The Wolf Pack took a break from inner-divisional play this week to play a trio of games against East Division foes.  Life outside the Atlantic Division hasn’t been kind to the Pack so far this season — in six games outside the division thus far the team has managed just three points.  If there’s a positive to be taken from that, it’s the all three of those points came this week.

The Wolf Pack opened week by hosting the the Binghamton Senators on Wednesday. It was the second and final meeting of the season for the two clubs and the result was only slightly better for the Pack, which had fallen 5-3 to the baby Sens in Binghamton on opening night.  Unlike in that game, goals were at a premium on this time, with each team only able to muster one apiece through 65 minutes of play.

As it was, the Pack needed a late power play goal from Paul Crowder with 3:22 remaining in regulation to force the match to overtime.  The team rallied to kill off a holding penalty whistled against defenseman Ilkka Heikkinen in the extra frame and send the game to a shootout, but none of the Pack’s shooters were able to put the puck past Binghamton goaltender Andy Chiodo. At the other end of the ice, where Chad Johnson was playing in his first professional shootout, two of the first three shooters for the Senators beat the rookie netminder, resulting in a the 2-1 Binghamton victory.

There was little time to regroup, as the Wolf Pack welcomed the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for a rare Thursday night match-up at the XL Center the next night.  The Pack jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in this one, only to see that lead erode to 4-3 by midway through the third period before Corey Locke scored his second goal and fourth goal of the night to provide the insurance.

Dale Weise and Dane Byers each added a goal and an assist.  For Byers the points marked the seventh consecutive game in which the winger had gotten on the scorecard, tying the season high points streak put up earlier in the year by P.A. Parenteau.

The Wolf Pack power play converted on three of its six opportunities, improving its league-leading success rate to 26.5% overall, and an even more impressive 32.7% on home ice.

Matt Zaba returned to the cage for his first start since October 10th and earned his first win of the season with 21 saves.

After an idle Friday night the Pack traveled to Syracuse for a Saturday night match-up with the Crunch, which entered the game with a league-low 14 points.  Despite Syracuse’s lowly standing, a goal by Heikkinen with 1.2 seconds remaining is all that prevented Crunch goaltender Kevin Lalande from earning his first shutout of the season.

As it has many times this season, the middle period proved troublesome for Hartford, which surrendered two goals — one a shorthanded marker — while getting outshot 12-5 in the frame.  A strong rally in the third lead to Heikkinen’s shorthanded tally with starter Johnson on the bench for the extra skater, but it proved to be too little, too late.

So, after a slow start to the campaign the Wolf Pack reach the quarter point of the season with an 11-8-0-1 record and 24 points — good for a fourth place tie in the Atlantic Division and ranking them in the middle of the pack league-wise.  The power play continues to lead the league with a 26% conversion rate, while the penalty kill, which spent stretches mired at the bottom of the league early on, has steadily improved to 20th in the league with a 80.2% kill rate.

Who’s Hot
Corey Locke continued his torrid scoring pace, picking up six points in the week’s three games and increasing his league-leading totals to 11 goals and 19 assists for 30 points in 20 games.  The 25-year old remains the wind beneath the Pack’s power play wings, leading the league in both power play goals (8) and power play assists (11).

Dale Weise picked up three points on the weekend and is currently tied for tops on the team at +7.  The sophomore winger ranks third in scoring among active players on the Wolf Pack roster with five goals and 10 assists.

Who’s Not
While his presence on the bench and in the locker room seems to have helped settle a defense corps that struggled early, Mathieu Dandenault’s performance on the ice hasn’t exactly shouted “sign me”.  The veteran defenseman was a team-worst -4 for the week and has managed just a single assist in his 13 appearances.

Injury Update
Michael Sauer remained on the shelf with a shoulder injury which has now kept him out for six games.  Brent Henley returned to the line-up on Thursday after recovering from an undisclosed injury.

What’s Next
The Pack will look to build upon their 10-4-0-0 record against the Atlantic Division when it plays its first four-game-in-five-nights stretch — all against divisional opponents.  On Wednesday they travel to Lowell to face the Baby Devils, who are currently tied with Manchester for the top spot in the division, four points ahead of the Wolf Pack.  Friday and Saturday bring games against sixth place Portland and cellar-dwelling Providence at the XL Center in Hartford, both 7:00pm starts.  And the team wraps up the week with a 3:00pm start on Sunday in Bridgeport against the Sound Tigers, who start the week tied with Hartford with 23 points, but having played two extra games.