By: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – The XL Center got to host nine ex- Hartford Wolf Pack players last week, including seven from the 2000 AHL Calder Cup championship team and its captain, Ken Gernander, the AHL Hockey Hall-Of-Famer, and one of the three former enshrined Pack.
Brad “Shooter” Smyth, the all-time leading Wolf Pack leading scorer in team history, couldn’t make it. He played three separate times in his illustrious career in Hart City. Smyth is coaching the Canadian Ontario Provincial U-18 team, which prevented him from attending.
KEN GERNANDER
Gernander came in from Coleraine, Minnesota, where he is now the Athletic Director at Greenway High School, shedding the amateur scout label for a serene, quiet Midwestern existence.
To honor his contributions as a player, Gernander had his #12 retired by the Wolf Pack. He was later selected for AHL HHOF. Unfortunately, as a head coach, it ended under less-than-ideal circumstances as Hartford missed the playoffs four of his last five years behind the bench.
Gernander coached the last playoff squad eight years ago (nine, if you include the non-playoff pandemic season). The Pack broke that drought and qualified for the playoffs the day after his appearance.
Gernander’s leadership and in-game presence guided the team, and his often team rallying speeches were legendary. Players often used them when they went off to different hockey destinations.
Kirby, his wife, is now coaching softball at Greenway High School. In addition, his family got good news while he was en route to Hartford that his youngest daughter, Miranda, a talented softball player in her own right, had just been accepted by Division III Wisconsin Eau-Claire.
His son Micah plays Division III hockey at Gustavus Aldophus (MIAC). Gernander’s eldest son, McKenna, played at Nichols (M.A.) College (CCC) for four years. He has since graduated and lives and works now in Hartford.
His daughter McKenna participated in the Alumni game. She relayed a highly instructive set of stories about her father that really paints the picture of Gernander, the man.
“My father is perfect to be A.D. I’m not saying that just because he’s my dad. They really do love him, and it’s a perfect fit for him.
“When he was interviewed, he had two pages of ideas, and they used some of them. We didn’t have seniors on the basketball team, but he had an idea for a senior’s day for seniors in the community and to bring people out. He thought to have wrestling, having a bear – a person in full costume – wrestling the fans. It was a brilliant idea.”
While Gernander had a reputation for his toughness, he had a different approach as a parent.
“He is known as a tough guy, but my father and mother never yelled at us. He would show his disappointment in his own way. I called home one weekend,, and in speaking to my sister, she told me Dad was really upset with me. My father walked out of the house to cool down and collect his thoughts. When he came back home, he sat her down and relayeda vitalt story to illustrate his disappointment. That was always my father. My sister said by the end, I felt SOOO guilty.”
TERRY VIRTUE
Terry Virtue will always be remembered for his Game 7 Conference Final goal, which went in off Peter Ferrarro’s skate and sent the Wolf Pack to the finals.
“I was really trying to pass it, I just got the good bounce. The crowd? I don’t think I ever heard it louder,” remarked Virtue
One of Virtue’s classic moments was an opening face-off in a game when he was with Springfield when he asked Gernander if he could help him get traded to Hartford.
“I really wanted to come here, and they almost traded for me the year before. Dirk Graham nobody likes, right from the get-go. I knew it wasn’t gonna work out, “remarked Virtue, a Massachusetts resident, and a high school coach. John Paddock forgave his sometimes on-ice discretions because “he was always trying to win.”
Virtue’s son Braedan is also a defenseman. Braedan is playing Canadian college hockey at Carleton University (OUAA).
He regaled everyone with a great story about a time early in their career about Derek Armstrong and Jimmy Roberts, the late, cigar-chomping coach, who had a set priority he learned from the great Toe Blake when he was in Montreal.
“We were in Springfield in training camp, and Jimmy Roberts was a stickler for details. So when the bus is set to leave at 9:00 AM, it really meant five minutes of. In Jimmy’s order of business, that’s what it really meant.
“Well, here’s the bus pulling out. Here comes Army, coming out with his coffee and bage,,l running after the bus. He gets on and says, ‘I thought it was nine, and Jimmy growled, nine o’clock means 8:55!”
DEREK ARMSTRONG
Armstrong was the winner of the Butterfield Trophy for being the Playoff MVP. That magical spring, Army came in from Colorado; he had a swagger and hasn’t lost any of it. He now works for the Los Angeles Kings as a special assignment coordinator.
“We had it all,” Armstrong said. “We could play any style you wanted, and we really blended well,”
His youngest son Easton lays for former New York Ranger/Hartford Whaler James Patrick with the Winnipeg Ice (WHL). The Ice are one of the league’s top teams and has a strong chance of going to the Memorial Cup.
He started the year playing for the Connor Bedard-led Regina Pats. His head coach there is Wolf Pack championship coach John Paddock, who drafted and dealt him.
J.F. LABBE
J.F. Labbé was the Pack goalie and a proven playoff performer. He won Games 5 and 6 in the Providence Bruins’ series. It kept the Wolf Pack’s hopes alive that spring and was strongly considered for MVP that year.
Labbé’s son Cyan, 15, played in the net while his father watched proudly from the bench.
The COVID pandemic ended his foray into the pro coaching ranks. He now works in private industry in the province of Quebec.
“The whole series we were behind. We always knew we could come back. We had all the pieces, Game 7 and Terry was something else,” Labbé said in French-accented English.
Bridgeport head coach, and one-time Wolf Pack, Brent Thompson, called Labbé one of the best playoff goalies he ever played against.
TODD HALL
Todd Hall is still a state resident and works at a firehouse. He is remembered for scoring one of his two playoff goals that year, the one that clinched the championship in Rochester in game six. It brought Hart City (to date) their only title in professional sports.
“You don’t always need the 50-foot slapshot, you just gotta be in the right place and right time.” Hall said.
Hall stepped down as Hamden High head coach last year to spend time with his two young girls. One plays hockey, and both are athletically inclined, like their father and mother, Melissa.
“Don’t miss it at all,” Hall said. “I did my time and enjoyed it. This is right where I should be, and want to be.”
MIKE HARDER
Mike Harder, the loquacious Ivy League grad and former assistant coach at Colgate, was an important role player down the middle of the ice. He now lives with his wife in Reno, Nevada.
“The NHL with the Hockey is for Everybody have done such a good job. We have a Learn Hockey program sponsored by the (Las Vegas Golden) Knights, even though it’s an eight-hour drive (away). They have donated more than $200 of equipment for the Learn to Play kids, and we have 16 Europeans in it. It’s all free equipment. Hockey has been cost-prohibitive over the years, and the donation really has made a difference. It’s growing fast (hockey). You see it all over Nevada,” said Harder.
He is both active in local hockey and in extending their brand. Of course, it helps that Harder is the youth hockey coach in the town.
“We have just a strong program. We have a sled hockey team going to St. Louis for the nationals next week. It’s been successful and very fulfilling, rewarding and great for the community. So there’s a lot going on,” commented Harder.
Leaving Colgate brought with it mixed emotions.
“I miss it in some ways. Colgate was really good to me as both a player and a coach, but it was time to move on. My wife had gotten a great job offer in Reno, so it was time for a new chapter and to move on, “reflected Harder.
Fond memories still linger for Harder.
“Of course, who can forget Terry’s goal? It was so big and everyday coming to the rink was so much fun.”
JOHN TRIPP
John Tripp played three seasons in Hartford. He played the year AFTER the Pack won the title. He now works in the financial services industry and shows he still has the touch while playing in the alumni game. COVID also ended his international coaching experience, where he was on the bench with the Serbian National Team
“I really wanted to go back, but once COVID hit and all the travel restrictions, I had to change course and dove into financing. It’s been as rewarding as hockey has been,” Tripp said. He works in youth hockey in Ontario.
STEFAN CHERNESKI
Stefan Cherneski, whose career was cut short by a devastating knee injury, endured grueling rehab and played in just the last game of that regular season. It was all his shattered knee would afford him. So he has stayed in Connecticut in his post-playing career. He is raising a young family with his wife.
“My knee still isn’t good. I can’t wait until I reach the age for a knee replacement. I always respect these guys. They all were around throughout it encouraging and helping me,” said Cherneski.
His last professional game was incredibly memorable in how he handled it so professionally and for Paddock, allowing him to skate the final minute of play. It let him play after being forced to retire early. It was a highly emotional moment for the one-time first-round draft pick. It was indeed a thoughtful and selfless act that was the hallmark of that version of the Wolf Pack.
MIKE MOTTAU
Mike Mottau was fresh off of winning the Hobey Baker the year before. He provided the steady hand at defense for the Wolf Pack. Unfortunately, he was a last-minute scratch. He was filling in for Burke Henry, who was unable to attend.
P.J. STOCK
Efforts to get the wildly popular P.J. Stock to attend were sadly unsuccessful because of previous commitments.
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