Crawford's Pack Report: Week in Review

Monday, March 10, 2008 - 7:23 PM

Those of us who put fingers to keyboards to write about the confluence of sticks, pucks, ice and bodies could not have asked for better story lines for the Wolf Pack’s, hopefully for them, slump-busting win against a solid San Antonio team Saturday at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.

It started with Brodie Dupont flinging the puck off the post and in behind recently ex-Wolf Pack goaltending mainstay Al Montoya at 10:32 of the second period. That ended a streak of Pack scoring frustration at 192 minutes, 28 seconds, a little under 13 minutes shy of the franchise record for longest scoreless run, set in late December 2003 by a 2003-04 Wolf Pack club that would go on to advance all the way to overtime of Game Seven in the Eastern Conference Finals.

That streak-snapping tally was somewhat overshadowed, though, by the Wolf Pack’s two former Rampage regulars, Josh Gratton and David LeNeveu, capturing the First and Second-Star nods, respectively, in their first clash with their old organization.

LeNeveu, in particular, deserved a good break, after allowing only three goals in his first two games with the Pack and ending up 0-2. He matched Montoya save for save throughout the first period-and-a-half of Saturday’s game before Dupont’s goal, and then made some sparkling stops thereafter. The Rampage had won three straight and five out of six coming into the game and are locked in a real dogfight for playoff position in the extremely deep West Division, and they tested their old teammate a couple of different times with challenging chances, but LeNeveu was not to be denied. He would end up with 31 saves, his first Wolf Pack win and a total of only four goals-against on 77 shots in his first three Pack starts.

Gratton, too, had done some good work in a Pack jersey that had gone unrewarded prior to Saturday, and with the Pack down to 10 forwards in that game, he had to know he was going to get a chance to make a definite impact. After Cam Paddock countered Dupont’s tally with a goal off the rush at 7:00 of the third, it was anybody’s game. The Wolf Pack seemed to be playing with more confidence and hunger around the net, though, than they had in the two preceding shutout losses, and I had the feeling that something good might happen.

Sure enough, just past the 13:00 mark, Thomas Pöck moved the puck from deep in his own zone to Greg Moore, who took off on a strong rush. Moore went wide on a San Antonio defender and Gratton, as a good power forward will do, drove hard toward the net. Moore hit him with a perfect pass, and Gratton one-timed the puck without hesitation, beating Montoya and putting the Pack back in front.

The Rampage, who have won seven times this year when trailing after two periods, were still hopeful of pulling out some more late-game magic, but LeNeveu and the Wolf Pack shut the door, despite having to kill a late high-sticking penalty against Dane Byers.

The 2-1 win in San Antonio put to bed a three-game streak of regulation losses, the Pack’s longest such run of the season, after the Houston Aeros had completed a sweep of the two-game season series between themselves and the Wolf Pack the night before in Houston.

The Aeros had put up a six-spot on the Pack the first time the two teams met, December 12th in Hartford, but there would be no offensive outburst by either team this time. The best chance of the game for the Wolf Pack came very early, only about three minutes in, and again it was Gratton right in the middle of it. He had one shot stopped by Aero goalie, and former Manchester Monarch, Barry Brust, and had the rebound come right back to him. It appeared to me as though Gratton was going to be able easily to dunk the second chance into the net, but somehow Brust was able to force him to put it off the goalpost on the glove side.

That was an indicator of how the night was going to go for the Pack, as the Aeros would make them work very hard for their scoring chances, and when the chances came, Brust was there. And as tight as Houston was in its own zone, the Wolf Pack were even tighter in theirs. They would allow the Aeros only 13 shots on the night, a Wolf Pack franchise record for fewest shots-against in a game.

Unfortunately for the Pack, one of those shots hit paydirt. Just prior to the halfway point of the first period, Ryan Hamilton got knocked down in front of the Wolf Pack goal, but saw the loose puck before either LeNeveu or Jake Taylor did. While down on his knees, Hamilton took a backhanded swipe at the puck, and with LeNeveu unable to see it and thinking it was to his right, the Pack goaltender had no chance to stop the biscuit as it slid past him on his left.

That was the one real good break for either side in the game and it was the difference, as the Aeros pulled out a 1-0 win that upped a winning streak of theirs to six straight games.

Now to turn the focus to some reader thoughts…

Jared Doyon from Meriden, CT asks, “Who do you think has been the Pack's MVP so far this season?”

At this point, Jared, I would give the nod to Andrew Hutchinson. Beyond his obvious point production and contribution to the power play, Hutchinson, in my opinion, has had his greatest effect on the Wolf Pack as a steadying influence, calming things down and helping infuse the whole Pack lineup with a sense of poise in the most important moments of the tightest games. And I think that element of leadership has been the single biggest individual contribution to the Wolf Pack this season.

Hutchinson's value to the Wolf Pack reminds me of the job another veteran defenseman with NHL experience, Bobby Dollas, did for the 1991-92 Adirondack Red Wings, one of the teams whose games I called early in my career in the AHL, and a club that would win the Calder Cup under head coach Barry Melrose. Dollas was hardly a spectacular player, but he always did the little things well that kept the team out of trouble in its own zone. You didn't notice him all that much when he was out there, but you certainly noticed the effect it had on the team when he wasn't.

Rich from Croton, NY writes, “I recently read an article that said that the AHL will be reducing its schedule to 70 games next season. Is this true? Will the playoffs then start at an earlier date? Will those AHL players then be available to join the NHL teams? They want to try to reduce costs, but they will also be reducing income too. They should try to put the costs towards merchandise, which will self-promote the league and get them added income at the same time. Your thoughts.”

Rich, the concept of reducing the AHL schedule from 80 games to 72 or so has definitely been discussed and is being studied. As I understand it, if it is eventually implemented, the plan will not condense the time frame of the season, it would simply have the teams playing fewer games over the same time period. The idea is to reduce the three-games-in-three-days grinds that AHL teams face over the course of the season, which should help curtail injuries. And with fewer games over the same length of time, there would be more time available for practice, which becomes almost nonexistent when you get to this time of year and you're playing three or four games a week just about every week.

The motivation to do that for the NHL affiliates would be to enhance player development by having the players spend more time being taught in practice than in getting a trial-by-fire in games. That sounds like a reasonable thought process, but as you point out, reducing the number of games would come with a significant reduction in revenue to the member teams. That will be, to say the least, a tough sell. Obviously the NHL teams that own their affiliates don't care so much, but the independent owners in the AHL would be hard-pressed to absorb the financial hit that would come with losing four or five home dates. If the NHL clubs want it badly enough to help offset the loss of revenue, then it might have a chance of happening, but if they don't, I would be surprised to see it go through.

Andy from Manchester, CT asks, “If Lessard is out for the season, why did the Rangers list him on the 'Clear Day' Roster?”

Teams do that, Andy, to give themselves more flexibility in setting their post-Clear Day lineup.

If you put a player like Lessard, who is injured and you know won't play, on your Clear Day list, then you give yourself an automatic slot that you can use to create “emergency conditions” and thereby be able to use a player who isn't on your Clear Day roster. Once you are below the level of eighteen healthy skaters, then you can insert a guy who is with your team but isn't on your Clear Day list, like a Jordan Owens, for example. Having a player like Lessard listed on your Clear Day roster puts you always one slot closer to being in that “emergency conditions” position.

John Toohey from Westport, CT asks, “What was your most memorable goal call (Wolf Pack or otherwise)?”

John, I would have to say it was Terry Virtue's Game-Seven overtime winner in the Conference Finals vs. Providence in the Calder Cup year of 2000. Not that it was a gorgeous play by any means (Virtue's centering pass hit a Bruin player and went in), but the Pack had been down three-games-to-one in that series to the arch-rival Bruins, the defending Cup champs, and they had knocked the Wolf Pack out of the playoffs the previous season. Plus there was a great crowd in the stands and a really electric atmosphere…I'll never forget that one. Didn't know my voice could go that high.

Even having said that, though, it was tough to top calling, alongside my tall, bespectacled co-announcer named, strangely enough, John Toohey, our buddy Al Bourbeau bagging a second-period hat trick for the Crimson against Michigan State in the NCAA Final in '86. If he and the boys had ever been able to pull that one out, that might have been the best ever.

TJ Cahill from Hartford writes, “A reference was made (I believe in the Hartford Courant) to the rehab of Mitch Fritz not going as well as had been hoped, can you shed any light on the veracity of that comment? Also, many people write in and refer to the Pack as being intimidated, not physical, etc. You always refer to team toughness and I think that is what matters the most. I watch many Pack games and they are hardly soft. They may not roll out the heavyweights due to various injuries, but they play hard-nosed, finish checks and exact a physical toll on the opposition. They are tough to play against and that is a great compliment. Jessiman and Byers have been huge in that regard this season and you know players care when Owens, Bourret and Baranka drop the gloves in defense of teammates. Any thoughts on this misperception regarding the Pack?”

First of all, TJ, as far as I know, Mitch Fritz' rehab is going just fine. He made the road trip over the weekend, participated fully in all the practices and skated hard after practice. From what he tells me, he is expecting to be back in the lineup quite soon.

As to why anyone would doubt that the Wolf Pack are a physical team, I can't imagine, especially now with Josh Gratton in the lineup. Even if you doubted the Pack's toughness due to the lack of a heavyweight scrapper, you can't question Gratton's credentials, or performance, in that area.

I had an NHL scout that I know pretty well tell me that he thought Friday night's game in Houston was the best minor pro game he had seen all year. And that was a 1-0 game with a total of only 36 shots on goal between the two teams! The reason was, the scout said, that both teams were playing with such physical intensity, everyone on both sides was finishing every possible check. That's the game the Pack have played all year, maybe not fighting all the time, but always hitting, always forechecking and always making things as hard on the opposition as they possibly could. To me, that consistent approach has been as key as anything to the Wolf Pack's excellent record.

Vadim from New York City asks, “Who do you see as NHL-ready and competing for a spot on Broadway next season?”

Vadim, I think the Wolf Pack have a number of players knocking on the door of the NHL, but if I had to pick I'd say that up front the guys who might have the best chance are Greg Moore and Dane Byers, and on defense I'd throw out Corey Potter's name. All of those guys are second-year pros, still real young guys, but have shown curves of improvement that lead me to believe that they are close to leaving the AHL behind. Byers' grit and physical play, Moore's speed, size and versatility and Potter's good stick and aggressiveness in the defensive zone I think all would fit well on the Rangers' roster.

Katee from Fredericksburg, PA asks, “How well do you think Josh Gratton will fit into the scheme of things for the playoffs?”

I see him fitting in very well, Katee. He is not only enough of a well-respected fighter to keep opponents' physical players from exerting any kind of intimidation over any of his Pack teammates, he is also a good enough player to skate a regular shift in the postseason and be very competitive. Gratton's style meshes well with the Wolf Pack's forechecking emphasis, and like Byers, Jessiman, Dupont, et al., in a long series he could be a real force just wearing the opposition down, banging and crashing until the defensemen are looking over their shoulders before they are even thinking about playing the puck.

Jason from Waterbury, CT writes, “With some of the missed calls by the refs that the Wolf Pack experienced the past couple of games, as well as other teams probably being victimized by the same problem, do you see the AHL possibly going to an NHL-style of officiating, with two refs instead of the just one we see in the AHL?”

Jason, I doubt it. For one thing, the talent pool of available referees is really stretched tight as it is, with two refs needed for every NHL game. To staff AHL games with a pair of refs, you'd really have to dig deep into the ranks of budding zebras, and would probably have to ask some guys to step into the league who aren't anywhere near ready to handle the task.

Also, I think the feeling is among those who are charged with developing officials that it benefits a young referee to have to handle doing a game by himself, and that the officiating prospects in the AHL experience growth through the enormous challenge of covering the entire ice, and monitoring two teams, with one pair of eyes.

And lastly, Melissa Shaffer of Manchester, CT asks, “Any chance we will see Nigel Dawes back with the Pack next season?”

I've said no to that before and been wrong, Melissa, but I'd be really surprised to see Nigel back in the AHL again. He's been dominant in every AHL stint he's had this season, and now appears to be achieving the consistency at the NHL level that the big club was really looking for out of him.

As I write this on Monday, Nigel has been a point-a-game guy for the Rangers over a span of seven games, plus he has become a bit of a shootout specialist for them as well, which is a role that he could get a lot of mileage out of.

Thanks for the questions and I’ll continue to poke my pen into this space whenever I can put together enough material!