By: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - For the Hartford Wolf Pack and their parent organization, the New York Rangers, the lazy, hazy summer days are winding down. The teams are two weeks away from training camp opening in Tarrytown, NY and then the Wolf Pack training camp at the XL Center starts a couple of weeks later.  There are still moves being made in the hockey world. The Rangers have hired Angela Ruggiero (Choate Rosemary Hall-Wallingford) to join Peter Laviolette’s coaching staff as a Hockey Operations Adviser. No clear reporting on what her responsibilities will be. Rangers President Chris Drury (Trumbull) and she were both selected and entered the US Hockey Hall of Fame together with the Class of 2015. Ruggerio played for several US Women's Olympic teams and won a gold, two silvers, and a bronze medal. She earned four gold medals and six silvers in international World Championship action. In 1999, the Harvard grad with an MBA degree won a national title with the Crimson, and the defenseman won the Patty Kazmier Award as the top college female hockey athlete in 2004. She played for two women’s professional leagues in her active playing days. She was part of the CWHL (Canadian Women’s Hockey League) and the WWHL (Western Women’s Hockey League) during her 11-year career. Ruggerio retired in 2011. She has been involved in the business side of hockey since then. Hiring Ruggerio is part of the overall revamping of the Rangers coaching staff. HARTFORD CONNECTED ATHLETES MAKING MOVES Casey Torres, an ex-Pack assistant coach for one year and who was out of hockey last year, is back in. was named the assistant coach for the Windsor Spitfires (OHL). After a year off from hockey, ex-Pack Peter Holland signs with the Colorado Avalanche organization and will likely be skating with the Colorado Eagles next season. Holland last played in Sweden two years ago. Holland was traded from the Wolf Pack in 2018-19, a week after then-captain Cole Schneider. The belief is that Schneider was dealt because of the manner in which he tried to motivate then rookie, and now an unsigned ex-Pack, Libor Hájek. Apparently, Schneider's actions angered former Wolf Pack head coach Keith McCambridge, who is now an assistant coach with the Bakersfield Condors. Ex-Pack Jake Elmer dissolves his contract with Odense in Denmark and signs with the Dundee Stars (Scotland-EIHL) for next season. Jeff Heil was a backup goaltender for 11 games during the Wolf Pack's first season. His son Caleb, also a goalie, is involved in the game. He played for the Sioux City (SD) U-16 AAA (T1EHL) team and nine games for the Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL) last season and has verbally committed to play in two years at the University of North Dakota (NCHC). Jabez Seymour, a Newfoundland native from the Selects Academy program at South Kent Prep-SKP U-15 team last year, signed with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, who drafted him in the first-round 18th overall in the June QMJHL Draft. After six years as a head coach for Kootenay/Winnipeg Ice (WHL), ex-Whaler/Ranger James Patrick signed to be the new Director of Player Development for the Victoria Royals (WHL). The team in Winnipeg was sold to a group of the Wenatchee (WA) Wild, who moved up from the Junior A level BCHL to the major junior WHL. One of the players to start the year there will be Easton Armstrong, who is the youngest son of ex-Pack legend Derek Armstrong. He'll play his overage year to start with Wild. After four years as the Northern Ontario Scout for Kingston Frontenacs (OHL), ex-Sound Tiger Brent Gauvreau returns to his hometown as an assistant coach with the Sudbury Wolves (OHL). AHL signings to Europe now stand at 76. The latest, Alex Galchenyuk, leaves the Colorado Eagles (AHL) for SKA St. Petersburg (Russia-KHL). Sweden leads in the signees department with 30. Maxim Barbashev, who was in the Wolf Pack house late last season when his junior season ended but never played a game, was involved in a pre-season QMJHL trade as he was moved from the Moncton Wildcats and will play his third season with the Shawinigan Cataractes. Ex-Pack Josh Nicholls leaves Kunlun Red Star (China-KHL) for a second time and signs with the Sheffield Steelers (England-EIHL). SIGNINGS/TRANSFERS The college to pro signings North America/Europe, and the transfer in-school and graduate continues. North America first, Hockey East leads all conferences with 38, and the NCHC conference has 37. The Big Ten and the CCHA each have 34, the ECACHL 25, and the AHA 21. Division III is at 32, and attending Canadian colleges four and undergrads departing early is 39. Independent Division I schools now have 14, signed in Europe is 62, and returning to American junior hockey is two. Surprisingly, none have yet to come from Canadian major juniors. The total number stands at 301. The transfers collegiately have exploded in-school is 102 and graduate 68. UCONN UCONN finally announced its official incoming class for the college hockey season. Ethan Haider is a post-grad goaltender from Clarkson. He is expected to split time with the returning Arsenii Sergeev (Calgary). Another grad transfer will be Ryan Mashie of RPI (ECACHL). Incoming freshmen will feature Oliver Flynn (Wolcott/CT Chiefs (AYHL)/Loomis Chafee Prep-Windsor). Forward Joey Muldowney, D Owen Simpson, and Bauer Swift (West Hartford/Choate Rosemary Hall-Wallingford). Swift has an older brother (Cooper) and younger brother (Easton) involved in hockey and are both named after a hockey equipment brand. Rayen Petrovický, the son of former Hartford Whaler and Ranger Róbert Petrovický, elects to sign with VHK Vestin (Czechia (Czech Republic-Division-II) for 2023-24. It took just two days for ex-Yale Bulldog Ken Agostino’s one-year deal with Skellefteå AIK (Sweden-SHL) to be terminated. The team said it received backlash for signing someone who played in Russia for the last two years with the ongoing war in Ukraine. He played on the 2022 US Olympic squad at the Beijing Games. Howlings previously reported on the strange anomaly of current and ex-North American players signing deals with KHL clubs despite the war and public declaration that the NHL wanted nothing to do with Russia, where no transfer agreement exists. A long line of players behind Agostino have all done the same thing. Per Elite Prospects.com, as of last week, 53 North Americans are in the KHL, 39 Canadians, 15 Americans, and 22 players from EU nations are listed in the KHL. Russian and European training camps are about to end as their regular season starts next month. Will other EU clubs announce their rescinding any dealings with any of these players or others? Wolcott native Nick DiNicola, who played youth hockey for the CT Jr. Wolves (AYHL), CT Clippers (AYHL), Hartford Jr. Wolf Pack (ATJHL), CT (Stamford) Yankees (USPHL-Premier) then under the direction of ex-Wolf Pack/Sound Tiger Jeff Hamilton (Yale University & AOF) and had five games with the Danbury Hat Tricks (FPHL) leaves Como (Italy Division-2) for Chiavenna (Italy Division-3) for next season. By the way, Hamilton has owned the CT Jr. Rangers (NCDC) for the last two years and is out as owner. He was involved with the Mid-Fairfield Rangers U-14 team as head coach last year. Five ex-Whalers were at the golf club at Avon Country Club last weekend for a charity event. They included Ron Francis, Ulf Samuelsson, Mike  Liut, Dave Tippett, and Joel Quenneville. The tournament was named, honoring Quinneville's late nephew Connor Scott Zieky. None of them made it to the Yard Goats Whaler Day last month. The Yard Goats official assistant GM, Dean Zappolorti, said Francis informed him he would come next year and help him recruit other players to attend. If that happens and Pat Boutette gets Mike Rogers and Blaine Stoughton to return, it will be a home run (pun intended) next year. Ex-Pack Domenic Moore is playing in the Over-40 Senior Canadian Tennis Championships. During the hockey season, he works as an Analyst for ESPN. An NHL source regarding the Phoenix situation. “It’s a mess. We hear that they're looking to secure land now, but they have to get something soon. It’s become an embarrassment…a sore point for the league, a  black eye. The player’s association is unhappy, they’re losing money and owners are getting tired of spending money to keep them going. Sooner or later, something has to give, soon, it just can’t keep going on like this. When a kid like (Logan) Cooley, a next generation likely NHL star, signs reluctantly, leaving a larger arena he had in college (Minnesota) for a smaller one in Arizona, that they’re not even selling out, things have to get done in short order. They’re gonna have to move them most likely if they don’t nail things down soon.” HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

By: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The Rockford Ice Hogs won the one-on-one battles and received a goal and an assist from Lukas Reichel and Dylan Sikura to pace them to a 4-2 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack at the XL Center. "We got our chances in the third (period), and we didn't get much in the way of rebounds. Once we forced the issue we got a lot more chances. We just couldn't score. I thought the chances were pretty even between both squads. We didn't get the offense we wanted, but then again we are missing five or six of our top forwards right now. Our guys worked hard, we just didn't get the results we wanted, "Pack Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said in his post-game comments. In the third period, the Wolf Pack trailed by three when the Wolf Pack used solid forechecking to force a two-on-none and made it count. The Wolf Pack had a pair of forwards force a turnover. Guttman was in the offensive zone at the Pack blue line and swiped by Tanner Fritz after Bobby Trivigno's forecheck forced the turnover. Then Fritz and Trivigno broke out on the odd man rush. At 6:06 came the game's only clean scoring chance for the Wolf Pack. In a give-and-go situation, Fritz shuffled it back to Trivigno, who put in his fourth goal of the season with Matt Rempe trailing to make it an actual three-on-none. "We had a lot good opportunities. We played right at five-on-five. We just have to find a way to win these one goal games. Too many are going the other way on us. We're making those first or second but, we just have to capitalize and put it in the back of the net. Getting down 3-0, it's tough to dig out of that hole," remarked Trivigno. Knoblauch was pleased but offered a caveat. "It's good we got that chance and showed we know what to do with (the puck); it's just we're not getting a chance like that that often. Bobby made a good play there….We just need more of them." The Pack's netminder, Louis Domingue, made two saves on Reichel and Alec Regula to keep the Wolf Pack within shouting distance early. The Pack played with a sense of urgency, getting some net-front presence and offensive zone time in the process. Will Cullye made a shorthanded pass to Turner Elson with a backhander just before the goal was stopped by the goaltender, Jaxon Stauber. At 15:42, a rare net-front rebound came off an Andy Welinski shot. Cullye attempted to score, but Stauber gobbled it up. Ryan Lohin was wide-open on the right wing side and was stopped with no other chances as Stauber controlled the rebounds effectively. "When you have stretch like this, we just have to simplify our game. We have to hone in on our special teams right now and try to get it to click and get some pucks in the back of the net and make it a totally different game than it becomes," Trivigno said. The Pack continued to inch closer. They had a tremendous late-game power play opportunity but only managed one shot, Welinski's left point blast with 18.5 seconds left in the power play. With 4.5 seconds left, Brandon Scanlin's rocket from the left point converted Cristiano DiGiacinto's feed from behind the net and saw his first pro goal go to the short side that sailed past Stauber cleanly. The Wolf Pack had 15 shots in the third period and 30 in the game. It was undoubtedly their most productive evening period, but hockey is played for 60 minutes, not just 20. In the second period, at 6:19, Rockford went up 2-0 as Adam Clendening was at the right point inside the blue line. He took a Sikura pass up from the right wing half-wall and fired a cross-ice pass to Cole Guttman, who one-timed it over Domingue's glove for his fifth goal of the season. The Ice Hogs managed the puck efficiently and kept possession. They limited time and space on the Wolf Pack whenever they had the biscuit making Stauber's job that much easier. When the Wolf Pack did have a chance, it was usually a "one and done." There were few second or third chances for the Pack. On the flip side, Domingue did his best to keep the score close with stops on Brett Seney, David Gust, and Louis Crevier. The first period was a tight-checking affair, with both teams unfamiliar with the other. Due to injuries and call-ups, the Pack was fielding a team filled with ECHL call-ups that had little practice time together. Rockford had played the night before, and it showed. Rockford got the first break on a Reichel dump-in. The Pack said it hit a lousy board behind their net as Domingue glared at the off-ice crew nearby and smacked the end boards with his goalie stick, but the video replay showed the puck glanced in off his skate and his stick in front of the net. Sikura quickly turned around and swept his seventh of the season into the open net at 13:19. Just a few minutes earlier, Domingue had used his left pad to make one of his best saves of the night. He extended his leg completely out on Seney twice on the right side of the net at 11:10. LINES: Ruesschhoff  - Trivigno - Smith Henriksson - Whalen - DiGiacinto Fritz - Cullye - Elson Hillman - Lohin - Rempe Emberson - Robertson Zac Jones - Welinski Scanlin - Giuttari Garand SCRATCHES: Gustav Rydahl (Day-to-Day, Lower-Body ) Lauri Pajuniemi  (Day-to-Day, Upper-Body) Tim Gettinger (Out For a Month, Upper-Body) Patrick Khordorenko (Season Over - Shoulder Surgery) NOTES: Blake Hillman moved from defense to play left wing on the fourth line. No decision has been made on tomorrow's starting goalie. The Rockford team bus arrived late as they got lost coming from Springfield. The Wolf Pack got some tough news early this afternoon as captain Jonny Brodzinski and a defenseman were recalled by the Rangers. Defenseman Zac Jones is coming back down to Hartford on a conditioning stint after being a healthy scratch. "It's great to have him back. I'm very close with Zach from our days UMASS. It's a tough thing, because you want him up there, "remarked Trivigno. Knoblauch got an early Christmas gift. "Its good to have him here and we'll enjoy having him while he's here." Ryan Lohin was inserted into the lineup for the Wolf Pack. Gustav Rydahl was held out and is likely to play in Providence. He's trying to come off an upper-body injury. Lohin was recalled from Jacksonville last week. The Pack is already 15 points behind the first-place Providence Bruins and ten points behind the fourth-place Charlotte Checkers in what is the last divisional playoff spot. This is after just 18 games played. The Hershey Bears have won five in a row and are 8-2 in their last 10. They were idle on Saturday. The Wolf Pack have a mid-afternoon (3:00 PM) date tomorrow in Providence with the Bruins led by ex-Pack Vinni Lettieri. Rockford is in fourth in the AHL Central by three points ahead of the Iowa Wild, who they return home to play on Tuesday night. The Wolf Pack had a whole week before their first-ever meeting with the Rockford Ice Hogs, the top affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks. They have started goalie Jackson Stauber, the son of former Wolf Pack/New Haven Nighthawks goalie Robb Stauber. The elder Stauber also won the Hobey Baker Award at Minnesota and, as a sophomore, won the gold medal as the head coach of the 1998 US Olympic Women's team in Nagano, Japan. Rockford's assistant coach is former Wolf Pack Jared Nightingale. Nightingale remembers his time fondly in Hartford and Springfield as he played in both places. "Hartford was always good to me. The second time (2007-2008) I was playing my best, but there was too many contracts, so they had to let me go." One of his first pro games was with Springfield in Harford. Dale Purinton chased him all over the ice. "That was my baptism. Dale screaming my name at me chasing me from one side of the rink to the other." In regards to his first goal, "I scored so few. You think I'd remember them all." Both parent teams, the Rangers and Blackhawks, met last night in an Original Six meeting at MSG. Chicago won that game 5-2. The Ice Hogs won 4-2 in Springfield on Friday night behind three assists by Brett Seney and a goal and an assist by Lukas Reichel and Cole Guttman. Two other Midwestern teams, the Milwaukee Admirals and Grand Rapids Griffins, come in next weekend. So in two weeks, the Wolf Pack will make a (sadly) rare Midwestern-road trip to Rockford, Milwaukee, and Grand Rapids in kind. Milwaukee features current Admirals captain and former Wolf Pack captain and UCONN Husky Cole Schneider from their AHA years and another former Husky of recent vintage from their Hockey East incarnation, Jáchym Kondelík. Milwaukee beat Manitoba 4-3 in a shootout Thursday. Schneider scored a team-best ninth goal, and Kondelik had an assist. Milwaukee lost a matinee game Saturday in Winnipeg at the Canada Life Centre, with the Moose winning 3-2 as ex-Pack Nick Jones earned the game's first star with a goal and an assist for the Moose. Then Grands Rapids, where current Wolf Pack GM Ryan Martin (Simsbury, CT) spent eight years before coming to Hartford. Former Pack defenseman Steven Kampfer resides there, just reassigned on a conditioning stint, is goalie Magnus Hellberg. He was claimed off waivers for the third time this year by Detroit. Finally, Wyatt Newpower of UCONN spent four years in Hockey East and is in his third pro year. Hellberg had 34 saves last night and Newpower an assist in Friday's 4-1 loss to Texas. Also playing is a Wolf Pack training camp invitee last year, cut on the last day, and an ex-Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Cédric Lacroix, and Austin Czarnik, who was just recalled for a second time by the Red Wings. Griffins' assistant coach is a former Division II/III UConn Husky  ECAC East, former Hartford Whaler of two years, and former New Haven Nighthawk of 13 games, Todd Krygier. The other assistant is ex-Ranger Mike Knuble, and the head coach is a former Springfield Falcon, Ben Simon. The Bridgeport Islanders saw three players go up to the New York Islanders in Simon Holmstrom, Cole Bardreau, and Hudson Fasching. Bardreau was sent back Saturday. Two forwards, Collin Adams and Jimmy Lambert, the nephew of current Islanders coach, former Sound Tigers bench boss, and former Nighthawks player Lane Lambert, were both recalled from Worcester Railers (ECHL). Ex-Sound Tiger Kieffer Bellows cleared waivers and was reassigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms by the Philadelphia Flyers. They come into the XL Center Wednesday. Hershey released former UCONN forward and Yale grad Kevin O'Neil without ever playing a game and heads back to the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL). Ex-Pack Phil Di Guiseppe remains a cap liability until the Canucks trade is made to alleviate the issue was sent down from Vancouver to Abbottsford. Drake Rymsha, the son of ex-Nighthawk Andy Rymsha, was recalled by Bakersfield from the Ft. Wayne Komets (ECHL). Peter DiLiberatore (Quinnipiac University-ECACHL) is recalled from the Savannah Ghost Pirates (ECHL) to Henderson. On Friday, #6 nationally ranked UCONN lost the back end of a home-and-home series 7-3 to Merrimack College. In addition, they have been outscored in their last three games by a combined score of 15-6. Bryce Brodzinski, the younger brother of Pack captain, Jonny Brodzinki, scored and extended his point-scoring streak to five games in a 5-0 win Minnesota win over Michigan State in a Big 10 matchup both teams play tonight again at Munn Arena at Michigan State. HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The two parent organizations of the Hartford Wolf Pack and the Milwaukee Admirals, the New York Rangers and Nashville Predators respectively, announced an AHL deal Monday. The Rangers dealt their Wolf Pack captain, Cole Schneider, to the Admirals for forward, Connor Brickley. It’s the fourth straight year the Rangers have dealt the Pack's captain. This trade, however, is the earliest of the four deals by four games. Ryan Bourque and Mat Bodie were each dealt exactly a year apart on the eve of the trade deadline. Joe Whitney was sent packing to the Hershey Bears ending his 40-game captaincy on February 9th last year. Schneider played just 36 games. It was the fifth captain traded in franchise history. The first captain dealt was Dane Byers, who had requested a trade and it was granted as he wound up with the Columbus Blue Jackets on November 11, 2010. The deal on the surface is strictly a contract wash as each player is a UFA (unrestricted free agent) next season and were unlikely to be resigned. Schneider was making $350K this year in his second season of a two-year deal while Brickley was making $300K for the Admirals on a one-year contract. Neither player got much ice time with their respective parent clubs this season. Schneider was recalled as a possible emergency replacement for Vladimir Namestnikov but stayed for several games without being inserted into the lineup. Several pro hockey sources with knowledge of the deal said it's been floating around for some time. “The Rangers had Schneider available a few months ago and I guess it’s the last two weeks they actively were shopping for a deal and got what they wanted.” The irony is that last year, Whitney was offered to Nashville and they turned the Rangers down. This time they responded favorably as the Rangers wanted Brickley. Schneider is an alumnus of the UCONN hockey program and he played in 112 games in Hartford with 29 goals and 75 points. This season, in 36 games, Schnieder had 13 goals and 12 assists (25 points) and just returned from a concussion. This is the second time that Schneider was traded in his career. He went as part of a seven-player deal between the Ottawa Senators and the Buffalo Sabres on February 27, 2016. Milwaukee plays in Winnipeg on Wednesday against the Manitoba Moose. Brickley, a University of Vermont grad played 39 games this season with seven goals and 11 points in 39 games. He was a minus-11. In his AHL career, Brickley has played 234 games and scored 58 goals and has 113 points for the Everett, MA native. Brickley has 67 NHL games to his credit with five goals and 17 points with the Florida Panthers who drafted him in the second round 50th overall in the 2010 NHL Draft. Brickley is the cousin of Dan Brickley, who plays for the Ontario Reign (AHL). He is the first cousin, once removed, from Andy Brickley who played in the NHL with the Bruins (385 games) and has been the long-tenured Bruins color commentator on NESN for Bruins broadcasts. The Wolf Pack have a three-in-three weekend Friday night with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, followed on Saturday with the Springfield Thunderbirds at the XL Center and then they head to Providence to play the Bruins on Sunday. It was a busy off day Monday for the Wolf Pack. They watched Schneider leave, plus defenseman Ryan Lindgren got recalled by the Rangers while Bridgeport’s Steve Bernier was handed a three-game suspension for the hit to the head of Steven Fogarty in Saturday night’s game. Read the full article

Blueshirts trade Cole Schneider to Nashville BY: The New York Rangers NEW YORK, January 14, 2019 – New York Rangers General Manager Jeff Gorton announced today that the team has acquired forward Connor Brickley from the Nashville Predators in exchange for Cole Schneider. Brickley, 26, has skated in 39 games with the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL) this season, registering seven goals and four assists for 11 points, along with 18 penalty minutes. He is tied for fourth on the Admirals in goals in 2018-19. Brickley has skated in 234 career AHL games over parts of five seasons (2013-14 – 2016-17; 2018-19), registering 57 goals and 56 assists for 113 points, along with a plus-eight rating and 171 penalty minutes. He established AHL career-highs in games played (73), goals (22), assists (25), and points (47) during his first full season in the AHL with the San Antonio Rampage in 2014-15. The 6-0, 203-pounder has also skated in 67 career NHL games over parts of two seasons (2015-16; 2017-18), both with Florida, registering five goals and 12 assists for 17 points, along with 33 penalty minutes. Brickley established NHL career-highs in games played (44), goals (four), assists (eight), and points (12) with the Panthers last season. The Everett, Massachusetts native was originally selected by Florida in the second round, 50th overall, of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Schneider was signed by the Rangers as a free agent on July 1, 2017. He skated in 112 AHL games over parts of two seasons with the Wolf Pack (2017-18 and 2018-19), registering 29 goals and 46 assists for 75 points, along with 66 penalty minutes. Read the full article

BY: Bob Crawford, Hartford Wolf Pack Providence, RI, January 6, 2019 – A three-game Hartford Wolf Pack winning streak came to an end Sunday at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center Providence, in a 5-1 loss to the Providence Bruins. A Cole Schneider power-play goal with 2:21 left in the third period prevented a Bruin shutout, but the Wolf Pack were only able to generate 16 shots on Providence goaltender Zane McIntyre. Peter Cehlarik scored twice for the Bruins, and Jordan Szwarz had a goal and an assist.  The Wolf Pack had been 3-0-1 in their previous four games. “Right from the start, Providence was quicker to (the) loose pucks, hemmed us in our own zone, and we weren’t able to generate any kind of offense,” Wolf Pack head coach Keith McCambridge said. The Bruins dominated the first period, outshooting the Wolf Pack 17-4, and built a 2-0 lead. Szwarz opened the scoring at the 13:43 mark, with his team-leading 12th goal of the season.  A shot from the point by Kyle Cumiskey went wide, and Cameron Hughes was able to poke the puck behind the net to Szwarz, who jammed it between Wolf Pack goaltender Marek Mazanec (32 saves) and the goal post to his right. The Bruins then made it a 2-0 game on a power play with only 3.4 seconds left in the period.  With Lias Andersson off for holding, Cumiskey fed a pass across the slot from right to left to Cehlarik, who ripped it into the net. After a scoreless second period, Providence scored a back-breaking shorthanded goal at 9:12 of the third, to increase its lead to 3-0. Chris Breen cleared the puck to center ice, and Hughes broke into the Wolf Pack zone on a 2-on-1 with Karson Kuhlman.  Hughes passed to Kuhlman on the right side, and he dropped it off to Emil Johansson, who snapped home his first goal of the season. Cehlarik then bagged his second of the day at 11:44 to make it 4-0, driving a shot from the left-wing side through a Mark McNeill screen and past Mazanec. The Wolf Pack later attempted to lift Mazanec for an extra attacker, but just as he was reaching the bench the Wolf Pack turned the puck over, and Gemel Smith fired it into the empty cage at 15:35. McIntyre was not able to complete the shutout, however, as the Wolf Pack power play capitalized after a tripping call against Tanner Pond at the 15:38 mark.  Vinni Lettieri sent the puck cross-ice to Peter Holland in the left circle, and Schneider deflected his shot through McIntyre at 17:39. The defeat was the first in regulation in six games against Providence for the Wolf Pack, who are 4-1-1-0 in the season series against their Atlantic Division rivals. The Wolf Pack and Bruins clash again at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center Providence this Friday night, January 11, in the next action for both teams.  Faceoff is 7:05 PM and all of the action can be heard live on News Radio 1410 WPOP, and online at newsradio1410.com and iHeartRadio.  Video streaming is available at theahl.com/AHLTV. The next Wolf Pack home game is next Friday, January 18, a 7:15 contest vs. the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.  That being a Friday night, fans can enjoy $1 hot dogs, and $2 beers and fountain sodas, through the start of the second period, presented by Nomads Adventure Quest. Tickets for all 2018-19 Wolf Pack home games are on sale now at the Agera Energy Ticket Office at the XL Center, online at hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499.  Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $13 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase. Season ticket information for the Wolf Pack’s 2018-19 AHL season can be found online at hartfordwolfpack.com.  To speak with a representative about all of the Wolf Pack’s many attractive ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451, or click here to request more info. Hartford Wolf Pack 1 at Providence Bruins 5 Sunday, January 6, 2019 - Dunkin' Donuts Center Hartford     0 0 1 - 1 Providence 2 0 3 - 5 1st Period-1, Providence, Szwarz 12 (Hughes, Cumiskey), 13:43. 2, Providence, Cehlarik 6 (Cumiskey, Szwarz), 19:56 (PP). Penalties-Butler Hfd (high-sticking), 15:31; Andersson Hfd (holding), 19:30. 2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Clifton Pro (slashing), 3:12; Beleskey Hfd (elbowing, fighting), 12:45; Sherman Pro (fighting), 12:45; Fyten Pro (high-sticking), 16:10; Lindgren Hfd (roughing), 20:00; Szwarz Pro (roughing), 20:00. 3rd Period-3, Providence, Johansson 1 (Kuhlman, Hughes), 9:12 (SH). 4, Providence, Cehlarik 7 (Sherman), 11:44. 5, Providence, Smith 5 (Zboril), 15:35 (EN). 6, Hartford, Schneider 13 (Holland, Lettieri), 17:39 (PP). Penalties-Leedahl Hfd (roughing), 5:58; Johansson Pro (roughing), 5:58; Schneider Hfd (roughing), 8:28; Clifton Pro (cross-checking), 8:28; Lauzon Pro (roughing), 8:28; Pond Pro (tripping), 16:38. Shots on Goal-Hartford 4-2-10-16. Providence 17-7-13-37. Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 1 / 4; Providence 1 / 3. Goalies-Hartford, Mazanec 6-6-2 (36 shots-32 saves). Providence, McIntyre 10-8-3 (16 shots-15 saves). A-8,811 Referees-Reid Anderson (49), Jason Faist (26). Linesmen-Dmitrii Antipin (77), William Brennan (31). Read the full article

BY: John Rosasco, New York Rangers NEW YORK, December 11, 2018 – New York Rangers General Manager Jeff Gorton announced today that the team has assigned forwards Cole Schneider and Steven Fogarty to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL). Schneider was recalled by the Rangers on Dec. 8. He has skated in 25 AHL games with the Wolf Pack this season, registering eight goals and nine assists for 17 points, along with four penalty minutes. At the time he was recalled by the Rangers, Schneider led the Wolf Pack in goals and power play goals (four), was tied for second in points, ranked third in shots on goal (48), and was tied for fourth in assists this season. He has tallied at least one point in 15 of 25 games he has played with the Wolf Pack this season. Fogarty has skated in 10 games with the Rangers this season after he was recalled on Nov. 18. He has skated in 19 AHL games with the Wolf Pack in 2018-19, registering seven goals and seven assists for 14 points, along with 16 penalty minutes. At the time he was recalled by the Rangers, Fogarty was tied for the team lead in goals, ranked second on Hartford in points and power play goals (three), and was tied for fourth on the team in shots on goal (38) this season. Read the full article

BY: John Rosasco, New York Rangers  NEW YORK, December 8, 2018 – New York Rangers General Manager Jeff Gorton announced today that the team has recalled forward Cole Schneider from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL). Schneider has skated in 25 games with the Wolf Pack this season, registering eight goals and nine assists for 17 points, along with four penalty minutes. He leads the Wolf Pack in goals and power play goals (four), is tied for second in points, ranks third in shots on goal (48), and is tied for fourth in assists this season. Schneider has recorded a point in seven of the last eight games with Hartford, registering eight points (four goals, four assists) over the span, and he has also tallied at least one point in 15 of 25 games with the Wolf Pack this season. He notched a goal and recorded three shots on goal in Hartford’s game last night against Charlotte. The 6-2, 199-pounder has skated in 454 career AHL games over parts of eight seasons (2011-12 – 2018-19), registering 135 goals and 200 assists for 335 points, along with a plus-10 rating and 208 penalty minutes. Entering this season, Schneider had tallied at least 50 points in each of his last five AHL seasons (2013-14 – 2017-18), and he recorded 20 or more goals in four of those five seasons. In his first season with the Wolf Pack in 2017-18, Schneider tallied 16 goals and 34 assists for 50 points while skating in all of the team’s 76 games, and he led the Wolf Pack in games played, assists, and points during the season. Schneider has also skated in six NHL games during his career with Buffalo (two games in 2015-16 and four games in 2016-17), recording one assist and a plus-two rating. He made his NHL debut on Apr. 8, 2016 vs. Columbus and tallied his first career NHL assist/point on Nov. 9, 2016, vs. Ottawa. The Williamsville, New York native was signed by the Rangers as a free agent on July 1, 2017. Schneider was originally signed by Ottawa as an undrafted free agent on March 14, 2012. Read the full article

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 4, Hartford Wolf Pack 1 BY: Taylor Foy, Hartford Wolf Pack Hartford, CT, November 10, 2018 – Three early first-period goals carried the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 4-1 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack Saturday night at the XL Center. Thomas DiPauli, Derek Grant and Teddy Blueger all scored within the first 4:31 of the game for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and the Wolf Pack were never able to climb out of that hole.  DiPauli added two assists for the Penguins, and Jimmy Hayes also scored.  Tim Gettinger had the only Wolf Pack goal. “We just need to be ready to play,” Wolf Pack captain Cole Schneider said. “It seems like every game we're making mistakes within the first five minutes and it’s costing us the game.” DiPauli opened the scoring only 1:50 after the opening faceoff.  After Will O’Neill kept the puck in at the Hartford blue line, Anthony Angello fed a pass out of the right-wing corner to DiPauli driving the middle, and his shot beat Wolf Pack goaltender Dustin Tokarski (28 saves) from close range. Grant upped the lead to 2-0 at 3:23, with his second goal in three AHL games on the year.  Grant’s bid from the right side hit Wolf Pack defenseman Rob O’Gara’s stick and went between Tokarski’s legs. Only 1:08 after that, at 4:31, Blueger made it 3-0 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, as he was able to jam a rebound between Tokarski and the goal post to his left. After Wolf Pack head coach Keith McCambridge called a timeout, the Wolf Pack and Tokarski were able to right the ship, but they could not cut into the deficit against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltender Anthony Peters (31 saves) until the 11:54 mark of the second period. That was when the Wolf Pack power play got Hartford on the scoreboard, with Blueger in the penalty box for interference.  Peters stopped John Gilmour’s one-timer from the top of the slot but could not control the rebound, and Gettinger flicked it in for his sixth goal of the season. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton got that goal back only 1:09 later, though, at 13:03.  Blueger backhanded a pass from behind the net to Hayes in the slot and Tokarski had no chance on Hayes’ quick shot to the glove side. That was it for the scoring, despite a 13-8 shots-on-goal advantage for the Wolf Pack in the third period. “It seems easy, but we’re not getting pucks or bodies in front of, or to, their net,” Schneider said.  “It’s frustrating, but we know we can do it, we just need to be better.” The Wolf Pack’s next action is their “Sonar’s Edu-Skate” school-day game this Wednesday, November 14, with faceoff at 11:00 AM.  For information on bringing a school group to the Edu-Skate game, contact the Wolf Pack ticket office at (855) 762-6451, and tickets for all 2018-19 Wolf Pack home games are on sale now at the Agera Energy Ticket Office at the XL Center, online at hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499.  Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $13 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase. Season ticket information for the Wolf Pack’s 2018-19 AHL season can be found online at hartfordwolfpack.com.  To speak with a representative about all of the Wolf Pack’s many attractive ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451, or click here to request more info. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 4 at Hartford Wolf Pack 1 Saturday, November 10, 2018 - XL Center Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3 1 0 - 4 Hartford                         0 1 0 - 1 1st Period-1, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Di Pauli 1 (Angello, O'Neill), 1:50. 2, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Grant 2 (Abt, Peters), 3:23. 3, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Blueger 5 (Di Pauli), 4:31. Penalties-Gettinger Hfd (holding), 6:46; Hayes Wbs (slashing), 11:18; Pedrie Hfd (high-sticking), 14:41. 2nd Period-4, Hartford, Gettinger 6 (Gilmour, Fontaine), 11:54 (PP). 5, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Hayes 2 (Blueger, Di Pauli), 13:03. Penalties-Grant Wbs (slashing), 1:32; Blueger Wbs (interference), 10:18; Bigras Hfd (high-sticking), 14:23. 3rd Period- No Scoring. Penalties-Blueger Wbs (roughing, roughing), 2:28; Gilmour Hfd (roughing), 2:28; O'Donnell Hfd (goaltender interference), 7:41; Bigras Hfd (interference), 14:29; Di Pauli Wbs (unsportsmanlike conduct, misconduct - unsportsmanlike conduct), 16:08; O'Gara Hfd (slashing), 16:08. Shots on Goal-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 13-11-8-32. Hartford 10-9-13-32. Power Play Opportunities-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 0 / 5; Hartford 1 / 4. Goalies-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Peters 4-1-0 (32 shots-31 saves). Hartford, Tokarski 1-3-1 (32 shots-28 saves). A-3,981 Referees-Jordan Deckard (14), Furman South (44). Linesmen-Tyson Baker (88), Kyle Richetelle (47). Read the full article