Parenteau Not Enough in 4-3 Loss

February 28, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Connecticut Whale News Release


Lowell, MA, February 28, 2010 - P.A. Parenteau's hat trick was not enough to lead the Wolf Pack past the Lowell Devils Sunday at the Paul Tsongas Arena, as Ben Walter scored the game-winning goal and added an assist to power Lowell to a 4-3 win.

The defeat dropped the Wolf Pack below.500, to 26-27-5-4, and cost the Pack a chance to move into a fifth-place tie with Bridgeport in the Atlantic Division.

Matt Taormina added two assists for Lowell, and Corey Locke and Bobby Sanguinetti had a pair of assists each for the Wolf Pack.

Nick Palmieri opened the scoring for Lowell only 3:32 into the game, and just 10 seconds into the contest's first power play.

With Jared Nightingale off for high-sticking, Taormina drove a slap shot from the left point and Palmieri, headed to the front of the net from the left-wing side, deflected it past Wolf Pack goaltender Chad Johnson.

The Wolf Pack replied only 3:34 later, on Parenteau's first goal in three games since returning from a 16-game injury absence.

Brodie Dupont worked the puck to Locke behind the net, and Locke's centering pass found Parenteau between the circles. Parenteau fired a quick, low shot into the net before Lowell netminder Jeff Frazee could react.

The Devils got off to a quick start again in the second frame, with two goals 2:56 apart in the first 4:57.

Matt Halischuk gave Lowell a 2-1 lead at the 2:01 mark, as he poked the puck past the right point in the Devil end and beat the Wolf Pack back to it. Halischuk bested Johnson one-on-one for his fifth goal in 16 games on the season.

Then, at 4:57, Michael Swift captialized on a neutral-zone turnover by the Wolf Pack to make it a 3-1 Devil advantage. After grabbing the puck in center ice, Swift broke down right wing and snapped a shot into the top corner over Johnson's catching glove.

That was it until the two teams traded power-play goals in the final 52 seconds of the period, in what would turn out to be the key sequence of the game..

Parenteau got his second of the contest at 19:08 from the left circle, off of a great cross-slot feed from Locke, but Dupont took a roughing penalty immediately following the goal, after he came together with Frazee.

On the ensuing man advantage, Walter scored what would turn out to be the game-winner with 0.6 seconds showing on the clock.

Taormina stopped Ilkka Heikkinen's clearing try at the right point and had his shot blocked in front of the goal, but the puck caromed to Walter at the left side of the slot, and he snapped the puck inside the post to Johnson's left.

Parenteau completed his hat trick with 4:45 left in the third on a Wolf Pack power play, beating Frazee over the glove from the left circle, but the Wolf Pack could never get the equalizer.

Frazee made 27 saves in the Devil goal to get the win, and Johnson absorbed his sixth straight loss in the Wolf Pack net, allowing four goals on 27 shots.

Parenteau's three-goal game was his, and the Wolf Pack's, second of the season. Parenteau posted his first hat trick in a Wolf Pack uniform in the Pack's home opener, a 7-3 win vs. Springfield October 10.

The Wolf Pack are now 0-2-2-0 in their last four games and 1-7-2-0 in their last 10.



American Hockey League Stories from February 28, 2010


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