Wolf Pack Win One on the Road

The Hartford Wolf Pack scored twice in the first period and once in the
third and came away from Rochester with a 3-1 win over the Amercks.

Rochester, NY—Nicklas Jensen scored twice, and Brandon Halverson made 31 saves to lead the Hartford Wolf Pack to a 3-1 road win over the Rochester Americans 3-1 before 4,781 fans at the Blue Cross Arena on Wednesday night. Matt Carey also scored, and John Gilmour picked up two assists for the Wolf Pack, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Cole Schneider scored the only Rochester goal.

“Great team effort for the win,” Jensen said. “I think we controlled most of the game. They had 10, 15 minutes in the second period when they had some chances and had some [offensive] zone time, but in the long run I think we played a really solid game, solid defense. We boxed out really well, stuff we talked about before the game, and even if they had o-zone time, it was on the outside. We’re really happy about how we played defensively, and that’s what transferred into our offense tonight.”

The Wolf Pack dominated the first period, jumping out to a 2-0 lead and holding an 11-3 shots advantage over the Americans, who didn’t get their second shot of the period until the 17:22 mark. Hartford opened the game with a goal by Jensen on the first shift, just 30 seconds into the contest. Gilmour made a strong rush down the left side and unloaded a shot that went off the side of the net. The puck caromed off of the end boards and right to Jensen at the right side of the goal mouth, and Jensen flicked it into the net past Americans goaltender John Muse (26 saves).

The Pack doubled their margin at the 12-minute mark while on the power play. With Rochester’s Eric Cornel off for tripping. Gilmour set Ryan Graves up for a one-timer from the right point, and Carey deflected it into the net for what would ultimately prove to be the game-winning goal.

After a scoreless middle frame, the Wolf Pack were out-shot 18-10 in the third, but battled the Amercks to a standoff. Jensen’s second of the game upped the Pack’s lead to 3-0 at 2:53, as Jensen and Pavel Buchnevich broke on a 2-on-1, with Buchnevich feeding Jensen at the right circle for the finish.

The Wolf Pack now head to St. John’s, Newfoundland, where they will play back-to-back games against the IceCaps Friday and Saturday nights. Faceoff is at 6 p.m. ET for both games, and all of the action can be heard live on News Radio 1410 WPOP, on-line at www.newsradio1410.com and on iHeartRadio. Video streaming is available at www.ahllive.com.

Schneider, the former UConn star, foiled Halverson’s shutout bid on the power play at 6:47. With Jensen in the penalty box for slashing. Halverson stopped a shot from the top of the slot by Evan Rodrigues, but the rebound slid just away from him, and Schneider pushed the loose puck into the net.

The Wolf Pack’s next home game is Fri., Jan. 20 vs. the Toronto Marlies at 7:15. As at all Friday-night home games, fans can enjoy $1 hot dogs and $2 beers through the start of the second period. In addition, the first 2,000 fans through the turnstiles will receive a Wolf Pack 20th anniversary poster, compliments of Bud Light as part of the Wolf Pack’s Hartford Hockey Heritage Weekend.

Tickets for all Wolf Pack 2016-17 home games are on sale now at the XL Center, on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499. Season ticket information for the Wolf Pack’s 2016-17 AHL season can be found on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com. For information on all Wolf Pack ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451.

 —Staff Reports

 

Wolf Pack Comeback Falls Short vs. League-Leading WBS

By Bob Crawford

The Wolf Pack fell behind by three goals, which ultimately proved to be
one goal too many to the AHL-Leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Penguins on Tuesday night.

Wilkes-Barre, Pa. – The Hartford Wolf Pack got third-period goals from Steven Fogarty and Tanner Glass, but could not come all the way back from a three-goal hole, ultimately dropping a 3-2 decision to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins before 3,291 fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza on Tuesday night. Chad Ruhwedel had the game-winning goal and an assist for the Penguins, who also got goals from Teddy Blueger and Josh imatArchibald. Tristan Jarry got the win in net with 25 saves. Fogarty also had an assist for the Wolf Pack, and Brandon Halverson stopped 32 shots in the Hartford net.

After being outshot by a combined margin of 28-10 in the first two periods, the Wolf Pack had a 17-7 shots advantage in the third.

“We put ourselves in a pretty big hole there to come back,” Fogarty said, “but I like the way we battled the second half of the game. You can’t go down to a team like this and expect the result you always want. We battled back, but it wasn’t enough.”

The win improved the Penguins’ AHL-best record to 22-7-3-0. The loss was the Wolf Pack’s season-high fourth straight in regulation, dropping Hartford to 11-18-3-1.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton controlled play in the first period, outshooting the Wolf Pack 15-4 and holding Hartford without a shot until the 13:21 mark, and the Penguins came out of the first frame leading 2-0.

Blueger opened the scoring at the 3:15 mark, on the game’s first shot. Blueger got a pass from Ruhwedel and moved off the right-wing boards toward the slot, before snapping a high shot past Halverson.

Archibald increased the lead to 2-0 at 13:03, deflecting a shot from the left point by David Warsofsky into the Wolf Pack net.

After a scoreless second period, Ruhwedel connected on a Penguin power play at 2:42 of the third, with Adam Tambellini in the penalty box for holding. After a Dominik Simon try missed wide, Ruhwedel swept the loose puck in on his backhand from the right side of the goalmouth.

That appeared to be an insurance goal at that point, but it turned out to be the difference, as the Wolf Pack dominated most of the play after that.

Fogarty ruined Jarry’s shutout bid just 3:03 after Ruhwedel’s tally, burying a centering pass from out of the right-wing corner by Garrett Noonan, who got his first Wolf Pack point on the play. The goal was Fogarty’s third of the season, and second in three games since his return from nine games out due to injury.

“Any time you can help produce for your team it feels good. Noonan made a great play and I didn’t have to do much. I’m just trying to help out, but the W is more important here.”

Glass cut the margin to one with his sixth goal of the season at 14:33, when Brandon Alderson, in his first game with the Wolf Pack after being called up from Greenville of the ECHL, passed the puck from below the goal line on the right side to Glass in the slot for the finish. The Wolf Pack would not get the equalizer, however, despite having 1:53 of late power-play time, after a slashing penalty against Pouliot at 16:52.

Next, the Pack will entertain the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the AHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, on Friday night at the XL Center. First puck drops at 7:15 p.m. Tickets for all home games are available at the Agera Energy Ticket Office at the XL Center, on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com, and by phone at (877) 522-8499.

THE SKINNY

Connecticut Women Trounce Central Florida, 84-48

Sophomore forward Napheesa Collier puts in an uncontested
basket against Central Florida. Collier led all scorers with
22 points in the Huskies’ 84-48 victory.

By Bob Phillips with staff reports

 

ORLANDO- Napheesa Collier led all scorers with 22 points, while Katie Lou Samuelson added 17 points and seven rebounds to lead the No. 1 University of Connecticut women’s basketball team to a resounding 84-48 victory over the University of Central Florida Knights before 4,539 fans at CFE Arena in Orlando, Fla. on Sunday. It was the Huskies’ 88th straight victory, tying them with Bill Walton’s 1971-74 UCLA Bruins for the second-longest winning streak in college basketball history.

Gabby Williams (16 points—15 in the first half) also had a strong game for the Huskies, who are now just two games away from their own NCAA record of 90 straight wins established from 2009 until 2011. Williams also had six rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots. UCF was led by Aliyah Gregory's (18 points) and Zykira Lewis (15).

As is often the case, the Huskies put the game away early. After Kia Nurse knocked down a trey with 5:27 remaining in the first quarter, Connecticut led by10. The Huskies led 24-6 at the end of the first period, and their advantage grew to as many as 32 in the second stanza.

Dominant performance, you say? Try this one on for size: The Huskies shot 73 percent from the field in the first half, including an amazing 56 percent performance from beyond the arc.  And the Husky defense was hardly chopped liver, holding the Knights to just 30 percent shooting in the first two periods. By the end of the first period

A swarming Connecticut defense held UCF to just three field goals to stake the Huskies to a 24-6 lead after the first quarter. At halftime, the UConn lead had grown to 45-16, and the game was over for all practical purposes. The hardest thing this team will have to cope with is not to let down against lesser competition as the conference schedule kicks in.

“Good players don’t do that regardless of what the score is,” said Husky head coach Geno Auriemma. “Those are the things that I keep harping on with them… every timeout… every chance we get.”

“Coach really emphasizes not to play to the score, but to play our game,” added Collier, who also had five rebounds and five assists in addition to her game-leading point total. Then, reflecting her coach’s propensity for never being content with the Huskies’ performance, regardless of how dominating it may be, she added, “For stretches we did well. We just need to be more consistent.”

With the win, the Huskies improved to 13-0, 1-0 in American Athletic Conference play. The Knights fell to 10-4, 0-1. The victory in Orlando also represented Connecticut’s NCAA record 31st straight road victory.

The Huskies are now off until Wed., Jan. 11, when they will host the 9-5 (0-1) East Carolina Pirates at the XL Center. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised regionally on SNY, and nationally on ESPN2.

THE SKINNY

UConn Men’s Hockey Team Celebrates New Year’s Eve With Tournament Title

By Bob Phillips with staff reports

PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. – It’s been a relatively slow build for the University of Connecticut’s men’s hockey team, but make no mistake: The Huskies have arrived. Playing in an area dominated by former national champions such as Providence, Yale, BU and BC, the Huskies have struggled to find an identity and build a fan base beyond the UConn student body. Bu this weekend, the process came to fruition as the Huskies earned the Desert Hockey Classic championship with a convincing 4-1 win over Brown on New Year’s Eve afternoon at the Prescott Valley Event Center in Prescott Valley, Ariz. The win came after UConn eliminated No. 18 St. Cloud State by a 4-3 margin Friday night in the semis.
Spencer Naas of Minnetonka, Minn., scored a pair of goals in the championship game, while Husky senior netminder Rob Nichols, a Dallas native, stopped 15 shots. Indeed, it was the brilliant Connecticut defense that collectively should have earned the first star. The Husky D limited the Bears to just 16 shots, including none—as in zero—in the third period. Nichols was named tournament MVP.

The Huskies dominated the shot chart in the opening period, but Brown goaltender Gavin Nieto was up to the task, turning away all of the 17 shots UConn took at him. The Bears struck first at 13:47 on a 4-on-4.  Brady Schoo dug the puck off the right boards and fed Tyler Bird in the right circle where he buried a wrist shot top-shelf. It was Bird’s third tally of the season. It was also the last time Brown would find the back of the net.

The Huskies struck for two goals in the middle stanza to take a 2-1 advantage. Naas tied the game at 1-1 at 2:12 thanks to a great individual effort. The junior forward forced a turnover in the neutral zone, grabbed the puck headed the other way. As he closed in on Nieto, Naas buried a snap shot for his 10th tally of the season.

The Huskies doubled up at 10:06 when sophomore Max Kalter of Highland Park, Ill., picked-up his second goal of the season. Freshman Philip Nyberg, a native of Linkoping, Sweden, fired on net from just inside the blue line, but his shot blocked was. Naas tried to redirect the rebound into the net, but lost control. Kalter grabbed the loose puck at the right post and slid it in for a 2-1 UConn lead. It was Nyberg’s first collegiate point, and came on what would ultimately prove to be the game-winning goal. UConn had four power play chances in the second period, but came up empty on each.

In the third period, the Huskies made good on the power play—their eighth man-advantage shift of the game—when freshman Benjamin Freeman of Falmouth, Maine, picked up his second goal of the season at 6:57, giving the Huskies a 3-1 lead. Sophomore Maxim Letunov (Moscow, Russia) picked-up his team-leading 12th helper of the season on the play.

For the second-straight night, the Huskies had to try and kill off a 6-on-4 power play for the opponent thanks to a cross-checking call with 3:37 remaining in regulation. The Connecticut PK came up big, however, and junior Corey Ronan of Franklin, Mass., put the finishing touches on the win with an empty netter from deep in the UConn zone—his third marker of the season.

Overall, the Huskies were just 1-for-8 on the power play, but it hardly matteredConnecticut held a huge 34-16 edge on shots.

Brown, which fell to 3-10-1 overall, got magnificent effort from Nieto, who stopped 30 Husky shots, in net. UConn now heads home with an 8-6-6 overall mark and their first trophy since winning the UConn Hockey Classic during the 2003-04 season. 

“We are very excited,” said UConn head coach Mike Cavanaugh. “Brown gave us all we could handle, coming off a double-overtime game yesterday and a quick turnaround today.  When I first got here four years ago, I said I had three goals: graduate players, make them better men and win trophies. It feels good to get that first [trophy].”

The Desert Hockey Classic title marks the third in-season tournament championship for the Huskies in the D-I era (1999-present) and their 14thh overall in all-time program history. UConn now returns home to take on in-state rival Yale on Sat., Jan 7, at the XL Center. First puck drops at 3:05 pm.

The Skinny

Sound Tigers Stop Springfield in OT

Travis St. Denis scored the game winner in OT as the Sound Tigers topped the
Springfield Thunderbirds. The win snapped a five-game slide for Bridgeport.

Staff Reports

Josh Ho-Sang set up Travis St. Denis for the winning tally in overtime as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers topped the Springfield Thunderbirds, 5-4, before an announced 3,888 fans at Webster Bank Arena on Wednesday night. The Sound Tigers are the top minor league affiliate of the New York Islanders, while the Thunderbirds are the top affiliate of the Florida Panthers.

Bridgeport fired the first salvo at 9:26 of the opening period. After a scramble in front of the crease, Connor Jones sent the puck out to the top of the left circle where Jon Landry fired a shot over the glove-side shoulder of Springfield netminder Mike McKenna.

Less than seven minutes later, the Sound Tigers doubled their lead. Playing his first game for Bridgeport, Eric Boulton sent the puck to Ryan Pulock in the neutral zone. Pulock, a third-year defenseman, skated down the left boards, cut through the circle and slipped a low shot from the slot that made it through McKenna’s five hole. The assist was Boulton’s first American Hockey League point since 2000 in his first AHL game since Nov. 27, 2011.

The Thunderbirds got one back in the middle stanza when Ryan Horvat snapped in a rebound at the 7:17 mark. Joe Diamond took the initial shot which was stopped by Sound Tigers goalie Stephon Williams. But Williams was unsuccessful in corralling in the rubber biscuit, and Horvat was in the right place at the right time to finish it and cut Bridgeport’s advantage to 2-1.

Ho-Sang put Bridgeport back up by two with a power play goal at 18:16 of the second period. Following a cross-checking major and game misconduct to Horvat for a vicious hit on Steve Bernier, Michael Dal Colle threaded a diagonal feed to Ho-Sang at the right post where he nudged it home for his third goal of the season.

Springfield controlled the majority of the third period, scoring three times to send the game to overtime. Chase Balisy made it 3-2 at the 2:40 mark when he scored on a wraparound, stuffing the puck into the left side of the net. Then, just 62 seconds later, Balisy sent a backhand pass to Zac Lynch in the high slot. Lynch lifted a slapshot over Williams’ left shoulder for his first professional goal, knotting the score at 3-3.

But after losing a two-goal lead, Bridgeport regained the advantage when St. Denis found Kearns deep in the Thunderbirds’ zone. Kearns redirected a shot on target that McKenna steered below the goal line, but Kearns stuck with it and banked another chance off the goaltender that made its way past the line for his ninth tally of the season.

But Springfield was undeterred. The Thunderbirds tied the game for a second time at 16:52 of the third when Williams lost the puck as he came out of the crease. That created an opportunity for Tim Bozon, who took full advantage by slipping a shot around Williams’ right leg for his fifth tally of the season.

The Sound Tigers wrapped things up 3:24 into the extra period when Ho-Sang corralled a bouncing puck below the right circle, spun right and fed it to St. Denis, who flipped a shot top shelf for his fifth goal of the month. “He’s an elite player,” said St. Denis of Ho-Sang, his teammate and roommate. “He sees the ice well. I knew he’d try to get it to me.”

A physical battle throughout, the game produced two fights and 47 combined penalty minutes. Ben Holmstrom and Mackenzie Weeger dropped the gloves at 12:17 of the middle frame, while Michael Dal Colle and Jared McCann did the two-fisted tango at 15:25 of the third.

The Sound Tigers were 1-for-3 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. Williams (4-10-0) made 24 saves in the win, while McKenna (4-7-4) stopped 29 shots. With the win, the Sound Tigers improved to 17-12-0-0, while the Thunderbirds fell to 11-12-4-2. Ho-Sang (one goal, one assist) and Tanner Fritz (two assists) had multi-point efforts as the Sound Tigers remained unblemished, 8-0, in games extending beyond regulation. Bridgeport also snapped a five-game slide dating back to Dec. 11. Landry, Pulock and Bracken Kearns also found the back of the net for the Tigers.

The Sound Tigers now hit the road, beginning a five-game road trip on Friday with a 7 p.m. matchup against the Hershey Bears at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa. Fans can follow all the action online at AHLlive.com, beginning with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m.

The Tigers do not return to the cozy confines of the Webster Bank Arena until Sat., Jan. 14, when they will entertain the Utica Comets. It will be Military Appreciation Night, and the first 1,500 fans through the turnstiles will receive a Sound Tigers Bomber Hat courtesy of the Better Business Bureau. In addition, all active and veterans of the military will receive free admission with valid ID. The Sound Tigers players will be wearing special camouflage jerseys during the game. The jerseys will be auctioned off during the game with proceeds benefiting the BBB Military Line Scholarship. Prior to the game, a Veterans Expo featuring companies that are hiring and offering special services to help veterans will take place from 5:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m. Tickets to Military Appreciation Night are available by clicking HERE, or by visiting the Webster Bank Arena Click It or Ticket Box Office.

THE SKINNY