TWO MINUTES FOR THOUGHTS: MARCH 23RD, 2023
Mar 23, 2023Eleven games. That’s what is left between today and the finish line for this 2022-23 AHL regular season. The Wolf Pack have been mired in a tightly contested playoff race for a few weeks now, and there is no relief on the immediate horizon. This is going to come down to the final days of the season, just like it did a year ago.
Currently, the Wolf Pack are three points back of the Bridgeport Islanders with a game in-hand on their Connecticut rivals. The sides also meet two more times before all is said and done. There will be ample opportunity for Hartford to make their move. It has to start with at least two wins this weekend, however.
Let’s jump into the blog, shall we?
1.) This week we start off the ice, as another new face has come to town. On Tuesday, the New York Rangers announced the signing of forward Brett Berard to a three-year, entry-level contract. The deal will kick in for the upcoming 2023-24 season. In the meantime, Berard agreed to an amateur tryout (ATO) with the Wolf Pack and will be in Hartford for the remainder of the 2022-23 campaign.
Berard, selected 134th overall (fifth round) in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, spent the last three seasons at Providence College. This past year, he scored 24 points (10 g, 14 a) in 36 games. His best season came as a sophomore during the 2021-22 campaign, when he set career-highs in goals (18), assists (20), and points (38).
He’s also represented Team USA at the IIHF U20 World Junior Championship, even winning a Gold Medal at the event in 2021.
Berard will wear #27 with the Wolf Pack and will be an option to make his debut this weekend.
2.) Speaking of Team USA, Rangers Assistant General Manager and Wolf Pack General Manager Ryan Martin will once again be on the management team for the country’s entry into the IIHF Men’s World Championship. On Wednesday, Martin was named to the staff along with Calgary Flames Assistant General Manager Craig Conroy. They will both assist General Manager Chris Clark.
The tournament runs from May 12th through the 28th, and will take place in Tampere, Finland and Riga, Latvia.
3.) Martin, a native of Simsbury, Connecticut, will be assisting Clark, another Connecticut native. Clark is from South Windsor, Connecticut and currently serves as the Assistant General Manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The team’s Head Coach? Former New York Rangers’ bench boss David Quinn. Quinn served as the Head Coach of Team USA last year when Martin was the team’s General Manager.
4.) Congratulations to Wolf Pack defenseman Adam Clendening, who played in his 500th career AHL game last Friday night against the Springfield Thunderbirds. Although it wasn’t the end result Clendening and his teammates were hoping for, it was a special night for the veteran defenseman. 500 career games in the AHL is quite the achievement, and Clendening has done it while being an impact player the entire way.
He spoke to the media on Friday night following the tough loss, and talked about how the club has to find a way to close out games. I thought it was interesting that he made sure to tell the media that there isn’t another team in the league who is just going to give Hartford two points, they have to go out and earn them.
It’s one thing to talk the talk, and another to walk the walk. Clendening did both this weekend because….
5.) The Wolf Pack were in the exact same spot on Saturday night as they were on Friday night. Up two goals after two periods of play with the flow of the game in their control. Just like on Friday night, Hartford surrendered an early goal and it was ‘Game on!’ from there. Learning to win and close out games can take some heartbreak. It’s about learning the right lessons, just like Clendening told the media on Friday and fellow veteran Tim Gettinger told me pregame on Saturday.
The final result? Three solid penalty kills, a door slammed shut, and two massive points against the Islanders. That had to feel good. Clendening, by the way, was a huge part of the victory on the backend. He even tacked on an assist in Game #501, the 267th of his career.
6.) Here is the road map for the upcoming weekend. The Wolf Pack, as we told you earlier in the column, trail the Islanders by three points for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. The Islanders have currently played one more game than Hartford, but that will flip by the time we reach Monday morning.
The Islanders play just once this weekend, while the Wolf Pack will play their fourth and final three-in-three set.
Hartford: Fri. – Vs. Springfield (7:00 p.m.), Sat. – Vs. Springfield (6:00 p.m.), Sun. - @ WB/Scranton (5:05 pm)
Bridgeport: Fri. - @ Belleville (7:05 pm)
The Wolf Pack will ensure that they are no further out than one point with a two win weekend. If Hartford wins all three games this weekend, they will ensure that a playoff spot will be in their possession on Monday morning. If they get some help from the Senators on Friday night? A three win weekend would put Hartford three points up.
Hartford simply needs at least four points out of this weekend. That will set up a monstrous game against the Islanders next Wednesday night and give the team every chance needed to end the playoff drought.
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ABOUT THE HARTFORD WOLF PACK: The Hartford Wolf Pack has been a premier franchise in the American Hockey League since the team’s inception in 1997. The Wolf Pack are the top player-development affiliate of the NHL's New York Rangers and play at the XL Center. The Wolf Pack has been home to some of the Rangers newest faces including Igor Shesterkin, Filip Chytil, and Ryan Lindgren. Follow the Wolf Pack on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.