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Wolf Pack defeat Falcons

October 10, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Connecticut Whale News Release


HARTFORD, Conn. _ The Springfield Falcons ruined the Wolf Pack's home opener last season, rallying from an early three-goal deficit to win by one.

It appeared it might happen again Saturday night, as the Wolf Pack took a three-goal lead in the opening 10:39 against their I-91 rival.

But P.A. Parenteau scored his first Wolf Pack hat trick, capped by a penalty shot with 4:48 left, and newcomer Corey Locke had two goals and an assist in a 7-3 victory before 8,385 at the XL Center.

The Wolf Pack were 4-for-11 on the power play, a major reason that they didn't lose their first three games for the second time in their 13-year history. It happened only in 2006.

"I think the guys gutted it out," Wolf Pack coach Ken Gernander said. "Obviously our special teams were good, and we had a big night by a couple of guys. Sometimes it was a bit scrambly, but the important thing is we got the win."

The multi-skilled Parenteau and Locke keyed the Wolf Pack's rebound from their two losses.

"P.A. was doing his thing, and Locke has been picking up goals every night," Gernander said. "He likes the special teams. That's where his bread is buttered."

Locke, who has five goals and one assist after signing a free-agent contract in the offseason, knew it was an important early victory.

"We didn't want to start out 0-3," said Locke, who tied for seventh in scoring in the AHL last season with the Houston Aeros. "There was a sense of urgency. It's the home opener, a lot of extra jump, so it was nice to get out to a lead and get the win."

Parenteau also said the Wolf Pack needed to turn things around.

"We've been struggling a little bit on the road," Parenteau said. "Guys are still getting to know each other, but we finally found some chemistry early in the game. But I knew it was just a matter of time before we started playing better hockey."

On the game's first power play, Falcons goalie Devan Dubnyk (36 saves) made a stellar stop on Parenteau, an All-AHL right wing last season, at 2:44. But 28 seconds later, Nigel Williams scored his first goal with the Wolf Pack when he took drop passes from Dale Weise and Locke and beat Dubnyk from the top of the left circle.

On their ensuing power play, the Wolf Pack made it 2-0 as Corey Potter dropped a pass to Locke, who scored from the edge of the crease at 9:36. And just 1:03 later, it was 3-0 when Parenteau converted Bobby Sanguinetti's rebound.

But with the teams skating four a side, the Falcons (1-3-0-0) got to 3-1 as Geoff Paukovich put home Colton Fretter's rebound at 11:58. Then at 14:05 with the Falcons on their third power play, Chris Armstrong passed to Ryan Potulny, who beat Matt Zaba high to the glove side.

Dubnyk kept the Falcons close when he made a brilliant right pad save on Paul Crowder with 3:22 left in the period.

As the period ended, Liam Reddox elbowed Zaba in the head, giving the Wolf Pack a 5-on-3 power play for 40 seconds. Zaba, who had eight saves in the opening 20 minutes, didn't return because of a concussion and was replaced by Chad Johnson (27 saves). Miika Wiikman, who sustained a groin injury in preseason, was recalled from Charlotte of the ECHL for today's game at Providence.

The Falcons killed the two-man disadvantage, but Locke scored his second goal of the game when he jammed in Evgeny Grachev's rebound at 47 seconds of the second period for a 4-2 lead.

But the Falcons again got within a goal at 3:08 as Potulny made a brilliant cross-slot pass to the lower left circle to Armstrong, who easily scored into an open net.

But a wide-open Parenteau picked up a loose puck that bounded into the slot and beat Dubnyk between the legs for a 5-3 lead at 11:12.

The Falcons nearly got within a goal again on another power play, but Johnson made rapid-fire saves on Adam Heinrich and Armstrong at 13:45.

Dubnyk's right-pad stops on Crowder and Brodie Dupont at 6:07 and 7:50 of the third period enabled the Falcons to stay in the game. But at 11:26, Dupont took a pass from Weise and ripped a slap shot from 30 feet in the slot that beat Dubnyk cleanly for a 6-3 lead.

Parenteau then capped the scoring and completed his hat trick with his penalty shot high over Dubnyk's left shoulder. It was Parenteau's first penalty-shot success with the Wolf Pack in three tries.

"I was pretty tired actually," Parenteau said with a smile. "I knew what I was going to do. I made the move but didn't have much room. I finally put it up top. It was a pretty good goal."



American Hockey League Stories from October 10, 2009


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