Crawford's Pack Report: Week in Review
Tuesday, February 26, 2008 - 2:31 PM
The “dog days” of the season, as well as a busy schedule, seemed to catch up to the Wolf Pack this past week, although it is an indication of how high a standard this club has set that five out of a possible eight points seems like a bad streak.
The week’s schedule consisted of a pair of games against last-place Lowell bookending a couple of contests vs. two teams that have given the Pack some trouble this year, Providence and Bridgeport. The Wolf Pack would end up banking three out of four points in the two battles with the Devils, and finally gave themselves something to be happy about against the Sound Tigers, but fell rather soundly to the P-Bruins.
Lowell isn’t having much of a season, as a 12-game winless streak from January 9th to February 9th effectively put them out of the playoff race, but they aren’t an easy team to play against. As has come to be expected out of the Devils’ organization, they adhere tightly to their system, and don’t give up a lot of high-quality chances. Every game between Lowell and the Wolf Pack this year has been hotly-contested, and the two last week were no exceptions.
It took a big break for the Pack to dispatch the Devils Wednesday night, in a game that was tied at one going into the final three minutes of regulation. Lowell tried to run a pick play at the 16:55 mark of the final period, and referee Ian Croft whistled an interference penalty. On the ensuing power play, Greg Moore tried to snap a shot from the slot and basically fanned on it, but as the puck flubbed off his stick it went directly to Ivan Baranka, who was sneaking down the weak side. It couldn’t have been a more perfect pass if Moore had been intending to do that, and it was an easy matter for Baranka to bury it in behind Lowell goalie Frank Doyle. A fabulous Miika Wiikman save on Barry Tallackson in the closing seconds of the game allowed the Wolf Pack to pull out the win by a score of 2-1.
After salting away that victory, the Pack had to come right back the next night, against a Providence team that had not played Wednesday. The Thursday game was originally scheduled for Friday before being moved to accommodate the Spice Girls’ concert at the XL Center, and it turned out be a tall order for the Wolf Pack to crank their level of play back up to what was necessary to battle a rested Bruins team.
The Bruins fended off a pretty good first 10 minutes by the Pack, and once Providence scored, they seemed to sense that the game was there for their taking. After the Bruins built a 2-0 lead the Wolf Pack got what appeared to be a huge goal at the 19:28 mark of the first, with P.A. Parenteau scoring a power-play goal that deflected twice off Providence defenders on its way into the net.
It looked like that would give the home side some momentum, and they had a great chance to tie it on the first shift of the second frame, but Bruin netminder Tuukka Rask made a terrific stop on Dane Byers. That would actually rank as a turning point in the game, as the Bruins chalked up two second-period tallies thereafter, and seized control of the game. It really got away from the Wolf Pack in the third period, as Providence put in two more in the span of 1:38 in the first half of the period, and the first-place Bruins would skate off with a fairly easy win, after coming into the game facing the prospect of their division lead dwindling to two points if they had lost in regulation.
After the back-to-back games, the Pack had a chance to collect their thoughts before they got another crack Saturday at a Bridgeport team that had held them to one win in the first six encounters in the season series. The previous game between the two teams, the previous Sunday in Bridgeport, had seen the Wolf Pack come out flat and never really recover from a bad start, in a game that they would lose, 4-1. The Pack seemed determined to play with much more commitment and attention to detail in Saturday’s outing, and they and the Sound Tigers played an entertaining game.
Lauri Korpikoski notched the only goal of a fast-paced first period, and then both power plays stepped up in the second. The Sound Tigers would tie it twice on man-advantage markers, and Andrew Hutchinson, back in the lineup after missing the previous three games with an injury, combined with P.A. Parenteau on a beautiful goal on a Pack power play, with Hutchinson one-timing in a perfectly-thrown Parenteau pass.
With the scored tied, 2-2, any bad fortune that had dogged the Wolf Pack in the GEICO Connecticut Cup series was counteracted, when a real home-ice bounce victimized the Sound Tigers. With Parenteau pressuring Bridgeport’s Scott Ford, Ford tried to rim the puck around the boards to the opposite side. The puck caromed off the glass behind the goal, hit Sound Tiger ‘tender Joey MacDonald in the back, and trickled into the net. MacDonald had really had the Wolf Pack’s number prior to that, but the hockey gods played a trick on him in that instance, and wouldn’t you know, that turned out to be the winner.
Parenteau got credit for the gift goal, which gave him two points in the game and lifted him into a tie for fifth in the AHL in points. After racking up 80 points last year, Parenteau is now pushing the 60-point mark in this, his fifth pro season. He has improved his totals steadily every year in the pro ranks, and if he continues on his current pace, he should have a good shot at setting another career high this year.
The Wolf Pack carried the 3-2 lead created by Parenteau’s goal into the third period, and they put two more on the board in a strong final stanza, with Corey Potter scoring off of a Byers pass and Korpikoski putting his second of the game into an empty net.
The 5-2 triumph was the Pack’s first in four home games vs. the Sound Tigers this year and kept the Wolf Pack’s chances of defending the GEICO Cup mathematically alive, although Bridgeport needs just one more win to clinch supremacy in this year’s battle of the Nutmeg State.
It was then back to Lowell for the Pack on Sunday, and the Paul Tsongas Arena is a place that has treated the Wolf Pack pretty well over its tenure as an AHL venue. After Wednesday’s win, the Wolf Pack were 4-2-0-0 in six trips in to face the Devils, and in the eight seasons that the Lock Monsters played in Lowell, the Pack lost only six times in regulation in 25 all-time visits.
The Devils played with more jump and intensity in Sunday’s contest than they had Wednesday, and after a first period that saw the Pack enjoy a 14-7 shots advantage, the home club controlled much of the game. Wiikman and the Wolf Pack would prevent the Devils from capitalizing on anything, though, and the Wolf Pack finally broke a scoreless tie with two quick goals in the final 2:26 of the second.
Artem Anisimov scored off of a Mike Ouellette centering pass at 17:34, and then at 19:50 15th-year pro Richard Matvichuk tried to pass the puck up the middle and over his own blueline, only to have it picked off by Korpikoski. Doyle poke-checked Korpikoski and knocked the puck away, but the biscuit’s forward momentum caused it to float over Doyle’s shoulder and into the net.
To the Devils’ credit, they did not allow that little letdown to ruin their evening. After being flummoxed by Wiikman throughout the second period, they broke through only 3:42 into the third on a goal by Ryan Murphy, and Matvichuk atoned for his earlier blunder by tallying his first goal of the year at 7:23, tying the score just one second after a Devil power play expired.
The tie held up through the rest of regulation and overtime, and so the Wolf Pack found themselves in a shootout for the first time in 10 games. They came tantalizingly close to stopping a run of four straight losing shootouts, as the Devils elected to shoot first and it got to the fifth Wolf Pack shooter tied at one. The Pack, though, squandered six straight chances to end it with a goal, and Lowell’s 11th shooter, Mike Pandolfo, finally scored what turned out to be the winner.
That dropped the Wolf Pack’s shootout record on the year to 2-6, and it was the second-longest shootout in Pack history. The only longer one was against, ironically, the Lowell Lock Monsters and was a 13-rounder December 3, 2004, won by the Devils, 1-0.
Now to some reader thoughts…
Ed from Meriden, CT writes, “After going to all three weekend games, it has become very clear to me that the Pack are in trouble against a physical club. They can't win fights and except for a couple of bangers who are non-fighters, they don't impose fear into other teams. What can the Pack do to help themselves? When will Fritz be back?”
I disagree, Ed. I think the Wolf Pack are one of the more physical teams in the league, in terms of forechecking and finishing checks. And intimidation through fighting has receded to such a small part of the game, I don’t think you can really put a whole lot of fear into other teams through the threat of having to answer the bell for a lot of fights. What you can do, and I think the Wolf Pack do pretty well, is wear teams down with consistent banging pressure. After 60 or so regular-season games, or during a long playoff series, I think you see teams get tired of having opponents consistently finish checks against them and of knowing they are always going to have a forechecker on their backs. That’s the Wolf Pack’s objective in terms of toughness, rather than being a club that looks to drop the gloves a lot.
Mitch Fritz is skating full-speed, and it sounds like he might be back within a couple of weeks. That would certainly take care of any concern that opposition sluggers might think of taking advantage of the Wolf Pack.
Richard Wendt of Freehold, NJ asks, “How would you assess the development of Ranger first-round draft choices Lauri Korpikoski and Hugh Jessiman? Do they appear to be moving closer to stepping up to the NHL, or do they appear to need more time to develop certain aspects of their game?”
Richard, I think they are both making good strides. Lauri might be a little closer than making the jump than Hugh, as Lauri’s lightning speed is an asset that he could use probably to be pretty competitive in the NHL right now.
It looks to me as though Lauri is still figuring out how to use his excellent skill set to his best advantage in the North American game, playing a “north-south” style and taking the puck to the net. With the three goals he scored last week he’s up to 15 on the year, and I think he has the potential to better that significantly, after he scored 11 in his rookie year last year. There’s no question in my mind that he has the tools to be a good player in the NHL, and I don’t think he’s going to need a ton more seasoning.
Hugh has really come along lately, after a slow start to his year. One great thing is, his consistency seems really to have improved. In the past he’d show flashes of being a real physical force and causing some real problems out there for the opposition, and then you wouldn’t notice him for a while. As of late he has been bringing his hard-banging style every night, and like I said in the answer to Ed from Meriden’s question above, for the teams that the Wolf Pack see a lot, the Springfields, the Providences, the Bridgeports, etc., that gets to be tough to deal with after a while. I think Hugh still needs to improve his footwork somewhat before he can make the jump, but he is certainly looking a lot more like a legitimate prospect than he did not too long ago.
Todd from Toronto writes, “Not hearing much about Tommy Pyatt these days…is he hurt? Do you think he might come out of his funk soon?”
He is not hurt, Todd, he has just been the odd man out lately in the forward ranks. For whatever reason, things have just not really clicked for Tom so far this year. He has played well in spurts, showing off his considerable skills, but he hasn’t made enough of a consistent impact to move up the depth chart from being the Pack’s ninth or tenth forward.
Sometimes it takes a year for a young guy to make the adjustment from Junior to pro. It’s a big jump. With what Tom was able to do in the OHL, and with his having been good enough to win gold at the World Juniors with Team Canada twice, I have to figure that he’s going to find a comfort level at some point soon and start making his presence felt more consistently.
Chris from West Hartford, CT asks, “If the backup goaltender comes in the middle of a game because of injury and the team ends up winning in a shutout, who gets the shutout, the starter or the backup?”
Chris, it actually goes into the record book as a “shared” shutout. That actually happened once in Wolf Pack history, back in the Calder Cup year of 1999-2000, when J.F. Labbe got hurt and had to leave a game in Philadelphia, and he and Milan Hnilicka ended up sharing the shutout in a 4-0 win.
Jason from Waterbury, CT writes, “I would just like to know your opinion on the "instigator" rule, with a player being suspended for a game if he instigates a fight within the last five minutes of a game. I think this is sort of a "ticky-tack" rule because if it's enforced for that point in a game it should be enforced for any point in a game, or not at all.”
I agree with the intent of the rule, Jason, which is to discourage coaches from sending all their tough guys out late in a game that is out of hand, to try to send messages for the next time. Things can get a little ugly at the end of contentious games that have already been decided, and if that rule can prevent drawn-out brawls, I think that helps the image of the sport.
It would be nice, though, if the rule could include some discretion for the league disciplinarians to exercise in cases like the one in which the Wolf Pack ran afoul of that rule. I hardly think that anyone in the building that night suspected that Ken Gernander was sending Jordan Owens out to start a rumble in a game that the Wolf Pack were winning, 6-1. A rule’s a rule, though.
Bruce Beran of North Port, FL writes, “I retired in 2005 and have found the Pack on the 'net, again. It's great to hear you call the games (makes me feel as though I'm there, in Hartford!). Who took P.J.'s place in the "enforcer" role for the team? He sure was a great motivator for the team.”
Great to hear you’re enjoying the webcasts, Bruce, thanks for listening!
The Wolf Pack’s enforcers these days are Mitch Fritz and Frankie Lessard, but unfortunately they are both hurt right now. Frankie is most likely out for the rest of the season, while it sounds like Mitch will be back pretty soon. Those guys are both as tough as they come, and great team guys, although neither is quite the showman that P.J. was. If you have a satellite dish or NHL Center Ice on digital cable, hopefully you’ve caught his act on “Hockey Night in Canada”. Certainly not a surprise to anyone who saw him in Hartford that he continues to be the consummate entertainer!
Thanks for the questions and I’ll continue to poke my pen into this space whenever I can put together enough material!
