Pirates Outlast Wolf Pack, 3-2

The Wolf Pack's playoff hopes took a big hit Sunday, when the Pack suffered a 3-2 loss to the Portland Pirates at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland.

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers defeated the Lowell Devils, 4-2, in Lowell on Sunday, dropping the Wolf Pack (31-31-6-5, 73 pts.) to nine points behind the Sound Tigers for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

A breakaway goal by Kyle Wanvig with 24.7 seconds remaining in the second period was the game-winner. Wanvig also added an assist, and Derek Whitmore and Mike Weber scored first-period goals for the Pirates. Todd Ford was the winning goaltender, in only his second appearance in a Portland uniform, with 28 saves.

Ryan Garlock and Dale Weise scored 48 seconds apart early in the second period for Hartford's only offense. Chad Johnson made 23 saves in the Wolf Pack net.

Portland won despite missing their three top scorers, Mark Mancari (26-42-68 in 69 games), Tyler Ennis (23-42-65 in 69 GP) and Nathan Gerbe (11-28-39 in 44 GP), all of whom were on recall to the parent Buffalo Sabres.

The Wolf Pack have had problems with bad starts in their previous visit to Portland, and the same issue hurt them in Sunday's game, as the Pirates scored on the game's first shift, only 22 seconds in.

After Hartford defenseman Nigel Williams lost the puck behind his own net, Wanvig was able to center to Whitmore, and Whitmore ripped it past Johnson from close range.

Portland made it 2-0 at the 11:56 mark on the game's first power play, with Corey Potter in the penalty box for tripping. Weber, a defenseman, scored his fifth goal of the season, on a snap shot from the left point that eluded Johnson on the glove side.

The Wolf Pack turned the tide quickly, though, early in the second period, as Garlock and Weise started their burst at the 4:01 mark.

Garlock put Hartford on the scoreboard at 4:01 with his fifth goal of the season, scoring on a shot from outside the blue line that found its way past Ford's glove side.

Weise then netted his 25th of the year at 4:49 to tie it up, sliding home Kris Newbury's cross-crease pass from the left side of the goalmouth.

The Wolf Pack had to survive some penalty trouble later in the period, as three minor penalty calls in a span of 41 seconds put Hartford shorthanded for all but 18 seconds of a period of 2:41, and two men down for 18 seconds.

Johnson and the Pack got through all that, only to give up Wanvig's eventual winner at 19:35.

A hard shot by Ilkka Heikkinen missed the net, and the carom slid all the way to the neutral zone, where Wanvig picked it up and found himself alone for a one-on-one opportunity on Johnson. Wanvig elected to shoot from nearly the top of the circles, and the drive hit Johnson's pads and went in.

The Wolf Pack outshot the Pirates 11-8 in the third period, and 30-26 in the game, but were unable to get the equalizer past Ford, after having come back from being down after two in both of their previous two games.

With the loss, the Wolf Pack finished the six-game season series against the Pirates 1-4-1-0, and 0-3-0-0 in Portland.

The Wolf Pack are back in action this Wednesday night, March 31 at the XL Center against division-leading Worcester (7:00 PM faceoff), in a game that was originally scheduled for this Thursday, April 1.

Hartford Wolf Pack 2 At Portland Pirates 3
Mar 28, 2010 - Cumberland County Civic Center

Hartford 0 2 0 - 2
Portland 2 1 0 - 3

1st Period-1, Portland, Whitmore 16 (Schutz, Wanvig), 0:22. 2, Portland, Weber 5 (Brennan, Byron), 11:56 (pp). Penalties-Potter Hfd (tripping), 11:18; Weber Por (tripping), 14:32; Gragnani Por (slashing), 19:06.

2nd Period-3, Hartford, Garlock 5 (Johnson, Sanguinetti), 4:01. 4, Hartford, Weise 25 (Potter, Newbury), 4:39. 5, Portland, Wanvig 12 19:35. Penalties-Ambuhl Hfd (tripping), 7:07; Locke Hfd (slashing), 9:45; served by Wanvig Por (bench minor - thrown stick from bench), 9:59; Dupont Hfd (hooking), 10:17; Heikkinen Hfd (boarding), 10:26; Byers Hfd (roughing), 17:41; McCormick Por (roughing), 17:41; Weise Hfd (misconduct - abuse of officials), 18:16.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Wanvig Por (tripping), 8:38; Heikkinen Hfd (hooking), 12:49; Couture Hfd (high-sticking), 17:01.

Shots on Goal-Hartford 7-12-11-30. Portland 8-10-8-26.
Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 0 of 3; Portland 1 of 7.
Goalies-Hartford, Johnson 19-17-2 (26 shots-23 saves). Portland, Ford 6-5-1 (30 shots-28 saves).
A-4,751
Referees-Ian Croft (87).
Linesmen-Todd Whittemore (70), Scott Whittemore (96).