Falcons defeat Wolf Pack in OT

Published on February 26, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Connecticut Whale News Release


Hartford, CT - The Hartford Wolf Pack let a third-period lead slip away Friday night, and lost 2-1 to the last-place Springfield Falcons on Rob Hisey's goal 12 seconds into overtime before 4,201 at the XL Center.

Off the opening faceoff of the five-minute extra session, Hisey took a pass from Charles Linglet and fired a shot from the right circle that went in off the glove of Wolf Pack goalie Matt Zaba (29 saves).

"I read the play, was there in plenty of time, and knew he was going to take a one-timer," Zaba said. "It was just kind of a fluke. It hit my glove and went up and over. I don't know, but it might have missed the net."

It was the second consecutive 2-1 loss for the Wolf Pack (26-26-4-4), who had been 20-1-1-1 when leading after two periods. It also was their seventh loss in eight games, as they have fallen to seventh place in the Atlantic Division and three points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

"We're having trouble scoring goals," Zaba said. "So if we're only going to score one goal, we have to do anything we can to win 1-0. We definitely had some chances, but for whatever reason, we just couldn't get the job done the last two games. I guess if there's a positive we got a point out of it, but it's kind of discouraging not to get two (points)."

Besides Hisey, the Wolf Pack's major nemesis Friday night continued to be Falcons goalie Devan Dubnyk (32 saves), who was especially sharp in a scoreless first period, when the Wolf Pack had a wide territorial edge and 15-7 shot advantage, and after rookie center Ryan Garlock gave the Wolf Pack a 1-0 lead at 7:36 of the second period.

"(Dubnyk) had some turning point saves, for sure," Zaba said. "If we had got up two or three (goals) the way we were playing, I think the game probably would have been over. But they just kind of hung around and hung around and got a couple of breaks and ended up winning."

Dubnyk denied Corey Potter from the right circle 5:15 into the game during the Wolf Pack's first power play and then stopped a strong rush by Jordan Owens off the right wing at 5:55.

Right wing P.A. Parenteau put a backhander wide on a breakaway in his first game since Jan. 17, when he was injured in a game against Manchester. He was the team's second-leading scorer at the time before missing 16 games. He replaced Kenny Roche and played alongside All-Star center Corey Locke and captain Dane Byers. Defenseman Mathieu Dandenault also returned after missing 36 games since he sustained an injury in a game against Providence on Nov. 28. He replaced David Urquhart and was paired with Nigel Williams.

With the Wolf Pack on their second power play, Dubnyk stopped Locke's shot from the right circle at 9:30. The Falcons (19-32-9-3) got their first good scoring opportunity off Ilkka Heikkinen's turnover, but former Wolf Pack forward Chad Wiseman shot wide on a partial breakaway with 1:27 left in the first period. Moments later, with the Falcons on their first power play, Zaba made an alert stop on Wiseman's deflection with 29 seconds to go.

During a 4-on-4 early in the second period, Zaba stopped Hisey's shot from 35 feet in the slot at 6:32, then Dubnyk flicked out his right pad to deny Byers on an ensuing rush.

The Wolf Pack then took a 1-0 lead when Parenteau made deft move to keep the puck in the Falcons' zone and passed it to Potter, who found Garlock in the slot for a 30-foot shot that beat a screened Dubnyk through the legs at 7:36.

It remained 1-0 through the rest of the period, though both teams had several good scoring chances. Zaba made bang-bang stops on Taylor Chorney's shot and a rebound by Wethersfield, CT native Colin McDonald with 4:32 left after a Parenteau turnover on a power play. Then Dubnyk got his left pad on a wide-open Byers off a Parenteau pass with 3:13 to go and stopped Garlock on a 2-on-1 with 1:20 left.

Neither team seriously challenged in the first half of the third period before Dubnyk managed to get his left arm on Evgeny Grachev's blast from 30 feet in the slot with 8:45 left. On the ensuing rush, Ryan MacMurchy's pass from the left boards found a wide-open Ryan O'Marra, who fired a shot that beat Zaba to tie it with 8:30 to go.

Zaba kept it deadlocked when he stopped MacMurchy on a 2-on-1 with McDonald with 4:18 left in regulation. But Hisey ended it quickly in overtime for the Falcons, who had been 2-9-0-1 in their previous 12 games.

"We did a lot of good things, but when it's 1-0, you have to have even more sense of urgency to try to build on your lead," Wolf Pack coach Ken Gernander said. "Then we gave them some life and they kept coming and coming. And Dubnyk played very well. He's a big part of their team. He gets the sure shots on goal and usually stands pretty tall for them. But that's part of the equation. You've got to overcome, and you have to do what it takes."

Ambühl Back From Olympics

Right wing Andres Ambühl is expected to rejoin the Wolf Pack for Saturday night's home game against Portland after completing his second Winter Olympics stint with Switzerland in Vancouver, British Columbia. Ambühl was scoreless with five shots in five Olympic games before the Swiss were eliminated in the quarterfinals in a 2-0 loss to the United States Wednesday. Ambühl, who has four goals and three assists in 50 games with the Wolf Pack, also played for Switzerland in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. ... The musical chairs with the Wolf Pack goalies continued Friday, as Miika Wiikman was recalled by the Rangers and Chad Johnson returned to Hartford. But Wiikman couldn't get to New York because of a snowstorm. He said he hopes to get to the Big Apple Saturday, though the Rangers don't practice until Sunday, when Henrik Lundqvist is expected back after defending champion Sweden was eliminated from the Olympics by Slovakia Thursday night.

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American Hockey League Stories from February 26, 2010


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