Keeping up with the Pack: Will the Real Hartford Wolf Pack Please Stand Up?
It was a case of Dr. Jekyll vs. Mr. Hyde for the Hartford Wolf Pack this weekend. On Friday the team suffered one of the worst shutout losses in franchise history, 6-0, at the hands of the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears. Twenty four hours later the tables were turned, and the Pack made history by earning its largest shutout margin of victory in a 7-0 drubbing of the Providence Bruins.
As if the weekend hadn’t been dramatic enough, the club finished off with a — literally — last second overtime victory against the Atlantic Division-leading Manchester Monarchs on Sunday afternoon. Corey Locke, who’s seven point weekend earned him an AHL/Reebok Player of the Week nomination, swept home a rebound with less than a second remaining in the extra period to give the Wolf Pack its fourth win in five games and even the team’s record at 6-6-0-0.
The Wolf Pack entered the weekend minus leading scorer P.A. Parenteau and top line left wing Dane Byers, both of whom had been recalled by the New York Rangers. Their absence was no excuse for the complete lack of effort displayed by those who remained to face the Bears on Friday, however. The defending champs outworked their hosts in every area of the ice, sending them to the locker room at the end of sixty minutes to a chorus of boos from the home fans.
General Manager Jim Schoenfeld was quick to react, and shuffled his team’s roster in time for Saturday night’s match-up with Providence. Gone were Miika Wiikman, who let in four goals in 13 shots on Friday before being replaced by rookie Chad Johnson, and Ryan Hillier, who’d failed to register a point in four games since being called up on October 19th. Both players were dispatched to Charlotte while goaltender Matt Zaba and forwards Chris Chappell, Ryan Garlock and Derek Couture received tickets to Connecticut’s capital. All four newcomers dressed Saturday night, though Zaba spent the evening on the bench watching Johnson earn his first professional shut out with 17 saves.
The fresh legs and an undoubtedly strong tongue lashing by head coach Ken Gernander meant a much-improved effort on Saturday, transforming the final minute boos from the night before into a standing ovation as time ticked off the clock with the scoreboard reading 7-0. Sophomore defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti, who’d finished Friday’s debacle a team-worst minus-4, redeemed himself with a career-best four point night, scoring a pair of goals and adding two assists, while Locke earned four points of his own with a goal and three asissts. Sophomore Dale Weise extended his impressive start with a pair of goals and an assist and Illka Heikkinen and Jordan Owens each finished with a goal and and assist. For Owens, who signed his first NHL deal this summer after three seasons of hard work in the minors, it was the first goal of the season, after managing only a one assist in 10 games prior.
And so the stage was set for a showdown with the Manchester Monarchs, who arrived in Hartford on Sunday afternoon with only a pair of regulation losses marring an otherwise perfect record. The Los Angeles Kings‘ farm club ended the weekend tied for the top spot in the league, thanks in large part to Russian rookie Andrei Loktionov, good friend and former Yaroslavl Lokomotiv teammate of Wolf Pack rookie Evgeny Grachev. The 19-year old currently leads both the Monarchs and league rookies in scoring with 12 points in 12 games. It was the first meeting between the two pals as pros, and round one went to Loktionov, who set up Vyacheslav Voynov’s second period power play tally while Grachev was held scoreless.
But Locke was the real star of the show in this one, picking up three more points, including the the dramatic winner as the horn sounded to mark the end of overtime. With seven points on the weekend, the Toronto native leapfrogged teammate Parenteau to move into the team and league lead in scoring. To his own credit, Parenteau returned from New York on Sunday and picked up a pair of assists to keep pace with 16 points in 10 games. Meanwhile, sophomore defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti finished Sunday’s game with a goal and an assist, giving him a not-so-shabby six points on the weekend.
Who’s Hot
At the risk of sounding repetitive, Corey Locke’s seven points in two games and league-leading 17 points in 12 games certainly qualify him has hot. The undersized 25-year old is the prototypical power play specialist, scoring 12 of his 17 points with the extra space afforded him by the man advantage.
While Friday night’s minus-4 performance versus Hershey is undoubtedly one Bobby Sanguinetti will want to forget, his offensive numbers can’t be ignored. The 21-year old is tied for the top spot in scoring by defenseman and fifth overall among all AHL players. By all rights the Jersey boy should get the first shot at a job in New York, but the youth that’s already there coupled with head coach John Tortorella’s desire to add a veteran in the seventh slot could keep Sanguinetti in Hartford for the foreseeable future.
Who’s Not
Swiss import Andres Ambuhl has just a single goal to his credit and is minus-3 in his first 12 games in North America. The 26-year old is fast and fearless, but that’s about all he’s got to his credit at this point.
After playing a regular role on the team for the majority of the 2008-2009 season — and all six playoff games — defenseman David Urquhart has only been able to get into the Wolf Pack line-up a half dozen times this year. He’s gone scoreless and a minus-3 in those six games. With Nigel Williams already keeping him company in the press box and ECHL tough guy Brent Henley seemingly guaranteed a spot on the blueline, one has to wonder whether Urquhart will find himself in Charlotte before long.
What’s Next
There’s a pair of road games on the schedule for the Wolf Pack this week. The Bruins will be looking for revenge when the Pack travels to Providence for a rematch on Friday night at 7:00pm. On Saturday the team heads to Bridgeport for the first time this season to face the Sound Tigers. Ex-Wolf Pack captain Greg Moore currently leads that club in scoring and will undoubtedly look to make an impression when the puck is dropped at 7:00pm.
Want to bowl with a member of the Pack?
The annual Wolf Pack Bowl-a-Thon takes place this Sunday in East Hartford. The entire team will be on hand to help raise money for Connecticut Special Olympics. For more information, see the Wolf Pack web site.
Laurie covers the Wolf Pack and the Rangers’ Russian players and prospects for her blog, Beyond the Blueshirts. She’ll be bringing us weekly updates on the Rangers’ top farm club throughout the 2009-2010 season.
