CANTLON: WOLF PACK WIN IN OT…AGAIN 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – Patrick Newell’s goal early into overtime sent the Hartford Wolf Pack to a 3-2 win over the Providence Bruins and their second straight extra-time victory Saturday afternoon at the XL Center.

The winning goal in overtime came at 1:15. Jonny Brodzinski, who moments early had lost the puck in the Wolf Pack zone, would get the puck back from the Bruins Cameron Hughes just outside the Providence blue line.

Brodzinski raced down the left-wing with Hughes trailing him. He slipped a cross-ice backhanded pass to Newell, who buried his shot to the Dan Vladar’s short side to cap a late-game rally for the Wolf Pack.

COACH REACTS

“We played a good game all day. A credit to our goalie (Adam Huska) who played great today and a tremendous shift by (Tim) Gettinger, (Ty) Ronning, and (Justin) Richards that got us that game-tying goal,” remarked Pack Head Coach Kris Knoblauch, exhaling after a wild final 21 minutes and 15 seconds of hockey.

The Wolf Pack record stands at 13-8-1 (27 points), now four points behind the Bruins, whose record is 14-6-2-1.

The Wolf Pack have a game Tuesday with Bridgeport wrapping up the XL Center home schedule and conclude the regular season next Thursday in Marlborough, MA, against the Bruins with a chance for a share of divisional title could be on the line.

THIRD PERIOD

In the third period, it looked as if the Wolf Pack would fall one goal short, but Ronning tied the game in the latter part of the third.

Off an ice-cleaning timeout, the Wolf Pack had an offensive zone draw; they didn’t win, but a tenacious forecheck allowed them to regain control of the puck.

A smart play by Richards covering the left point with team captain, Vincent LoVerde, pinching along the wall, got to the puck and put a solid shot that Vladar made the save on.

Vladar left a rebound that came right out to Ronning in the left-wing circle. Ronning didn’t miss the chance for his tenth goal, tying him for the team’s lead.

The play spawned numerous observations from Knoblauch about the entire Gettinger-Richards Ronning line?

“That whole play, that line was so tenacious in getting to and retrieving the puck, the block, the recovery. That what successful lines do hounding pucks like that.”

RONNING AND CENTERS

Ronning has been a success story all year.

“I can’t say enough (good) things about him. Ty has a lot of confidence right now; he puts himself in the right place, and that’s why he is having the success he has.”

Then there’s the play of his young centers in the game, both Richards and Patrick Khordorenko.

“The reason we have had so much success in the second half is because of the play by our young centers. Khordorenko is contributing, and Richards has been so strong almost every night. Tonight Khordorenko and Richards were very good.”

Rookie defenseman Zach Giuttari summed up Ronning’s play this season. “He’s probably the hardest worker on this team. He may be a smaller player, but he then plays with the heart of a lion.”

DEFENSEMEN

The teams’ third pair of defensemen, veteran Patrick Sieloff, and Giuttari were solid at both ends of the ice all afternoon.

“They’re our third pair, and they have, like the first pair, done so many effective things on both sides of the puck this afternoon,” commented Knoblauch.

Giuttari is very proud of his pairings work this season. “We have played so much this season. We have developed a really good relationship, so when you talk that long, on-and-off the ice, it comes to full effect.

“We built that relationship where it’s very easy to communicate, so you know where your next play is before you touch the puck; he’s a partner you can trust so much.”

You know where going to be and where you have to be.

HUSKA

Huska was spectacular in net in keeping the game close for the Wolf Pack to engineer a comeback.

Providence took advantage of the very first Wolf Pack mistake and put it in the back of the net.

From the Bruins’ end of the ice, Hughes threw up a diagonal flip pass that went to the right-wing side of the Wolf Pack zone. Its intended target, defenseman Jeff Taylor, never got a handle on it.

Bruins forechecker Jakub Lauko stayed on top of Taylor and won the one-on-one battle. Darren Raddysh left the front of the net wide open and went behind the net to help Taylor.

The Bruins’ Alex-Olivier Voyer took advantage of the deserted front of the net and quickly deposited his fifth of the season past an unsuspecting Huska at 9:48.

PERIOD CONTINUES

In the second half of the period, Huska was a goalie artisan making one beautiful save after another.

Shortly after the Bruins goal Oscar Steen and Ian MacKinnon were stopped on back-to-back chances. Robert Lantosi had a quality chance that Huska gloved.  On a power play, Hughes went short side, but Huska’s blocker stopped the puck.

The Wolf Pack tied the game. Michael O’Leary was at the left point. He sent a shot on the net with three Wolf Pack in the vicinity. Mason Geersten got the tip for his second goal of the season, evening things at one goal per side.

“It was a good shift by them and showed the value of being around the net. Mason was out there battling for position and credit Zach (Giuttari) for making the pass. Credit everyone on that shift” commented Knoblauch.

It gave Geertsen 2/3 of a Gordie Howe hat trick at 13:33.

HUSKA CONTINUES TO SHINE

At 17:50, Huska made a ten bell save, and the best of this as Steen’s back door seemingly had the whole net open on the left-wing side. Still, Huska lateral full-body save on Steen’s one time off a diagonal pass from Tommy Cross (Simsbury/Westminster Prep) got a piece of the puck that forces it over the net, just breathtaking!!

“He was excellent today and gets full marks for his efforts. The two goals on him, there was very little chance of him getting those. You need good goaltending to win; he’s been giving us good goaltending plus.”

The Bruins restored the lead by using the power play to take the lead late at 18:27.

As Brady Lyle took Jack Studnicka’s pass from the left-wing corner and then fired a diagonal pass from the left point to Samuel Asselin in the right-wing circle, and he deposited his seventh goal far side just after a five on three advantage had expired.

Huska stopped Senyshyn again late with a glove save with 7.8 seconds left.

VLADAR IMPRESSES

Vladar was equally impressive in net for the Bruins stopping Anthony Greco on a feed from Brodzinski, Sieloff, and Khordorenko twice; the second one came on a two-on-one break and a shot from the right-wing circle was swept away.

If we didn’t win, I don’t think Khordorenko would have slept well !!” remarked Knoblauch, able to add some levity after this tight playoff-like game. ” We did have several good scoring chances in the first half of the game he stopped us.”

The Wolf Pack played with speed and much puck control. In the first, they fired 13 shots at Vladar but were unable to push one past him.

The 6’5 netminder was equal to several solid scoring attempts by the Wolf Pack, even with two powerplay chances.

A late powerplay for Hartford saw Raddysh from the right point and Brodzinski in the left-wing circle get repelled out of harm’s way.

FIGHT TIME

The highlight of the first period was the no-bucket, five knuckle chuck fests at 7:21 for the third time this season between the Wolf Pack’s Geersten and the Bruins in MacKinnon, the AHL PM leader with now 84 PM in eight games, very Aaron Downey number (P-Bruin’s heavyweight in the late 1990’s and holds the regular season PM record at 409).

“There was a lot of swinging out there, “remarked Knoblauch “those are two of the toughest in this league; both benches appreciated their efforts.”

LINES

Richards-Gettinger-Ronning
Cullye-Brodzinski-Greco
Thompson-O’Leary-Geersten
Khordorenko-Rueschhoff-Newell

Raddysh-Taylor
LoVerde-Skinner
Giutarri-Sieloff

Huska
Wall

THREE STARS

Patrick Newell Hartford
Ty Ronning Hartford
Adam Huska Hartford

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Mason Geersten Hartford
Dan Vladar Providence
Paul Thompson Hartford

SCRATCHES

Alex Whalen
James Sanchez
Ryan Dmowski
Zach Berzolla
Francois Brassard
Gabriel Fontaine (upper-body, season over)

PROVIDENCE SCRATCHES

Seven players, including captain Paul Carey (Salisbury School)

NEWS AND NOTES

Morgan Barron and Tarmo Reunanen were recalled to the Rangers yesterday, and both will be in the lineup against the Islanders Saturday night.

Barron played, and he is in for Brett Howden, who suffered a broken foot in blocking a shot is done for the reason.

Reunanen played and was in the lineup for Ryan Lindgren (UBI injury).

A lot of player movement in Russia in the KHL for ex-Pack players

Alexei Bereglasov, fresh off winning his third Gagarin Cup title with Avangard Omsk, signs a two-year contract extension.

Marek Hrivik signs a one-year deal with Torpedo Novgorod leaving Leksands IF (Sweden-SHL).

Kodie Curran, currently with San Diego (AHL), had his KHL rights traded from Avangard Omsk to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.

Several others were released in Casey Wellman Kunlun (China), Peter Holland by Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, and Nigel Dawes by AK Bars Kazan.

Others with CT connections released Justin Danforth (Sacred Heart University) by Vityaz Podolsk and two others by EC Graz (Austria-IceHL) in ex-Pack Travis Oleksuk and ex-Sound Tiger Joel Broda.

Former Wolf pack Vladimir Vorobiev switches teams as a head coach goes from Dynamo Moscow and heads to Amur Khaborvsk for 2021-22 season.

HARTFORD WOLF PACK

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