By: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – The New York Rangers’ pre-season game with the New York Islanders was canceled for Friday night and moved to Saturday, after serious flooding in NYC and on Long Island.

The Rangers made roster moves sending five players – Karl Henriksson, Nicolas Brouillard, Ryder Korczak, Bobby Trivigno, and D Blake Hillman – to the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack.

Hillman was released from his PTO. Adam Clendening was also released from his training camp PTO.

The Rangers must get down to the CBA-mandated 23 roster players before the regular season starts.

On Thursday night, the Rangers and New Jersey Devils hooked up at MSG. The Devils defeated the Rangers 3-2. The Blueshirts received very strong performances from Will Cullye, and Brennan Othmann, who both made a strong case to make the Rangers roster, and from Jonny Brodzinski for a fourth-line spot.

Cullye was strong with robust, effective, physical contact and several quality shots on goal. He had a couple of quality scoring chances but was unable to put one in the net.

Othmann brought the Rangers within a goal at 3-2 with 32.4 seconds left in the contest with a quick decision on a broken play (a broken stick on a right point slapper). He showed a quick release on the shot.

In the first period, he picked off a Devils outlet pass and turned it into a solid scoring chance. Then in a mini-scrum in front of the Rangers’ bench on a line change, he got into a tussle with the Devils’ Tyce Thompson (Milford).

Goalie Talyn Boyko was reassigned to Hartford on Monday.

Tyler Savard, 20, is the son of Wolf Pack great, and former Ranger, and the current assistant for the Calgary Flames, Marc Savard, was picked up by the Kingston Frontenacs (OHL) from the Barrie Colts as one of their three overage players. Barrie had too many over-agers and released him. The OHL regular season begins this weekend for Savard, an undrafted left winger, who was in Ottawa’s NHL camp as an invite.

Alex Pelletier (Granby/Avon Old Farms/Yale Jr. Bulldogs) commits to Cornell University (ECACHL).

Ex-Pack goalie Keith Kinkaid was injured in the Devils pre-season opener in Montreal.-

Former Whaler Kelly Chase has two sons in hockey.  Luke Chase leaves the Canmore Eagles (AJHL) and heads to Nipawin Hawks (SJHL). His brother Ben Chase plays college club hockey with the Arizona State Sun Devils (ACHA Division-1). His nephew, Greg Chase, is an ex-Pack who’s now a pro scout with the  Philadelphia Flyers.

Kyle Beach is an assistant coach at Trinity Western University  (CWUAA) (Langley, BC). The head coach is ex-Bridgeport Sound Tiger Ben Walter.

Several ex-Packs play in the Canadian Senior League hockey. Among them is Steve MacIntyre from the 2004-05 season. He’s with the Wetaskiwin (AB) Longhorns (NCHL), and the North Central (Alberta) Hockey League.

In the same league is Matt Stefanishion (just 15 Pack games to his credit from 2008-09) who’s with the Devon Barons.

Garett Bembridge is with the Kenaston Blizzards Saskatchewan Valley Hockey League.

Joey Leach is with the Wadena (SK) Wildcats of the Long Lake Hockey League. Also in that league is Dawson Leedahl with the Leroy Braves.

In the Tigers Hills Hockey League in Manitoba is Shayne Wiebe with the Rivers Jets.

Now head coaching out East in the Quebec Collegiate Hockey League Division-2 is Francis Lemieux at Vieux-Montreal.

Brett Legget, who was an emergency goalie for one game and was ex-Pack’s Jeremy Williams brother-in-law is with Dundas (ON) Real McCoy’s of the Allan Cup Hockey League.

Eric Selleck and Kris Newbury are both with the Gananoque Islanders of the Eastern Ontario Senior Hockey League.

HARTFORD WOLF PACK

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HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack vanquished their playoff demons after a 7-1 dismantling of the Springfield Thunderbirds at the XL Center before 5,745, completing the two-game sweep of their I-91 rivals.

The Pack received outstanding efforts from Tanner Fritz, Turner Elson, and Anton Blidh in the series-clinching win. The Pack saw seven players score in the first-round sweep and will need to continue to receive that kind of balanced scoring if they are to continue moving forward in the playoffs.

“Going into the series, they had won nine of the twelve regular season games, but I felt at five-on-five we had played good hockey against them. The special teams was the difference,” remarked Hartford Head Coach Kris Knoblauch.

The Wolf Pack move on to challenge the Providence Bruins in a Best-of-Five series beginning Friday, April 28th, and Saturday, April 29th, at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Both games start at 7:05 PM. As the higher seed, The Bruins will have the home-ice advantage in the Atlantic Division semi-final. After the first two games in Providence, the Pack return home for Game Three on Wednesday, May 3rd, and a potential Game Four on Friday, May 5th. Those two games will have puck drop starting at 7:00 PM. Finally, a potential Game Five would be back in Providence on Sunday, May 7th, with the first puck drop coming at 7:05 PM.

The Pack should have a level of confidence in this upcoming series. In ten regular season games against the Baby Bruins, the Wolf Pack went 5-3-1-0.

“We have been playing playoff hockey for three or four weeks before this series, so we got into a groove,” Knoblauch said.

The challenge for Knoblach with the Pack’s top four regular season players on recall to New York serving as the Black Aces squad for the Rangers meant the call went out to the roster to come together and find ways to score. “We needed somebody to step up and everybody did so in some way. We had the energy and we knew Springfield had taken us lightly in Game 1, but our guys were prepared for them.”

THIRD PERIOD

In the third period, Springfield trailing 5-1, they pulled their goaltender early. The Wolf Pack capitalized, adding two unassisted empty net goals. The first came shorthanded from Blidh at 13:34, and then Tim Gettinger tallied at 15:02.

Pack goaltender Dylan Garand managed the third period well. He made key stops on Martin Frk, Will Bitten, and Nikita Alexandrov to secure the victory over Springfield in a contribution reminiscent of Cam Talbot, who thwarted the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in a short playoff win for CT Whale years ago.

“Garand, has been solid all year and we played well defensively in front of him,” said Knoblauch.

SECOND PERIOD

The second period started with the Pack picking up right where they left off in the first frame scoring early and controlling the play. “We got great support from all our lines, and you need that in the playoffs,” Knoblauch stated.

Adam Edström forced Brady Lyle down and out into a tripping penalty on an early two-on-one.

The Pack power play, a work in progress throughout the regular season, paid off in this series.

After a successful zone entry, Bobby Trivigno took a short pass from Elson and fired it into the net off the near post at 3:57 for the team’s fourth goal.

Moving Elson from the fourth to the first line wasn’t difficult for Knoblauch.

“He got lost in the shuffle, when we had all those trades in the beginning of March. He kept working. We had him when (Ryan) Carpenter was sent down (by the Rangers) in early December and they had good chemistry. So we had to restructure our lines. We put them back together. It was a fairly easy decision for a coach to make,” Knoblauch said.

Repeating their success from Game One on Wednesday night, the Wolf Pack kept their foot on the gas pedal and continued their exigency.

Fine work on the left-wing boards by Will Cullye kept the puck in the zone. He intercepted a Thunderbirds clearing attempt and got it back to Zac Jones. The Pack defenseman wasted little time sending a cross-ice feed to a wide-open Blake Hillman.

Hillman moved in with Elson and Carpenter providing traffic in front of Joel Hofer and fired a rocket past the Springfield netminder for a 5-1 lead at 6:30.

FIRST PERIOD

The Pack struck first.

Lauri Pajuniemi received a backhanded pass from Blidh, faded off the left wing, and found Fritz rushing in. Fritz received the puck and deposited the first postseason goal of his career at 8:03.

“Fritz was so strong. We played a stretch of four-and-a-half minutes and he was a plus-three. It was easy to give him the tap on the shoulder to go out,” an impressed Knoblach stated.

With limited playoff experience, Fritz had opined weeks ago about his desire for postseason play. He put action into his words.

“I’ve got what, three games, in like six or seven years. It was something I really wanted to experience,” Fritz added, “We got belief in that locker room right now. We’re a lot different (team) than Springfield faced before. The crowd has been regularly exciting. We fed off that.”

The Pack made it 2-0 with Fritz and Blidh factoring in again.

Fritz got the puck to Wyatt Kalynuk on the left point. Kalynuk sent a perfect drive to the net with Blidh with the Hofer screen at 10:48 for what would prove to be the game-winning goal.

The Pack made it 3-0 with Fritz and Blidh factoring in on the tally again.

Fritz was on the left side. He and Jones played a quick pass and catch before finding Ty Emberson open on the right point. Emberson sent a low shot on the net with Blidh and Springfield defenseman Tyler Tucker tied up in front of Hofer, who never saw the puck.

Blidh will try to torture his ex-teammates in Providence in the next series.

With his team reeling early, former Wolf Pack and now Springfield Head Coach Drew Bannister was forced to use his timeout early to settle his rattled Thunderbirds down, much to the delight of the exuberant XL Center crowd.

The crowd started early, chanting, “We want pizza.” The chant was about a team promotion with a local eatery providing free slices to ticketed fans whenever the Pack scored four goals.

Adam Clendening laid a perfectly clean shoulder check and ran over Quinnipiac grad Matt Peca when he tried to cut across the ice on his zone entry in a one-on-four situation.

SPRINGFIELD’S ONLY TALLY

Springfield scored in the last minute of the first period on the power play.

A Bitten cross-ice, across-the-goal crease pass went off Alexandrov’s stick right back to Bitten. He put a shot on the net that went off the inside of Garand’s stick and pad while sliding over to make the save with 27.8 left in the period.

The Pack never wavered or gave Springfield a chance.

LINES:

Cullye-Carpenter-Elson
Fritz-Pajuniemi-Blidh
Gettinger-Edström-Lockwood
Henriksson-Sýkora-Trivigno

Jones-Emberson
Hillman-Scanlin
Clendening-Kalynuk

Garand
Gahagen #35

SCRATCHES:

Talyn Boyko #40
Matt Rempe (upper body, day-to-day)
Louie Roehl #4 (healthy)
Bryce McConnell-Barker #8 (healthy)
Brett Berard #27 (healthy)
Cooper Zech #37 (healthy)
Matt Robertson (upper body, may return in the later half of the next round of the playoffs)
Patrick Khordorenko (season-ending shoulder surgery).
C.J. Smith (hip area surgery done for the season)

NOTES:

Near the end of the second period, the XL Center scoreboard malfunctioned and went out. Only the video portion came back. The issue forced the XL Center PA announcer to announce the time left when the play stopped. This continued until just 7:46 remained in the third period when only a small video was shown for the rest of the game.

The last playoff series win for the Wolf Pack came in a six-game quarterfinal series victory over the Hershey Bears in 2015. Two of the team’s home games were forced to be played in Worcester, MA, at the DCU Center. The now-shuttered Ringling Brothers Circus was at the XL Center. Worcester was still in the AHL before becoming an ECHL city.

Simsbury native Tommy Cross (Westminster), injured for half the season, dressed and played as a captain for an elimination game for Springfield.

Fritz’s three assists on Wednesday allowed him to become the 21st Wolf Pack to accomplish that in the playoffs. Chris Bourque was the last player to do so on May 15th, 2015. That was the last time the Wolf Pack had won a playoff game.

The Wolf Pack had three playoff series in the early years against the Springfield Falcons. They came in 1999, 2000, and 2003.

Eleven Pack players made their playoff debuts for Hartford on Wednesday night.

The AHL media voted Calgary Wrangler’s Dustin Wolf the league’s regular season Les Cunningham MVP. He becomes just the eighth goalie in league history to accomplish that honor. Wolf is the first netminder since the Wolf Pack’s Jason LaBarbera won the award in 2004. LaBarbera is presently the Calgary Flames goalie coach. Another ex-Pack, MacKenzie Skapski, is the Wranglers’ goalie coach.

The Jacksonville Icemen, the Wolf Pack Double AA affiliate, began its seven-game ECHL South semi-final series against the Rangers’ former ECHL affiliate, the Greenville (SC) Swamp Rabbits. Greenville took Game 1 4-1, with former UCONN forward Ben Freeman registering one of the goals, and former Thunderbird Ryan Bednard was in the net for the Swamp Rabbits.

Former Quinnipiac Bobcat Craig Martin had Jacksonville’s only goal. In the net for Jacksonville was a former Wolf Pack emergency goalie, Charles Williams. He made 27 saves in the loss.

Gettinger played his junior career under Bannister for three seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL). The Greyhounds was the landing spot for Wolf Packm assistant coach Jamie Tardif before coming to Hartford.

Bannister was a member of the 2000 Wolf Pack Calder Cup championship team celebrated here two weeks ago.

The Springfield Thunderbirds went to the Calder Cup Final against the Chicago Wolves last year and didn’t face an elimination game until the Conference Final against the Laval Rocket. Then, they faced elimination against the Kevin Dineen-coached Utica Comets.

Speaking of Dineen, congrats to his son William. As a freshman at Yale, he won the William Chace Sportsmanship and Dedication Award at the Ivy League School.

Chris Harpur, the younger brother of current Ranger, and former Wolf Pack, Ben Harpur, was recalled from the Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL) by the Syracuse Crunch.

After five years of NCAA hockey, Erik Gotz, the nephew of Wolf Pack great Ken Gernander, heads to Europe and signs with the Krefeld Penguins (Germany-DEL). He played a fifth year at the alma mater of two of his other uncles, the Gernander twins, Jim and Jerry, who were graduates of the Vermont Catamounts (HE) program. They played a Wolf Pack exhibition game with their brother many years ago.

Twelve players are now off to Europe. 228 Division I and III college players have signed pro deals in North America and Europe.

The USA U-18 Team is about to embark on the World U-18 championships in Basel, and Ajoie, Switzerland. They’ll play April 20-23. They named their roster. The team is coached by former Yale assistant Dan Muse and one of his assistants is ex-Pack, Chad Kolarik. Their players include two former Mid-Fairfield U-16 members, Sal Guzzo and Ryan Fine, who played together at Don Bosco Prep (NJPREP).

The Canadian U-18 squad coaches are ex-Springfield Falcon coach Jeff Truitt (Prince Albert-WHL), with one of his assistants being ex-Danbury Trasher, Bruce Richardson (Blaineville-Boisbrand-QMJHL).

Ex-Pack John Gilmour officially signed with Adler Mannheim (Germany-DEL).

Cheshire native and former Hartford Jr. Wolf Pack, Robert “Bert” Malloy, now a dual citizen, has been playing for the Australian National team this week in Madrid, Spain. It hasn’t gone well. They dropped their first three games to Croatia, Spain, and Iceland in Division II Group A. They won a 7-1 rout of the Israel National Team. Malloy collected the last two goals of the game. He had three shots and was a plus-three. The team plays tomorrow against the nation of Georgia at the Pista del Hielo Arena.

Some European titles have been decided. But, amazingly, in the middle of everything going on in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Hockey League (UHL) has crowned MHK Sokil as their champion.

SG Cortina (Italy) has won the Alps Hockey League (AlpsHL).

Anyang Halla (South Korea) won the first Asia League Ice Hockey (ALIH) title in three years because of the pandemic. The team’s head coach is former AHL’er Jim Paek, with one-time Providence Bruin Matt Dalton, a South Korean citizen, in the net.

The XL Center honored their late colleague Pat Rudolph-Anderson by having her family drop the ceremonial first puck after a moment of silence. In addition, all monies raised from the 50/50 raffle, Chuck-A-Puck, and jersey auction were donated to the family. The other tribute came behind the goal on each end of the ice as the name “Pat” was etched onto the ice surface by 40-year-plus XL veteran Ice Crew Chief Therell Wayne Knight in a thoughtful homage.

HARTFORD WOLF PACK

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League has announced the 2022-23 AHL All-Rookie Team, as voted by coaches, players, and media in each of the league’s 32 member cities.

2022-23 AHL All-Rookie Team
Goaltender ― Brandon Bussi, Providence Bruins (31 GP, 21-5-4, 2.38 GAA, .925 SV%, 1 SO)
Defenseman ― Ryker Evans, Coachella Valley Firebirds (68 GP, 6-38-44, +21, 18 PPA)
Defenseman ― Jeremie Poirier, Calgary Wranglers (66 GP, 9-32-41, +6, 3 PPG)
Forward ― Ethen Frank, Hershey Bears (56 GP, 27-19-46, +12, 9 PPG, 4 GWG)
Forward ― Tye Kartye, Coachella Valley Firebirds (69 GP, 27-28-55, +17, 5 PPG, 2 SHG, 7 GWG)
Forward ― Georgii Merkulov, Providence Bruins (64 GP, 23-30-53, +3, 11 PPG, 5 GWG)

Each player will receive a custom-designed crystal award in recognition of their selection to the 2022-23 AHL All-Rookie Team.

Previous selections to the annual AHL All-Rookie Team include Zdeno Chara (1998), J.S. Giguere (1998), Daniel Briere (1998), Marc Savard (1998), Dan Boyle (1999), Robert Esche (1999), Ron Hainsey (2002), Jason Spezza (2003), Cam Ward (2005), Thomas Vanek (2005), Kevin Bieksa (2005), Jimmy Howard (2006), Dan Girardi (2006), Mike Green (2006), Jaroslav Halak (2007), Troy Brouwer (2007), Ryan Callahan (2007), Bobby Ryan (2008), Brian Boyle (2008), Alex Goligoski (2008), John Carlson (2010), P.K. Subban (2010), Logan Couture (2010), Tyler Johnson (2012), Gustav Nyquist (2012), Justin Schultz (2013), Jason Zucker (2013), Tyler Toffoli (2013), Ryan Strome (2014), Matt Murray (2015), Connor Brown (2015), Viktor Arvidsson (2015), Ryan Pulock (2015), Connor Brown (2015), Juuse Saros (2016), Brandon Montour (2016), Frank Vatrano (2016), Mikko Rantanen (2016), Casey DeSmith (2017), Devon Toews (2017), Jake Guentzel (2017), Ville Husso (2018), Filip Hronek (2018), Mason Appleton (2018), Daniel Sprong (2018), Dylan Strome (2018), Jake Bean (2019), Drake Batherson (2019), Josh Norris (2020), Jack Studnicka (2020), Alex Formenton (2020), Logan Thompson (2021), Connor McMichael (2021), Calen Addison (2021), Phil Tomasino (2021), Jack Quinn (2022) and J.J. Peterka (2022).

The 2022-23 First and Second AHL All-Star Teams will be announced Thursday.Brandon Bussi, Goaltender (Providence Bruins):

Signed by the Boston Bruins as a free agent out of Western Michigan University,  has been one of the AHL’s top goaltenders throughout his rookie season, posting a record of 21-5-4 while ranking second in the league with a .925 save percentage and fourth with a 2.38 goals-against average. The native of Sound Beach, N.Y., did not lose in regulation on home ice until Apr. 1 and has made at least 30 saves in a game on 14 occasions, going 10-1-3 in those contests. Bussi represented Providence at the AHL All-Star Classic in February.

Ryker Evans, Defenseman (Coachella Valley Firebirds):

The second player ever selected in an NHL Draft by the Seattle Kraken (35th overall in 2021), Ryker Evans has totaled 44 points in 68 games for Coachella Valley this season, leading all AHL rookies with 38 assists and ranking second in plus/minus with a plus-21 rating. Evans has also helped anchor the Firebirds’ power play, collecting 18 assists on the man advantage. A 21-year-old native of Calgary, Alta., Evans participated in the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic.

Jeremie Poirier, Defenseman (Calgary Wranglers):

A third-round pick by the Calgary Flames in the 2020 NHL Draft, Jeremie Poirier has collected nine goals, and 32 assists for 41 points in 66 games for the league-leading Wranglers in 2022-23. The puck-moving defender is also a perfect 4-for-4 in shootout attempts this season, the best mark in the entire AHL. Poirier, 20, is a native of Valleyfield, Que., and turned pro after four junior seasons with Saint John (QMJHL).

Ethen Frank, Forward (Hershey Bears):

Ethen Frank is tied for the AHL lead among rookies with 27 goals and has totaled 46 points in 56 games for Hershey this season. Undrafted out of Western Michigan University, where he led the nation in goals in 2021-22, Frank signed with the Bears on Apr. 11, 2022, and earned an NHL contract with the Washington Capitals for 2023-24. The 25-year-old native of Papillion, Neb., was named the AHL Rookie of the Month for January, and he set a league record in the fastest skater event at the 2023 AHL All-Star Skills Competition with a lap of 12.915 seconds.

Tye Kartye, Forward (Coachella Valley Firebirds):

The AHL’s top-producing rookie with 55 points (27 goals, 28 assists) in 69 games, Tye Kartye, has been a catalyst for a Coachella Valley offense that ranks second in the league in scoring. The 21-year-old native of Kingston, Ont., is also second among all rookie forwards in plus/minus with a plus-17 rating, and his seven game-winning goals are tops for first-year players. Kartye was named the AHL Rookie of the Month for March after putting up 11 goals and 17 points in 15 contests.

Georgii Merkulov, Forward (Providence Bruins):

Providence’s team leader in scoring, Georgii Merkulov, has registered 53 points in 64 games for the Bruins, good for second among all AHL rookies. He has netted 11 of his 23 goals on the power play, and his stretch of six consecutive games with a goal in February matched the longest such streak in the league this season. A 22-year-old native of Ryazan, Russia, Merkulov signed with Boston on Apr. 9, 2022, after leading all NCAA freshmen in goals (20) at Ohio State University last season.

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass.

2022-23 AHL First All-Star Team
Goaltender ― Dustin Wolf, Calgary Wranglers (53 GP, 41-9-2, 2.08 GAA, .932 SV%, 7 SO)
Defenseman ― Darren Raddysh, Syracuse Crunch (50 GP, 13-38-51, +19, 1 PPG)
Defenseman ― Christian Wolanin, Abbotsford Canucks (49 GP, 6-49-55, +12, 24 PPA)
Forward ― Alex Barré-Boulet, Syracuse Crunch (67 GP, 23-59-82, +25, 7 PPG)
Forward ― Michael Carcone, Tucson Roadrunners (63 GP, 31-53-84, +5, 14 PPG, 5 GWG)
Forward ― Matthew Phillips, Calgary Wranglers (64 GP, 36-39-75, +17, 10 PPG, 15 GWG)

2022-23 AHL Second All-Star Team
Goaltender ― Joel Hofer, Springfield Thunderbirds (45 GP, 25-15-5, 2.57 GAA, .918 SV%, 4 SO)
Defenseman ― Lucas Carlsson, Charlotte Checkers (60 GP, 19-33-52, +24, 3 PPG, 1 SHG)
Defenseman ― Brogan Rafferty, Coachella Valley Firebirds (70 GP, 9-42-51, +31, 2 PPG)
Forward ― Trey Fix-Wolansky, Cleveland Monsters (58 GP, 29-41-70, 11 PPG, 2 GWG)
Forward ― Max McCormick, Coachella Valley Firebirds (69 GP, 28-39-67, +17, 11 PPG, 2 SHG)
Forward ― T.J. Tynan, Ontario Reign (70 GP, 8-71-79, 3 PPG, 35 PPA)

Each All-Star Team member will receive a custom-designed crystal award in recognition of his selection to the 2022-23 AHL First and Second All-Star Teams.

Recent AHL All-Star Team selections include P.K. Subban (2010), Jonathan Bernier (2010), Kyle Palmieri (2012), Tyler Johnson (2013), Jonathan Marchessault (2013), Justin Schultz (2013), Gustav Nyquist (2013), Jake Allen (2014), Mike Hoffman (2014), Petr Mrazek (2014), Matt Murray (2015, 2016), Jacob Markstrom (2015), Colin Miller (2015), Brandon Montour (2016), Frank Vatrano (2016), Mikko Rantanen (2016), Travis Boyd (2017), Mason Appleton (2018), Carter Verhaeghe (2019), Alex Nedeljkovic (2019), Kaapo Kahkonen (2020), Jake Bean (2020), Josh Norris (2020), Drake Batherson (2020), Jeremy Swayman (2021), Morgan Barron (2021), Taylor Raddysh (2021), Calen Addison (2021), Logan Thompson (2021), Josh Mahura (2021) and Stefan Noesen (2022).

The winner of the 2022-23 Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award (sportsmanship, determination, dedication to hockey) will be announced Friday.

2022-23 AHL First All-Star Team

Dustin Wolf, Goaltender (Calgary Wranglers):

Winner of the Baz Bastien Award as the AHL’s top goaltender as a rookie in 2021-22, Dustin Wolf has followed up with another remarkable season, leading the AHL in wins (41), goals-against average (2.08), save percentage (.932), shutouts (7), minutes played (3,120), shots faced (1,594) and saves (1,486). Wolf, a 21-year-old native of Gilroy, Calif., also earned co-MVP honors at the 2023 AHL All-Star Challenge in Laval back in February, and picked up a victory in his NHL debut with the Calgary Flames on Apr. 12. He becomes the first AHL goaltender to garner back-to-back First Team All-Star nods since Bob Janecyk in 1981-82 and 1982-83, and the first ever to do so in his first two pro seasons.

Darren Raddysh, Defenseman (Syracuse Crunch):

Sixth-year pro Darren Raddysh has had a breakout season in 2022-23, shattering his previous career highs with 13 goals, 38 assists and 51 points in just 50 games played with Syracuse. Raddysh is tied for third in scoring among AHL defensemen despite spending most of the second half of the season in the NHL, where he has skated in 16 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Toronto native also represented the Crunch at the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic.

Christian Wolanin, Defenseman (Abbotsford Canucks):

Christian Wolanin leads all AHL defensemen with 49 assists and 55 points this season while skating in 49 games for Abbotsford in his first campaign in the Canucks organization. Wolanin, who has also played 16 games in the NHL with Vancouver this year, had a 13-game scoring streak from Nov. 10 to Dec. 9, and participated in the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic in Laval, his second career All-Star nod. Originally a fourth-round pick by Ottawa in the 2015 NHL Draft, Wolanin signed a two-year extension with Vancouver on Mar. 23.

Alex Barré-Boulet, Forward (Syracuse Crunch):

Alex Barré-Boulet earns his second career postseason All-Star berth with a First Team selection as he ranks second in the AHL in assists (59) and points (82) – both career highs – over 67 games with Syracuse. The fifth-year pro is also tied for third in plus/minus among AHL forwards with a plus-25 rating, and he became the Crunch franchise’s all-time leader in goals, assists and points over the course of this season. A native of Montmagny, Que., Barré-Boulet was previously a Second Team All-Star in 2019-20, and was named the league’s outstanding rookie in 2018-19.

Michael Carcone, Forward (Tucson Roadrunners):

The AHL’s leading scorer heading into the final weekend of the regular season, Michael Carcone has nearly doubled his previous career high with 84 points (31 goals, 53 assists) in 63 games for Tucson in 2022-23. Carcone also leads the league with 263 shots on goal, and ranks second with his 14 power-play tallies. The seventh-year pro from Ajax, Ont., recorded 30 points during a 15-game scoring streak from Dec. 17 to Jan. 31, the longest in the league this season.

Matthew Phillips, Forward (Calgary Wranglers):

A 2016 draft pick by his hometown Calgary Flames, Matthew Phillips has set career highs across the board for the second year in a row, recording 36 goals (tied for the AHL lead), 39 assists, 75 points and a plus-17 rating in 64 games for the Wranglers. The fifth-year pro has also tied an all-time AHL mark with 15 game-winning tallies, helping Calgary to a league-best 50 victories and the best record ever for a Flames AHL affiliate. The AHL Player of the Month for November also skated in his first AHL All-Star Classic.

2022-23 AHL Second All-Star Team

Joel Hofer, Goaltender (Springfield Thunderbirds):

Joel Hofer earns a Second Team AHL All-Star nod on the strength of a 25-15-5 record, a 2.57 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage in 45 appearances for Springfield this season. Hofer is also tied for second in the league with four shutouts, and ranks third in minutes played (2,660) and shots faced (1,283) while helping the Thunderbirds to their second straight trip to the Calder Cup Playoffs. A 22-year-old native of Winnipeg, Man., Hofer has also played six games this season with the St. Louis Blues, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL Draft.

Lucas Carlsson, Defenseman (Charlotte Checkers):

Lucas Carlsson ranks second among AHL defensemen in scoring with 52 points (19 goals, 33 assists) in 60 games heading into the final weekend of the regular season for Charlotte. Carlsson’s goal, assist and point totals all represent career highs for the native of Gavle, Sweden, who is in his fifth season of pro hockey in North America. The 25-year-old blueliner also owns a team-best plus-24 rating, and has chipped in three power-play goals and one shorthanded marker as well.

Brogan Rafferty, Defenseman (Coachella Valley Firebirds):

A Second Team All-Star as a rookie in 2019-20, Brogan Rafferty secures his second career selection this season as he sits tied for third among AHL defensemen in scoring with 51 points in 70 games for Coachella Valley. The fourth-year pro from West Dundee, Ill., is also tied for second among blueliners with 42 assists, and ranks third among all AHL skaters with a plus/minus rating of plus-31. The Quinnipiac University product joined the Seattle Kraken as a free agent on July 13, 2022.

Trey Fix-Wolansky, Forward (Cleveland Monsters):

Trey Fix-Wolansky has carried the Cleveland offense all season, pacing the team with 29 goals and 41 assists in 58 games played to tie the franchise single-season record with 70 points. The 23-year-old native of Edmonton, Alta., has scored 11 times and added 19 assists with the man advantage, figuring in on the scoring of nearly half of Cleveland’s 61 power-play goals this season. Fix-Wolansky, a seventh-round pick by Columbus in the 2018 NHL Draft, has also skated in nine NHL games with the Blue Jackets in 2022-23.

Max McCormick, Forward (Coachella Valley Firebirds):

A ninth-year pro from De Pere, Wis., Max McCormick had already set career scoring highs by the All-Star break, when he represented Coachella Valley at the AHL’s midseason showcase in Laval. He has continued his standout season through the second half and has amassed 28 goals and 39 assists for 67 points along with a plus-17 rating in 69 games for the Firebirds entering the final weekend of the regular season. A 2011 draft pick by Ottawa, McCormick is in his second season with the Seattle Kraken organization.

T.J. Tynan, Forward (Ontario Reign):

T.J. Tynan earns his third consecutive postseason All-Star Team selection, having recorded 71 assists and 79 points in 70 games for Ontario in 2022-23. The AHL’s MVP in both 2020-21 and 2021-22, Tynan is just the fourth player in league history to record at least 70 assists in back-to-back seasons, and will join Art Stratton (four times) as the only AHL players ever to lead the league in assists on three separate occasions. The AHL Player of the Month for January also participated in his fourth career AHL All-Star Classic this winter.

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE

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By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack

TORONTO, ON – For the first time this season, the Hartford Wolf Pack used the extra attacker in the final minute of a hockey game to earn a point. Despite the late goal to earn the club a standings point, the Pack couldn’t hold off the Toronto Marlies in the extra frame, as they prevailed 3-2 in overtime in the first of two games between the clubs this season.

Logan Shaw rifled his 18^th goal of the season by Louis Domingue 2:39 into overtime, earning the second point for the Marlies. The Toronto captain worked his way into the slot and perfectly placed a shot over the veteran’s glove to end the proceedings in Toronto.

In their first meeting of the season, the Wolf Pack and Marlies spent the first 20 minutes of the contest feeling each other out. Hartford successfully killed off two Toronto penalties, holding the league’s top powerplay at bay in the opening frame. Domingue made ten saves to keep the Marlies off the board, while Joseph Woll turned aside five Hartford shots.

The Wolf Pack finally broke the ice 15:04 into the middle stanza, as Will Lockwood scored his first goal with the club. Lockwood fired the puck from the right-wing wall, with Woll stopping the shot with his glove. However, the puck took an awkward bounce off of Woll’s glove and rolled down the back of the netminder before trickling over the line. The goal was Lockwood’s 13^th of the season, continuing a career year.

The Marlies tied the contest just over three minutes later at 18:46, scoring off a fortunate bounce of their own. William Villeneuve fired a shot from the point that Domingue denied, but the rebound bounced into the air. Radim Zohorna, acquired via trade from the Calgary Flames on March 3^rd, knocked the rebound out of mid-air and deposited his first goal with the Marlies.

Toronto took their first lead of the night 11:11 into the final frame, as Kyle Clifford made it 2-1. Clifford fired a puck from the top of the left-wing circle that Domingue never saw, as four bodies combined to create havoc in front of the Hartford net. The goal, Clifford’s sixth of the season, was his second in as many games.

The Marlies had two chances to hit the open net and cement the victory but rang iron on their second try. With a new lease on life, the Wolf Pack hurried up ice and did something they hadn’t done all season to this point.

Adam Clendening waved his way deep into the Toronto zone before sending a backhand pass to the front of the goal. Clendening’s pass hit the leg of Jake Leschyshyn and beat Woll at 19:23 to force overtime. It was the first time in 2022-23 that the Wolf Pack scored with the extra attacker to force overtime.

In overtime, however, the Wolf Pack couldn’t hold off the Marlie attack. Domingue made a terrific save on Filip Kral moments into overtime, but Shaw would bury Toronto’s fourth shot of the extra period to give the home team the important second point on this night.

HARTFORD WOLF PACK

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By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack

HARTFORD, CT – New York Rangers President and General Manager Chris Drury announced today that the team had assigned forward Ryan Carpenter to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. In addition, the club has traded forward Austin Rueschhoff to the Nashville Predators in exchange for future considerations.

Carpenter, 32, has scored 28 points (13 g, 15 a) in 31 games with the Wolf Pack this season. In Hartford’s last game on Saturday night, he collected three points (1 g, 2 a) in the club’s 4-1 victory over the Syracuse Crunch. In addition to his time in the Connecticut capital this season, Carpenter has scored three points (1 g, 2 a) in 22 games with the Rangers.

The native of Oviedo, Florida, has skated in 330 career NHL games with the Rangers, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Vegas Golden Knights, and San Jose Sharks.

Rueschhoff, 25, has appeared in 31 games with the Wolf Pack this season, scoring eleven points (2 g, 9 a). The native of Wentzville, Missouri, joined the Rangers as a free agent on March 20^th, 2020.

In 113 career AHL games, all with the Wolf Pack, Rueschhoff has scored 43 points (20 g, 23 a).

The Pack is back at the XL Center on Sunday, March 5^th, when the club welcomes the Charlotte Checkers to town for a 3:00 p.m. puck drop. For tickets, visit hartfordwolfpack.com.

NEW YORK RANGERS

HARTFORD WOLF PACK

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By Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack put up a furious comeback effort in the third period to send the game to overtime, but they fell short in the shootout and fell 4-3 to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the 2022-23 home opener before a large and loud crowd at the XL Center Saturday night.

“We’ve started the season off with some terrific teams. It’s been a tough start is an understatement right now. We had a chance to capitalize on a team that played last night and we didn’t. We played well in third and if we had a little more time, we could’ve done something (tie it up), but we didn’t, “said a reflective head coach Kris Knoblauch.

New veteran player C.J. Smith scored twice in the third to rally a Wolf Pack despite a horrendous second as they gutted out a point in a game they were outplayed for long stretches to earn that solo point in the standings.

His first tally at 3:58 on the powerplay, he zipped over Filip Lindberg’s glove to the upper part of the net.

His second marker evened the game at 17:24 and was his third of the season. It came from 35 feet out on a hard wrister from off the right-wing wall.

Smith had shown in Chicago his desire to be around the puck in pressure situations, and he was a difference-maker in this game.

“I want the puck. I wanna score. I want it as much as I can,” commented Smith.

With this new crop of Wolf Pack players, finding a team identity is their present struggle.

“We’re still trying to find (our identity) as the game went along. We found ourselves finally, and finished strong. We finally got pucks in deep and were able to work on their D better. We need a little more jam from the whole team right now. We have to find identity first, by building trust out there. They go hand in hand.”

It’s not selfish play; just we have a learning curve here with a lot of young guys. Pro hockey is hard. The AHL is hard. It’s a learning process.”

Knoblauch is enthused with his early season contributions.

“We brought him in to give our lineup a boost. He can carry the puck and create offense. He’s getting more comfortable now, and its showing. The first weekend he was just there. Tonight, you could tell right off the bat, he was tougher to check against. With his two goals tonight that’s why we exactly brought him here,” remarked Knoblauch in his post-game press conference.

The turnovers and fundamental lack of defense in the second period left goaltender Louie Domingue hung out to dry to a solid Wilkes-Barre offense. Nevertheless, they managed to jump out to a 3-0 lead. Andy Andovski got behind the Pack’s Andy Zelinski and Domingue in a position where he could do nothing, giving Andovski his first pro goal.

Then Alexnder Nylander, the son of former Hartford Whaler and New York Ranger Michael Nylander, got to a loose puck just outside the blue line. He walked on the left wing side from 35 feet out and used Zelinski as a screen for a shot that got past Domingue.

The second period saw the Penguins score quickly twice and maintain general control of the play as Wolf Pack puck management was non-existent. About 15 seconds after C.J. Smith rang one off the post, a Matt Robertson turnover to Jon Lizotte resulted in his shuffling the puck ahead to a wide-open Filip Hållander. He split the defense and scored on a breakaway from twenty feet out. Just like that, the Wolf Pack was down 3-0.

“We played a good first and third period. The first 15 minutes of the second, we were awful. In the offensive and defensive zone, our puck management wasn’t there and it hurt us. In a long season, you’ll have mistakes. I didn’t like what I saw out there. (We) won’t have a good season with those types of mistakes,” Knoblauch said.

Domingue made two of his 12 stops on Drew O’Connor on the same sequence midway through the period. The first came off the left-wing side and then from off the right to keep the score what it was.

The only piece of good Wolf Pack news came on their second goal. Julien Gauthier got his second goal of the year from 35 feet out from the slot as Robertson’s left point shot hit some legs and sticks. However, the puck was unattended, and Gauthier swooped right in on the right wing, unloaded, and put the Wolf Pack on the board. 

NOTES:

The Pack opening game night attendance was 5,001. It was a healthy number, but far short of the team record 12,934 for their first home opener in 1997 against the now defunct Portland (ME) Pirates. In addition, it was the second-worst opening night attendance behind last year’s 4,119.

Last weekend, ex-Pack Adam Cracknell of the Tucson Roadrunners, playing at the unheard-of age of 37, played in his 1,000th professional game. That includes ten years and ten teams in the AHL, ECHL, Europe, and of course, the NHL. The game was in Henderson, Neva, da at the brand-new Dollar Loam Arena, which opened late last season.

Tip of the chapeau to the Henderson Silver Knights for allowing his father to announce the Roadrunners’ opening lineup last week. A grand gesture on their opening night.

Ex-Pack Phil DiGuiseppe was sent to Abbotsford by Vancouver. It was strictly as a cap casualty to keep the Canucks in CBA compliance. They have no money left at the NHL level. It’s reminiscent of ex-Pack Jason LaBarbera, who is now Calgary’s goalie coach (another ex-Wolf Pack, Mackenzie Skapski, is their AHL goalie coach at the Calgary Wranglers) situation in 2006-07. He was in Manchester when the Kings hid and dumped his NHL salary.

A confusing late development when former UCONN forward Vladislav Firstov was reassigned from Iowa to Torpedo Novgorod (Russia-KHL) yesterday.

Confusing how?

The NHL, and by extension, the AHL, supposedly broke off all contact with the KHL over Russia’s invasion and subsequent destruction in Ukraine.

However, AHL players past and present are still signing there, and now this reassignment.

How?

Isn’t the war still going in Ukraine?

An AHL coach, who requested anonymity, said, “Sooner or later, they’ll all have to leave. It’s getting worse. It’s not getting better over there. Look at the young girl over there (WNBA forward Brittany Greiner). She got ten years. They all have targets on their back. Something bad is going to happen like Greiner. They’re hostage bait.”

Bridgeport sent Ryan MacKinnon and Jimmy Lambert to Worcester (ECHL).

Islanders prized rookie William Dufour scored the game’s first goal Friday 1:25 in and the game-winner in OT as Bridgeport downed Providence 5-4 on the road.

The Penguins sent former UCONN captain defenseman David Drake and forward Brooklyn Kamilkov, son of former Sound Tiger Konstantin, to Wheeling (ECHL).

The Penguins have Samuel Poulin, son of former Hartford Whaler Patrick Poulin, in the lineup, but he was a late call-up to Pittsburgh. Last year in their first meeting, he scored in the final minute of regulation to tie the game.

The ECHL opens this weekend, and only one of the 27 teams doesn’t have either an ex-Pack, Islander/Sound Tiger, UCONN/Yale/Quinnipiac/Sacred Heart University, or a Connecticut resident connection, and that’s the Newfoundland (St. John’s) Growlers, the Double AA affiliate of the Toronto Marlies.

The biggest surprise was former Sound Tiger Bode Wild in Atlanta.

Seven ex-Packs from last year are starting the season there.

In college hockey, #14 ranked UCONN Huskies improved to 5-1 with a 4-2 OT win at BU Friday night. Nick Capone (East Haven/Salisbury School) continued his strong start with another goal for the Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick.

The Terriers saw postgraduate former Avon Old Farms Winged Beaver Jamie Armstrong, son of Arizona GM Bill, collect a goal and an assist.

On Saturday night, the Huskies lost 4-2 to BU.

In a big season early season college match-up, the Minnesota Golden Gophers, led by captain Jonny Brodzinski’s youngest brother Bryce, had a strong 3-2 come-from-behind OT win over North Dakota in a highly entertaining game.

A little overseas note as former Nighthawk Andrei Kovalev starts his second season as a head coach with Dynamo Maladzyechna in Belarus for the Vyassha Hockey League (VHL) in which their AHL equivalent and ex-Pack Petr Skudra, also in Belarus in the National League as the head coach of Saryarka Karaganda.

HARTFORD WOLF PACK

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BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – The world of professional hockey never sleeps. Being past the NHL Draft and initial free agent frenzy means the fine-tuning is underway.

Meanwhile, in Hartford, the reunion of Hartford Whalers at the annual event at Dunkin Donuts Park by the Yard Goats drew a multitude of ex-players and plenty of fans.

From his home in Florida, Dave Keon sent a thoughtful, heartfelt video message to his former teammates and fans.

The Yard Goats hope to add more names next year as Ron Francis and Ulf Samuelsson couldn’t attend this year because Francis’s daughter was getting married.

70-year-old Nick Fotiu, who played for both the New England and Hartford Whalers, the Rangers, and at three separate times played and was an assistant coach in New Haven, and was also an assistant coach for the Hartford Wolf Pack, was unable to come. However, his grandson was graduating from the NYC police academy. He hopes to return to attending next year.

The Staten Island-born Fotiu still maintains his home in Cape Cod.

Mark Howe, now retired as the head of scouting for Detroit, may join his brother Marty next year, a resident who has been an attendee for the annual event.

Sean Burke was to attend. He now is in a scouting role after leaving Montreal for Las Vegas, where he joins old Whaler teammate Jim McKenzie,  who couldn’t make it.

SCHEDULING

The unified 72-game AHL schedule for 2022-23 was unveiled last week.

Hartford opens on the road with a two-game set in Charlotte on October 14 and 15 and will play in the eight-team Atlantic Division.

They open up at home a week later with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

The day after Thanksgiving, they are in Bridgeport and play host to Springfield on New Year’s Eve at 5:30.

The schedule features three new Central Division teams Grand Rapids, Rockford, and Milwaukee.

Milwaukee arrives on December 9th and marks its first appearance since February 14th, 2003. They now play in a new arena, the Panther Arena, as the Bradley Center is gone. Grand Rapids travels in the next night and haven’t seen the XL Center since January 2nd, 2009, and they play Rockford a week before, on December 2nd, for the first time.

Laval and Belleville have been dropped from their schedule.

Tim Gettinger’s new deal of one year was announced as a one-year two-way at $750K-NHL/$125K-AHL.

Rangers added depth and experience in signing C.J. Smith from the defending Calder Cup champs, Chicago Wolves, at one year and one-way money of $750K.

Ex-Pack Ryan Dmowski (Old Lyme/The Gunn School) signs with Texas (AHL).

Kasperi Kapanen, son of former Whaler Sami Kapanen, signs a two-year extension with Pittsburgh for $3.2M per released terms.

Wolf Pack spare goalie the last two years, François Brassard, heads to Providence, getting a two-way (AHL-ECHL) deal and likely end up in Maine (Portland).

Joining him is the recently re-signed ex-Pack of one game, the last game before the pandemic hit three years ago, Connor Bleackley.

Ex-Pack Terrance Wallin (The Gunn School) was named the Mariners’ new coach replacing ex-Sound Tiger Ben Guite, who took the job at D3 small Ivy at Bowdoin College (NESCAC).

Tyce Thompson, the youngest son of ex-Pack and current Bridgeport head coach Brent Thompson, signed a two-year extension. The deal is split $750K -NHL /$125K-AHL his first year and one-way money at $775K his second year.

The Bridgeport Islanders have joined the big goalie craze signing 6’8 Finnish Islanders, a 7th-round draft choice last year. Henrik Tikkanen (MODO Sweden-SHL).

They did sign from Saint John (QMJHL) undrafted Vincent Sévigny, son ex-Pack Pierre Sévigny, and re-signed an old defenseman from two years ago, Ryan MacKinnon, who split last year between Lehigh Valley/ Reading (ECHL).

AHL CALGARY GETS A NAME

The Calgary AHL franchise has a name, the Wranglers.

It adopted the name of the WHL team of yesteryear (1977-1985) when the franchise was a junior team and moved to Billings, MT, becoming the Bighorns. That lasted five years before being sold and moved again.

The logo is a sharp red W with a flame at the bottom. It honors their western cowboy roots early days of the franchise in Atlanta. The team was in Stockton as the Heat for five years, and its eighth version of an AHL team started in Maine in the early 1990s.

Among the first signees was Alberta native Brett Sutter, the son of Darryl Sutter, the Calgary Flames head coach. He is the tenth Sutter to play pro hockey.

The original junior team name was the Centennials from 1967-1977, the last year of the WCHL before it became the WHL.

Junior hockey returned to Calgary when professional wrestler Brett “The Hitman” Hart, a Calgary native, lent his money and his Hitman moniker to the franchise in 1995, which it still is.

The first year of junior hockey, then the WCMHL, was 1966. The team, for one year, was called the Buffaloes. The WHA team lasted two years (1975-77) and was the Cowboys.

The new Springfield GM and St. Louis scout is Connecticut resident and former Rangers Director of Pro Scouting for the last 12 years, Kevin Maxwell, 62.

Maxwell played in NHL for three teams Minnesota, the Colorado Rockies, and New Jersey, and worked as a scout, Director of Pro Scouting, and assistant coach for the Whalers for four years, North Stars, Devils, Flyers, Dallas, and the Islanders.

His son Chase (Xavier HS) plays for the CT Junior Rangers (NCDC). His eldest son, Jackson, played club hockey for Springfield College (ACHA Division-III), followed in his footsteps, and is a scout for Toronto.

Former Nighthawk Sylvain Couturier is hired as the new GM by the Cape Breton Eagles (QMJHL). After twenty years, he leaves Acadie-Bathurst Titan (QMJHL) from the other side of the province.

Former New Haven Senator Jake Grimes has left Cape Breton as head coach for the University of Waterloo (OUAA) next season as their new bench boss.

Former UCONN player Ben Freeman signs with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. In addition, ex-Sound Tiger Robert “Bobo” Carpenter signs a one-year deal with Florida (ECHL).

Defenseman Zack Malik split last season in the Czech Republic (Czechia) Division-2 with his former Whaler, Springfield Indians, Ranger, and Beast New Haven father Marek, an assistant coach with HC Frydek-Mistek and HK Dukla Jihlava, heads to FPS (Finland Mestis Divison-2).

Nick Bochen of Quinnipiac University (ECACHL) transfers to Bentley University (AHA).

UCONN gets another transfer from Vermont (HE) in Andrew Lucas. In addition, the team’s first-ever Finnish commit, they get Samu Salminen from the Jokerit U-20 team, who is eligible for the Finnish 2023 WJC team to take place in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Moncton, New Brunswick.

That makes for 102 school transfers that we know of and 103 grad transfers for a total of 205 this off-season.

Over 100 players remain in the transfer portal. Hockey East has seen 50 players sign pro deals, and NCHC and CCHA have had 32 each.

The Big 10 has 28, ECACHL 23, the AHA 17, and NCAA Independents with 12.

71 AHL’ers have signed overseas, with Russia leading the way with 16, Sweden with 13, Germany with nine, and Switzerland and Finland with eight each.

26 of 31 teams have lost at least one player.

Ex-Pack Nick Merkley departs Hartford, and John Gilmour leaves CSKA Moscow (Russia-KHL), both head for Dynamo Minsk (Belarus-KHL).

Chase Harwell (Southbury/Selects Academy at South Kent Prep) finished his Canadian college hockey career at Concordia University (OUAA) in Montreal after five years of major junior in Quebec.

He signed with Norfolk (ECHL) at the end of last season signs with Como (Italy Division-2) for next season.

The WJC camp resumed from the postponed December tournament to be held next week in Edmonton rostershaves been finalized.

The Canadian team will feature Ranger draftees Will Cullye and Brennan Othmann, but Chase Stillman, the grandson of former Nighthawk and Springfield Indian Bud Stefanski, was cut.

Ridley Greig, the son of former Hartford Whaler Mark Greig, made the final cut.

Future Wolf Pack goalie Dylan Garand was named to the team. Future possible Bridgeport Islander William Dufour was also selected.

One of the camp coaches is ex-Springfield Indian Brad Lauer from last year’s WHL champion, the Edmonton Oil Kings, who was just hired as an assistant coach by Winnipeg (NHL).

Ex-Pack/Sound Tiger Ted Donato has bowed out of the US WJC team as one of its assistants, and Grant Potulny, former Springfield Falcon and brother of ex-Pack Ryan and head coach of Northern Michigan (CCHA), will take his place.

Rangers draftee Brett Berard (Providence College-HE) is the lone Ranger team rep. Matt “Mackie” Samokevich (Newtown) from Michigan (Big 10) program is also on the team.

The Czechia (Czech Republic) squad has David Spacek, the son of former Beast of New Haven Jaroslav Spacek.

The Rangers’ first draft pick from last month’s draft in Montreal, Adam Sýkorais, on the Slovakian team along with Rayen Petrovický, son of former Whaler/Ranger Róbert Petrovický.

Finland has Bridgeport’s Aatu Raty and Oliver Kapanen, nephew of former Whaler Sami Kapanen.

Austria has Senna Peters in his last junior level tournament. He is a former player from the Selects Academy program at South Kent Prep and will be with HC Innsbruck (IceHL) in the fall.

Former Whaler Brad Shaw has left Vancouver and been named the new assistant coach in Philadelphia.

While embroiled in international controversy and intrigue lately, Taiwan, known as Chinese Taipei to appease mainland Chinese sentiment, had a big hockey win to celebrate.

The U-20 squad team had an exciting 5-4 overtime win over host Mexico in the central Mexican town of Queretaro at the Lakeside Ice Rink and won the IIHF U-20 Division III title, earning a promotion to Division II Group B Division in 2023. This is after establishing the program just 12 years ago in a country with just three rinks on the island nation.

The game-winner came off the stick Hung-Li Chou on a two-on-one with his tourney-leading tenth goal. He scored early after host Mexico had tied the score late with an extra attacker with a minute left in regulation on the powerplay.

Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) was the tournament Cindrella’s. They beat Mexico in the preliminary round in OT and Israel in OT in the semi-final by the count of 6-5 on a Chou goal.

Australia won bronze by beating Israel 1-0 as Ethan Hawes had the only goal. Israeli Mike Levin (16 points) was the tourney’s leading scorer.

HARTFORD WOLF PACK

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HARTFORD, CT – New York Rangers President and General Manager Chris Drury announced on Monday afternoon that the club has acquired forward Maxim Letunov from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for defenseman Tarmo Reunanen. In addition, the Rangers announced that they have assigned Letunov to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack.

Letunov, selected in the second round (52^nd overall) by the St. Louis Blues in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, has appeared in 60 games this season with the Wolves. Letunov has scored 23 points (13 g, 10 a), including a career-high 13 goals.

Over the course of 199 AHL games with the Wolves and San Jose Barracuda, Letunov has scored 106 career points (49 g, 57 a). In addition to his 199 games in the AHL, Letunov has appeared in three NHL games, all with the San Jose Sharks, and scored one goal. He made his NHL debut on February 4^th, 2020, with the Sharks against the Calgary Flames. He scored his lone NHL goal in his next game on February 6^th, 2020, against the Edmonton Oilers.

Prior to turning pro, Letunov played three seasons at the XL Center as a member of the UConn Huskies. In 105 career games with UConn, Letunov scored 95 points (35 g, 60 a). He was named to the 2015-16 Hockey East All-Rookie Team while with the Huskies and was a two-time Hockey East Second Team All-Star Selection (2015-16, 2016-17).

The Pack is back at the XL Center for two games this weekend! The Wolf Pack will host the Belleville Senators on Friday night and then the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday evening. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. on both nights. Friday night will feature $2 beers and $1 hot dogs, courtesy of Nomads Entertainment. On Saturday, we’ll be giving away a coffee mug courtesy of Xfinity!

For tickets, visit www.hartfordwolfpack.com.

HARTFORD WOLF PACK

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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).

HARTFORD WOLF PACK

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