The Wolf Pack were outshot 40-25 in the game.  Patrick Rissmiller also contributed a goal and an assist for Hartford, and Corey Potter and Bobby Sanguinetti had two assists each.  Sean Avery and Jordan Owens scored the other Wolf Pack goals.  The Pack equaled a franchise record with two shorthanded goals in the game.

The Wolf Pack were outshot 16-6 in the first period but came out of it with a 1-1 tie.  Alex Goligoski scored the game’s first goal on a Penguin power play at 5:57.  Former Wolf Pack Jeff Taffe found Goligoski coming down the weak side, and Goligoski beat Zaba from the left-wing side of the crease.

Avery got the Wolf Pack back to even at 16:57, with his first goal in a Pack uniform.  Avery fought off a Penguin checker on left wing and drove a rolling puck past Wilkes-Barre/Scranton netminder John Curry.

The Wolf Pack took the lead with the only goal of the second period, scored 1:44 in by Owens.  Mike Ouellette partially fanned on an attempted backhand, but was able to push the puck to Owens in front of the net.  Owens, who had missed the previous eight games due to injury, snapped the puck past the stick side of Curry for his 10th goal of the season.

The Wolf Pack broke the game open with three special teams goals in the third period, on only five total shots.

Moore beat Curry to the glove side for a shorthanded goal at 1:24, and then Rissmiller scored shorthanded at 10:53, stealing the puck from Goligoski and putting it off the post and in behind Curry.  Moore struck again at 13:36, completing the scoring on a power-play deflection of a shot by Potter.

It was the first multiple-goal game of the season for the Hartford captain Moore, and the victory improved the Wolf Pack’s record to a season-best eight games above .500 (31-23-2-3, 67 points).

Hartford Wolf Pack 5 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 1
Feb 25, 2009 – Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza

Hartford 1 1 3 – 5
W-B/Scranton 1 0 0 – 1

1st Period-1, W-B/Scranton, Goligoski 2 (Taffe, Caputi), 5:57 (pp). 2, Hartford, Avery 1 (Sanguinetti, Potter), 16:57. Penalties-Rissmiller Hfd (hooking), 4:24; Dupont Hfd (fighting), 8:31; Engelland Wbs (fighting), 8:31; Bissonnette Wbs (hooking), 12:40; Potter Hfd (hooking), 12:55.

2nd Period-3, Hartford, Owens 10 (Ouellette, Pyatt), 1:44. Penalties-Sanguinetti Hfd (tripping), 4:04; Fahey Hfd (hooking), 19:32; Dupont Hfd (roughing, roughing), 19:56; Richmond Wbs (roughing), 19:56; Taffe Wbs (roughing), 19:56.

3rd Period-4, Hartford, Moore 17 (Anisimov, Sanguinetti), 1:24 (sh). 5, Hartford, Rissmiller 8   10:53 (sh). 6, Hartford, Moore 18 (Potter, Rissmiller), 13:36 (pp). Penalties-DiDiomete Hfd (slashing), 4:45; Owens Hfd (slashing), 9:53; Engelland Wbs (cross-checking), 12:16; Goligoski Wbs (hooking), 13:36; Sugden Hfd (fighting), 13:37; Weise Hfd (unsportsmanlike conduct), 13:37; Bissonnette Wbs (fighting), 13:37; Parenteau Hfd (slashing), 15:17.

Shots on Goal-Hartford 6-14-5-25. W-B/Scranton 16-13-11-40.
Power-play opportunities-Hartford 1 of 3; W-B/Scranton 1 of 9.
Goalies-Hartford, Zaba 15-8-0 (40 shots-39 saves). W-B/Scranton, Curry 22-9-0 (25 shots-20 saves).
A-6,047
Referees-Nygel Pelletier (41).
Linesmen-Matt McNulty (26), Richard Leonard (2).

Zaba made 31 saves, but Kurtis McLean’s rebound goal with 2:18 left in the first period proved the difference at the Bridgeport Sound Tigers beat the Wolf Pack 1-0 before 3,583 at the XL Center Wednesday night.

The Wolf Pack (27-23-2-3) were shut out for the second time this season and have only one goal in the last two games and have lost four of five. It also was their first loss at the XL in four meetings with the Sound Tigers, who tied the GEICO Connecticut Cup series at 4-4.

“We didn’t have a very good start, and if you’re having trouble creating offense, you can’t afford to wait until the second or third period to really sense desperation or jumpstart your game,” Wolf Pack coach Ken Gernander said. “We were turning over a lot of pucks. Instead of playing along the walls and having puck possession with a ground game, we were just trying to do aerial saucers and toss things into the middle of their coverage.”

But Gernander had no complaints with Zaba.

“He played dynamite,” Gernander said. “He has played well for us, and that was a very good game for him.”

But Sound Tigers rookie Nathan Lawson was one better than Zaba, stopping 23 shots for his second shutout as the Sound Tigers (32-17-3-3) extended their point streak to 4-0-0-1.

“I thought we started well, and then kind of went into a lull and they got the momentum,” Zaba said. “We weren’t generating much offense, and they were doing a good job of staying disciplined and keeping our power play off the ice, which was pretty much the game.

“I felt good, but for whatever reason, we were a little flat. We definitely didn’t have our ‘A’ game, but we’ll get it back together for the weekend.”

Zaba enabled the Pack to escape the first period trailing only 1-0 after being outshot 18-8, including 6-3 in the final 10 minutes. Zaba made a handful of stellar saves, notably off Ben Walter (twice), Micheal Haley and Sean Bentivoglio.

Matthew Ford and Sean Avery, playing his second game with the Wolf Pack after being loaned by the Dallas Stars on Feb. 10, had the Wolf Pack’s best chances early before the Sound Tigers took the lead as McLean beat Patrick Rissmiller to a rebound of former Yale defenseman Joe Callahan’s shot and jammed it past Zaba.

“Honestly, I probably should have had it,” Zaba said. “The rebound was kind of lying to the side, and I slid over into my butterfly. I was there, but he made a nice play. He hesitated, then moved over a little and I had to kind of open up and he put it through my five hole.”

The Sound Tigers continued to press early in the second period, but Zaba smothered the backhander of a wide-open Chris Lee at 4:10.

The Wolf Pack finally put together some sustained offense late in the period, but Lawson stopped Artem Anisimov breaking down the slot off a pass from Avery with 4:15 left, then stopped Tommy Pyatt at the right post a minute later.

Zaba then made bang-bang saves on Bentivoglio racing down left wing and Haley’s rebound with 2:20 left.

Things got testy on the Wolf Pack’s second power when Avery got in a yapping match with Lawson, who wasn’t happy the winger was in the crease, and then poked Tyler Haskins in the face along the boards without an official noticing it with 1:11 to go.

Zaba kept the Wolf Pack close when he stopped Haskins’ semi-breakaway at 3:35 of the third period.

The Sound Tigers had a goal disallowed with 7:20 left when Haley was called for goaltender inference before backhanding in his own rebound after Zaba stopped his partial breakaway.

The Wolf Pack then had their most sustained pressure of the game, but Lawson stopped Mike Ouellette’s one-timer from Avery with 1:15 left and Anisimov’s deflection with Zaba pulled for a sixth attacker.

“You have to have a heightened sense of emotion or intensity before the last 10 minutes,” Gernander said. “I’d like to see a heightened sense of urgency to start the game.”

Avery said he felt better than in his Wolf Pack debut Saturday night.

“As far as battles go and getting hits, it was better on the lungs than in the first game, so I’m happy about that,” said Avery, who had two shots and was on the ice for the only goal. “They were coming at me from the start of the game, and I was a little quiet, which takes a little away from my game. Then I started to give back a little of what I was getting, which makes me play better.

“I’m targeted, but I know I did it eight years ago. They’re all trying to get to the next level, so they wouldn’t be doing their job if they didn’t go after me. I’m not too happy about the loss, but I feel better for sure.”

SUMMARY

Bridgeport       1     0     0   –  1

Hartford          0     0     0    –  0

First period: 1. Bri, McLean 14 (Callahan, Walter), 17:42; Penalty: Smith, Bri (hooking), 1:13.

Second period: No scoring. Penalties: Dupont, Hfd (interference), 10:38; Joensuu, Bri (tripping), 18:38.

Third period: No scoring. Penalty: Dupont, Hfd (hooking), 16:11.

Shots on goal: Bridgeport 18-7-7_32, Hartford 8-5-10_23; Power-play opportunities:  Bridgeport 0-for-2, Hartford 0-for-2; Goalies: Bridgeport, Lawson 12-5-2-1 (23 shots-23 saves), Hartford, Zaba 11-8-0-0 (32-31); Referee: Ian Croft; Linesmen: Brent Colby, Kevin Redding; A: 3,583.

Vladimir Denisov and Brodie Dupont scored shorthanded markers for the Wolf Pack in the game, Dupont’s the game-winning goal coming at 3:58 of the third period.  Artem Anisimov also scored his team-leading 22nd goal for Hartford, and P.A. Parenteau had two assists.  Matt Zaba made 35 saves in the Wolf Pack net, to improve his record against Springfield to 3-0-0.

The Wolf Pack were outshot 9-4 in the first period, but the only goal of the session was Denisov’s shorthanded tally at 7:04.  Denisov beat Springfield goaltender Devan Dubnyk from right at the blueline, snapping a high shot past Dubnyk’s catching glove and under the crossbar.  Parenteau picked up the lone assist.

The shots on goal in the second period were even more lopsided, 16-2 in favor of Springfield, but the frame ended with the score tied at two

Wethersfield, CT native Colin McDonald made it a 1-1 game with his fourth goal of the season at 1:03 of the second, forcing a shot through Zaba from the right circle.  The Wolf Pack power play connected at 5:03 to get the lead back, with Anisimov converting a perfect cross-slot pass from Parenteau, putting the puck into the top shelf from Dubnyk’s left.

The Falcons tied it again, at the 13:43 mark, by taking advantage of a five-on-three power play.  Springfield scoring leader Ryan Potulny buried his 21st from the right circle, on a rebound after Zaba stopped Viacheslav Trukhno’s bid.

Dupont’s game-winner came after he flipped the puck out of the defensive zone and Falcon defenseman Taylor Chorney tripped and fell.  Dupont broke in alone on Dubnyk, who tried a poke-check, and Dupont pulled the puck to his backhand and slid it in, for his 10th goal of the season.

It was the 15th time in franchise history that the Wolf Pack has scored two shorthanders in the same game.  The only other game in which the Wolf Pack had as few as 16 shots was the third game of the team’s first season, a 5-2 win at Philadelphia October 10, 1997.

Hartford Wolf Pack 3 at Springfield Falcons 2
Feb 7, 2009 – MassMutual Center
1st Period
Scoring – 1. Hartford, V. Denisov (2) (P. Parenteau) 7:04 SH
Penalties – C. Potter Hfd (hooking) 5:49, G. Lefebvre Spr (holding) 16:07

2nd Period
Scoring – 2. Springfield, C. McDonald (4) (G. Lefebvre, T. Spurgeon) 1:03
3. Hartford, A. Anisimov (22) (P. Parenteau, B. Sanguinetti) 5:03 PP
4. Springfield, R. Potulny (21) (V. Trukhno, R. Schremp) 13:43 PP
Penalties – G. Hunt Spr (interference) 4:09, C. Potter Hfd (hooking) 8:14, V. Trukhno Spr (holding) 9:10, J. Nightingale Hfd (hooking) 12:03, A. Anisimov Hfd (hooking) 12:41, G. Lefebvre Spr (cross-checking) 16:47

3rd Period
Scoring – 5. Hartford, B. Dupont (10)   3:58 SH
Penalties – A. Anisimov Hfd (high-sticking) 2:45, J. Nightingale Hfd (holding) 5:30, V. Denisov Hfd (roughing) 7:24, R. Schremp Spr (roughing) 7:24, D. DiDiomete Hfd (roughing) 13:59, T. Chorney Spr (tripping) 13:59, C. Corazzini Spr (roughing) 13:59

HFD Shots: 4 2 10 TOTAL: 16
SPR Shots: 9 16 12 TOTAL: 37

Power Play Conversion
Hartford Wolf Pack 1-5. Springfield Falcons 1-6.

Goaltenders
Hartford Wolf Pack
Zaba 10-7-0 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 59:53 SV: 35 GA: 2 [W]

Springfield Falcons
Dubnyk 15-26-1 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 58:58 SV: 13 GA: 3 [L]

Start : 7:08 PM
End : 9:25 PM
Attendance : 5729
Referee I: Ghislain Hebert (49)
Referee II:
LINESMAN I: Robert St. Lawrence (10)
LINESMAN II: Brent Colby (7)

The win kept the Wolf Pack (25-18-2-3, 55 points) tied with Providence for first place in the Atlantic Division.

Artem Anisimov had two assists for the Wolf Pack, and Marty Murray tallied a pair of goals for Manchester.

Manchester drew two penalties from the Wolf Pack in the first 2:33 of the game, and the Monarchs connected on the first of those two man-advantages.  Murray deflected Scott Parse’s shot past Zaba at 1:51, after Teddy Purcell found Parse in the left circle with a cross-slot pass.

The Wolf Pack tied the score at 5:36 of the second frame, with Dale Weise getting his fourth goal of the season, and his first since November 23rd.  Patrick Rissmiller set Weise up with a pass to the right-wing side of the crease.  Murray got his second of the game to put Manchester back in front at 10:39, off of a goalmouth scramble.  Zaba stopped Purcell’s shot, but both Murray and Matt Moulson crashed the net, and Murray poked the puck in.

Bobby Sanguinetti tied the game again in a four-on-four situation at 16:17, driving a Parenteau pass into the net on the stick side of Monarch netminder Jonathan Bernier.

The Wolf Pack would only manage two shots in the decisive third period, but would score two goals.  Parenteau fired in a pass from Anisimov for his 20th of the season at 8:52, and then Parenteau set up Tom Pyatt for what turned out to be the winner on a two-on-one at 16:35.  Parse created the final margin with a sixth-attacker goal with 1:16 left, but the Monarchs could not get anything further past Zaba.

Moore, voted by the players to succeed Andrew Hutchinson as captain on Thursday, scored a shorthanded goal and contributed to solid defensive play in front of Matt Zaba as the Wolf Pack beat the Bridgeport Sound Tigers 3-1 before 5,699 at the XL Center.

“I was really happy with the team’s effort for the full 60 minutes,” Moore said. “We really stuck to our systems, finished our checks and didn’t back down from any challenge on the ice. Usually after (All-Star Game) breaks, team ease into games, so there isn’t the intensity. But there was a lot of pace and physicalness and definitely a good way to get us back into the rhythm of things for the rest of the season.”

Jordan Owens and Mike Ouellette scored in the last 4:39 as the Wolf Pack (24-18-2-3) moved six games above .500 for the first time this season and into a three-way tie for the Atlantic Division lead with Providence and Portland, which beat the Bruins, 4-2. It was accomplished in front of Rangers general manager Glen Sather and Wolf Pack GM Jim Schoenfeld, who made a pit stop on the way to Boston for the Rangers’ game today at 1 p.m. against the Bruins.

“We’ve been looking at the division (lead) for a while now, and it’s definitely a goal of ours to be in the top,” Moore said. “We’ve been pushing every day to get there, and I think the guys have really done a great job putting the effort forward to make a push at the end of the year.”

All-Star center Artem Anisimov had his eight-game point streak, which tied the team season high of Parenteau, snapped, but not before he failed to bang a loose puck into an open net off a rebound at 4:20. Zaba (25 saves) stopped a good bid by Vladimir Nikiforov off a 3-on-2 at 9:05 and then denied Kurtis McLean alone in front during a power play at 11:37.

Moore gave the Wolf Pack the lead for good when he took a rink-wide pass from P.A. Parenteau in the neutral zone, raced down the left wing and around defenseman Chris Lee and put a backhander between the legs of Nathan Lawson (26 saves) at 13:21. It was Moore’s second goal in as many games after going eight games without scoring.

“It was a good pass by P.A., and I just tried to drive wide and put the puck on the net,” Moore said.

“That’s the kind of play we want him to get back to,” Wolf Pack coach Ken Gernander said. “He had a lot of those good, strong wide drives last season, and he did it again and got rewarded.”

Owens nearly got the Wolf Pack’s second shorthanded goal at 7:58 of the second period, but his backhander off a steal was stopped by Lawson. Then while lying on his back in the crease, Zaba stopped a wide-open Jeremy Colliton, who was back in the Sound Tigers’ lineup after missing 10 games with a rib injury.

It stayed 1-0 until Brian Fahey passed to Owens, who raced into the right circle on a 2-on-1 with Moore and fired a knuckleball that beat Lawson to the far corner with 4:39 left.

The Sound Tigers got to 2-1 on Trevor Smith’s shorthanded goal, a one-timer from the right circle off a pass from Sean Bentivoglio with 1:43 left after Wolf Pack defenseman Corey Potter lost his stick.

But Ouellette clinched the victory 31 seconds later when he scored from the right circle off a hustling assist from behind the net by Owens.

“It’s tough after a long break like that,” Gernander said. “The real skilled plays that take a little more dexterity are the last to come back, so that’s why it’s important to keep things as simple as possible and rely a little more on hard work and grit.

“You could probably be critical of some turnovers, but in the big picture we worked hard, kept it pretty simple and got our two points, so I’m pleased. And Zaba had a solid game and was another guy who grinded it out and got the win. It’s nice to have a share of first place, but it’s really close from top to bottom and a long way from the finish line. So we have to keep plugging, hopefully keep moving and stay the course.”

The Sound Tigers (26-15-3-2) have only six goals in the last five games and lost their third in a row for the first time this season. The Wolf Pack are now 5-0-0-2 at home against the Sound Tigers in their last seven meetings.

SUMMARY

Bridgeport       0     0     1  –  1

Hartford           1    0     2   –  3

First period: 1. Hfd, Moore 14 (Parenteau, Sauer), 13:21, sh; Penalties: Fritz, Bri (fighting), 2:33; Sugden, Hfd (fighting), 2:33; Lee, Bri (delay of game), 3:01; Moore, Hfd (holding), 11:05; Ouellette, Hfd (tripping), 13:10.

Second period: No scoring. Penalties: Kohn, Bri (slashing), 0:31; Packard, Bri (holding), 5:03; Parenteau, Hfd (interference), 6:16; Marcinko, Bri (tripping), 9:21; Served by Iggulden, Bri (bench minor, too many men), 14:02; Callahan, Bri (fighting), 16:19; Weise, Hfd (fighting), 16:19.

Third period: 2. Hfd, Owens 8 (Fahey), 15:21; 3. Bri, Smith 23 (Wotton), 18:17, sh; 4. Hfd, Ouellette 9 (Owens, Sauer), 18:48; Penalty: Iggulden, Bri (high-sticking), 16:19.

Shots on goal: Bridgeport 12-7-7_26, Hartford 8-10-11_29; Power-play opportunities: Bridgeport 0-for-3, Hartford 0-for-6; Goalies: Bridgeport, Lawson 10-3-2-0 (29 shots-26 saves), Hartford, Zaba 8-6-0-0 (26-25); Referee: Chris Cozzan; Linesmen: Jim Briggs, Kevin Redding; A: 5,699.

The triumph lifted the Wolf Pack past the Pirates and the Worcester Sharks and into second place in the Atlantic Division.  At 22-17-2-3 for 49 points, the Wolf Pack are only two points behind the division-leading Providence Bruins.

After a scoreless first period, in which the Wolf Pack outshot the Pirates 14-7, Portland opened the scoring just 2:22 into the second frame, with Pirates leading scorer Mark Mancari getting his 17th goal of the season.  Mancari spun toward the slot from the top of the left circle and put a low shot past the left pad of Hartford goaltender Matt Zaba.

The Wolf Pack, though, would respond with a pair of goals in a span of 3:03 starting at 12:16.  Anisimov passed the puck from the right-wing circle across the slot to Parenteau, whose one-timer beat Pirate netminder Jhonas Enroth,  Then with the Wolf Pack on a power play at 15:19, Parenteau returned the favor to Ansimov for Anisimov’s 20th goal of the year, a shot from the top of the circles that squeaked between Enroth’s pads.  Dupont also assisted on both goals.

Tom Pyatt secured the win for the Wolf Pack with a goal at 15:47 of the third period.  Mike Ouellette had a partial breakaway but was angled off, and backhanded a pass to Pyatt alone in the slot.

Zaba made 21 saves in the Hartford net to improve his record to 7-5-0.  Enroth stopped 27 shots.

Parenteau’s goal and an assist stretched his point-scoring streak to a team season-high eight straight games (4-10-14), and it was his fourth straight goal-and-an-assist performance.  Anisimov has at least a point in six straight games (4-5-9) and 12 of his last 13 (9-11-20).

Hartford Wolf Pack 3 at Portland Pirates 1
Jan 19, 2009 – Cumberland County Civic Center
1st Period
Scoring – No Scoring
Penalties – B. Sugden Hfd (delay of game) 2:44, C. Fretter Por (hooking) 6:05, M. Macdonald Por (holding) 13:22

2nd Period
Scoring – 1. Portland, M. Mancari (17) (M. Gragnani, M. Darche) 2:22
2. Hartford, P. Parenteau (19) (A. Anisimov, B. Dupont) 12:16
3. Hartford, A. Anisimov (20) (P. Parenteau, B. Dupont) 15:09 PP
Penalties – D. Weise Hfd (cross-checking) 3:36, B. Dupont Hfd (hooking) 5:58, M. Mancari Por (slashing) 14:58

3rd Period
Scoring – 4. Hartford, T. Pyatt (9) (M. Ouellette, M. Ford) 15:47
Penalties – No Penalties

HFD Shots: 14 7 9 TOTAL: 30
POR Shots: 7 8 7 TOTAL: 22

Power Play Conversion
Hartford Wolf Pack 1-3. Portland Pirates 0-3.

Goaltenders
Hartford Wolf Pack
Zaba 7-5-0 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 60:00 SV: 21 GA: 1 [W]

Portland Pirates
Enroth 15-10-2 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 58:32 SV: 27 GA: 3 [L]

Start : 1:03 PM
End : 3:13 PM
Attendance : 3933
Referee I: Chris Cozzan (68)
Referee II:
LINESMAN I: Landon Bathe (80)
LINESMAN II: Joe Ross (92)