I will go on record as saying I think this year the Wolf*Pack can do it. How’s that from the supposedly terminally negative farm hand? Eh?

Tonight was the first game of the playoffs – first round against the Manchester Monarchs, affiliate of the LA Kings (thus Monarchs refers to royalty, not to butterflies… but it still makes for fun times with opposing players and fans). If you are going to follow the Pack, one thing you should be aware of is that the Pack always has to do everything the hard way. Series always go to their full extent, and there have to be as many overtimes as possible. This way, they can be more exhausted and emotionally worn out as the games progress. No speculation about revenue streams will be made here.

The Pack won tonight, 5-3. No big shock there, they always win the first one. However, they also ALWAYS lose game two. So, we are all breaking out all the ‘bad luck’ jerseys, hats, etc, to give them a wearing tomorrow night, when we figure that we are guaranteed to lose anyway. Goals tonight came from Tomas Kloucek, Jason Dawe (2), Garth Murray (fresh from juniors), and an empty netter from John Tripp. Two of the three goals against were rebounds that a helpless Holmqvist couldn’t get to (and our defensemen weren’t interested in trying to reach), and the third was reported to be a softie that Johan lost track of in a scramble. The guy responsible for replays apparently had the night off, as we may have been treated to a half dozen all night. Defense was in bad shape tonight, with Mottau, Virtue, and Kloucek all standing out with ugly mishaps that cost us. Pack forwards appear to be in playoff mode, though, working very hard to put the puck on net, including one incredible sequence that involved about 8 shots over 30 seconds that resulted in Dawe’s first goal. I would imagine the defense will snap into line by tomorrow night, game 2 at home for the Pack. Of course, that means the forwards will be reeling by then. That’s the minors for you!

Seriously, we’ve got a good group of guys here, good enough that the media has finally stopped harping on the absence of J.F. Labbe and Derek ‘Army’ Armstrong. Perhaps they are not as talented as the group that took the AHL by storm two years ago, collecting league titles along their way to claiming the Calder cup. But perhaps they are. After a rocky start that looked distressingly similar to last year’s debacle, the Pack has come together as a team. And, in the end, that’s what counts as much as pure skill on the ice. Let’s take a look at the guys that make up this year’s playoff team, starting tonight with our netminders.

Goalies:

Johan Holmqvist (6-1, 190, 5/78) – young, mild mannered, and looking to avenge last year’s early exit from the playoffs at the hands of John Grahame and the Providence Bruins. A Rangers draft pick in 97, Johan has spent the last few weeks shuttling between the Rangers and the Pack. Johan’s strengths are his mobility and a fast glove hand – stick handling is not so strong, particularly when playing the puck behind his net, although to be fair, the fluky boards in Hartford get as many assists as the players. When he’s on his game, he seems to see right through people to stop the puck. After a particularly outstanding series of saves last week, Johan skated over to the Pack bench and slapped gloves with everyone on it just like the guys do when they score goals. Johan’s biggest weakness has always seemed to be his confidence, but I’ll take this to mean that he’s feeling good about his play right now. A strong playoff series would go a long way toward making the Rangers think he could back up Blackburn.

Scott Meyer (6-0, 185, 4/76) – Scotty is not 6-0. Signed as a free agent out of St. Cloud this year, Scott spent most of the year shuttling between Hartford and Charlotte as the goalies each went down with concussions in turn. Very compact in net, Scott relies on his agility to make saves since he doesn’t take up much space. As Johan’s backup, he is unlikely to see much time, unless a complete collapse takes place. Paddock has a tendency to play goalies into the ground, but Scott will do a capable job in net if Johan does lose his edge at some point. At a preseason game, Scott impressed me more than any of the other goalies with the Pack at that point (Johan was still in New York) and I was baffled when he was sent down to Charlotte. Perhaps it was just because this is his first year in the pros at age 25, but whatever it was he lacked he seems to have gained. Meyer should start next year in Hartford if he is resigned.

Bryce Wandler (6-0, 185, 2/79) – this weight must be with his gear on. Bryce will not play. Bryce will sit in the upper deck and watch the games. This is fine with me. Bryce, who signed as a free agent with the Rangers in 2000, was our third goalie when we won the cup. None of us knew this, though, until some scrawny kid wearing a #1 Pack jersey got up at the Calder Cup celebration and said, “I’m proud to say I didn’t let in A SINGLE GOAL during the playoffs!” We sat there, confused, until we collectively realized he was that third goalie we had never seen before. Bryce doesn’t seem to play all that much – I saw him as the backup in an UHL game, and he managed to give himself two different head/neck injuries this year (one when he dove headfirst into an opponent to make a save). But damn it – he sure has a great save percentage sitting in the stands, doesn’t he?

Also on our roster:

Jason Labarbera (6-3, 210, 1/80) – Jason is currently in the dog house, having been suspended indefinitely by the ECHL for accidentally throwing a stick into the stands and injuring a fan. But the Charlotte Checkers were recently eliminated, and he actually was the backup to Dan Blackburn for Saturday’s Ranger game in Philly. A Ranger draft pick in 98, Jason was the backup goalie to Holmqvist for last year’s playoffs. Ordered to lose weight after reporting for camp on the heavy side, Labarbera has slimmed down. Tall and gangly, Jason takes up a lot of net – but also resists going down to make the save, tending to hang his glove hand down instead. Not sure whether or not Jason will replace Bryce as our third goalie now that both the Rangers and the Checkers have been eliminated, but I would say there is very little chance he would replace Scott or Johan. Jason’s future in the organization is iffy.

That’s it for tonight, I’ll be back soon with an update and a look at our defensemen!

Heather

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