2008-2009 Season

The second year behind the bench for the coaching trio of Gernander, Daigneault and Boller, the 2008-09 campaign, saw the Wolf Pack capture the Atlantic Division title, the third division crown in team history. The Pack also made the Calder Cup playoffs for the 12th time in 12 seasons in 2008-09, the longest active such streak in the AHL. Once again, though, the club could not get past the first-round playoff hurdle.

Led by the goaltending of Matt Zaba, who went 14-3-0 in his last 17 regular-season appearances after spending much of the first half as a little-used backup, and the offense of Parenteau, who earned First-Team AHL All-Star honors for the first time in his career, the Wolf Pack roared down the stretch. The club played .800 hockey in the season’s last 25 games, going 19-4-1-1, the best record in the league over that span.

After salting away the division championship, the Wolf Pack won the first two games of their first-round series against the Worcester Sharks. Their fortunes, however, took a downturn in Game Three, which they lost 3-2 in double overtime, and never went back on the upswing. That was the first of four straight losses, and the Sharks would go on to win the first-ever playoff meeting between the two New England rivals, in a significant upset.