal production) for him. It’s been very unfortunate,” remarked Knoblauch lamenting Huska’s fate this year.
For the second game in a row, the Wolf Pack had a third-period goal waived off. Tanner Fritz was in the crease and called for goaltender interference at 9:34. The waived-off goal was very deflating for a team already struggling.
The Senators salted it away on the power play with good puck movement and winning the battles. Thomson got the puck to Logan Shaw, who came off the right point for a third power play marker of the night at 14:40, converting a minor late in the game for Too Many Men on the ice.
“A lot of credit to the guys. They haven’t quit. They have been playing hard and they’re obviously very frustrated. They wanna win. They wanna do well.”
LINES
Merkley-Pajuniemi-Letunov
Ronning-Greco-Khordorenko
Rueschoff-Lorito-Fritz
Whelan-O’Leary-DiGiacinto
Tinordi-Skinner
Jones-Scanlin
Robertson-Guittari
Huska
Kinkaid
SCRATCHES
Gettinger (upper body)
Taylor
Lundkvist (sick, day-to-day questionable for tomorrow)
Trivigno
Girduckis
Richards
NOTES
“After a loss and back-to-back games, we will look at the roster and likely be making some changes,” Knoblauch said.
Kastelic is the son of an ex-Hartford Whaler. He picked up the Gordie Howe hat trick with a unanimous decision in his second-period scrap with Michael O’Leary.
TRAVIGNO
In the worst kept secret in hockey, the Rangers signed college free agent Bobby Trivigno of UMASS on Friday. He is expected to make the “long haul” down I-91 from Amherst, MA to play in Hartford tomorrow with his old UMASS teammate Zac Jones once he signs formally an ATO deal. He’ll then be put on the roster and will play the rest of the year here.
He signed a two-year ELC deal at $925K-NHL/$80-K-AHL that starts next season 2022-23. The smallish forward was “Mr. UMASS” for all his four years with the Minutemen. He, Cale Makar of Colorado, and Jones help resurrect the moribund program under coach Greg Carvel. His UMASS teammates won the last two Hockey East titles, a national championship, a slew of team conference, and personal trophies for the First Team All-Hockey East forward.
Now 139 college players Division I and III have signed and gone pro in North America, none in Europe. 17 kids have done college transfers to date.
