Wolf Pack Weekly: April 21 - April 27

Monday, April 21, 2008 - 7:16 PM

The Wolf Pack's Atlantic Division Semifinal series with the Portland Pirates got off to a busy start last week, with four games in five nights, and it was the Pirates who took advantage of the tight schedule to get on a good roll.

The first two games were at the XL Center, and the Wolf Pack captured Wednesday night's Game One, 3-1. The Pirates broke back the next night in Game Two though, winning a double-overtime thriller by a score of 3-2.

The series then switched to Portland for Games Three and Four, and the Pirates would eke out another pair of one-goal wins to take a three-games-to-one lead. Saturday night's Game-Three final was 3-2, and Portland prevailed by a 4-3 score in Game Four Sunday.

P.A. Parenteau leads the Wolf Pack in scoring in the series, and is tied with Portland's Geoff Platt for the overall series points lead, with 3-2-5.

This week:
The Wolf Pack now need to win the final three games of the series to keep their season alive, and their quest starts in Game Five at the XL Center this Tuesday night, April 22nd (7:00 faceoff). If the Pack win that, then Game Six is in Portland on Thursday, April 24th (7:05), and if the Wolf Pack can force a Game Seven, then that would be back at the XL Center this Saturday night, April 26th, with faceoff again at 7:00.

    Game 5: Tue., Apr. 22 XL Center 7:00
    Game 6 (if necessary): Thu., Apr. 24 Cumberland Cty. Civic Center 7:05
    Game 7 (if necessary): Sat., Apr. 26 XL Center 7:00

Wolf Pack Calder Cup Playoff tickets are available at the XL Center box office and all Ticketmaster locations, including Macy's at the Buckland Hills Mall and at the Westfarms Mall. Tickets may also be charged by phone at (860) 525-4500, (203) 744-8100, (203) 624-0033 or (413) 733-2500, and on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com. First-round home playoff tickets for adults are priced at $20 for blue-level seats, $24 for red-level seats and $28 for grey-level seats. All first-round playoff seats for kids 16 or younger are $11.

Tuesday, April 22nd, Game Five vs. Portland at the XL Center, 7:00 p.m.

The Wolf Pack are 12-9 in their playoff history when facing elimination.
The Pack have come back once before to win a best-of-seven series in which they lost three of the first four games. That was the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals, in which the Wolf Pack eliminated the defending-champion Providence Bruins on their way to a Calder Cup title.
Geoff Platt, Portland's regular season goals leader (32), has 2-3-5 in the last three games of the series to tie the Wolf Pack's P.A. Parenteau for the series point leadership, after being held to two assists in his previous 10 games.
Jason King, with 3-1-4, is tied with Parenteau for the most goals in the series.
Broadcast - live with Bob Crawford on the web at: www.hartfordwolfpack.com, or watch on B2 Networks! Go to www.hartfordwolfpack.com for details.

Thursday, April 24th, Game Six (if necessary) at Portland (Cumberland County Civic Center), 7:05 p.m.

Between this series and the regular season, the Wolf Pack are 1-5-0-0 in six visits to Portland. Prior to this year, the Pack had lost in regulation only six times in 30 trips to the Cumberland County Civic Center (18(w)-6(l)-4(t)-2(otl)).
Broadcast - live with Bob Crawford on the web at: www.hartfordwolfpack.com, or watch on B2 Networks! Go to www.hartfordwolfpack.com for details.

Saturday, April 26th, Game Seven (if necessary) at the XL Center, 7:00 p.m.

If it is necessary, this would be the sixth Game Seven in Wolf Pack history. The Pack are 3-2 in previous Game Sevens.
Broadcast - live with Bob Crawford on ESPN Radio 1410, and on the web at: www.hartfordwolfpack.com, or watch on B2 Networks! Go to www.hartfordwolfpack.com for details.

Recent Transactions:
Matt Zaba - Reassigned by the New York Rangers to the Wolf Pack from Idaho (ECHL) April 16th.
Brad Brown - Signed by the Wolf Pack to a Professional Tryout (PTO) agreement April 21st.

Pack Tracks:
The March of Dimes' "March for Babies" is this Sunday, April 27th, and it starts at the XL Center. Sonar, the Wolf Pack's lovable mascot, will be attending, as registration kicks off at 9:00 AM and the walk starts at 10:00 AM.

96.5 TIC's Acoustic Café Volume 7, the proceeds from which benefit the Hartford Wolf Pack Community Foundation, is on sale now at the Wolf Pack store at Hartford 21, Strawberries and FYE stores and on-line at www.965tic.com. Acoustic Café Volume 7 features exclusive performances by Daughtry, KT Tunstall, Lifehouse, Avril Lavigne, Mat Kearney, Bowling for Soup, The Fray, Collective Soul and Mandy Moore. The CD costs only $9.65, and each CD also includes a voucher redeemable for a free ticket to a Wednesday or Sunday Wolf Pack home game.

Wolf Pack 2008-09 season tickets are on sale now. For information on all of the Wolf Pack's ticketing options, including full-season, six, 10 and 20-game packages, coupon books and group discounts, contact the Wolf Pack Ticket Office at (860) 548-2000.

The AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack is newly operated by Northland AEG LLC, a joint partnership between Northland Investment Corporation and AEG Facilities. The team is owned by Madison Square Garden LP.