Wolf Pack wins over Falcons

Published on November 19, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Connecticut Whale News Release


SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - No one was more disappointed than Chad Kolarik after former Wolf Pack captain Dane Byers set up the tying goal late in regulation and scored the clinching shootout goal to give the Springfield Falcons a win two days after the two were traded for one another.

Kolarik got his revenge in spades Friday night, scoring two goals, the second worthy of SportsCenter Top 10 consideration, and assisted on the final goal as the Wolf Pack scored their most comprehensive victory of the season, 5-2 over the Falcons before 6,226 at the MassMutual Center.

"It was fun and something we needed to get off the little schneid we were on," Kolarik said, referring to the Wolf Pack's 1-9-2-1 slide entering the game. "Hopefully this turned things around and kind of jump-starts us a little bit. Obviously it feels pretty good to get from a team that actually traded you away."

But Kolarik was obviously remains popular among his former teammates, many of whom stopped to say hi and offer congratulations as he waited outside his old locker room.

"I was definitely jacked for this game," said Kolarik, who has three goals in two games against his former team. "It was exciting, and I heard some boobirds, too."

But after scoring the Wolf Pack's first goal off a deflection of a Kris Newbury shot, Kolarik gave the Wolf Pack the lead for good with his highlight-film goal. He skated around his net, did a give-and-go with Newbury in the neutral zone, raced into the Falcons end as the turned around defenseman Nick Holden and beat LeNeveu high to the far corner with 4:08 left in the period.

"It was a pretty dynamic play and a good boost for us to get the lead back in a pretty short time," Wolf Pack coach Ken Gernander said.

"I just wheeled the net a little bit, got some speed going and Newbs (Newbury) was posted up at the red line so I dished it to him and kind of cut to the middle," Kolarik said. "He made a smart play and great pass, caught me streaking through the middle, made a little bit of toe-drag on the defenseman, got kind of lucky with it ending up on my stick and threw a chip shot over (LeNeveu's) glove. It was good feeling to get that, that's for sure."

And there was finally plenty good Friday night for the Wolf Pack (5-10-2-2), who allowed only nine shots for 421/2 minutes and 13 for the game, tying a franchise record. They ended a four-game losing streak on the road and the franchise-worst slump that dropped them six games under .500 into a tie for last place in the Atlantic Division with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, who had two games in hand. The intrastate rivals remained tied when Tony Romano scored at 1:54 of the overtime to give the Sound Tigers (7-10-0-0) a 4-3 victory over the Providence Bruins.

But there was no angst from another one-goal loss, which the Wolf Pack has suffered nine times, with a 10th loss being by two goals with an empty-netter against. And they beat former Wolf Pack goalie David LeNeveu, who had won the previous three games between the teams this season.

"Everybody was going, and it was a 60-minute effort," Kolarik said.

The Wolf Pack broke fast as Newbury stole a clearing attempt by Falcons defenseman Cody Goloubef, spun and fired a shot at 3:09 that beat LeNeveu, screened by Kolarik, acquired for Byers on Nov. 8.

"Newbs just hit my stick, and I got kind of lucky," Kolarik said. "It was nice to get on the board early."

But only 33 seconds later, Tomas Kubalik chipped the puck through center ice, bolted down right wing around Lee Baldwin and beat Chad Johnson low to the stick side for his third goal in two games.

Wolf Pack defenseman Jared Nightingale then earned major points from his teammates and coaches when he stopped in to fight Byers, who had blindsided Ryan Garlock in center ice at 10:23.

Kolarik gave the Wolf Pack the lead for good with his seventh and most spectacular goal.

After Johnson (11 saves) made a good glove save on Kubalik off a 2-on-1 just 12 seconds after Kolarik's brilliant rush, the Wolf Pack made it 3-1 on a counterattack as Zuccarello picked up a loose puck in center ice, bolted behind defensemen John Moore and Nate Guenin and fired a shot into the low left corner with 3:49 left.

Off the ensuing faceoff, right wing Dale Weise, back after missing 15 games since Oct. 15 with a hand injury that required surgery, pulled a Nightingale as he stepped in and fought Blunden, who had tried to decapitate Zuccarello along the boards with 3:04 left.

The offensively challenged Wolf Pack finished the period shooting 3-for-7 and soon was batting .500 when Zuccarello stole the puck from Byers, patiently skated into the Falcons zone and found a breaking Wade Redden, who skated into the left circle and beat LeNeveu high to the stick side at 2:00 of the third period.

Johnson made strong saves on Nick Tarnasky off a 3-on-2 at 3:05 and Holden's shot from the wing 20 seconds later.

Johnson denied Michael Ratchuk's good bid from the right circle with 4:08 left in the period, and on an ensuing rush and after tenacious forechecking, Kolarik made a brilliant pass from goal line extended to the right point to Jyri Niemi, whose shot was tipped in by Justin Soryal with 3:38 to go. Garlock was also instrumental in hemming in the Falcons, and Niemi's assist was his first pro point in North America.

"That was a good, heavy shot by Niemi," Gernander said. "I thought he had a good game."

The Wolf Pack nearly made it 6-1, but LeNeveu (22 saves) denied a wide-open Devin DiDiomete with 24 seconds left. And the Wolf Pack came even closer early in the third period, but LeNeveu denied Evgeny Grachev on a 2-on-1 and rebound bids by Grachev and Newbury at 2:55.

Given those reprieves, the Falcons (9-7-0-1) got to 5-2 when Byers kept the puck in the Wolf Pack zone to Guenin, whose shot from the right point was deflected in by Maksim Mayorov at 8:14.

But that couldn't detract from the Wolf Pack's effort this night.

"It was a solid game in which we did a lot of things well," Gernander said. "When goals start going in and the team gets the two points, it seems to accentuate a lot of the positives. But if you get beat in the last couple of minutes in a one-goal game, you seem to dwell on the mistakes and don't always see some of the good things that were done."

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American Hockey League Stories from November 19, 2010


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