Hartford triumphs in overtime thriller, 6-5

Published on February 26, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany Devils News Release


Lowell, Mass. - Seven power plays goals were scored, including the game winner with just 14 seconds left in overtime, as the Hartford Wolf Pack (34-16-2-6) defeated the Lowell Lock Monsters (23-28-5-5) 6-5 at the Tsongas Arena Sunday evening.

For the second straight game, D Johnny Boychuk opened the scoring with a first period power play goal. His blast from the left point at 1:38 made it 1-0. Hartford answered later in the frame with a power play goal of their own. Ivan Baranka's tally at 11:08 gave him four on the season and made it 1-1. Keith Aucoin snapped home his 21st of the season, on another power play at 16:20 to regain the lead for Lowell after 20 minutes. The two clubs had a chance to work on special teams in the opening frame, accumulating nine combined penalties.

A turnover by the Monsters defense led to an early 4-on-4 goal by Hartford in the second to tie it, but Lowell bounced right back. Niklas Nordgren banged home centering feed from Aucoin at 4:13 to make it 3-2. The hitting picked up in the second half of the frame, highlighted by a tilt between Andrew Ladd from Lowell and Joe Rullier from the Pack, moments after Rullier put David Gove out of the game with a hit along the end boards. Lowell G Vitaly Kolesnik helped the Monsters hold onto the lead the rest of the period while facing a barrage of Hartford shots - 17 in the second frame alone.

Jarkko Immonen sent a backhander up over Kolesnik's shoulder just under three minutes into the third period to tie the game at 3-3. Hartford's leading scorer has six goals in seven games against the Monsters. Paul Healey redirected home his 15th of the season just a couple minutes later to make it 4-3 in favor of the Lock Monsters. It was the 12th power play marker of the season for the Monsters captain, establishing a new Lowell record. Ladd gave Lowell a two-goal lead at 8:26, banging home a tic-tac-toe passing combo from Nordgren and Aucoin to make it 5-3. It was the fourth point of the night for Aucoin.

But Hartford wasn't done yet, as a power play goal by Nigel Dawes at 11:27 pulled the Wolf Pack within one. The Monsters had a chance to put Hartford in a hole when they were awarded a four-minute power play, but back-to-back penalties against Lowell instead put them down a man. And on that power play the Wolf Pack tied the score again. Alexandre Giroux fired home his 25th of the season to make it 5-5 at 14:27, and that score held up through regulation.

Overtime nearly went the duration without a even a whistle, but with just 39 seconds remaining a penalty was called on Lowell. The final power play of the night yielded the final goal of the night, as Tomas Pock's blast found the back of the net for the fourth Hartford power play goal of the night and the game winner.

The Lock Monsters host a pair of games next weekend, with the Norfolk Admirals coming to town on Saturday, March 4th at 2:05 p.m. On Sunday, the Monsters host the Albany River Rats at 5:05 p.m.

All games home and away can be heard live on 980 WCAP, and viewed through B2 Networks, the official broadband provider of the AHL, with the "Voice of the Lock Monsters" Ryan Johnston. Log on to www.lockmonsters.com to watch or listen online.

Individual tickets start at $10 and are on sale now at the Tsongas Arena box office, which is open from 10:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10:00 - 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays. Flex Packs and group outings are on sale now; contact the Lock Monsters ticket office at (978) 458-PUCK (7825) for more information.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from February 26, 2006


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central