HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack announced their home game promotional schedule for the 2023-34 season. It features the return of last year’s successful “Pucks and Paws” event, where fans can bring their beloved dogs to the game.

The date for the “Pucks and Paws” game is December 22nd against the Bridgeport Islanders. That date is one of the season’s 72-game schedule featuring 36 home dates.

Another favorite returning is “Hops and Hockey Night” on December 30th, also against the Islanders.

HARTFORD RELATED PLAYER MOVES

Ex-Pack goalie Keith Kinkaid has dissolved his association with the Chicago Wolves. He signed a one-year, two-way deal with the New Jersey Devils and their AHL affiliates, the Utica Devils. The contract pays $775K in the NHL and $350K for games in the AHL. There are reports he could still be assigned to Chicago if he is reassigned to the AHL.

A trusted West Coast NHL team source said of Kinkaid, “He can play well. We talked with two teams he has played for. We got a thumbs down on him. He’s not a good locker room guy. So, we opted not to sign or offer him a deal.”

Rayen Petrovický, the son of former Hartford Whaler/Ranger Róbert Petrovický, signs with HC Liberec (Czechia-CEL). He was then loaned to VHK Vestin Czechia (Czech Republic) Division-II. The move makes him eligible to play for both teams next season.

CONNOR BLEACKLEY

Connor Bleackley, another ex-Pack, moves on from the Maine Mariners (ECHL), who are coached by ex-Pack Terrance Wallin (Hotchkiss Prep), to the Rapid City Rush (ECHL).

Incidentally, Bleackley was the last Wolf Pack player signed before the pandemic hit. The Pack were severely shorthanded for a game against the Providence Bruins. Bleackley was signed after the Pack saw three players suspended from a brawl in Springfield against the Thunderbirds a few days earlier. Those three were Vinni Letterieri, now with the Iowa Wild, Mason Geersten, playing for the Henderson Silver Knights, and the retired Matt Beleskey. Then there were injury issues in New York, and then captain Steve Fogarty was on an emergency recall in Colorado by the Rangers, which necessitated the signing of Bleackley.

After the loss to the Bruins, then Pack Danny O’Regan told Howlings in his post-game comments, “You can’t construct a lineup in 36 hours and expect to win.”

EX-BRIDGEPORT PLAYERS ON THE MOVE

Some ex-Sound Tigers get some new addresses.

Casey Bailey signs a PTO deal with Ottawa. Connor McCarthy, who played part-time over the last two years with the Islanders after training camp, was dropped by HC Banska Bystrica (Slovakia-SLEL). He signs with St. Georges-de-Beauce (LNAH).

Kieffer Bellows signs a deal with the Carolina Hurricanes, and Mark Louis, who played briefly in Bridgeport, departs Cardiff (Wales-EIHL) and signs with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits (ECHL).

CASSELS FAMILY STAYING ACTIVE

Cruz Cassels, the youngest son of former Whaler Andrew Cassels, is with the Ohio Jr. Blue Jackets U-14 AAA (T1EHL). Birk, his second son, is also with their program. He plays with the Ohio Jr. Blue Jackets U-18 AAA (T1EHL) and is an Ottawa 67’s (OHL) 2022 Draftee. His oldest, Cole, played with both Södertälje SK (Sweden-Allsvenskan) and the Belleville Senators last year. He just signed a one-year deal with San Jose Barracuda (AHL) for next season. Their cousins are in the NHL. Justin Barron is with the Montreal Canadiens, while ex-Pack Morgan Barron is with the Winnipeg Jets. Morgan signed a two-year extension earlier this summer.

ROB MALLOY

Cheshire native and former Hartford Jr. Wolf Pack, Rob “Bert” Malloy, confirmed via e-mail from New South Wales that he is happy to decompress from his one-win season for his local AIHL expansion team, the Central Coast Rhinos. Malloy hopes to return next season for a better season in the league’s 23rd year. He finished second in team scoring with ten goals and 31 points in 19 games. Malloy hopes to get one more crack at the Australian National team in April when they play at the IIHF Group A Division II tournament in Serbia.

He will hope to start with a three-game series against neighbor and Southern Hemispheric rival, New Zealand, and looks to lengthen his play from last year’s tournament in Madrid, where he suffered a broken jaw in their game against Israel.

That led to a harrowing experience in a Spanish hospital where nobody spoke English.

16 native Australians are on the national team.

Malloy hopes in his post-season career, whenever it starts, to coach at the junior level with the Central Coast Stingrays team and help grow the game in Australia.

NHL DOWN UNDER

Malloy, like others, is anxiously waiting for the NHL exhibition games to be played this week in the Land Down Under at the Rod Laver Arena. They will be the first two NHL games ever to be played there. The two games will air the pair of Los Angeles Kings – Arizona Coyotes contests on the NHL Network. The games will be played on Friday, September 22nd, and September 23rd at 9 p.m., 17 hours ahead in the Pacific time zone, where they will be played at 2 p.m. local time.

Melbourne’s ice hockey rink seats only 1,500. The Henke Rink at the O’Brien Icehouse in the Dockland’s precinct of Melbourne is home to two AIHL teams, the Ice and Mustangs. A building only seating 1,500 is not suitable for NHL hockey.

The first Australian to score an NHL goal was Nathan Walker, now with the St. Louis Blues. “Stormy” Walker scored in his NHL debut on October 7th, 2017, with the Washington Capitals. He was born in Cardiff, Wales, but raised in Sydney, Australia.

Jorden Spence of the LA Kings will be on one of the teams as an Australian native born in Manly, New South Wales – NSW, Australia. His family moved to Osaka, Japan, and eventually landed in Cornwall, PEI (Prince Edward Island), Canada.

The first Australian ever drafted was Darren Gani (Perth, AUS). He grew up in Scarborough, Ontario, and back in 1984, he participated in the Edmonton Oilers’ training camp.

MORE AUSSIE NEWS

One of the other three players with a little Aussie in them includes ex-Pack and current Ranger Bryce Harpur. He is a dual-born citizen; his mother, Margery, is Australian.

Ex-King, who played briefly with the Wolf Pack, Steve McKenna, played in the AIHL (Adelaide Avalanche) and coached the Australian national team for a few years.

No Australian has his name on the Stanley Cup. Just one Australian player is in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Tommy Dunderdale of Benalla, AUS, was inducted post-humously in 1974. He was credited with the very first penalty-shot goal in NHL history. He was a prominent player in the early 20th century as he skated with the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA). Dunderdale grew up, learned hockey in Winnipeg, and played against the Montreal Canadiens before they were in the NHL.

The 114-year-old Goodall Cup is awarded each season to the AIHL champion. Two weeks ago, it was awarded to the Melbourne Mustangs. The Goodall Cup is the fifth oldest trophy competed for in hockey.

Three Southern Hemisphere countries are full members of the IIHF in ice hockey. They include South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Just seven NHL players in league history have been born in that hemisphere.

The Arizona Coyotes, at its temporary home in Tempe, the Mullett Arena at ASU (Arizona State University), is 8,227 miles from Melbourne. The LA Kings will travel 7,932 miles to play the game.

The Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) have Alec Nasredinne, the son of former Sound Tiger player and current Dallas assistant coach Alain Nasredinne. They also have Brady Schultz (Monroe, CT), the grandson of former Whaler Norm Barnes, and Liam Kilfoil, formerly of Selects Academy at South Kent Pre,p on their lineup as the junior season gets underway.

In other moves, Pat Harper (AOF/New Canaan) signed a training camp Professional Try-Out (PTO) contract with the Arizona Coyotes.

Connor Stokes, with the Selects Academy at South Kent Prep program, commits to the Sault Ste. Marie Eagles (NOJHL).

HARTFORD WOLF PACK

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HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack and Bridgeport Islanders faced off for the second straight night, this time at the Koeppel Community Center on the campus of Trinity College for the annual Ryan Gordon Foundation game. The Wolf Pack saw five different skaters tally goals in a convincing 5-1 win.

Bobby Trivigno scored a strong goal and made a superb backchecking with 2:30 left on a Kyle McLean breakaway for the Islanders among his several stand-out plays for the Wolf Pack.

“He really showed his high-end skill set on his goal, and great hustle throughout. He also set up his linemates all night creating chances for them,” remarked Wolf Pack Head Coach Kris Knoblauch.

Midway through the first period, the Pack scored on a picture-perfect power play.

Newcomer Tuner Elson was on the right wing and converted with a tap-in goal from a strong cross-ice feed from Lauri Pajuniemi, who in turn was set up by a perfect initial pass from Tanner Fritz on the game’s first goal.

The Islanders tied the score in the last minute of the period as Ryan MacKinnon netted a goal from just inside the blue line. He dropped a right-handed rocket of a shot off a pass from former UCONN standout Ruslan Iskharov with 53.2 seconds left on the clock.

Bridgeport controlled and commanded the puck during the first five minutes of the second period. They put four quality shots toward Louie Domingue but fired them over the top of the net while pinning the Wolf Pack in their end of the ice.

The Wolf Pack regained the lead when Tim Gettinger smartly redirected of pass/shot from Brandon Scanlin at 6:08 on the team’s first shot of the period and converted for a 2-1 lead. Gustav Rydahl picked up the second assist on the play while displaying some heady work down the middle.

Trivigno displayed his collegiate Hobey Baker prowess, instantly burying the rebound of Austin Rueschoff’s shot at 14:07 to make it 3-1, and the Pack was off to the races.

Early in the third period, Tim Theocharis, with the Wolf Pack on a Professional Try-Out (PTO), continued to make a strong case to remain in Hart City, as did second-year pro Cristiano DiGiacinto, last year’s walk-on, and teammate Karl Henrikson, who tallied his first goal at 5:06 of the third.

“Henriksson had a strong night. Tim played well, and showed a lot of movement with puck, and all three players showed a real physicality,” said Knoblauch.

Domingue cemented his #1 status in Hartford by stopping a penalty shot with 8:33 remaining. He turned aside a penalty shot bid by Michigan’s Jimmy Lambert.

Playing Domingue the entire game was the game plan.

“He is our #1 goalie to start the season. The backup is one right now we still have to make a choice. He made some big saves early in the second and he handles the puck very well for us. He handles it like Igor (Shesterkin) did.”

Fritz, a former Bridgeport Sound Tiger, snapped a shot from off the left wing giving Elson his second point of the evening at 14:27 to give the Pack their 5-1 lead.

Even with the big lead, Trivigno’s backcheck on McLean late in the contest got his coach’s attention. “It was great hustle by Bobby. We didn’t put a specific unit out, just some players (to) see what we could get. His efforts clearly stopped a wide open breakaway,” said Knoblauch.

NOTES:

Fan jerseys of the night – 22 Thomas Poeck and 23 Jed Ortmeyer, now the Rangers Director of Player Development and a fan with an Israeli national jersey – actually was designed years ago by the mother of former Wolf Pack Oren Eisenmann of Canadian/Israeli heritage.

Goalie coach, special assignment scout, and now a father, Jeff Malcolm remembered one of his Pack relief stints getting called up from Greenville on the road, stepping off a plane in Windsor Locks, and heading right to Springfield to play a game. “ My pre-game meal was in an Atlanta airport. It was a Chick Fil-A meal.” That’s not part of the training regimen these days.

Rangers will likely make their final roster moves mid-week, and then there will be corresponding moves made by the Wolf Pack and subsequently with Jacksonville as the ECHL training camps start next week. It will be a tough rest of the weekend for Knoblauch. “We have some big decisions to make, mostly at forward we have a lot  work ahead of us,” he said.

The Pack got Swedish center Gustav Rydahl yesterday. He played last year for Färjestad BK (Sweden-SHL), where he recorded 30 points in 44 games and earned one assist in four pre-season games with New York. The 27 -year-old acquitted himself well in his first North American action in New York and in Hart City. “He’s not your average rookie at 27 years old he played a strong game,” said Knoblauch.

Late yesterday, pending clearing waivers, captain Jonny Brodzinski was assigned to the Wolf Pack. Four other ex-Pack pending waiver clearance are also heading to the AHL. Two in Providence, Vinni Lettieri and Keith Kinkaid, Jayson Megna is sent from the Colorado Avalanche to the Colorado Eagles, and the other is Lias Andersson heads to Ontario from LA.

Brodzinski is not available for this game.

A fifth is designated for assignment to Grand Rapids in ex-Pack and US Olympian Steven Kampfer.

The Bridgeport Islanders have been active this week so far.

The parent New York Islanders sent five players, Andy Andreoff, Cole Bardreau, Dennis Cholowski,  Arnaud Durandeau, and Parker Wotherspoon (brother Tyler was sent down by New Jersey to Utica) cleared waivers and were assigned to Bridgeport.

The team signed two more to one-year contracts in defenseman Mike Cornell and ex-Pack and Springfield, MA area resident Paul Thompson who played last night, got robbed by Domingue as he pounced on a turnover and fired one from 20 feet out and earned 14 minutes in penalties.

Islanders forward Jimmy Lambert saw his brother Brad, a Winnipeg first-round pick (30th overall) in the summer, assigned to Manitoba on an ATO (amateur tryout) agreement from Lahti (Finland-FEL). The younger Lambert is 18 years old and still WJC-eligible for the Finnish team.

Ex-Islander Thomas Hickey was released from the New Jersey Devils camp.

Ex-Pack Malte Strömwall was assigned to the Chicago Wolves from the Carolina camp. Former captain Steven Fogarty is assigned to Iowa (AHL) as the last cut, and Chase Priskie (QU)  is heading to Rochester.

Ex-Sound Tigre Calder Brooks goes from Calgary Wranglers’ camp to Rapid City (ECHL).

As reported last week, the last Wolf Pack from last season, Jake Elmer, has signed with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits (ECHL). After just one season with Cardiff (Wales-EIHL), Ex-Pack Matt Register signs with Idaho (ECHL) on the eve of the ECHL training camp that opens next week. Goalie Trevin Kozlowski (Glastonbury/Loomis Chaffe) goes from Iowa (ECHL/AHL) to Cincinnati (ECHL).

Ex-Pack/Sound Tiger Jack Combs signs with Allen (ECHL), as has ex-CT Whale Mike Pelech with Atlanta (ECHL) and former UCONN player Karl El-Mir signs with Orlando (ECHL).

Ex-Pack defenseman Patrick Sieloff, from two years ago, signed a try-out with the new San Jose Barracuda and their brand-new arena, the Tech CU Center. The team is in Germany, where he played last year (Cologne). For a two-game series with defending DEL champion Eisbaren Berlin.

After just three weeks and six games, Ex-Pack Danny Kristo is released by HC Michalovce (Slovakia-SLEL) and signs a deal with the Sheffield Steelers (England-EIHL).  Ex-Sound Tiger Josh Winquist has been released, too, and signs with Ft. Wayne (ECHL).

Arizona Coyotes have some East Coast CT ties starting with former New Haven Senator John Ferguson Jr. is the assistant GM and GM of Tucson (AHL). Former New England Whaler great player and Hartford Whaler coach/GM Larry Pleau is a special advisor to the GM.

West Haven’s Eric Boguniecki, who played at Westminster Prep and the Gunn School, formerly known as the Gunnery School, was an ex-assistant coach of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers for ten years plus played for the Sound Tigers, is an Arizona Pro Scout after taking a year off.

Luke Curadi, of Cheshire, who played public school hockey at Notre Dame-WH and junior hockey with the Hartford Jr. Wolf Pack (ATJHL) and was a training camp invitee for the Wolf Pack, is for the second year a Coyotes amateur scout.

Ex-Pack goalie Magnus Hellberg has gotten himself back into the NHL. He was picked up off waivers from Seattle by Ottawa as help as the Senator lost ex-CT Whale/Wolf Pack Cam Talbot for five to seven weeks to a broken rib, according to the Ottawa Sun, in a freak pre-game injury.

Hellberg has had some hockey journeys in the last year. He was in the KHL in the former Russian Olympic city of Sochi with KHL HC Sochi in his fifth year (one in China, four in Russia) in the KHL.

With the outbreak of the Ukrainian war, he left after representing Sweden in last year’s Olympics and again at the World Championships.

Hellberg, signed with Detroit, played a late season game and likely was ticketed for Grands Rapids. Then this year, he wound up with the Seattle Kraken in mid-July, with Coachella Valley (Palm Springs) Firebirds likely being his new residence, and here he winds up in Ottawa, the Canadian capital city.

Ex-Pack Tysen Helgesen and brother Kenton are in camp with the Calgary Wranglers.

Ranger draftee Alexander Tärnström, son of ex-Sound Tiger Dick, after five games with Rögle BK (Sweden-SHL), is loaned to Tingsryds AIF (Sweden-HockeyEttan).

Goalie Strauss Mann (Greenwich/Brunswick School) heads to San Jose (AHL).

Former UCONN Husky Dallas Drake was sent to Wilkes-Barre Scranton (AHL).

Last week, UCONN traveled to Burlington, Vermont, and swept their first Hockey East series of the season with a 3-1 win over the Vermont Catamounts. They’re across town with their “home opener” at the XL Center in a non-conference matchup with Union College (ECACHL) with a 4-1 win and overtime win over Union on Saturday, have a 4-0 record to start the best opening season since 1975-76 when they were in Division II.

Matt Wood, a 17-year-old freshman,  posted another goal and two points plus one assist Saturday, and Vermont post-grad transfer Andrew Lucas posted another two points. Goalie Arsenii Sergeev got his first win, and Chase Bradley got his first goal.

“We were certainly pleased by the two wins last weekend. By no means was it perfect, it was a good start, and I was happy with our compete level on both nights.  We got two good wins and two good league wins.   We worked on the powerplay in practice. Matty is certainly a shooter, and Andrew Lucas has told him to make sure your shot is there, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a freshman or a senior; good things will happen when you shoot the puck.

“Matty has enough confidence as a player to make the right play, and a couple of times, he didn’t shoot and made a great play through the seam to (pass) to  Hudson (Schandor). It’s positive to see, he’s not a one-trick pony, and it’s nice to see those efforts in practice carry over to games,”  said head coach Mike Cavanaugh.

Wood had no points and four shots, Chase Bradley picked up a goal and assist in the win.

Former Husky Jonny Evans is in camp with the Hershey Bears. Fellow former teammates were assigned to their AHL teams.

Jáchym Kondelík and goalie Tomáš Vomáčka, both from Czechia (Czech Republic), were sent to the Milwaukee Admirals.

Luke Evangelista, the second cousin of former Whaler, now Maple Leafs President, Brendan Shanahan.

Former New Haven Nighthawks and Quinnipiac University (ECACHL) trainer Sal Lombardi works in nearby Springfield, MA school American International College (AHA).

HARTFORD WOLF PACK

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PROVIDENCE, RI – The losing ways of the Hartford Wolf Pack continued, but their dwindling playoff hopes were kept alive by earning a standings point when they scored late but managed to find a novel way to lose in OT.

Pack Head Coach Kris Knoblauch opened the extra session with an all-Hockey East lineup to start. The helter-skelter OT saw newly-acquired rookie forward Bobby Trivigno (UMASS) set up a wide-open Max Letunov (UCONN) on the right-wing. Letunov fanned on the shot.

The P-Bruins came right back with a two-on-one. Oskar Steen was stopped on a gorgeous sliding block by Zac Jones on the left-wing side.

But it wasn’t to be as the Steen shot broke Jones’ skate blade, rendering him helpless and unable to skate or defend. Invariably, the Pack’s former captain, Steven Fogarty, got to the loose puck for Providence.

Fogarty skated around in a semi-circle from the left-wing to right-wing before snapping home the game-winner for his eleventh of the season at 46 seconds, going over a stunned Huska’s (24 saves) blocker for the 4-3 win.

LATE GAME

The Wolf Pack had some late-game joy to celebrate as Lauri Pajuniemi fought through ex-Bridgeport Sound Tiger Aaron Ness’s check attempt on the right-wing boards. Pajuniemi found Patrick Khordorenki in front of the net. He swept in his ninth goal of the campaign at 17:24.

At 9:08, Tanner Fritz had two shorthanded chances, both rejected by Bruins goalie Troy Grosenick (33 saves), who was the difference-maker for the Bruins.

The Wolf Pack headed home and will leave on Tuesday for three days in Charlotte. They’ll play the Checkers on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday before heading north of the border for two games against Toronto and Belleville. Finally, they’ll finish the crucial seven games road trip with a game in Rochester against the Americans.

SECOND PERIOD

The Wolf Pack evened the contest at one early in the second period. The former Quinnipiac Bobcat, Alex Whelan, rushed through the neutral zone and got a quality shot. It was stopped on the right-wing by Groneick, but undrafted rookie Cristiano DiGiacinto, as he’s done all year, made a good play collecting the rebound, putting his sixth of the season in the net.

Ty Ronning had a quality chance right after on the left-wing denied by Grosenick.

The Pack had some good fortune as they finally broke an 0-for-16 slump on the power play. Nick Merkley received a Jones pass from the left side after Nils Lundkvist found Jones to start the scoring play. Merkley snapped home his 14th at 8:05.

However, as has been the case over this losing streak, the Pack gave the goal right back just 2:43 later.

Nick Wolff earned his second assist, starting the scoring play by flipping the puck into the Pack zone. Koppanen was on the right wing and was unchecked. He put the puck right on the onrushing Matt Filipe’s stick, and he deftly put his seventh goal into the net via a backhander that went five-hole through Huska to make it a 2-2 game.

SHORTIES

The lifeless power play gave up a shorthanded goal to start the night’s activity for the second game in a row. The whole play came off losing an offensive zone faceoff after Jones shot.

Wolff made an outlet pass and sent Chris Wagner and Joona Koppanen to rush through the neutral zone. The pair gained easy entry despite three Wolf Pack players in their vicinity in Merkley, Lundkvist, and the trailer on the play, Anthony Greco.

Wagner and Koppanen exchanged passes and then switched wings. Wagner found Koppanen uncontested on the doorstep with Lundkvist nearby and put in his 11th goal at 13:22.

Huska did his best stopping Jakub Lauko, who’s gone without a goal in 27 games since November 5. He had a clean breakaway from the offensive zone blue line and was denied by Huska’s blocker at the 8:00 mark.

LINES

Merkley-#10-Bobby Trivigno-Letunov
Ronning-Greco-Fritz
Rueschoff-Pajuniemi-Khordorenko
Whelan-O’Leary-DiGiacinto

Tinordi-Lundkvist
Jones-Scanlin
Robertson-Guittari

Kinkaid
Huska

SCRATCHES

Gettinger (upper body)
Lorito
Taylor
Skinner
E. Brodzinski

NOTES

Lundkvist was back in the lineup after several games on the scratched list.

Abbott Girduckis was released from his PTO on the weekend and sent back to the Jacksonville Icemen (ECHL) with Trivigno and Brodzinski now in Hartford.

Providence won the season series 6-games-to-4.

The day’s other AHL game featured the Henderson (NV) Silver Knights playing in their brand new Dollar Loan Arena hosting the Rockford Ice Hogs (Chicago Blackhawks).

Jarred Tinordi’s last AHL goal was on April 3, 2019, as a member of the San Antonio Rampage (nee Henderson Silver Knights). He had one NHL game this year in New York against the Anaheim Ducks.

HARTFORD WOLF PACK

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BY: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack

HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack opened a season-long seven-game road trip on Monday night at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence in thrilling fashion. The Pack battled hard, scoring late to tie the affair, but eventually fell 4-3 in overtime to the rival Providence Bruins.

Steven Fogarty, a former Wolf Pack forward and captain, exacted revenge on his former team just 45 seconds into overtime Monday night. Wolf Pack defenseman Zac Jones blocked a shot from Oskar Steen but lost his skate blade. That allowed the Bruins to regain possession, as Steen found a loose puck. Steen quickly sent it into the high slot for Fogarty, who snapped a wrister over the blocker of Adam Húska to give the Bruins the crucial second point in this Atlantic Division battle. It was Providence’s second overtime victory over Hartford this season.

The Bruins opened the scoring for the ninth time in ten meetings head-to-head, as Joona Koppanen scored shorthanded just 13:32 into the proceedings. Nick Wolff collected a loose puck in the neutral zone after the Wolf Pack could not maintain the offensive zone on their second powerplay of the night. Wolff found Chris Wagner, who elected to pass the puck off to Koppanen instead of dumping it into the Hartford zone. The move proved to be wise, as Koppanen and Wagner played catch briefly before Koppanen got in behind the defense. Then, he went from his backhand to his forehand before beating Húska for his eleventh goal of the campaign.

The Wolf Pack used a turnover by the Bruins to even the scoring in the middle stanza. Wolff bobbled the puck at the offensive blueline, allowing Alex Whelan to collect possession for the Wolf Pack. Whelan cut in on goal and got a shot off but was denied by Troy Grosenick. However, the rebound sat in the crease, and Cristiano DiGiacinto was gifted his sixth goal of the year. DiGiacinto tapped home the loose change 2:38 into the stanza to even the score 1-1.

Hartford gained their first lead of the evening just under six minutes later. Then, on their third powerplay of the night, the Wolf Pack finally snapped a stretch of 16 unsuccessful tries. Jones found Nick Merkley in the far faceoff circle in the Bruin end, and he released a heavy shot that Grosenick couldn’t get to at 8:05 for his 14^th goal of the season.

Just 2:43 later, however, the Bruins got back to even footing. Wolff flipped a high pass up to the Hartford blue line, where Koppanen collected it in stride. The Finnish forward cut into the Wolf Pack zone before dropping the puck to Matt Filipe. Filipe beat a defenseman, then tucked a backhand shot by Húska for his seventh goal of the season.

Tied at two apiece after forty minutes, the Wolf Pack and Bruins embarked on a massive final frame. Shorthanded, the Wolf Pack nearly retook the lead. Tanner Fritz fired a shot that beat Grosenick, sliding behind him, but the Bruin netminder was able to kick the rebound into the corner to keep the score tied. Seconds later, the Bruins found paydirt. Jesper Froden fired a shot from the slot that clipped the goalpost and beat Húska for his 15^th goal of the season at 11:19 on the powerplay. This season, it was the Bruins’ tenth powerplay goal against the Wolf Pack.

The Wolf Pack dug deep, however, and equalized at 17:24. Lauri Pajuniemi refused to quit on a puck battle along the near boards that eventually shifted behind the Bruin net. Pajuniemi was able to gain possession and send a pass to the top of the crease, where Patrick Khodorenko was waiting. Khodorenko fired a low shot that beat Grosenick for his ninth goal of the season and second in as many games.

The goal proved critical, as the Wolf Pack could get it to overtime and secure a point. However, in overtime, the Pack couldn’t hold off the Bruins as Fogarty needed just 45 seconds to push the Bruins back into the win column.

The Wolf Pack continue their seven-game road trip with three straight games against the Charlotte Checkers. The club will be in Charlotte on Thursday and Friday night for 7:00 p.m. puck drops, then again on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

HARTFORD WOLF PACK

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HARTFORD, CT – Austin Rueschoff, Ty Ronning, and Jonny Brodzinki paced the Hartford Wolf Pack scoring the game’s last four goals to lead their team to a 5-2 win over the Providence Bruins.

The Pack (25-15-4-2) eeked into second ahead of Providence by a .609 to .605 winning percentage, The Bruins (23-14-3-3) fell to third place.

“We won the battles, did the little things, and we worked hard for the win. We got the W,” Ronning said of the win.

After a slow start, the Pack came on strong finishing their checks and forcing Providence into penalties while scoring timely goals.

KNOBLAUCH REACTS

“We did a pretty good job,” commented Pack Head Coach Kris Knoblauch. “On identifying plays in the neutral zone, we did a good job in their decision making and their execution. When we were in Springfield we didn’t have the execution. We were giving the puck away and making poor decisions. For sixty minutes we did a pretty good job and you’re never going to go through a game without any mistakes.”

A power play halfway through the period gave the Pack the cushion they were looking for as Patrick Khordorenlo’s backhand of a Ronning play made it 4-2. Anthony Greco used his speed to get the play going, as Ronning earned his eleventh of the season batting the puck out of mid-air a few minutes later at 11:37. Ronning delivered the final blow to the Bruins in the second half of the game.

“Speed, possession, and compete. I thought we checked all those boxes tonight. I knew I had to get in up in the air, but now maybe as I first wanted, but it was big goal that helped us.”

RONNING SOARING

After a slow start, Ronning’s enthusiasm for the game and good solid Saturday night crowd (5,385) was evident post-game.

After his rocky start, head coach Kris Knoblauch was encouraged by his goalie, Adam Huska.

At 2:56 of the first period, Huska turned the puck over to Jonna Koppanen after stopping Alex-Olivier Voyer. It was not the start the team was looking for. Despite all of it, Ronning remained in his rooting section.

“He is a professional hockey player and he knows how to lead the charge. He’s been phenomenal all season long for us and it’s fun to watch him play.”

FIRST PERIOD BLUES

In the first period, the Pack has been outscored 51-30. The Pack surrendered the opening goal adding to the garish -21 and for a fourth straight game.

Captain Jonny Brodzinski scored the first Pack goal with his team-best 36th point. Brodzinski used his speed to create space and sent a backhanded pass to Matt Lorito, whose low shot found the back of the net for his second Wolf Pack goal.

“We’ve had to a lot of lineup juggling lately and we separated the Greco-Brodzinski-Gettinger line who has performed so well for us. They and the team have dried up (offensively) for us. So, putting Richards, Ronning, and Rueschoff was honestly, a last-minute thing,” said Knoblauch. His hunch has paid off with critical goals scored in the last two games.

Austin Rueschoff (team-best five shots) scored off a rebound five minutes later, going upstairs for his twelfth goal of the season.

Justin Brazeau converted Jack Studnicka’s pass after Jarred Tinordi’s clearing attempt was knocked down by Cam Hughes. He found the back of the net for his seventh goal of the season at 16:32.

The Pack escaped the period even though they needed to dodge a bullet. A last-second faceoff in the right circle was won cleanly by Studnicka. He sent it back to Brady Lyle. His shot caught every Wolf Pack player by surprise, sailed past Huska, and hit the glass behind the net as the teams went into the first intermission.

SECOND PERIOD

The second period produced just one goal as defenseman Nils Lundkvist held pointless, but superb defensively in Springfield got rewarded as again used his speed to go wide around the net found him all alone at the blue line and fired his second into the net on a one-timer at 11:44 just past the midway juncture at.

Now Huska more than made up for his early mistake. First ex-Pack captain Steven Fogarty and one bid and then late in the period a pair of saves on Lyle and then Tyler Lewington from the points back-to-back with big-time saves.

He also got help from his defense in the form of Tarmo Reunanen, as a seventh defenseman making a return to the lineup blocked Edwards Tralmarks on a break-in with under five minutes to go in the period.

Then right after, Anthony Greco, on a Tanner Fritz pass, was robbed by Kyle  Keyser.

LINES

Gettinger-Brodzinski-Greco
Ronning-Richards-Ruesschoff
Lorito-Fritz-Whalen
O’Leary-DiGiacinto-Khordorenko

Robertson-Lundkvist
Giuttari-Tinordi
Skinner-Bitetto
Reunanen

Kinkaid
Huska

SCRATCHES

Pajuniemi (upper-body out since February 4th)
Luchuk (lower-body out minimum three weeks)
Taylor
James Sanchez
Wall

NOTES

The team went with an 11-7 lineup format for a second night in a row dressing Tarmo Reunanen as the extra D. Jeff Taylor was dressed as the extra forward last night.

“We haven’t made up our minds yet. Heck, we might go with 12 forwards, who knows?” Knoblauch said.

With a short timeframe and in-game turnaround, he decided to go with Keith Kinkaid in the net.

Providence lost skill forward Oscar Steen with a facial injury just 6:46 into the game when the puck came off the glass quickly and caught him there. He didn’t return, forcing the Bruins to play down one forward.

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The post CANTLON: (2/26) PACK PULL AWAY, BEAT BRUINS first appeared on Howlings.

BRIDGEPORT, CT – A late goal by Justin Richards and the debut of goaltender Francois Brassard led the Hartford Wolf Pack (14-6-2-2) to an important 3-2 road win against the Bridgeport Islanders before 1,920 fans at Webster Bank Arena.

Richards game-winner came from off the right-wing where he took a pass from Anthony Greco. Richards got around Samuel Bolduc and slipped a backhander past Ken Appleby in just his third start of the season.

The Wolf Pack remain in second place but crept a little closer to the first place Springfield Thunderbirds in percentage points. The Pack winning percentage is .667 while the T-Birds are at .675.  The Pack has two games in hand on the T-Birds. Bridgeport (10-16-1-3) is in last place with 24 points in a league-high 30 games played, but just a paltry .400 percentage points standing.

TYING THE GAME

The Islanders tied the score on the power play.  Arnaud Durandeau was on the left-wing side and found an open rookie, Collin Adams of North Dakota. Adams snapped a shot from 35 feet past Brassard on the stick side for his second of the season at 5:34.

The Islanders scored the game’s first goal.

Erik Brown tracked down ex-Pack Paul Thompson’s lead pass on the right-wing. He outraced Michael Brodzinski and in the right-wing corner found Kurtis MacLean cruising in dead center. He shifted from his forehand to backhand and flipped his third goal of the season up high for the 1-0 lead.

TAKING THE LEAD

Just 2:02 later, Zach Berzolla was at the left point. In his first AHL game drilled Cristiano DiGiacinto’s cross-ice pass from the right-wing for his first pro goal at 5:37.

At 15:27, DiGiacinto garnered his second point of the game after Hunter Skinner, from the right point and just inside the blue line sent a shot on the net. In his first game since October, Ken Appleby made the save but left a rebound. DiGiacinto was all alone in front and went unchecked and easily put his fourth of the year into a wide-open net and a 2-1 lead.

The new look Wolf Pack, stacked with a pre-season ECHL-style lineup.

The Pack had two defensemen out due to injury. They had two defensemen on recall (Zac Jones and Matthew Robertson) to the New York Rangers taxi squad. That left the team to cobble together a backline and get their fourth goalie of the year ready and put them on the ice.

Some lineup changes are expected by the weekend as the deck continues to get shuffled.

LINES

Greco – Ronning – Richards
Khordorenko – Pajuniemi – Whalen
Rueschoff – O’Leary – Richards
Sanchez – DiGiacinto – Elmer

Skinner – Guittari
Lee – Brodzinski
Berzolla – Fortunato

Brassard
Kasel

SCRATCHES

Bitetto (lower body)
Schneider (upper body, short term)
Reunanen
Labrie
Taylor
Wall

NOTES

Head Coach Kris Knoblauch opted to double shift Richards and play down two forwards rather than going with Aaron Luchuk who was the only new player not to dress for the game.

The Pack plays the Providence Bruins on New Year’s Eve in a 3:00 PM that is a reschedule of the Teddy Bear Toss matchup.

The Pack had a slew of transactions on Wednesday afternoon before game time. The club recalled Brassard who wore #40. Defenseman Zach Berzolla #18 is on loan to the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen. The Rangers also reassigned forward Jake Elmer #59 from the Icemen to the Wolf Pack.

The team made four other ECHL signees.

FOUR SIGNEES

They signed forward Aaron Luchuk who didn’t play. Defenseman Michael Brodzinski wore #16 of the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears. He’s the younger brother of the Wolf Pack captain, leading scorer, and current Rangers taxi squad member, Jonny Brodzinski. Byrce and Ethan, are their two younger siblings and are still in college at St. Cloud State and Minnesota respectively. Goaltender Brandon Kasel wore #1 as a back-up from Ithaca, NY. He was in the Utica Comets’ pre-season camp. The ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder and defenseman Mike Lee (Hamden) wore #17. The Indy Fuel’s (ECHL) defenseman Brandon Fortunato #43 (QU grad) of the Icemen to a professional tryout.

Brassard, signed by the Wolf Pack on September 22nd to a one-year AHL deal. He is 5-1-1 with a .886 save percentage and 2.53 goals-against average with the Icemen. He was the 166th overall pick by the Ottawa Senators in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Brassard has a record 16-15-3 in 36 career ECHL appearances.

Berzolla, signed by the Wolf Pack on September 20th. He played in 24 games with the Icemen this season, scoring eleven points (2 goals). Berzolla has scored 14 points (11 assists) in 39 career ECHL games with the Icemen and Florida Everblades.

Fortunato joins the Wolf Pack after skating in 13 games with the Icemen this season with nine assists. The former Quinnipiac Bobcat attended Wolf Pack training camp on a PTO this past October and has skated in 13 career AHL games with the Cleveland Monsters and Belleville Senators. Fortunato won a bronze medal with Team USA at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships.

MORE ON THE SIGNEES

Elmer was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Rangers and has scored 14 points (10 goals in 23 games with the Icemen this season. He has skated in seven AHL games, all with the Wolf Pack, and with four points (two goals). He was named to the ECHL All-Star Game in 2019-20 while with the Maine Mariners when they were the Wolf Pack’s ECHL affiliate.

Luchuk was signed to a PTO by the Wolf Pack, has scored 27 points (12 goals and 15 assists) in 21 games with the Solar Bears this season. Luchuk has scored 173 points (69 goals 104 assists) in 171 career games in the league. His 74 points (28 goals 46 assists) led the league during the 2020-21 season, a year in which he was also named an ECHL First Team All-Star. Luchuk has 33 career AHL games with the Senators, Toronto Marlies, and Laval Rocket.

Brodzinski, the 141st overall pick by the San Jose Sharks in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, has skated in 26 games with the Solar Bears this season and scored 18 points (five goals 13 assists). An ECHL All-Star while with the Solar Bears in 2019-20, Brodzinski has skated in 176 career ECHL games and scored 101 points (25 goals 76 assists). He appeared in 61 AHL games with the San Jose Barracuda. He plated last year overseas with HC Slovan Bratislava in the Slovak Extra League.

KASEL AND OTHERS

Kasel, 25, has appeared in two games with the Thunder this season while posting a record of 2-0-0, a .983 save percentage, 0.50 goals-against average, and one shutout.

The rookie netminder played four NCAA seasons with Division III Skidmore College (UCHC), posting a career-high .928 save percentage as a senior in 2019-20. Kasel signed a PTO with the Providence Bruins earlier this season but has yet to play in the AHL.

LEE FROM CT

Lee, a native of Hamden, Connecticut, has appeared in 25 games with the Fuel this season while scoring a career-high 25 points (5 goals 20 assists).

He skated his Junior and Senior seasons at Fairfield-based, Sacred Heart University (AHA), Lee was named the Atlantic Hockey Association’s Best Defenseman in the 2019-20 season after he scored a career-high five goals, 28 assists, and 33 points. He also has yet to play in the AHL till tonight.

He played his school hockey at Hamden where ex-Wolf Pack and Calder Cup hero Todd Hall is the school’s fifth all-time head coach in school history and played for him.

He played his prep school hockey at The Gunn School (formerly The Gunnery School – Washington, CT) before heading to the University of Vermont (HE) before transferring to SHU.

Pioneers head coach C.J. Marrotolo (North Haven) was in attendance to see his former player.

NHL AND NHLPA COVID STUFF

The NHL and NHLPLA announced their agreed-upon addendum to their COVID-19 protocols.

Players must isolate for five days:

If the individual has a fever, continue to isolate until their fever resolves.

If the individual has no symptoms or their symptoms are resolved after five days, they can leave isolation and return to practices and games, provided the following conditions are met:

A lab-based PCR test that is negative, or a lab-based PCR test that has a CT value >30, or two negative molecular points of care tests collected >2 hours apart; and medical clearance from the individual’s Club physician; and, such exit is permitted by their local health authority.

The individual shall continue to always wear a mask around others for five additional days, other than for practices and games.

All other aspects of the Protocol remain in place.

The NHL’s and NHLPA’s medical experts will re-evaluate these measures on or before January 12.

MORE MOVES

Matt Foley (Yale) gets his second AHL recall this season to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Fellow ex-Yale Bulldog Ted Hart signs with Worcester (ECHL) and Evan Neugold (Goshen) signs with Newfoundland (St. John’s) (ECHL) where he played two years ago.

Defenseman Dallas Drake (UCONN) is traded from Reading (ECHL) to Wheeling (ECHL).

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The post CANLTON: (12/29) PACK BACK VS ISLANDERS first appeared on Howlings.

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – The last leg of the off-season began this week following the Seattle expansion and NHL Amateur drafts. Also announced were RFA offers for players on expiring Entry Level Contracts (ELC). Those signings affect the NHL’s AHL affiliates and the Hartford Wolf Pack the most.

NHL free agent signings began on Wednesday. There were nearly 200 NHL and AHL transactions between last Saturday and Wednesday. The hard cap salary structure, which is locked in for the next two years at $81.5 million post-pandemic will affect hockey operations for the 2021-22 and the 2022-23 NHL and AHL seasons.

Tim Gettinger, Ty Ronning, and goalie Adam Huska were each given qualifying offers by the New York Rangers. They will be skating at the XL Center in the fall.

The team released Brandon Crawley, the recently acquired Nick DiSimone (CT Oilers-EHL), who signed with the Calgary Flames on a $750K one way contract, Gabriel Fontaine, Patrick Newell, Darren Raddysh, and Yegor Rykov, who had already signed in Russia with Severstal Cherepovets (KHL) last month.

Raddysh, a group 6 free agent, joined his brother, Taylor, signing with the Tampa Bay Lightning on a one-year, two-way deal ($750K-NHL/$250K AHL). The pair could begin the season with the Syracuse Crunch.

EX-PACK/RANGERS SIGN

Seven ex-Wolf Pack/Rangers signed new deals.

Tony DeAngelo signed a one-year, $1 million deal with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Phil Di Giuseppe signs a one-year, two-way deal with the Vancouver Canucks paying him $750K-NHL/$450K-AHL.

Michael Del Zotto cashes in on a two-year deal for $4M with the Ottawa Senators.

Dylan McIlrath goes from the Detroit Red Wings to the Washington Capitals/Hershey Bears signing a two-year, two-way deal for $750K-NHL both years and $450K/$475K in the AHL.

Former Pack captain Steven Fogarty heads from the Buffalo Sabres/Rochester Americans to the Boston/Providence Bruins on a one-way $750K deal.

MORE RANGERS/PACK RELATED DEALS

Danny O’Regan departs the Henderson Silver Knights and heads to the San Diego Gulls to reunite with old teammate Vinni Lettieri on a $750K-NHL/$450K-AHL one-year deal.

Brendan Smith signs an $800K one-way deal with Carolina, and Lias Andersson signs a one-year, one-way NHL deal by the Los Angeles Kings at $874,125.

The Rangers inked ex-Pack Filip Chytil to a new two-year deal at $4.6M.

Dryden Hunt got a two-year two-way deal from the Rangers becoming the third ex-Springfield Thunderbird inked in the last two years, joining Anthony Greco and Paul Thompson.

In addition, Jarred Tinordi, the son of former New Haven Nighthawk/Ranger, Mark Tinordi, signs with the Rangers on a one-way, two-year $850K/950K deal. The first year pays $750K-NHL/$300K-AHL and the second year at $755K. He was not given a qualifying offer by the Arizona Coyotes. Hunt played in Springfield for three-and-a-half seasons.

Greg McKegg is back with the Rangers on a one-year two-way deal at $750K and could be in Hartford. Last year, he spent most of the time in Boston but did play in Providence.

EX-SOUND TIGERS ON THE MOVE

Seven ex-Bridgeport Sound Tigers have signed deals.

Travis Harmonic re-signs with Vancouver for two years at $6 million and goalie Jaroslav Halak signed for one year at $1.5 million.

The ever-disgruntled truculent Josh Hoi-Sang is now an ex-Sound Tiger. The talented Ho-Sang, who played for two teams in Sweden last season. He skated for Örebro HK and Linköping HC (SHL) rather than play in Bridgeport after requesting a trade. He signed a PTO deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent.

Goalie Christopher Gibson moves across the Sunshine State from the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Florida Panthers.

Kyle Burroughs leaves the Colorado Avalanche and signs a two-year, two-way deal with Vancouver-NHL/Abbotsford-AHL at $750K-NHL/$400K-AHL in the first year and $500K in the second year.

John Stevens Jr. signs a one-year, one-way AHL deal with Vancouver-NHL/Abbotsford-AHL for $750K, and Kevin Czuczman leaves the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to sign a one-year deal with the Minnesota Wild/Iowa ($750K-NHK/$200K-AHL).

MORE SIGNINGS

Dalton Smith, the nephew of former Hartford Whaler Keith Primeau, heads over to the Colorado Eagles (AHL) from Rochester.

Nick Bonino (Farmington/Avon Old Farms) gets two years $2.5M per year with the San Jose Sharks.

Luke Glendenning (Hotchkiss Prep) leaves Detroit and signs with the Dallas Stars for two years for $3 million.

Goalie Filip Lundberg of the NCAA national champion UMASS Minutemen (HE), who was originally drafted by Minnesota, signs a two-year two-way deal with Pittsburgh/Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at the new standard ELC rate of $925K-NHL/$80K-AHL. He also won WJC Gold for Sweden in 2019.

EXPANSION DRAFT

In last week’s expansion draft, Defenseman Kurtis MacDermid, the son of former Whaler Paul MacDermid, was selected by the Seattle Kraken in last week’s expansion draft, is already traded to the Colorado Avalanche.

Dominic Turgeon, the nephew of former Whaler Sylvain Turgeon, leaves Detroit and signs a one-year two-way deal with Minnesota-NHL/Iowa-AHL ($750K-NHL/$155K-AHL).

Hayden Verbeek, the nephew of former Whaler and Ranger Pat Verbeek and present assistant with Detroit, re-signs with his uncle and Grand Rapids for next season on a one-year AHL deal.

Cole Cassels, son of former Whaler Andrew Cassels, leaves Belleville for a second time, heads to Ohio to be near family. He signs a one-year AHL deal with the Cleveland Monsters.

Alex Biega (Salisbury School) leaves Detroit and heads across the river to Toronto Maple Leafs for a one-year deal at a $750K one-way deal.

A pair of former CT collegians sign one-year deals with the Carolina Hurricanes.

FINALLY…

Goalie Alex Lyon signs for $750K-NHL/$200K-AHL, and center Max Letunov (UCONN) signs for $750K-NHL/$100K-AHL.

Brogan Rafferty (Quinnipiac University) leaves Vancouver for Anaheim on a one-way $750K deal. Fellow Bobcat Matt Peca signs a one-year two-way deal with St. Louis-NHL/Springfield-AHL at $700K-NHL/$300K-AHL.

John Hayden (Yale University) moves from Arizona to Buffalo, signing a one-year one-way deal with the Sabres for $750K.

Tommy Cross (Simsbury/Westminster Prep) signs a one-year two-way deal with St. Louis-NHL/Springfield-AHL for $750K.

Brian Flynn (Pomfret School) returns from HC Ambri Piotta (Switzerland-LNA) signs a one-year two-way deal with New Jersey/Utica at $750K-NHL/$280K-AHL.

**All financial figures courtesy of capfriendly.com**

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BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

BRIDGEPORT, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack kept their winning streak alive, winning their seventh straight in defeating the Bridgeport Sound Tigers 4-2 on Thursday afternoon.

The Wolf Pack’s seven straight wins have all come in regulation. Their record improves to 10-6-1-0  (21 points). They have shrunk the once sizable Providence Bruins lead in the Atlantic Division to just six points. The Bruins were idle and have now just one game in hand.

Bridgeport lost its seventh straight game in what has been a challenging season for them as they slip to a 3-13-1-0 (7 points) record.

“Five-on-five, we did some good things. It comes down to discipline. You can’t give Hartford power play chances. They get a five-on-three, (then) we’re chasing, and those things can’t happen. It shouldn’t happen, and they’re aware (of it),” remarked Bridgeport head coach Brent Thompson.

The Wolf Pack complete their third game in five days against Bridgeport Saturday at 1 PM at the XL Center.

THIRD PERIOD

In the third period, the Wolf Pack put on a defensive vise-grip that held the Sound Tigers to just two shots on goal, but one of them nearly tied the game late.

At 14:14, Thomas Kuhnhackl had a break-in but tried to get cute with a between-the-legs flip shot that starting netminder, Adam Huska, extended his blocker and denied it to maintain the Wolf Pack lead.

With Sound Tigers goalie Ken Appleby pulled for the extra attacker, the Pack’s Morgan Barron advanced the puck to Justin Richards, who deposited the empty-net goal with 30 seconds remaining to secure the win. Barron’s assist on the goal extended his point-scoring streak to seven games.

SECOND PERIOD

In the second period, the Sound Tigers tied the game, but the Wolf Pack emerged with a late power play tally to regain the lead, one they wouldn’t give up.

The Sound Tigers had a strong start to the period.  At 7:26, the Sound Tigers evened the score at two by capitalizing on a neutral zone turnover by Darren Raddysh.

Kuhnhackl was down low and won a puck battle. Kyle MacLean picked up the loose puck and skated in front of the net and sent a backhander on Huska, who stopped it. However, Huska left a juicy rebound for Cole Bardreau, who was wide open. Bardeau fired his seventh goal of the season past Huska’s the glove side, top-shelf.

The Wolf Pack found themselves with a five-on-three power play and made it count.

Raddyash passed to the left-wing circle to Jonny Brodzinski, who was back in the lineup after missing six games with an upper-body injury.  Brodzinski one-timed it to Tim Gettinger in front. Gettinger made a deft redirect into an open net for the go-ahead tally at 19:27.

“They have a lot of looks. They have threats from all three points,” Thompson said of Hartford’s power play.

PACK POWER PLAY PACKS PUNCH

The Wolf Pack have scored two power play goals in six of their last seven games.

The Sound Tigers scored the game’s first goal, but the Wolf Pack recovered and left the first period with a 2-1 lead.

The two teams combined for just four shots in the first half of the period, with all the scoring coming in the second half of the period.

Blade Jenkins, a Sound Tigers rookie, playing in just his fifth game of the season, recovered a loose puck off a shot from defenseman Ryan MacKinnon and whistled his first pro goal past Huska at 12:32.

“Our line was able to create some traffic, and I was fortunate to get the puck on my stick. I’m definitely excited, but at the end of the day, we didn’t get the win, and that’s what we’re here for. I’m looking forward to playing them again on Saturday,” Jenkins stated.

PACK PP COMES THROUGH AGAIN

Ty Ronning took a pass from Raddysh and was atop the right circle and ripped a shot on Appleby, who made the stop through a screen set by Paul Thompson. Appleby couldn’t control the rebound, and  Thompson swept it into the net for his third goal of the season at 14:05.

Thompson praised the unrelated player with the same last name.  “He has great net-front presence, arguably one of the best in the AHL. We saw it when he was in Springfield and all the way back to his (early) days in Albany. He has that shot and knows how to play that position.”

However, Thompson, the coach, was displeased by his team’s taking so many penalties. “Discipline is a key factor. We took too many penalties, and that takes you out of the rhythm of your game.”

THOMPSON STRIKES AGAIN

At 17:09, the Wolf Pack struck again as Thompson led the way.

Thompson was on the left-wing side in the Sound Tigers zone. He forced defenseman Samuel Bolduc to cough up the puck and pushed the loose biscuit to Patrick Khordorenko. The Pack forward made a strong move to the net and sent a backhander to the net. Khordorenko had his shot deflect off Sound Tigers defenseman Carter Hutton. Thompson was right there and jammed home his second of the game and fourth of the season past Appleby.

LINES:

Richards-Gettinger-Ronning
Newell-Barron-Rueschoff
Brodzinski-Greco-Cullye
Khordorenko-Thompson-Whalen

Raddysh-Reunanen
LoVerde-Geersten
Giutarri-Sieloff

Huska
Brassard

THREE STARS:

Tim Gettinger
Paul Thompson
Darren Raddysh

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Patrick Khordorenko
Morgan Barron
Alex Whalen

SCRATCHES:

Jeff Taylor
James Sanchez
Michael O’Leary
Hunter Skinner
Ryan Dmowski
Zach Berzola
Tyler Wall.
Gabriel Fontaine (upper-body, done for the season)

NOTES:

Fontaine was recalled to the Rangers taxi squad, which appears to be a paper transaction.

Just 27 seconds into the second period, in the Wolf Pack zone, in the right-wing circle, linesman Brent Colby suffered a serious right leg injury off of a faceoff between Morgan Barron and Otto Koivula. Colby didn’t return. He looked to have caught his leg with the players while exiting the faceoff circle. The referees went old school with a three-man officiating crew the rest of the game. Colby was taken to a local hospital for medical treatment. No further word was available after the game regarding his condition.

Barron, Raddysh, and Gettinger all extended their point-scoring streaks of seven and six games, respectively.

RW Tanner Fritz was among the Sound Tigers’ four scratches. He is out with a lower-body injury.  Thompson said they are awaiting results from the doctors before announcing his game availability for Saturday. The other scratches for Bridgeport were Michell Vande Sompel, Mike Cornell, and Erik Brown, who played Tuesday.

Collin Adams just finished four years at North Dakota (NCHC). He has signed with the New York Islanders. Thompson had no information on whether or not he would be assigned to the Sound Tigers.

MORE NOTES

Now an ex-Wolf Pack, Brandon Crawley had the primary and lone assist on the game-winning goal, which was the first pro goal from rookie Tristan Mullin halfway through the third period for the Cleveland Monsters last night in his debut game. He wore number four.

Crawley’s shot off his back foot from the left point. It was redirected and skittered over the goal line. Rochester captain and ex-Wolf Pack captain, Steven Fogarty, brought the Americans close, but Cleveland prevailed 5-3.

PACK PLAY KEY ROLES IN GAGARIN CUP

In the KHL Gagarin Cup playoffs, CSKA Moscow won the Western Conference finals in six games over SKA Petersburg.

Defenseman Yegor Rykov, still under contract by the Rangers and on loan to  CSKA, has been alternating with another ex-Wolf Pack, John Gilmour, in the lineup. In ten playoff games, Rykov is scoreless.

In Game 4 at the Ice Palaces, SKA St. Petersburg was at home and attempting to rally from down three games to none but wound up winning 3-1. Amazingly, Gilmour was a minus-3 for the game. Another ex-Pack, Malte Stromwall, had a goal and an assist. The goal was a wonderful tip-in up high. SKA St. Petersburg goalie was ex-Wolf Pack Magnus Hellberg.

CSKA awaits the winner of the Avangard Omsk vs. AK-Bars Kazan in the Eastern Conference final.

Ex-Pack Nigel Dawes is on AK-Bars Kazan team and ex-Pack Alexei Bereglazov is on Avangard.

GERNANDER IN A CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Micah Gernander, the son of ex-Wolf Pack head coach and player Ken Gernander and his Rochester (MN) Grizzlies (NA3HL), begins to play on Thursday in St. Peter’s, MO, at the Rec-Plex Arena with five other teams trying to capture the Fraser Cup championship this weekend.

Rochester won the Central Division title in a best-of-three series beating the Peoria (Ill.) Mustangs 5-0 to earn the trip to the Finals.

Gernander scored his first playoff goal on a breakaway in the contest and added two assists. He was also a plus-3 and named Third Star of The Game.

The first two games are against the Texas (North Richland Hills, TX) Brahmas. The team is located just outside of Arlington and feature Leevi Selanne, the youngest son of NHL great Teemu Selanne. He will be at Curry College (MASCAC) in the fall. Ben Mondou, whose great-uncle is Canadiens great, Pierre Mondou and the Oklahoma (Edmond, OK) Jr. Blazers.

The tournament runs from Thursday until Sunday.

Gernander made a commitment on March 9th to Division-III  Gustavus Adolphus College (Saint Peter, MN).

OTHER TEAMS PLAYING

The other teams in the tourney are the North Iowa Bulls (Mason City, IA), Sheridan (WY) Hawks, the Bay State (South Hadley, MA) Bobcats, who have Troy Harwell (Southbury, CT) on their roster, and the Northeast (Attleboro, MA) Generals who have Austin Crisp (South Windsor, CT) skating for them.

Another ex-Pack, Jarkko Immonen, who is nearing the end of his career, departs JYP Jyväskylä (Finland-FEL) and will play in 2021-22 for Jukerit (Finland-FEL).

The college hockey transfer rolls on. UCONN senior Brian Rigali heads up I-91 to Springfield, MA, and will play his fifth year for AIC (American International College) (AHA), who play out of the Mass Mutual Center.

COLLEGE MOVEMENT

As expected, UCONN junior goalie, Tomáš Vomáčka, turned pro with the Nashville Predators (NHL), signing a two-year standard ELC contract that will start next season for slightly less than the average at $810K-NHL/$60K-AHL. He will likely start with the Milwaukee Admirals (AHL), who opted not to play this season.

There have been 28 school transfers and 32 grad transfers. 65 Division-I players have signed North American pro contracts, and 69 players total Division-I and Division-II have signed pro deals.

Hockey East leading the way with 20, followed by the Big Ten conference with 18, the NCHC with 13, AHA with six, ECACHL with five, the WCHA with two and two Division I independent schools have just two players both Division III to sign in Europe.

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HARTFORD, CT – The bench boss is back!

Head Coach Kris Knoblauch is back with the Hartford Wolf Pack after a two-week stint with the NY Rangers after it became necessary for Head Coach David Quinn and the entire coaching staff to quarantine per NHL’s COVID-19 protocols.

“Just like the players; up and back,” Knoblauch said with a chuckle.

When asked about his treatment by the parent NY Rangers, Knoblauch said, “They treated me nicely. I’m very grateful for that opportunity. It was unusual but rewarding.”

GETTING THE CALL

It’s incredibly rare for coaches to be recalled to the parent team, with the exception being firings. However, with Covid-19, the unusual has become commonplace.  Even given the unusual circumstances around their promotion, Knoblauch and Associate Head Coach, Gord Murphy,  were caught thoroughly off guard.

“I was on the ice just finishing practice, and I got a note to call Chris (Drury) immediately. That usually means a player is being called up immediately. This time, it wasn’t a player they needed; it was a coach they needed. (I was told) The tests (results) were not yet known, so go home, pack, and get here (New York). We don’t know if we need you for one game or five games.”

Murphy thought he was kidding until he put his skates and all his gear in his hockey bag.

Once summoned, Knoblauch raced home to pack some clothes. he was totally unprepared for either a day’s work or, as it turned out to be, five games worth.

“We checked into the hotel about 3:30 or 4:00 then got over to the rink to get all the pre-game scout info,” Knoblauch said, recounting the time-compressed crazy afternoon he experienced.

He and Murphy had to drive to New York in separate cars, not limousines, as further Covid precaution.

“Got to plan if one guy’s tests don’t match up,” Knoblauch said in relaying just how insane this situation was.

PREPARING FOR THE FIRST GAME

He received the pre-game scouting info prepared by Rangers Assistant Coach Greg Brown and maintained communication with Head Coach David Quinn daily. They sometimes spoke two or three times regarding various topics from game tendencies to who was playing well and team situations and game operations.

Over the entire two weeks that Knoblauch coached in New York, the team had only one formal team practice.

Then came a 9-0 whitewashing of the Philadelphia Flyers in front of a limited MSG crowd. Mika Zibanejad had a hat trick and five points.

Before the game, Knoblauch focused more on the opposite hockey game he might have to contend with.

“Before the game, I was thinking the Rangers are making a big push to get in the playoffs. If it’s late and we have a 2-1 lead, who will be on the ice? If we’re down 2-1, when do I pull the goalie? Thankfully, I didn’t have to think about that at all. For that, I was very grateful.”

He has been on the bench calling line changes with names like (Jonny) Brodzinski, (Morgan) Barron, and (Tim) Gettinger. Now he’s calling Zibanejad, (Chris) Kreider, and (Filip) Chytil. It must have been a tad different.

“Well, after the first period, it was pretty easy to call the Zibanejad line,” Knoblauch said with a laugh and a whimsical smile.

GAME TWO

The Rangers won without Knoblauch on Thursday, 3-2 in OT. Chytil, an ex-Pack, scored, and they defeated the Buffalo Sabres, who featured two ex-Pack playing well, goalie Dustin Tokarski (44 saves) and former captain Steven Fogarty, who was a plus-1 with two shots in 13:31 of ice time. Tage Thompson (Milford/UCONN) scored the game-tying goal with 3.8 seconds left in regulation.

Knoblauch returns after getting a short hockey grad course and getting tossed into the firepit of NHL hockey. He comes back to Hartford with some important lessons to impart to the team he guides.

COACHING LESSONS

“I think the realization of what it takes it takes to get to the NHL, and that everybody has a role, unlike in the American (Hockey) League level. You can be a skill guy, but faceoff specialists, PK guys, physical energy guys, even more so in the NHL. For me, the scheduling (day-to-day activities) is so chaotic.”

When asked about the lessons he learned while at the NHL level, Knoblauch said, “You really learn more about yourself under adversity and difficulty,” He said reflectively. “The team was playing pretty well, so I really coached as I have always coached. I was actually coaching less on the details than I usually do because of the arrangements that had been made for us.”

He returns to find his team in a very different place than when he left.

PACK GAMES WHILE AWAY

“I watched both games. I was able to see the Providence (Bruins) game live and was impressed with how the team played; and Patty (Boller) and Jeff (Malcolm) did a great job coaching and getting them prepared to play, and they were ready.

“The Bridgeport (Sound Tigers) and Providence games were solid team efforts. We moved the puck well out of the defensive zone, and we handled the puck well in the offensive zone. I was very happy to see the effort we had,” Knoblauch said in assessing his troops during his absence.

The power play awoke from its season-long slumber and now has an 18.6% percentage, which puts it in the middle of the AHL pack rather than nesting at the nadir of the league’s rankings.

Knoblauch remarked how his secondary unit has been at the core of the recent resurgence.

“We got two goals from our second unit against Bridgeport. Overall, it’s been to simplify things. Skate faster, move the puck quicker, shoot more, and that allowed us to get more pucks to the net. We were trying to rely on skill (only). You need skill, but we needed to show more urgency, and we did.“

WHERE THE IMPROVEMENT IS COMING

The emergence of a solid scoring line consisting of rookie center Justin Richards, flanked by veteran Tim Gettinger, and the forceful play of Ty Ronning has benefitted the Wolf Pack. It makes Knoblauch quite happy about their progress and their recent results.

“They have been arguably our best line as of late, and you want them to keep that up. The more you play together, the more comfortable you get with one another and know what they’re gonna do so you can put pucks in areas. You’ll know they’ll be there even though you don’t see them or know what direction they’re going in. The more you play together, the better your chances will be. There’s a lot to like about that line.”

The Wolf Pack enter the final five weeks of the season, playing fairly close to a normal AHL schedule. In April, that can be expected, with nine games presently scheduled.

’This is why we’re here. You can have all the practices and instructions, but we’re here to play games. The competition is where the fun is. You can teach all the line drills you want, but players have to go out and show what they can do. These games at the end of March showed what we can do and set us up for this month.”

HUSKA

The team will go with the 6’4 acrobatic Adam Huska in goal for a third straight game on Friday. He gets a solid endorsement from his coach.

“He has a year under his belt. He has a calmness about him, and we got off to a shaky start, and they know we have a veteran goalie in there who has been in this situation before and provides a lot of calmness for the team. He is our starter now. Last year, he played behind (Igor) Shesterkin, and now he has the responsibility on his shoulders, and that can be intimidating; he’s our go-to guy.”

HARTFORD WOLF PACK

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MARLBOROUGH, MA – The Hartford Wolf Pack marched into the New England Sports Center and erased a nine-game winless streak by toppling the Providence Bruins 4-2 in an old-style, physical Providence-Hartford meeting.

The Wolf Pack record improves to 4-6-1-0 (9 pts). Providence’s record drops to 11-3-1-0 (23 pts) and is still tops in the Atlantic Division by 14 points over Hartford.

The Wolf Pack face-off against the 3-7-0-0 (6 pts) Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Saturday at 1 PM at the XL Center.

All the tweaks to the Wolf Pack lineup had their desired effect in what was their most complete game since the start of the season.

PACK DOMINATE FIRST PERIOD

The first twenty minutes added up to the best period since their opening game and where the Wolf Pack did their most damage of the day.

The team’s moribund power play, which entered the game operating at 12%, awoke scoring on their first two chances.

Rookie James Sanchez scored his first professional goal as he got the puck back after a shot on goal. Paul Thompson dislodged it from Bruins starting netminder, Jeremy Swayman. He couldn’t cover the puck, and Sanchez swooped in and jammed it home at 8:03.

Just 2:01 later, the Wolf Pack cashed in on an instigator penalty that was issued to the Bruins’ Ian MacKinnon in a wrestle/scrap with Patrick Sieloff.

Tarmo Reunanen cut to the middle of the ice just below the blue line and made a high-end, behind-the-back pass to Anthony Greco at the right point. Greco sent a low shot on the net. Morgan Barron was positioned in front and deflected the shot off the crossbar for his sixth goal of the season.

The offensive roll for the Pack continued in gaining a 3-0 lead with a solid transition play.

Justin Richards got Tim Gettinger moving. As he crossed the Bruins blueline from left-to-right, he was tripped by Urho Vaakanainen and a penalty was called. During the delayed penalty, Gettinger was on the ice and swept the puck back. Ty Ronning quickly got to the loose puck and picked it up and swept across the net. He snuck a backhander past Swayman to the short side for his third goal of the season at 17:22.

The Pack outshot the Bruins 16-5 in the period and were committed to stepping in front of pucks and blocking shots which benefitted goaltender, Adam Huska, who made his first start since February 27th, just his fifth start of the entire season, who also looked solid throughout.

LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE

After having already played each other eight times to this point in the season, in the third-period tensions spilled over and the gloves came off.  The Pack’s 6’7 rookie, Auston Rueschhoff, outdueled Matt Filipe in the first pro fights for both players.

Mason Geersten was battling in front protecting Huska when the Bruins’ Jakub Lauko took an extra swipe at the puck. That act sent the two to pair off for a battle.

Lauko, a rookie and a willing combatant, fought the much larger Geersten who scored a TKO as he cut Lauko open, sending him to the locker room for repairs.

With 2:09 left in the game and a screen in front of Huska (23 saves), Robert Lantosi’s snapshot found the back of the net spoiling the shutout for the former UCONN Husky netminder. It was his first win since playing in Slovakia.

Before the goal was scored there was a final eruption of hostilities. The officials prevented it from turning into a major melee with MacKinnon trying to go with Huska and everybody paired off. No punches were thrown and MacKinnon was tossed at 14:56

SECOND PERIOD

The Wolf Pack managed to avoid their season-long second-period blues. They did so by widening their lead and surrendering just one on a power play. They exited the period up 4-1.

The Pack clamped down on the Bruins, holding them to just two shots on goal in the first ten minutes of the period, and made it 4-0 on Barron’s excellent effort.

Barron received a pass from Reunanen in the Pack zone. He took that pass and went upright, thru center unchecked. Barron gained entry into the Bruins’ end of the ice and ripped a 35-foot wrist shot past Swayman (27 saves) for his second goal of the game and seventh of the season at 11:57.

The loss was Swayman’s first of the season against seven wins.

The Wolf Pack had to kill a roughing call to Geersten, who was roughing it up with MacKinnon in front of the Wolf Pack bench.

The Bruins took advantage after Brady Lyle’s first shot was blocked by Richards, he launched another from the left point. Huska made the save, but Anton Blidh, who was alone in front, jammed in the rebound for his third goal of the season at 14:33 to make it 4-1.

With 25 seconds left in the period and the Wolf Pack again on the PK, Greco had a shorthanded breakaway bid late in the PK, but Swayman stopped him.

Huska responded for the Pack with a big and timely stop on Alex-Olivier Voyer with two seconds left in the period. Filipe made a strong play on a pass from behind the net, but Huska kept the advantage to three goals.

There was some rough stuff as the period ended between Thompson and Voyer, the Bruins Josiah Didier with Sieloff, and a Euro shoving match with Reunanen and Vaaakanainen.

LINES

Newell-Barron-Greco
Richards-Gettinger-Ronning
Khordorenko-Thompson-Whelan
Sanchez- Rueschhoff-Geersten

Raddysh-Crawley
LoVerde-Reunanen
Giutarri-Sieloff

Huska
Wall

SCRATCHES

Gabriel Fontaine (upper-body injury)
Jeff Taylor
Will Cullye
Michael O’Leary
Ryan Dmowskinewly
Zach Bezzola

Michael Lackey
Francois Brassard

COACHES

Pat Boller
Jeff Malcolm
Brook Ballard

It was Boller’s first time, since 2016-17 when he was an assistant to Ken Gernander, that he was behind the bench. He’s coaching his third game since head coach Kris Knoblauch and associate coach Gord Murphy were recalled to the New York Rangers last Wednesday after David Quinn and his entire staff were subject of COVID protocols.

Malcolm, the team’s goalie consultant, and a Yale grad is handling the defensemen, and Ballard is one of the Rangers skills coaches.

THREE STARS

1. Morgan Barron (2 goals)
2. Tarmo Reunanen (2 assists)
3. James Sanchez (first pro goal)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

1. Ty Ronning
2. Patrick Sieloff
3. Darren Raddysh

NOTES

The Wolf Pack adds another defenseman as Hunter Skinner is recalled from his loan to the Utah Grizzlies (ECHL).

Skinner, 19, was a fourth-round (112th overall) selection in 2019 from London (OHL). Since the OHL has not been in session, the 6’3 200-pound rearguard has been playing in Utah.

Boston recalled goalie Callum Booth (Salisbury School) to their taxi squad and simultaneously reassigned both Swayman and defenseman Vaakanainen to Providence.

Ex-Pack captain, Steven Fogarty, was recalled by the Buffalo Sabres from the Rochester Americans. He has five goals (four on the power play) and eight points in ten games, which is good for the second-best on the Americans roster. Heading back to Rochester and three others is ex-Wolf Pack goalie, Dustin Tokarski, after returns after two NHL starts, one of them against the Rangers earlier this week.

The Avalanche returns ex-CT Whale, Jayson Megna, to the Colorado Eagles.

Philadelphia recalls goalie, Alex Lyon (Yale University), from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to be on their taxi squad. The same thing for Mark Kastelic, the son of former Hartford Whaler Ed Kastelic, as he is recalled from the Belleville Senators by Ottawa.

Mike McKee (Kent School) is loaned to the Tucson Roadrunners (AHL) by the Tulsa Oilers (ECHL).

Marc Johnstone, the captain for the last two years at Sacred Heart University (AHA), signs a deal with the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL).

Former Wolf Pack great, Derek Armstrong, saw his youngest son, Easton, lace them up with the WHL’s Regina Pats. They are in their limited hub city playing a 25 game schedule with Regina’s Brandt Centre being one of the sites. The team GM and VP of Operations is Wolf Pack great, and AHL Hall of Famer, John Paddock.

The younger Armstrong is pointless in five games though he played earlier this season with brother Dawson for six games tallying six points with the Utah Outliers (USPHL-Premier).

The team did go to the league national finals losing in the quarterfinal round to the Chicago Cougars in Virginia Beach, VA, the home of the USPHL’s Hampton Roads Whalers. The team did win the Mountain Division title beating the Pueblo (NM) Bulls 5-3 back on March 14th.

Dawson Armstrong finished the season with 15 goals and 31 points in 45 games, second on the team while sporting the very familiar number 17 jersey that his father Derek wore with the Wolf Pack. That very same 17 is one of three numbers that should be retired by the organization.

GAME CENTER

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