CANTLON: (FEB 8) SYRACUSE SPANKS PACK – HARD, 6-0 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – With three goals in the second period, the Syracuse Crunch took control and never looked back en route to a 6-0 whitewashing of the Hartford Wolf Pack.

The Crunch is chasing the Rochester Americans for the top spot in the North Division and increased their record to 29-13-2-1 (61 points) and hold on to second place.

The Pack is now two games short of matching the franchise record of an eleven game losing streak. It was set in 2012 and ran from January 1-28 when they were 0-6-3-2. The Pack record falls to 19-24-3-3 and they have now gone nine games (0-7-1-1) and find themselves eleven points behind the fourth-place Lehigh Valley Phantoms, who they will face twice this weekend in Pennsylvania at the PPL Center and then Sunday afternoon at 3 pm.

At this point, it’s quite clear that the ship is taking on water and sinking. The hope for a post-season invite slipped further under the shadow of the horizon. The performance, with the exception of the third period, was another non-sixty-minute effort. The outcome was never in doubt.

“Syracuse carried a majority of the game,” Pack head coach Keith McCambridge said. “You recognize they’re a really explosive team. They are number one in the league for goals (172) and when you turn the puck over, there is a good possibility it will be in the back of the net. Many of the chances we gave them were mismanagement of the puck and the momentum swung completely in their favor.”

Following his comment, McCambridge fielded a call from Pack GM, Chris Drury. One can only imagine that it was a pleasant chat.

There is no escape for things in the locker room, and the silence was deafening.

“Today is the epitome of what has been going on here the last two weeks,” intoned a very somber assistant captain, Steven Fogarty. “All facets of the game were bad. We didn’t do anything to make it hard for them.”

Two weeks ago, the Wolf Pack were three points out of fourth place. Since the trade of captain Cole Schneider, they’ve won just twice was traded. The did fine in the first two after the trade, but since that time, it’s been all downhill.

“He was a big part of the room,” Fogarty said. “(He was) a big voice and everybody has to step up and lead by example on the ice. We have been doing a whole lot of talking and not too much on the ice.”

The head coach was in agreement with one of his assistants.

“Cole Schneider was a big part of our team, our dressing room. However, this is the American Hockey League, and trades will happen. You have to find a way to get over it. The team added some depth to the organization (Connor Brickley) and that’s a part of pro sports.”

Syracuse closed out the scoring with two shorthanded empty-net goals late off a double minor to Brady Brassart. Mitchell Stephens got his second of the game and Dominik Masin got his second of the season.

The second period the Wolf Pack got crunched for three goals and with that, the party was over.

Right off the bat Ross Colton, a one time Taft Prep (Watertown, CT) player, zoomed down the right wing. The left-handed shot snapped a wrister far to the glove side for his eighth of the season at 2:02. The goal made it a 2-0 Syracuse lead.

“The first two minutes of a period are as critical as the last two, and they were able to get momentum early and kept it.”

After killing a penalty, the Crunch made it 3-0.

Ben Thomas was at the right point and gathered a loose puck that had gotten away from the Pack’s Shawn O’Donnell. The Pack forward gave chase, but Thomas, a defenseman, was able to veer away unchecked off the right wing to the front of the net and slipped a backhander past Pack netminder, Marak Mazanec. For Thomas, it was his first of the season.

“We were too light in our own zone tonight. We didn’t win battles for loose pucks and you have to limit the time you’re defending in your own zone and we were generating only one or two good shifts.”

The Crunch got their fourth goal as the passive Pack defense, again, was willing to give Syracuse as much time and space as they wanted.

Mazanec made a splendid left pad save on a redirect from Cory Conacher in front of Cameron Gaunce’s point shot, but the rebound went right to the stick of Taylor Raddysh who easily deposited his eleventh goal of the campaign into the open right side of the net 10:13.

The only battle, as the frustration was beginning to show, came from the Wolf Pack in the form of two scraps. The first by Ryan Lindgren with Andy Andreoff. The second involved Matt Beleskey, who fared better against Dominik Masin.

The Wolf Pack had three breakaways. Fogarty was shorthanded on a nice steal at the Wolf Pack blue line and was stopped. Ryan Gropp on his bid was denied by Eddie Pasquale (21 saves) and Sean Day missed the net entirely.

“I would have been nice to get a goal, get some energy in the building from the crowd. Their goalie had a good game and he had a nice save on Ryan Gropp’s breakaway. The chances are few and far between against a team like Syracuse. We need to finish them,” said McCambridge.

The Crunch was able to gain the first goal of the game when Libor Hajek’s backhanded clearing attempt went around the boards from left to right wing. Ville Meskanen went to clear it out, but ex-Pack Hubert Labrie came down the right wing wall and blocked it. The puck came to Alex Barre-Boutet. He gained steam quickly and headed to the net. Barre-Boutet sent a perfect pass to Mitchell Stephens in the left circle. He snapped his third of the season by going high to the stick-side on Mazanec at 11:01.

It was Stephens’ first game back after missing 23 due to injury.

SCRATCHES:
Rob O’ Gara (Week-To-Week, lower body)
Brandon Crawley (Healthy)
Matt Petgrave (Healthy)
Shawn St. Amant (Healthy)

LINES:
Anderson-Brickley-Meskanen
Holland-Beleskey-Butler
Fontaine-Leedahl-O’Donnell
Fogarty-Gettinger-Gropp

Gilmour-Lindgren
Hajak-Bigras
Day-Tolkinen

NOTES:

The Pack weekly roster merry-go-round continues with Vinni Lettieri recalled after Cody McLeod was traded by the New York Rangers to the Nashville Predators which opened a roster spot.

Goalie, Brandon Halverson, was recalled again from the Maine Mariners (ECHL). He will likely see action in one of the games in against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. With the trade deadline coming, he may be being showcased as a part of a larger deal that could possibly be in the works.

The Pack signed defenseman Matt Petgrave from the Brampton Beast (ECHL). In 41 games, Petgrave had six goals and 30 points. He also has 44 PIM in his third season with the team.

Last season Petgrave had three AHL recalls. His longest was twelve games with the Laval Rocket. He also had a game with the Belleville Sens and two with tonight’s opponent, Syracuse.

After a four-year OHL career with Niagara, Owen Sound, and Oshawa with one Memorial Cup tournament appearance. Petgrave had a four-year Canadian college career with the University of New Brunswick (AUS). They were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs every year.

Tuesday’s announced crowd of 1,274 was the lowest in Wolf Pack history. Now, 22 of the 35 lowest crowds in the team’s history have come during the Global Spectrum/Spectra management era. Five of the 22 have come this season thus far.

Goalie, Connor LaCouvee, who was in Wolf Pack training camp, was signed to an AHL deal with Laval and reassigned to the Pack’s ECHL affiliate in Maine strictly for post-season roster purposes.

Trevor Yates, the son of ex-Hartford Whaler, Ross Yates, was traded from the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) to the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins. He was then reassigned to the Wheeling Nailers (ECHL).

Former CT Whale, Christian Thomas, signs a new two year deal with Traktor Chelyabinsk (Russia-KHL).

Ex-Pack, Josef Balej, was released by MsHK Zilina (Slovakia-SLEL) and signed with EHC Freiburg (Germany DEL-2).

Ex-Pack, Akim Aliu, has signed a deal with the Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL).

Jonas Johanssen of the Rochester Americans, after being named the first star against the Wolf Pack in a 4-1 win, was reassigned to the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL). Seems like that would have earned him at least another game, no?

Former UCONN goalie, Garrett Bartus, is currently with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits (ECHL). He has signed to play this spring/summer with the Sydney Ice Dogs (Australia-AIHL) when their season kicks off at the end of April.

Last summer, former UCONN Husky, Trevor Gerling, who was also a former Wolf Pack training camp invitee, scored the overtime game-winner to help his CBR (Canberra) Brave team win their first Australian Goodall Cup championship.

Wolf Pack fan jersey of the night: #49 Ilkka Heikkinen, and a Sean Day #4 jersey with the Mississauga Steelheads (OHL).