Pack can't Complete Sweep in St. John's
Jan 14, 2017(Photo by Jeff Parsons)
Late third-period goals for the St. John’s IceCaps 1:29 apart, by David Broll and Anthony Camara, sent the Wolf Pack to a 4-2 defeat Saturday night at Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland, in the second of back-to-back games between the two teams.
The Wolf Pack had defeated the IceCaps the night before, winning 2-1 in overtime.
Steven Kampfer and Nicklas Jensen scored power-play goals for the Wolf Pack Saturday, and Brandon Halverson made 30 saves. Max Friberg and Alexandre Ranger had the other St. John’s goals, and Tom Parisi added two assists. Former Wolf Pack Yann Danis was the winner in net, with 24 stops.
The Wolf Pack battled back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits, before the two late IceCap scores
“It’s always tough to play back-to-back,” Jensen said, “especially against the same team, especially in their barn, and when you win the first, you know they’re going to be real hungry to come back. I didn’t think we had the start we wanted, but I thought we fought back well. And we just had a few mistakes, then we ran out of time. But we fought a hard game the whole 60 minutes, it’s one of those games that could have gone both ways. It went their way, but we’ve got to take the positives out of it moving forward. We’ve had a really good week, so we’ve got to build on that and be ready for next weekend.”
The IceCaps scored a late goal in the first period to take a 1-0 lead after one.
Parisi carried the puck down from the right point and circled the net, before slipping a pass to an unguarded Friberg at the left side of the slot. Friberg’s quick shot got by Halverson on the glove side.
The Wolf Pack came up with some big penalty killing late in the second period, surviving three man-disadvantages, including 36 seconds of five-on-three, and the Hartford power play would tie the score with 60 seconds remaining in the second.
With Jacob de la Rose off for tripping, Kampfer crept down from the left point and snapped a shot that went underneath the pads of Danis and into the goal.
The IceCaps responded only 1:59 into the third, though, on Ranger’s first point in 11 games with St. John’s. He got a step on Ryan Graves in the Wolf Pack end and put a forehand shot up under the crossbar behind Halverson, for a 2-1 IceCap lead.
Jensen tied it back up for Hartford at 13:46, only 17 seconds after Brett Lernout was whistled for tripping. Jensen got a pass from Matt Bodie at the left side of the slot and cranked a drive that beat a screened Danis.
It would be the IceCap power play that came up with the winner, though, with Graves off for tripping. Stefan Matteau played the puck off of the right-wing boards to Joel Hanley at the middle of the blue line. His slap shot went wide, but Broll was perfectly position to pick up the carom off of the end boards, and he jammed the puck past Halverson at 16:12.
Camara then put the game effectively out of reach with an unassisted breakaway goal at 17:41. A Justin Fontaine pass attempt got by Mat Bodie at the left point in the St. John’s end, and Camara jumped on the loose puck, carrying into the Wolf Pack zone and just squeaking a shot through Halverson’s legs.
The Wolf Pack’s next game is at home this Friday, January 20 vs. the Toronto Marlies at 7:15. As at all Friday-night Wolf Pack home games, fans can enjoy $1 hot dogs and $2 that night, through the start of the second period. Also, the first 2,000 fans 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 Agera Energy Ticket Office 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. To speak with a representative about all of the Wolf Pack’s many attractive ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451.
Hartford Wolf Pack 2 at St. John's IceCaps 4
Saturday, January 14, 2017 - Mile One Centre
Hartford 0 1 1 - 2
St. John's 1 0 3 - 4
1st Period-1, St. John's, Friberg 7 (Parisi, de la Rose), 16:41. Penalties-No Penalties
2nd Period-2, Hartford, Kampfer 2 (Gilmour, Fontaine), 19:00 (PP). Penalties-Hanley Stj (holding), 4:35; McPherson Hfd (holding), 12:06; Fontaine Hfd (cross-checking), 14:52; Kampfer Hfd (high-sticking), 16:16; de la Rose Stj (tripping), 17:18.
3rd Period-3, St. John's, Ranger 1 (Parisi, Camara), 1:59. 4, Hartford, Jensen 18 (Bodie, Tambellini), 13:46 (PP). 5, St. John's, Broll 4 (Hanley, Matteau), 16:12 (PP). 6, St. John's, Camara 2 17:41. Penalties-Lernout Stj (tripping), 13:19; Graves Hfd (tripping), 15:42.
Shots on Goal-Hartford 7-11-8-26. St. John's 13-13-8-34.
Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 2 / 3; St. John's 1 / 4.
Goalies-Hartford, Halverson 4-7-0 (34 shots-30 saves). St. John's, Danis 6-2-2 (26 shots-24 saves).
A-3,911
Referees-Tim Mayer (19).
Linesmen-Sheldon Keough (63), Brian Lambert (47).