#HenrikBorgström

[mitchbeck]

HARTFORD WOLF PACK MAULED BY HERSHEY BEARS IN GAME TWO

By: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HERSHEY, PA - The Hartford Wolf Pack are on the brink of Calder Cup playoff elimination after a 4-2 loss to the Hershey Bears in Game 2 and now trail two games to none in the best-of-five Atlantic Division Finals. It will be a win-or-go-home situation for the Pack as the series shifts to the XL Center in Hartford for Game 3 on Wednesday at 7 PM. The Bears were dominant both physically and defensively all over the ice. Hershey's Mark Vecchione scored what would prove to be the game-winner at 8:48 of the second period when he got between three Wolf Pack defenders in the slot. Henrik Borgstrom was behind the Pack net and found him open. Unfortunately, the Wolf Pack's Libor Hájek had broken his stick, forcing him to drop it. Without it, he was unable to defend Borgstrom's pass. For Vecchione, it was his second goal of the playoffs, making the score 3-1. Ethen Frank got his second point of the playoffs with the secondary assist. The Bears would add insurance in the third period, tallying their fourth goal and restoring a two-goal margin that Hartford wouldn't overcome. Dylan Garand (26 saves) stopped Riley Sutter after a backhand feed from Mason Morelli. Still, the Pack could not clear the zone as defenseman Brandon Scanlin and forward Bobby Trivigno could not control the biscuit behind the net. An unfortunate bad bounce didn't help the Pack when the puck went off linesman Jud Ritter, further trapping the Wolf Pack. The puck found Aleiaksei Protoas on the right wing, who sent a cross-ice pass to Hendrix Lapierre, who snapped a shot to the short side off on one of many odd-man rushes against the Pack. The goal made it 4-1 and came at 13:14 of the third period. To their credit, the Pack kept pressing forward. At 15:09, Adam Clendening was at the right point after taking Wyatt Kalynuk's pass. Anton Blidh set a screen in front of goalie Hunter Shepard. Blidh times a jump perfectly as the puck sailed by Shepard to make it 4-2. But, unfortunately, that would be as close as the Wolf Pack would get. The goal was the first and only five-on-five series goal for the Wolf Pack. The Bears had the second period's only goal as they held the Wolf Pack to just five shots. FIRST PERIOD Just 11 seconds into the contest, Zac Jones lost his footing, and Beck Malenstyn took advantage, going wide. That forced Jones to slide to try and stop him. But, instead, Jones knocked the net off its magnetic pegs. At 1:52, Blidh put a shot over Shepherd's glove but went off the post. A defensive zone turnover, which would continue to plague the Pack all game long, led to three Bears quality chances. Two came from Joe Snively, who missed the net, and the third from Connor McMichaels, who initially got the puck on the Pack's doorstep but couldn't register the goal. The Pack was in the same situation as Game One, being dramatically outshot. They were down 6-1 in shots in the first six minutes. Hájek took a selfish and unnecessary penalty drilling Morelli into the side of the net from behind. It sent the Bears to the power play. Hershey capitalized on the Hájek penalty. Mason Morelli was wide open on the left-wing side. He shuffled a pass over to Brock Malenstyn, who snapped a shot upstairs and into the net at 3:12 to make it 1-0. The Wolf Packed used their first powerplay effectively as Ryan Carpenter outworked Gabriel Carlsson behind the net and found Will Cullye in front. He snapped it over Shepard's glove hand to even the game at one at 11:32. 1:12 after the Pack tied the score, they found themselves trailing again. At 12:44, Malenstyn broke into the zone on a two-on-one with Morelli. He was open and blasted it upstairs past Garand with Adam Clendening trailing on the play. Nearly 11 minutes in, the shot advantage favored the Bears 10-3. If the Pack are to survive and get back into this series, Head Coach Kris Knoblauch will have a lot of work to do to get their game back to where it was against Providence, or they could find themselves watching the remainder of the playoffs from the golf course. LINES: Brodzinski - Carpenter - Cullye Fritz - Pajuniemi - Blidh Leschyshyn - Gettinger - Lockwood Elson - Henriksson - Trivigno Jones - Emberson Hájek - Scanlin Kalynuk - Clendening Garand Domingue SCRATCHES: Blake Hillman (healthy) Talyn Boyko #40 Matt Rempe (healthy) Adam Edström  (healthy) Louie Roehl #4 (healthy) Brett Berard #27 (healthy) Matt Robertson (upper body, may return in the latter half of this round of the playoffs) Patrick Khordorenko (season-ending shoulder surgery) C.J. Smith (hip area surgery done for the season) NOTES: The Wolf Pack received good news yesterday. The AHL reduced Adam Clendening's suspension to the two games he's already sat out for his Game 3 hit on Fabian Lysell in the series against the Providence Bruins, making him available for Game 2. He was paired with Kalynuk. Blake Hillman was the odd man out. 18 AHL players have signed for Europe for next year. In Winnipeg in Game 1 of the WHL championship, the Winnipeg Ice Head Coach is former Hartford Whaler/New York Ranger James Patrick. After a nine-day layoff, the Ice defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-2. Easton Armstrong, the son of Wolf Pack great Derek Armstrong, was held to no points and shots for the first two series games at the Life Canada Centre, home of the NHL Winnipeg Jets. Seattle won Game 2, 4-2, as Brad Lambert, nephew of former Bridgeport Sound Tigers head coach and New Haven Nighthawks player, Lane Lambert, had two goals and was a plus-four. In the ECHL Kelly Cup playoffs, the Pack's Double AA affiliate, the Jacksonville Icemen, were down three games to one to South Division in-state rival, the Florida Everblades. The teams traveled to Florida for Game 5, and the Icemen won 6-3 to force a Game 6 on Monday. News on a trio of ex-Sound Tigers, Travis St. Denis (Quinnipiac University) switches teams in Germany going from EHC Straubing (Germany-DEL) and signs with ERC Ingolstadt for next year. Also, Jesse Graham changes teams in the Russian-based KHL from Barys Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan) to HK Sochi (Russia). Johan Sundström, heads from Frölunda HC (Sweden-SHL) to Sport Vassa (Finland-FEL). Ex-Pack and ex-Sound Tiger, Andrew Rower, leaves SC Rapperswill-Jona (Switzerland-LNA) and signs for next season with ERC Ingolstadt (Germany-DEL). The long-time head coach of Middlebury (VT) College (NESCAC), Neal Sinclair, abruptly resigned. The team has won five national Division III titles during his tenure. A search began immediately for his replacement. In yesterday's WHL Priority Draft, just one notable name was taken. Masen McCosh, of the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes U-14 (T1EHL) program, was selected by the Calgary Hitmen in the first round (14th overall) in the US portion of the draft. McCosh is the youngest son of one-time New Haven Nighthawk and New Haven Senator Shawn McCosh. His oldest son Michael is at Buffalo St. (SUNYAC), and the boy's uncle Shayne, played 18 games with the Springfield Falcons. The IIHF World Hockey Championship began on Friday in Tampere, Finland, and Riga, Latvia. HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

[mitchbeck]

HERSHEY BEARS COME FROM BEHIND IN GAME ONE OT WIN OVER HARTFORD WOLF PACK

By: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HERSHEY, PA - The Hartford Wolf Pack built a 2-0 lead through two periods in Game 1 of the Atlantic Division best-of-five finals, but the Hershey Bears scored twice in the third period before Henrik Borgstrom scored at 4:41 of overtime to 3-2. The game-winner came on the third odd-man rush of overtime. Pack defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk collided with the linesman at center ice, creating a two-on-one that Dylan Garand stopped. Then there was a four-on-two after Joe Snively, a Yale alum, was stopped, with the upper part of the net staring at Garrett Pilon. On the final two-on-one came, Borgstrom scored to allow the Bears to come away with the win. GAME WINNER Pilon sent a stretch pass to Borgstrom, who came in with Snively. They attacked the Pack's number one defensive pair of Zac Jones - Ty Emberson, who had just come on the ice for their shift. Borgstrom didn’t play in the first Bears series against the Charlotte Checkers in the lineup because Mike Sgarbossa couldn’t go for Hershey. Rumors have Borgstrom heading back to Sweden next year, and he made the most of his time in this opportunity. Borgstrom went from the right wing to center and fired his shot past Garand. The goal sent the crowd of 7,274 into a frenzy. Game Two between the two teams is Saturday night at 7 PM in Hershey. Early in the third period, Hershey cut the Wolf Pack lead to one. Sam Anas was at the right point on their fourth power play of the contest. He shuffled the puck over to the left point. Logan Day one-timed a rising rocket of a shot going off the crossbar and into the net. It was his first goal as a Bear and his first goal of the season. It came at 2:52. It was former QU Bobcat Anas team-leading fifth assist and seventh point of the playoffs. PLAY INTENSIFIES After Tim Gettinger was stopped early on the Pack’s power play bid, Pilon crunched Lauri Pajuniemi as Gettinger made a drop pass that inadvertently left him vulnerable. Pilon nailed Will Lockwood, who took a retaliation penalty that led to the power play goal by Day. Lockwood would find his moment to return the hit later in the game when he drove Pilon into the curved portion of the glass on a clean, hard hit at 4:51, but the Bears had already done their damage. GAME TYING GOAL The Bears pressed the Pack and came up with a game-tying goal late in the third period. Day was at the right point, settled the puck down, and sent it over to Jake Massie. He waited for the screen to materialize in front of Garand. Just as he unleashed his shot, Connor McMichael was cruising in front of Garand and got a piece of it before Jones could get to him. Emberson was keeping an eye on Joe Snively. This happened before goaltender Hunter Shepard could even get to the bench for the extra attacker at 17:51. SECOND PERIOD Anton Blidh took a hard hit along the boards and skated back to the bench, bent over and in what appeared to be some manner of discomfort. Paramedics immediately came to the bench to deal with whatever was ailing Blidh. Referees and the coaches decided to send the teams to their respective locker rooms while a determination was made about Blidh's condition. The final 2:39 of the period would be played prior to the second period after a one-minute intermission and the switching of sides.  The actions of the paramedics in treating Blidh were considered "precautionary." Fortunately for Blidh and the Wolf Pack, he was able to return to play for the second period and played to the finish. The official word from the Wolf Pack was that Blidh developed an upper-body non-life-threatening injury. According to other non-team attendees at the site of the game, Blidh had the wind knocked out of him, The Wolf Pack scored early on their second power play of the game. Tanner Fritz, at the right point, fed it over to captain Jonny Brodzinski, who tallied with his first of the post-season. The whole play started after Shepard made the original stop, but in scrambling around the net, was unable to get into position before Brodzinski’s shot. The Wolf Pack had two power play goals in the six regular season games between the two rosters. They now had two in Game 1. It's the first meeting between the two teams since February. In the second period, the Wolf Pack got far more shots (16) and offensive riding time than they did in the first, when they only mustered three shots for the entire first twenty minutes. At 11:43, Garand made an impressive glove save, but the goal judge turned the red light on. The refs took the puck from Garand's glove and chatted among themselves, confirming there was no goal. The Pack's penalty killers were a perfect three for three in the first two periods. FIRST PERIOD In the first period, the Pack was under constant attack and pressure from the Bears, both with rubber being fired at Garand and physically. Still, despite that, they were able to leave the bench for intermission with the period's only goal. The Pack had to handle the first three shots and had a seemingly early PK they would have to kill after Snively lost an edge and ducked a Pajuniemi hit attempt.  At first, referees Beau Halkidis and Jack Young signaled a call. It was clear that Pajuniemi was hot, and he vehemently protested. The refs huddled mid-ice, and they decided that there was no penalty on the play, and the call was reversed. Good thing Pajuniemi was not ejected, as he would play the primary role in the Pack taking the 1-0 lead. Gettinger sent a pass up the left wing to Jones, who broke into the clear and fired a shot at Shepard. He gave up a rebound, and Pajuniemi was there to scoop it up and bury his fourth goal of the postseason. Garand was the difference for the Pack in the first period, as they were outshot 17-3. The Pack didn’t get their first shot till 4:05. LINES: Brodzinski-Carpenter-Cullye Fritz-Pajuniemi-Blidh Leschyshyn-Gettinger-Lockwood Elson-Henriksson-Trivigno Jones-Emberson Hillman-Scanlin Hájek-Kalynuk Garand Domingue SCRATCHES: Adam Clendening (suspended the first two games of the series) Talyn Boyko #40 Matt Rempe (healthy) Adam Edström  (healthy) Louie Roehl #4 (healthy) Brett Berard #27 (healthy) Matt Robertson (upper body, may return in the latter half of this  round of the playoffs) Patrick Khordorenko (season-ending shoulder surgery). C.J. Smith (hip area surgery done for the season) NOTES: The Wolf Pack have just one player with an overtime game-winner in their lineup. Ryan Carpenter, with the San Jose Barracuda. The last OT goal in franchise history was on May 13, 2015, by Chris Mueller in a shorthanded goal against Hershey. Hershey won four of the six meetings this year. The last contest was on February 11th, resulting in a 2-1 Hershey win as Shepard made 33 saves. In one of the worst-kept secrets, a week after his season ended ex-Pack Gustav Rydahl is heading back to Sweden and the SHL signing with Frölunda HC. Rydahl started the talks in Hartford but was loyal and finished out the year out West playing 12 games with the Eagles. Now 16 AHL players have signed for Europe for next year. He had a strong training camp, with many feeling he should have been in New York. He played effectively on a Wolf Pack team that struggled most of the year until recently. Being scratched twice in the last 10 days before his trade didn’t help. MORE NOTES: Ex-Pack in Winnipeg Neal Pionk, youngest brother Aaron commits to Minnesota-Duluth (NCHC) from Waterloo (USHL). News on a trio of ex-Sound Tigers, Travis St. Denis (Quinnipiac University) switches teams in Germany going from EHC Straubing (Germany-DEL) and signs with ERC Ingolstadt for next year. Jesse Graham changes teams in the Russian-based KHL from Barys Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan) to HK Sochi (Russia). Johan Sundstrom heads from Frölunda HC (Sweden-SHL) to Sport Vassa (Finland-FEL). Former Quinnipiac University goalie Dylan St. Cyr, post-graduation, played one game with Grand Rapids after his transfer year at Michigan St. (Big 10). He is heading to France to continue his career. St. Cyr will play for HC Anglet of the French Elite Magnus League. He has a brother Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen who is playing with the US National Development Team-NDTP (USHL).  His cousin Nick Rhéaume plays at UMASS-Lowell (HE). His uncle is ex-Pack and Ranger Pascal Rhéaume, who is an assistant coach with the Trois-Rivières Lions (ECHL), the Canadiens Double AA team to Laval. COLLEGE A few college assistant coaching moves. In the process of a complete coaching change, Dana Borges leaves the Colgate Red Raiders (ECACHL) for the Arizona St. Sun Devils (NCAA Independent) leaves for the assistant coach/player development position. Tayler Nelson, UMass-Lowell Assistant Coach, is the new assistant with the brand new D1 program at  Augustana University (SD) Vikings (NCAA Independent). At Canisius College (AHA), he had four years there and two years at UMASS-Lowell (HE). American International College-AIC (Springfield, MA) has announced the promotion of assistant coach Matthew Woodard to the position of associate head coach. At one time, he was Yale's women’s hockey coach. WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP The IIHF World Hockey Championship begins on Friday. The Team USA captain is Nick Bonino (Unionville via Farmington/AOF), Jack McBain, son of ex-New Haven Senator Andrew, Springfield Thunderbird Scott Perunovich, and ex-Springfield Falcon, two-time AHL MVP former Springfield Falcon T.J. Tynan. The assistant coach is an ex-New Haven Nighthawk, Scott Gordon. He's from the Columbus Blue Jackets and will feature GM Chris Clark (South Windsor). Team Canada ex-Pack Sammy Blais and Springfield Thunderbirds Jake Neighbours and goalie Joel Hofer. The GM is ex-Springfield Falcon Shane Doan. Czechia (Czech Republic) has Ranger and ex-Pack, Filip Chytil and ex-Pack Tomas Kundratek. Denmark-Ex-Pack Nicklas Jensen Finland-Ranger Kappo Kakko and ex-Springfield Thunderbird Juho Lammikko Germany-Former P-Bruin Kai Wissman Latvia-Ex-Thunderbird Rodrigo (father, Artis, will be the assistant coach), Karlis Cuskte (Quinnipiac University-ECACHL), and ex-Sound Tiger Kristers Gudlevskis. The head coach will be ex-New Haven Senator Harijs Vitolins. Sweden-Ex-Pack Oscar Lindberg and son of Ranger/Whaler Mikael Nylander, his son Alexander. Former Springfield Falcon, Assistant GM Josef Boumedinne Slovakia-Ex-Sound Tiger Richard Pánik. Switzerland-Playing in his record-setting 13th World Hockey tourney is ex-Pack Andres Ambühl and ex-Sound Tiger Nino Neiderreiter. Sad news, former UMass-Lowell and Quinnipiac goaltender and 2005 Hockey East rookie of the year Peter Vetri passed away unexpectedly on May 4, 2023. Vetri was age 37. Vetri was awarded a full athletic scholarship to play hockey at UMass-Lowell (HE). He transferred to Quinnipiac University (ECACHL) for his junior season in 2007-08 and played just nine games for the Bobcats. He left during his senior year to pursue professional hockey in the SPHL and ECHL. Vetri played for the SPHL’s Twin City Cyclones, ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers, and one full season with the FPHL’s Danbury Whalers and a total of 41 games for them over four years. HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

[mitchbeck]

HARTFORD WOLF PACK LOOK TO SPLIT WITH HERSHEY BEARS

By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack HERSHEY, PA – The Hartford Wolf Pack will look to earn a split on the road tonight as they visit the Hershey Bears for Game Two of the 2023 Atlantic Division Finals at the Giant Center in Hershey. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m., and coverage is available on both AHLTV and Mixlr. Tale of The Tape: The Wolf Pack and Bears met six times during the 2022-23 regular season, with the Bears taking four of the six meetings. Hershey posted a record of 4-2-0-0, while the Wolf Pack managed points in three games, going 2-3-0-1. The Wolf Pack posted a 1-2-0-0 record at the Giant Center, with their lone victory coming on November 20th by a final score of 4-2. The Bears won each of the final three meetings between the sides in the regular season. Hershey took a 2-1 regulation decision on November 25th, and a 1-0 shootout verdict on November 26th. Both of those games were in Hartford. They also claimed a 2-1 victory in Hershey on February 11th. The Bears extended their winning streak against Hartford to four games with a 3-2 overtime decision in Game One of this playoff series. The Wolf Pack opened the scoring with a powerplay goal 6:55 into the game, as Lauri Pajuniemi chipped home a rebound for his fourth goal of the postseason. Just 2:33 into the second period, Jonny Brodzinski fired his first goal of the playoffs by Hunter Shepard. Brodzinski was set up for a one-timer in the left-wing circle by Tanner Fritz, who collected his team-leading seventh assist. The goal was Hartford’s second powerplay tally of the night. They went 2-for-4 in the contest. The Bears responded just 2:52 into the third period, however, as Logan Day scored a powerplay goal of his own. Day blasted a shot from the point that evaded the glove of Dylan Garand and gave the Bears the push they needed. Late in the frame, with Shepard making his way to the bench, Jake Massie sent a shot toward the goal from the blue line. The puck clipped Connor McMichael and beat Garand at 17:51 to tie the affair and send it to overtime. Hershey made quick work in the extra session, the first for both teams in these playoffs. Henrik Borgstrom sniped a puck from the right-wing circle just 4:41 in, potting his first career Calder Cup Playoff goal in his Playoff debut. Wolf Pack Outlook: Last night’s overtime result was Hartford’s first trip to sudden death during the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs. It was the club’s first trip to playoff overtime since May 13th, 2015, against the Bears in Hershey. On that night, Chris Mueller scored a shorthanded goal to stun the crowd and give the Wolf Pack a 5-4 victory. The Wolf Pack’s powerplay converted on just two of 21 opportunities in six games against the Bears during the regular season. Through two rounds of the Calder Cup Playoffs, Hartford was 2-for-16 on the powerplay. In Game One, the Wolf Pack went 2-for-4, with both powerplay units finding the back of the net. With an assist on Pajuniemi’s powerplay goal at 6:55 of the first period, Tim Gettinger became the first Wolf Pack player this postseason to score points at five-on-five on the powerplay (1 a), and the penalty kill (1 g, 1 a). Gettinger (2 g, 6 a) and Fritz (1 g, 7 a) lead the Wolf Pack in points with eight each through seven Calder Cup Playoff games. Pajuniemi leads the team in goals with four through seven games. He has scored at least one goal in all three series thus far. Bears Outlook: The Bears completed their second consecutive multi-goal comeback on Thursday night. In Game Four of their Atlantic Division Semifinals series, the Bears trailed 2-0 after one period of play but rattled off six unanswered goals to win the game 6-2 and the series 3-1. Day’s powerplay goal 2:52 into the third period was the second goal of his Calder Cup Playoff career and his first goal as a member of the Bears. Day appeared in 36 games with the Bears in his first season with the club, collecting 12 assists in the regular season. His other Calder Cup Playoff goal came as a member of the Bakersfield Condors in 2019. Sam Anas leads the Bears in points with seven (2 g, 5 a) through five games. McMichael and Aliaksei Protas lead the Bears in goals with three each. Game Information: WATCH: AHLTV LISTEN: Mixlr Play-by-play voice of the Wolf Pack, Alex Thomas, will have ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ starting live at 6:45 p.m. on both AHLTV and Mixlr. The series shifts back to Hartford for Game Three on Wednesday, May 17th, at 7:00 p.m. For playoff ticket information, please visit HERE. ABOUT THE HARTFORD WOLF PACK: The Hartford Wolf Pack has been a premier franchise in the American Hockey League since the team’s inception in 1997. The Wolf Pack is the top player-development affiliate of the NHL's New York Rangers and plays at the XL Center. The Wolf Pack has been home to some of the Rangers' newest faces, including Igor Shesterkin, Filip Chytil, and Ryan Lindgren. Follow the Wolf Pack on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article