Hartford tops River Rats 5-1

March 27, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Connecticut Whale News Release


Albany, NY, March 27, 2009: Mark Bell and Artem Anisimov scored two goals each, and P.A. Parenteau had a goal and two assists, to lead the Hartford Wolf Pack to a 5-1 win over the Albany River Rats Friday night at the Times Union Center.

The win was the Wolf Pack's 13th straight in head-to-head competition with the River Rats, a streak that dates back to April of 2005, extending a Wolf Pack franchise record for most consecutive wins against a single opponent.

Bobby Sanguinetti and Patrick Rissmiller had two assists apiece for the Wolf Pack, and Matt Zaba, in his first appearance since suffering a finger injury March 7 in Springfield, stopped 19 out of 20 shots.

Albany opened the scoring only 1:45 into the game, on a goal by Tomas Pospisil. The Wolf Pack's Mike Ouellette lost the puck to Ryan Weston, and Pospisil drilled Weston's pass through Zaba.

The Wolf Pack, though, would score five straight after that, starting with a pair of goals in the final 5:31 of the first.

Parenteau snapped a sharp-angle shot from the left-wing side past River Rat goaltender Justin Peters at 14:29, off of a quick pass from Sanguinetti. Anisimov then put the Wolf Pack ahead with his team-leading 31st of the year at 19:14. Anisimov forced a turnover just outside the blueline and broke down left wing, before cutting across the goalmouth and stuffing a backhander behind Peters.

Bell gave the Wolf Pack a 3-1 lead with the only goal of the second period, set up in the slot by Rissmiller,

Bell and Anisimov scored power-play goals in the third to put the game out of reach. Parenteau passed to Bell between the circles for Bell's second of the game at 9:33, and Anisimov got his second with 2:08 left, poking in the rebound of a Brian Fahey shot.

The Wolf Pack (41-26-3-3, 88 points) return home to the XL Center Saturday night for a showdown with Providence, whom they lead by one point for first place in the Atlantic Division. Faceoff is 7:00.



American Hockey League Stories from March 27, 2009


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