Scoring Spurt, Talbot Key Wolf Pack to 3-0 Win

Published on October 17, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Connecticut Whale News Release


PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Most teams are happy batting .500 on the road and taking care of business at home.

Well, the Hartford Wolf Pack completed one of their best road weekends in their 14-year history Sunday, scoring three times in less than 13 minutes and getting stout goaltending from Cameron Talbot in his first pro start in a 3-0 victory over the Providence Bruins before 4,782 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.

Captain Dane Byers, Tim Kennedy and Jeremy Williams scored early, and Talbot had 41 saves in his first appearance of the season after Chad Johnson played the first four games. The Wolf Pack earned five of six points away from the XL Center this weekend, getting their first shutout of the season after a 3-2 shootout loss at Albany on Friday night and a 2-1 victory at Bridgeport on Saturday night.

"It's a good start and a good weekend, but they don't crown champions in October, that's for sure," Wolf Pack coach Ken Gernander said. "We're pleased with the weekend and the points, but we still have areas where we can improve. It's a long season, and you have to keep elevating your game because everybody else is going to."

After completing three years at the University of Alabama-Huntsville, Talbot played 18:33 in his pro debut in relief of Matt Zaba and allowed three goals on 11 shots in a 9-2 loss to the Worcester Sharks on April 7. But Talbot was perfect Sunday, especially in the second period when the Wolf Pack was outshot 17-4 on the way to a 41-18 disadvantage for the game. It marked the first time in franchise history that a Pack goaltender had posted a zero in his first start as a pro.

"Talbot was really good, our best player," Gernander said. "He had some good glove saves where there were no rebounds, found a couple of pucks in traffic and froze it himself when there were scrambles going on around in front. And he played a really heady game as well. When things were scrambly, he was pretty poised and managed the game well by halting the play and forcing a faceoff to get fresh bodies out there."

Finnish rookie defenseman Jyri Niemi went even further.

"He stood on his head for us," said Niemi, who put the puck into Talbot's glove while the goalie was being mobbed by his teammates after the final horn sounded. "We were a bit sloppy after a good start, and he kept us in the game. He had an amazing game, really good."

Presenting pucks to a winning goalie on a special occasion is also done in Europe.

"First game. First shutout. Makes over 40 saves," Niemi said. "He deserved the puck."

Gernander said he decided to play Talbot so he wouldn't lose his sharpness and Johnson wouldn't get overworked too soon.

"He had to play somewhere, and with three (games) in three (days), it seemed the right time," Gernander said.

Right, indeed.

The bearded Talbot tried to take things in stride after helping the Wolf Pack (3-1-0-1) win their second in a row and extend their points streak to three games.

"I just tried to keep myself in the game and stay focused," said Talbot, whose 41 saves were the second most in 80 Wolf Pack shutouts to the 44 that Milan Hnilicka made in a 4-0 victory over Worcester on March 25, 2000. "The guys were keeping a lot of shots to the outside and did a great job boxing out in front and letting me see the puck. When they do that, it's easy for me to control it, control the rebounds and make it easy on them as well."

Talbot was happy that he was able to control most shots.

"The less work I make for myself, the better," he said. "And I'm sure the boys appreciate the whistles, too, and we've got great centers that are going to win draws in our end, so it's never a bad thing to take those whistles and eat those rebounds up."

Talbot's second and last shutout in college came in the semifinals of the now defunct Continental Hockey Association, and he led UA-Huntsville to the tournament title with an overtime win. He signed an amateur tryout contract with the Wolf Pack on March 30 but was anything but an amateur Sunday after staying in game shape with a strong work ethic in practice and remaining relaxed by listening to his Ipod on the two-hour bus ride from Hartford.

"You see a lot of shots in practice and just try to stay focused all week," Talbot said. "When you do get the call, you've got to be ready, so that was my mind-set going in the season. I know Chad is going to log a lot of minutes, so when I get my opportunities, I'm just going to do my best to help the boys get some wins."

Talbot said 41 shots wasn't much different than at UA-Huntsville, where he had 15-44-6 career record, 3.03 goals-against average and .909 save percentage. He faced about 37 shots a game last season, among the highest in the nation.

"I think we gave up more than 40 shots six or seven times last season," Talbot said with a smile.

The Wolf Pack were outshot 12-6 in the first period but had their first three-goal period of the season in less than 13 minutes, thanks to opportunistic offense, strong special teams and the line of Byers, Williams and Kris Newbury, who combined for seven points.

Byers and Tim Kennedy scored 27 seconds apart on the Wolf Pack's first two power plays and two of their first three shots. First, Williams drove down right wing to the goal line and centered a pass to Byers, who was cruising alone down the slot for a quick finish past Michael Hutchinson at 3:54.

The Wolf Pack quickly got another man advantage, and Kennedy took advantage when he got a pass from Newbury along the goal line and centered the puck, which went in off Hutchinson's skate at 4:21. It was his first goal as a Wolf Pack, and defenseman Wade Redden got the secondary assist to give him points in every game. He leads the team in assists with five.

The Bruins (1-3-0-1) then got the game's next nine shots, but Talbot stopped them all, with his best save being on Wyatt Smith's rush off left wing at 11:31.

Williams promptly converted Newbury's third assist of the game at 12:37, giving the Wolf Pack a 3-0 lead and .750 shooting percentage (3-for-4). The assist gave Newbury the team lead in points with seven.

"I think we capitalized early but unfortunately with three in three, and getting the lead, we addressed (not letting up) during the game," Gernander said. "But there wasn't the same sense of urgency."

Talbot made his best stop of the period when he got his right shoulder on Jamie Arniel's bid off a 2-on-1 with Zach Hamill with 2:25 left. Talbot then had to be alert with his right pad 4:16 into the second period as Joe Colborne's shot deflected off Wolf Pack defenseman Ryan McDonagh's skate and onto the net. Talbot made bang-bang stops on Jordan LaVallee-Smotherman's close-in shot and rebound at 9:50 and made a brilliant glove save with 7:06 left in the period among five stops during the Bruins' fifth consecutive power play.

Talbot again excelled during a late Wolf Pack power play, getting his right shoulder on Jeff LoVecchio's deflection with 42 seconds left in a period. The teams sparred through the first five minutes of the third period before Talbot made a sprawling save on Colborne at 5:35.

The Wolf Pack then did a stellar job protecting Talbot's shutout and outshot the Bruins 12-8 in the third period.

"It was tough in the second period, but the guys did a great job blocking shots and boxing out," Talbot said.

Weise To Have Hand Surgery

Wolf Pack right wing Dale Weise could be out 4-to-6 weeks because of a broken left hand that will require surgery this week. Weise, who had one goal and one assist in the first three games, injured the hand in a 4-2 victory over Charlotte in the season opener. He will see a specialist Monday to determine what surgery will be done.

"There might be two courses of rehab where one is longer than the other so we'll just have to wait and see what happens when Dale sees the specialist," Gernander said.

"It couldn't come at a worse time, three games into the season," Weise said while watching Sunday's game. "I had a MRI last week, but the doctors didn't think I needed surgery at the time. But it kept getting worse and is just throbbing all the time."

It's an especially tough time for Weise, who had career highs in goals (28), assists (22) and points (50) last season. And the parent New York Rangers are down to a minimum 12 forwards with center Vinny Prospal having knee surgery this week, leading scorer Marian Gaborik out 2-to-3 weeks with a separated left shoulder and captain/center/Trumbull native Chris Drury sidelined six weeks after he re-broke his left index finger. Gaborik and Drury were injured in a 4-3 overtime loss to Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night. ... Wolf Pack left wing Devin DiDiomete has got clearance to start contact work with the team and hopes to return to the lineup in 7-to-10 days. DiDiomete had more than six hours of surgery on his left hip on May 7 and has undergone an extensive workout program on his own and with strength and conditioning coordinator Jeremy Goodman. "It's great. I'm about two weeks ahead of schedule," DiDiomete said during a break as commentator with Wolf Pack play-by-play man Bob Crawford, a role he also filled while injured last season. "I'll have to sit down with Ken and (assistant coach) J.J. (Daigneault) this week to see exactly what they want to do. But at least I'll be able to start working out with the guys. I like doing games with the Hawk, but I'd rather be playing." DiDiomete interviewed Weise between the second and third periods. ... The Wolf Pack also scratched defensemen Lee Baldwin and Jared Nightingale, who missed his fourth game with an infected right foot. Nightingale, sidelined since a 4-2 victory over Charlotte in the season opener, worked out over the weekend and hopes to resume skating Monday.

Long Homestand Starts Wednesday Night

The Wolf Pack begins a five-game home stand, which ties their longest of the season, against the Norfolk Admirals (3-0-0-0) on Wednesday night at 7. The Admirals swept the Worcester Sharks 4-0 and 7-2 at home on Friday and Saturday nights, amassing a 56-36 shot advantage in the second win, including 44-22 in the second and third periods. They're led by centers Marc-Antoine Pouliot (one goal, six assists), James Wright (1, 4) and Paul Szczechura (3, 1) and goalies Cedrick Desjardins (1-0-0-0, 0.00 goals-against average, 1.000 save percentage) and Dustin Tokarski (2-0-0-0, 3.00, .917). The 25-year-old Desjardins had a 29-save shutout Friday in his Admirals debut. He was 29-9-4 with a 2.00 GAA, .919 save percentage and six shutouts for Hamilton last season on the way to a berth on the AHL's second all-star team. ... The Portland Pirates, coached by former Whalers Kevin Dineen and Eric Weinrich, opened with an AHL-best 4-0-0-0 record a year after starting 5-10-0-0 before rebounding to a second-place finish in the Atlantic Division. But Sound Tigers beat the Pirates 4-1 Sunday, thanks largely to going 2-for-7 on the power play and 8-for-8 on the penalty kill.

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