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BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - An early third-period penalty led to a Providence Bruins powerplay goal that allowed them to edge out the Hartford Wolf Pack, 3-2, in a very hard-fought contest Sunday afternoon at the XL Center. The Wolf Pack record slips to 31-16-6-5 (73 points) and the team sits in third place in the Atlantic Division. Providence meanwhile sees its record improve to 34-18-3-3 (74 points). They take-over second-place from Hartford. The Baby bruins have now won eight straight games. The Charlotte Checkers are in fourth place and trail the Wolf Pack by five points. Early in the third period, a bad neutral zone tripping penalty by Pack captain, Steve Fogarty, led to the goal that would allow Providence to regain the lead they would not relinquish. The Bruins' puck possession skills that had been on display all game paid dividends on the man-advantage in just 17 seconds. Jack Studnicka sent the puck over to Peter Cehlarik. He fired a shot that was saved by J.F. Berube, but he was unable to corral the loose puck and Brendan Gaunce was right there to smack it into the net at 2:40. For Gaunce, it was his 17th goal of the season. The Wolf Pack made a strong effort to tie the game, especially in the final two minutes. With Berube pulled for an extra attacker, the Pack would come their closest to scoring. Vitali Kravtsov rang a shot off the inside of the right post with 1:15 remaining. Vinni Lettieri took a short side slapper that was stopped by Max Lagace (21 saves) and Fogarty saw his bid denied as well. “That’s what's happened in our games with Providence this year. Something happens late in the game or a period. They scored a goal from the corner in one game, I believe with 30 seconds left. They don’t always go in your favor. We had everything in our favor in trying to tie the game up, but we missed. We had three really great scoring chances, six on five. It was three-in-three. The guys coulda quit. It's hard playing three-in-three against a very good team and down 2-0. We did everything to try to get it to overtime,” said Knoblauch, doing his best to hide the impact of the tough loss. The Wolf Pack finally got some open ice and time with the puck and picked up their first goal midway through the second period. On a Bruins dump in, Libor Hajek commandeered the puck and started moving up the ice on the left-wing side. Hajek passed it over to Lettieri, who side-stepped getting nailed at the blue line and moved into center ice. Lettieri put a pass back to Hajek as he sailed down the left-wing. Nobody was going to catch him as he ripped his first of the season going top shelf to the far side at 11:56. “Libor did a great job to get the puck up the ice and gave us a real jump when we needed it,” remarked Knoblauch. Another jumpstart was Nick Ebert, not the heavyweight pugilist, getting into a scrap with a much bigger Brendan Woods, who is a lefty. Ebert got the Pack going. “We got that first goal and Nicky dropped the gloves really got us going and we got another late in the period. We battled hard the rest of the period,” said Tim Gettinger The Wolf Pack evened things up at two on a set of smart passes. A backhand dump in from Ebert behind the Bruins net that left the puck a little between Bruins goalie Max Lagace and defenseman Nick Zboril, who both arrived at the puck at the same time. Zboril eventually took possession and rimmed it up the left-wing boards, but just jumping on for his shift was Jeff LoVerde, who got the puck and sent it to Patrick Newell along the right-wing boards. Newell made a quick play from off the right-wing half-wall put the shot toward the net. The puck found Gettinger's red-hot stick as he got to the front of the net and scored his third goal in two games and 15th of the season off a perfect deflection at 14:05. “He (LoVerde) made a great play to Patty, luckily I was able to put in,” Gettinger said while downplaying his own contribution. The Bruins came into the game having won seven-in-a-row. In the first period, they showed why as they scored their first two goals of the game. The first goal was scored shorthanded by the Bruins with surgical precision at 11:41. Danny O’Regan lost the puck on his rush attempt ice. The puck went back to the Bruins left defenseman, Jason Zboril, who passed it over to his partner Josiah Didier who nailed a diagonal pass from the defensive zone to the Wolf Pack blue line to Trent Frederic. The Bruins second-leading scorer then hit a speeding Oskar Steen racing down the right-wing with a perfect pass that he redirected in full flight for his seventh of the season. The second goal was again a lightning strike by the Bruins using handy stick work. This time an outlet pass meant for Fogarty never arrived. Cameron Hughes intercepted a pass and then on a dime quickly curled to the net and fed Jack Studnicks who put in his 22nd of the season at 11:32. “We weren’t playing our best. They were taking it to us. They got pucks deep. We weren’t moving our feet and in the second and third we finally got our feet moving and we starting getting chances. We just didn’t have enough (at the end),” said Gettinger. It sets up a very critical three-in-three next weekend with two home games against the Hershey Bears. LINES: O’Regan-Kravtsov-Fogarty Jones-Newell-Gropp Beleskey-Lettieri-Gettinger McBride-Dmowski-Ronning Hajek-Raddysh LoVerde-Geersten Ebert-Rykov SCRATCHES: Boo Nieves - Upper-body - Injury day-to-day. Brandon Crawley - Healthy Greg Chase - Healthy Gabriel Fontaine - Shoulder Surgery - Season-Ending NOTES: J.F. Berube has 23 saves on the game for Hartford. Lettieri had six shots and Kravtsov had four to pace the Wolf Pack. D-men Didier and ex-Pack, Steven Kampfer, with four shots each paced the Bruins' shots. Matt Beleskey had the second scrap of the game with a much bigger Alex Petrovic early in the third. One lineup change was Jake Elmer, who was sent back to the team's ECHL affiliate, the Maine Mariners. The Wolf Pack recalled Greg Chase, who's the nephew of former Hartford Whaler, Kelly Chase. He was scratched as was Elmer since he was recalled. Among the six Bruins scratches was Wiley Sherman (Greenwich/Hotchkiss Prep). Wolf Pack Fan Jerseys Of The Game: Wolf Pack #10 Brian Gibbons (Charlotte), CT Whale, Michael Haley (Rangers) and CT Whale #86 Wojtech Wolski (SC Bern Switzerland LNA). Very classy gesture by the entire Bruins team to go shake hands with linesman Mike Baker and Derek Wahl, who were working their last AHL games as a linesman. We were alerted they had received a curiously worded e-mail “Pick your last game,“ earlier in the week as notice their contracts would not be renewed for next season. Read the full article

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The Hartford Wolf Pack sought to get retribution on the team that they played their two worst games of the 2019-20 season again, the Charlotte Checkers three weeks ago at the Bojangles Coliseum when the two teams squared off at the XL Center Friday night in the two team's first meeting there since opening night. Five players had multiple-point games and led by Vinni Lettieri’s four-point night (goal and three assists) beating Charlotte 6-3. The Wolf Pack kept their hold on first place in the AHL’s Atlantic Division 23-8-2-5 with 53 points and remain four points ahead of Hershey who beat Wilkes Barre/Scranton 2-1 in OT. The Wolf Pack travels to Wilkes Barre/Scranton tomorrow with Tom McCollum getting the start in goal his first AHL action of the season. The Wolf Pack, are a third-period beast to play against. They scored twice to extend their lead to three goals and now have a record when leading after two periods of 17-0-1-2. With extra hustle, Tim Gettinger picked up the fifth goal as he got to Mason Geersten bouncing dump-in and chipped it past Anton Forsberg at 3:43. “Gert just dumped in and took a weird bounce off a guy there and there were a lot of sticks in the way. I was just trying to get mine on it and played through the whole play and was able to put it in,” remarked Gettinger, who had a goal and two assists. Then late in the game at 14:23, Gettinger hit Boo Nieves with a gorgeous pass coming with speed down the middle. He made a beautiful move to his backhand and tucked it under Forsberg's left pad to seal the game's final score at 6-3 to run their home record to 16-1-0-2. “Last few years the third period was our kryptonite. We didn’t play with confidence and go the things we needed to do very well. This year we have a whole different mindset. We’ve been getting pucks deep and were more relaxed and were getting good energy on penalty kills in third. We didn’t have that last year at all everybody is buying and its inspiring everyone else and we're all feeding off that,” Nieves, who had a goal and an assist, said. Gettinger was involved the whole third period and was the first star (not correctly announced) with the early goal, off a superb set-up on the last goal and in between a PK block and half that left him hobbled but were out there battling. “We take a lot of pride defensively and everybody, (Nick) Ebert was out there with a couple of blocks on the PK. Everyone is buying into things and we capitalized on the chances we got. The head coach marvels at what the Nieves has done. “He started the season on the fourth line and works his way up and now he gets power play, penalty kill, five-on-five. He is developing into a complete player,” said Knoblauch. Nieves has nine points in his last seven games. Gettinger has six points in his last four games while Lettieri has nine points in his last six games. The line had nine points for the game and was a combined plus-9 as each recorded a plus-3. “I think I’m gonna have to break them up,” Knoblauch joked. “That’s our defensive line and it's great to be getting that type of production.” The formula for its success is the use of all three player's best assets. “I think Vinni, with his shooting, me, with my speed and Gets uses his size so well and he has speed. We're doing the simple things and its working well for us that way right now,” said Nieves. In the second period, the pace was good. It was not as chaotic as the first, but still, there were some golden offensive chances had by the two teams. Hartford was able to extend the lead to 4-3. At 4:23 they scored their second powerplay tally of the game. Joey Keane’s right-point blast was tipped up high by Danny O’Regan snagging his second of the game and eighth of the season with Gettinger providing the perfect screen as Forsberg never saw the shot. Before the power play, Adam Huska stopped Gustav Forsling who's shot came from dead center, 30-feet out. The Wolf Pack had a five-on-three powerplay for a 1:10 span and couldn’t put one past Forsberg after having trouble with their zone entries. The Checkers used an early scoring barrage at the XL at 2:55. Clark Bishop had inside position on Ebert and put the pass from the deep right-wing side from ex-Sound Tiger Colin Markison in for the goal. The Wolf Pack answered back 26 seconds later with Nieves taking a Phil Di Giuseppe rebound and opening his legs to create space protection of the puck zipped a pass to Lettieri located in the left-wing circle and ripped his shot to the short-side past Forsberg at 3:22. “It's always good to get some time and space in this league, and Vinni has one of the better shots in the league," said Nieves. The Checkers regained the lead with Julien Gauthier in the slot was able to take a pass from Max McCormick and put it past Huska at 5:29. Then 1:03 later the Wolf Pack tied it up. Matt Geersten got the puck off a faceoff win from O’Regan. He launched a shot from the left point. He then flicked in a rebound at the side of the net where it had just gone off the side of the cage, then off of Forsberg’s stick. Forsberg was all tangled up and it somehow sneaked into the short-side to even the game at 2. O’Regan helped break up a long scoring drought with no goals and one assist in his last eight games. Just 10 seconds after the goal, the Wolf Pack took a lead. Darren Raddysh was the center and on the right-wing. He took an outlet pass from his defensive partner, Vincent LoVerde, got in deep to the goal line and put the puck out front to an open Matt Beleskey who was barreling down an open left-wing. Beleskey as he was falling down flipped to the puck to the top part of the net for his tenth of the season at 6:42. “I picked up that move along the way,” Beleskey said with a laugh acknowledging the improbability of his shot. The Checkers answered back to tie the game at three on the powerplay. Morgan Geekie won the offensive zone draw from Nieves and was open in the slot. He took a short backhanded pass and beat Huska to the far side with his ninth of the season. The teams came up for air in the second half of he period trying to control the game’s pace. LINES: Nieves-Gettinger-Lettieri O’Regan-Kravtsov-Di Giuseppe Jones-Beleskey-Gropp Zerter-Gossage-Newell-McBride Raddysh-LoVerde Keane-Geersten Rykov-Ebert SCRATCHES: Ryan Dmowski (healthy) Jeff Taylor (healthy) Lias Andersson (suspended) Gabriel Fontaine (shoulder surgery-season ending) NOTES: The strong play of the Springfield Thunderbirds continues as they shut out the Bridgeport Sound Tigers for their fifth win in a row. They are now in third place, just nine points behind the Wolf Pack -The Toronto-Texas game in Austin was canceled as 1-0 forfeit for Texas because the Marlies experienced a  serious medical emergency with assistant coach Rob Davison who was stricken in the locker room and taken to a local hospital. No further word was available regarding his condition. Read the full article

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Another weekend of hockey is set to begin and the last of the two-pack of games in the dreaded three-in-three starts next weekend. For Pack Head Coach, Kris Knoblauch, everyone is itching to have some game time after a week of practice. “It has been a good week of practice, but we're ready for game action. Its been a jump coming over from the NHL where you don’t get as much practice time as we do here, and we don’t get bored at practice. Being in the American (Hockey) League you can have a long week like this. It's more of a weekend league so guys are ready to get back at it. Guys were left with a sour taste in their mouths in how last weekend ended.” Knoblauch has had to dust off some old prep books for this type of schedule. “I was just an assistant in the NHL, so I have had to go back to my junior books where the schedule is very similar to this and getting myself prepared." On Friday against Springfield (7:15 pm) expect to see some changing of line combinations and defensive pairings. “We’ve made some changes and who knows, by the end of the first period if it doesn’t work, we'll change them back again,” remarked Knoblauch. "It's so early in the season, from me getting used to them, and the players getting used to me. They have to get used to each other and our systems. We're trying to figure who works well with who, and that becomes beneficial for everybody and we'll see how these switches work.” Clearly down the middle is going to change. “We're switching (Danny) O’Regan to center, from wing and away from the wall. That's one of the changes.” Boo Nieves and Matt Beleskey might have new skating partners based on Thursday’s practice, but nothing as far as who they will be is set in stone. “We're still working all of that out this afternoon. We're still working on minutes and everybody wants 20 minutes, but we don’t play 120 or 190-minute games, just 60 minutes. We haven’t quite yet decided on our combos (defense or offense). On defense with (Nick) Ebert here, we have an extra right-handed shooting defenseman. It’s a luxury yes, but by the same token, you're gonna have to scratch one right-handed guy. If your three best defensemen are right-handed, then someone has to play on their off-side, so that can take away from a players' game and can make other (game) situations more difficult. That right-handed defenseman has to be playing much better than the left-handed defenseman you're taking out of the lineup. So we have some decisions to make." Sending Jeff Taylor, a left-hander, to Maine was in his best interest. “You have so many slots and everybody needs to play, so he will get a lot of minutes there. It's not easy. We have sent a lot of quality players there and we have had to scratch guys here who don’t deserve to come out (of the lineup), and its because they didn’t do enough to stay in and we have several high-quality guys here.” One change that looks likely is Ryan Lindgren will be skating with another right-handed shot, Darren Raddysh, rather than Jeff LoVerde. One thing that will stay the same is the goalie rotation. Igor Shesterkin will lead off in goal with Adam Huska likely to play Saturday in Binghamton in their first road game of the regular season. Down the line,1 as the schedule picks up, that will likely change as it will for forwards and defensemen. “As the season goes on, inevitably one will be playing better than the other and will play more. However, we are so pleased with both of them they have played very well for us, Callups, injuries and play will see that change as we head to December." The schedule, heavy on home games, is something the players want to take advantage of now. “It’s nice to have these first five games at home and not to have to travel as much and we're getting a lot of practice time as well," Wolf Pack assistant captain, Ryan Lindgren, said. “We have to play well at home when we're here. Binghamton, as our first road game, is a good test. That's a tough barn to play in. We had a tough time last year winning at home, so far we are off to a good start this year. We want to keep that going and look forward to playing (tonight).” NOTES: There is one roster change that will be permanent as LW Ryan Gropp has been suspended by the New York Rangers for failing to report to Maine along with Jeff Taylor. He scored just 26 goals in 121 career games. His last game was on Sunday, his only game this season. In it, he had no shots on goal and took a bad cross-checking penalty. Gropp was sent down early in training camp, a clear sign he was not on the A-List for Ranger prospects entering the last year of his entry-level deal. Now, Gropp is likely to be put on unconditional waivers for the purpose of ending his contract, as has been done in the past. That will make him a free agent eligible to sign anywhere in the AHL, ECHL or Europe. Defenseman Yegor Rykov (Ree-kov) is still at least another week away from being activated for play. Ex-Pack, Ryan Sproul, signed with Kunlun (China-KHL). Alexandre Grenier has gone from Laval to Iserlohn (Germany-DEL). That makes 75 AHL’ers from last season to sign in Europe or Asia and 28 of 31 AHL teams to have lost at least one player. Ex-Pack, Brian Gibbons (Salisbury Prep), was returned to Charlotte by Carolina. Ex-Sound Tiger, Steve Olesky, who was released from a try-out by Wilkes Barre/Scranton, signs with Toledo (ECHL). Ex-Pack/CT Whale, Kris Newbury, is playing Canadian senior league hockey this year with the Hamilton Steelhawks in the Allan Cup Hockey-Ontario (ACHO). Sons of Wolf Pack players who are competing in many different levels of hockey have some new playing addresses as the new hockey season has gotten underway. Their father is listed in parentheses. Dawson Armstrong (Derek) is with the Utah Outliers (WSHL). Tyler Savard (Marc) is with Sault Ste. Marie Thunderbirds (NOJHL). Anton Sundin (Ronnie) inks with Vastervas IK (Sweden-Allsvenskan) while Zachary Karpa (David) in the USNDTP (USHL). His brother, Jakob, puts a name on a contract with Victory (MI) Honda U-18 (TIEHL). Jack Finley (Jeff) goes to the Spokane Chiefs (WHL) and brother Mason with Okanagan (BCMML). Mathieu Sevigny (Pierre) goes to the Gatineau Olympics (QMJHL) and is playing with another son of Wolf Pack Braedan Virtue (Terry). Jaxson Stauber (Robb) goes to Minnesota State-Mankato (NCHC) while Kirill Ulyanov (Igor) signs with the Shreveport (LA) Mudbugs (NAHL) and Chippewa (WI) Steel (NAHL). Brock Beukeboom (Jeff) is playing with the Odense Bulldogs (Denmark-DHL) and his second cousin, Adam, is with HK Vojvodina (Serbia). Ex-Pack Donald Brashear has fallen on hard times. He was spotted working at a Tim Horton’s in Quebec City. While he was born in Indiana, he grew up in Val-Belair, a suburb of Quebec City. It was another ex-Pack who has lent him a hand. Pierre Sevigny, who played in Hartford in Year One of the Wolf Pack, he had his eldest son born in Hartford. Sevigny is presently not involved in hockey, he was an assistant for Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) a few years ago. and owns the franchise. Sevigny’s two boys are playing hockey. His younger son, the aforementioned Vincent, and his oldest son Mathieu is with HC Cholet (France Division-2). Read about it HERE The UCONN Huskies (0-2-1 overall) look to get into the win column Friday on the road at RPI (ECACHL) in Troy, NY, their only game of the weekend before they start to play some Hockey East opponents (Merrimack) next weekend at the XL Center. Read the full article

Hartford Wolf Pack 5, Charlotte Checkers 3 BY: Bob Crawford, Hartford Wolf Pack Hartford, CT, October 5, 2019 – Matt Beleskey scored twice, Vinni Lettieri had a goal and an assist, and Danny O’Regan added three assists Saturday night at the XL Center, as the Hartford Wolf Pack defeated the defending Calder Cup-champion Charlotte Checkers, 5-3, in the AHL season opener for both teams. “We didn’t look great from the start, but we were able to settle it down,” said Wolf Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch, who was making his debut behind the Wolf Pack bench.  “We didn’t get rattled, we responded.” The Checkers were the first to jump on the board, as Janne Kuokkanen snuck a shot through the legs of Wolf Pack goaltender Igor Shesterkin (26 saves) 1:18 into the first period. Shesterkin would prove to be unbeatable for the rest of the period, making an impressive series of saves from in close around the 14-minute mark. Just a 2:45 after Charlotte’s goal, the Wolf Pack evened the score when Joey Keane put away the first goal of his professional career. O’Regan and Boo Nieves assisted on the goal. The Wolf Pack were able to capitalize on some good offensive zone pressure at 12:06, when Vincent LoVerde pinched into the top of the right circle to wire a shot over Charlotte's goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic’s blocker to put Hartford up, 2-1. The Wolf Pack would hold on to the one-goal lead for the rest of the period. The Pack didn’t slow down going into the second, as Beleskey capitalized for his first of the game on the power play 1:34 into the period, collecting his own rebound after tipping a shot by O’Regan. Lettieri also picked up an assist. Later in the frame, the Wolf Pack found themselves trapped in their own zone for the better part of five minutes, but were able to escape without giving up a goal thanks to the strong play of Shesterkin. Lettieri found twine with 2:20 left in the period, off an assist from newly-named captain Steven Fogarty. The goal would stand as the last one for the middle frame, sending the Wolf Pack to the dressing room up 4 to 1. The momentum continued for Hartford going into the third period, with Beleskey scoring his second of the game just 24 seconds into the final frame, with assists from LoVerde and O’Regan. “I thought we had a balanced attack,” Beleskey said.  “We have four good lines that can go, good defense.  We have lots of talent, lots of guys that like to work. I thought our veterans really led the way tonight.” Knoblauch agreed, saying, “I hope the young guys were watching. Not that the young guys played bad, they did good. But there’s a learning curve. You need your leaders to lead, and they did that tonight.” The Checkers finally stopped the bleeding at 4:18, when David Gust got a puck over the catching glove of Shesterkin. Roland McKeown and Hunter Shinkaruk assisted on the goal. Charlotte was able to find the net again at 9:38 when Julien Gauthier stuffed in a rebound of a Brian Gibbons shot. Morgan Geekie also assisted on the goal. That would be it for the scoring, even though the Checkers pulled Nedeljkovic with two minutes left to try to close the two-goal gap. “It’s a strong start to the season,” said O’Regan.  “We have a good team playing hard, playing the right way.  played a great game. Good teams have good goalies, and he stood strong.” The Wolf Pack are right back at the XL Center on Sunday, hosting the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in a 3:00 PM game.  That is the season’s first chance to take advantage of the Wolf Pack’s “Click It or Ticket Hat Trick Pack”.  The Hat Trick Pack includes two tickets, two sodas, and one large popcorn, all for just $40. Tickets for all 2019-20 Wolf Pack home games are on sale now at the Sunwave Gas & Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499.  Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $10 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase. To speak with a Wolf Pack representative about season or group tickets, or any of the Wolf Pack’s many ticketing options, call (860) 722-9425, or click here to request more info.  To visit the Wolf Pack online, go to hartfordwolfpack.com. Charlotte Checkers 3 at Hartford Wolf Pack 5 Saturday, October 5, 2019 - XL Center Charlotte 1 0 2 - 3 Hartford  2 2 1 - 5 1st Period-1, Charlotte, Kuokkanen 1 (Priskie), 1:18. 2, Hartford, Keane 1 (O'Regan, Nieves), 4:03. 3, Hartford, LoVerde 1 (Newell, Fontaine), 12:06. Penalties-Gauthier Cha (double minor - high-sticking), 5:31; Day Hfd (interference), 17:17; Forsling Cha (tripping), 19:40. 2nd Period-4, Hartford, Beleskey 1 (O'Regan, Lettieri), 1:34 (PP). 5, Hartford, Lettieri 1 (Fogarty), 17:40. Penalties-Luostarinen Cha (holding), 13:40; Gibbons Cha (slashing), 14:37; Keane Hfd (slashing), 14:37. 3rd Period-6, Hartford, Beleskey 2 (LoVerde, O'Regan), 0:24. 7, Charlotte, Gust 1 (McKeown, Shinkaruk), 4:18 (PP). 8, Charlotte, Gauthier 1 (Gibbons, Geekie), 10:22. Penalties-Lettieri Hfd (high-sticking), 3:57. Shots on Goal-Charlotte 8-10-11-29. Hartford 8-10-5-23. Power Play Opportunities-Charlotte 1 / 2; Hartford 1 / 4. Goalies-Charlotte, Nedeljkovic 0-1-0 (23 shots-18 saves). Hartford, Shesterkin 1-0-0 (29 shots-26 saves). A-5,040 Referees-Jordan Deckard (14), Alex Garon (64). Linesmen-Brent Colby (7), Mike Baker (11). Read the full article