Sound Tigers rally past Wolf Pack

November 6, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Connecticut Whale News Release


BRIDGEPORT, Conn - Jon Sim scored a pair of goals, and rookie goaltender Kevin Poulin made 28 saves, to lead the Bridgeport Sound Tigers to a 4-1 victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack Saturday night before 5,049 at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport.

Tony Romano also had a goal and an assist for the Sound Tigers, and Rob Hisey chipped in a pair of assists. Devin DiDiomete scored the lone Wolf Pack goal.

Sim was credited with his first of two successive goals when he jammed at the puck long enough to get it past Cameron Talbot 11:49 into the game. The Sound Tigers were on a power play after Wolf Pack captain Dane Byers was assessed an extra roughing penalty after coming to the aid of defenseman Pavel Valentenko, who had been slammed into the boards by Jean Bourbeau and was slow to rise.

Sim then scored his second goal and fifth in three games since clearing waivers on Tuesday when he deflected Rob Hisey's left-point shot past Talbot at 45 seconds of the second period after picking off Jared Nightingale's clearing attempt around the boards.

The Sound Tigers (5-6-0-0) then virtually iced their third victory in four games when Romano scored on a wraparound at 4:10.

"We're not getting the bounces right now," Talbot said. We have to find a way to turn the breaks around, put some (pucks) in the back of the net and keep it out of ours. We've just got to keep working hard and keep going. We know we can do it, but we'll have little spurts and be all over them and then let down for five minutes and that's what kills us. We have to play 60 minutes hard, and hopefully the breaks will start circling in our way."

The loss extended the Wolf Pack's winless streak to nine games (0-7-2-0), the longest in the franchise's 14-year history. The Wolf Pack (3-8-2-1) has scored 10 goals in the streak.

"I don't remember going nine games without winning," veteran defenseman Wade Redden said. "But I've been a part of losing streaks, and you can see the fine line between winning and losing. It's a play, not being sharp for 60 minutes, so as bad as it's going now, it can turn around in a hurry. We've just got to realize those little things that we have to correct.

"It's a matter of each guy realizing what they have to do to be ready. I'm no different, and I have to come and lead by example. It's just to be a game where you're extra focused and really bear down on every single play. That's the only way you get out of it. ... You can't make excuses. We're not doing the things we need to do to win anyway, so you don't get rewarded with bounces or things going your way. There's ample opportunity for us to make better plays at key times of games. We're not doing it, and we have to start doing it. We've got to find ways to get the first goal. That's a big thing for us because it's always tough battling back."

After an uneventful 11 minutes, Bourbeau hammered Valentenko, setting in motion the first goal by Sim, a 2005 Calder Cup champion with the Philadelphia Phantoms who had a hat trick and scored the winning shootout goal in his first game Wednesday, a 6-5 victory over the Springfield Falcons. That came after Sims, a rugged 5-foot-10, 190-pound left wing, drove to Bridgeport from Long Island that morning after being sent down by the New York Islanders. He has 74 goals and 62 assists in 446 NHL games with the eight teams.

Sim's goal came 14 seconds after Byers got his extra penalty. It was the first goal allowed this season by Talbot, who had 41 saves in his first pro start, a 3-0 victory over Providence, the last game the Wolf Pack won. It was also the last game that Talbot played until Saturday night because of an injury he sustained in the second period of his first game.

The Wolf Pack then were fortunate the Sound Tigers didn't double or triple their lead, as a wide-open Romano fired wide with 4:22 left in the period and Talbot made strong saves on Jesse Joensuu's rebound and Sim's deflection. The latter earned a tap on the pads from Redden.

But the Sound Tigers quickly padded their lead early in the second period on the goals by Sim and Romano, his first of the season. Poulin then stopped Jeremy Williams' 30-foot shot from the slot off a turnover and made a brilliant glove stab of Kris Newbury's rebound while lying on his back in the crease at 6:53. Newbury slammed his glove into the glass in disgust.

Sims' bid for a second hat trick in three games went wide on a 2-on-1 at 9:05, then Poulin made a good save on Brodie Dupont's rebound at the doorstep with 7:19 left in the period. The Wolf Pack's recent travails were epitomized when Byers, Newbury and Jeremy Williams made a nifty three-way play on a 3-on-2, only to have Poulin get his left pad on Williams' close-in bid with 5:31 to go.

The Wolf Pack finally ended Poulin's shutout bid, as Devin DiDiomete banged in Redden's rebound at 6:10 of the third period, for his second goal in four games after missing the first six games of the season because of extensive hip surgery on May 7.

The Wolf Pack got a scare with 2:41 left when rookie defenseman Ryan McDonagh was checked hard into the end boards by Jeremy Colliton and limped to the bench.

Colliton's interference penalty gave the Wolf Pack a power play, but they failed to convert and Joensuu scored into an empty net with 23.5 seconds left to ice it.

"It's certainly tough, but there's no one who's going to change this except the guys in the room," Wolf Pack coach Ken Gernander said. "We've got to get wins. There are no consolations."



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