I had a feeling the Sykora trade would come back to bite us in the behind.

Flashback to January 8, 2006. The Hartford Wolf Pack are in Maine getting set to take on the Portland Pirates. Defenseman Maxim Kondratiev, who was recently sent down by the Rangers, was getting set to play his fifth AHL game of the season with the Pack. However, the Rangers had other plans for the talented young defenseman. The call came in, and Kondratiev had been traded to Anaheim (Portland’s parent club). In a matter of moments Kondratiev was in the Pirates locker room getting ready to play against the Wolf Pack.

Flash forward - it’s now May 14, 2006 and again the Wolf Pack are in Portland taking on the Pirates. This time, it’s Game 6 of the Atlantic Division Finals. The game is in it’s 63rd minute, tied at 4 in overtime. Dwight Helminen, Colby Genoway, Brandon Dubinsky, and Nigel Dawes scored for the Wolf Pack but their goals were matched by Pierre Parenteau, Aaron Gavey, and former Wolf Pack Garett Bembridge
(twice). Recent ATO signing Greg Moore, who played his college hockey in Maine, trips a Pirate defender and gets called for a penalty. Parenteau scores a power play goal 58 seconds later, and just like that the Wolf Pack’s season was over.

The defender?

None other than Maxim Kondratiev. He got the last laugh.

Disappointing? Very. Then again, any overtime goal that ends your team’s season is disappointing. Fans can ’What If?’ all they want, but nothing is going to change what happened. Considering the Wolf Pack barely managed to get out of the first round, a loss to the division leading Portland Pirates was not surprising. Especially with the Pack being forced to play 4 consecutive road games in that series. But then of course, we’re talking about a Wolf Pack season that was full of surprises.

Consider opening night. The Manchester Monarchs were in town, and they had built themselves a comfortable 3-1 lead with 1:19 remaining in the second period. Twenty seconds later Craig Weller cut the deficit to 3-2, and the Pack entered the third period only down by one. A little less than five minutes into the period, Brad Smyth (then with the Monarchs) served a bench minor for delay of game. Ivan Baranka scored on the ensuing power play and the game was tied. The game appeared to be heading to overtime, but unfortunately for the Monarchs a bench minor for too many men on the ice did them in, as Jarkko Immonen redirected a blast from Joe Rullier (then with the Wolf Pack) past Adam Hauser and into the back of the net with 52 seconds to go. Smyth served the bench minor. At this point, fans knew they had something special. They had a team which wouldn’t lay down and die. Instead, they had a team with character and determination which would be evident throughout the entire season.

The Pack faced a minor setback over the course of the next three games, dropping one goal games to the Springfield Falcons twice with a defeat by Lowell in the middle. In the first three games of the season, the Pack had used three different goalies. Al Montoya, Chris Holt, and Bernd Bruckler each appeared in their first AHL games in the first 8 days of the season. The entire previous season they had only used two. Chris “Five” Holt didn’t make any friends in Hartford with his lackluster performance in the first handful of games in his professional career. If you don’t believe me, check the earlier posts from this season in the Wolf Pack forum. The general consensus was that he could rot in Charlotte. Through the first 10 games of the season, the Pack boasted an 6-2-1-1 (W-L-OTL-SOL) record, and all of their games had been decided by a single goal.

The month of November started off well for the Wolf Pack. Their third win of the month was their first game decided by more than a goal, and it gave them 7 wins on the season. Just three days following that 5-3 triumph over I-91 rival Springfield, goaltender Al Montoya suffered a broken finger in practice. This left Montoya out 4-6 weeks, and the Wolf Pack with Chris Holt and Bernd Bruckler to tend the goal for Hartford. The Wolf Pack managed 3 points in their next 6 games, going 1-4-0-1 and allowed 31 goals.

The one bright spot during this poor stretch of the Pack’s season was a kid by the name of Daniel Girardi who was recently called up from the Charlotte Checkers. Girardi, who made his AHL debut against the Lowell Lock Monsters on November 12, 2006, quickly became a fan favorite in Hartford with his solid defensive play and key offensive contributions. He made an immediate impact, recording three assists in his first two games. He also managed to keep a +5 rating (for what it’s worth).

With Montoya still sidelined, and the team still without a solid net minder, the Wolf Pack’s future was looking grim. Their record had slipped to 8-6-1-2, and their appeared to be no relief in sight.

November 22nd, 2005 enter Robert Gherson. The 22 year old goalie was signed to a PTO agreement and would start in the following night’s game against the Albany River Rats. Having spent the previous season with Quad City of the UHL, and appearing in only 1 career AHL game before, Gherson got a chance to prove he belongs in the AHL. He made it count. In a game which Hartford was out shot 50-33, Gherson held the fort and limited the River Rats to two goals. Hartford scored seven. Gherson would appear in six consecutive games for the Pack, and they would earn at least a standings point in every one of them.

The second weekend of December proved... interesting for the Hartford Wolf Pack. Ty Conklin, assigned to the Wolf Pack from the Edmonton Oilers, started consecutive games against the Springfield Falcons and Philadelphia Phantoms. For the most part, fans were glad to see him leave. Conklin split shootout decisions, winning Friday night’s contest versus the Falcons, but allowing three consecutive goals to Phantoms shooters to take the loss in Saturday night’s game. Keep in mind, this was after he dashed out to the blue line in overtime to chase down a loose puck. Not too many people were happy about that one.

Al Montoya returned on December 14, 2005 with a solid performance in a 4-1 win over Manchester. He’d win his next two games as well, before the Pack were humiliated at the hands of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in their first game after Christmas. The rest of the calendar year was not nice to the Wolf Pack, as they dropped decisions to the Syracuse Crunch two days later and Providence Bruins on New Year’s Eve. On January 1, 2006 the Wolf Pack’s record stood at 17-9-2-5.

The Pack rang in the new year with style, winning five of their first six games in 2006. Unfortunately, the team couldn't continue their winning ways and played incredibly flat the next two weeks of the season. A Wolf Pack team which had started off 5-1 had dropped four of their next five decisions, and at this point management decided it was time for a change. Jeff Taffe, who was acquired from Phoenix in the Jamie Lundmark deal, had been playing with the Wolf Pack since November 4th, 2005. In his 36 games with the team, he recorded 22 points. He was dealt back to Phoenix in exchange for Martin Sonnenberg, who many consider a career AHLer. Sonnenberg brought experience, leadership, and pure energy to the Wolf Pack. This trade would prove extremely important to the Pack’s success.

Once Sonnenberg showed up, the team did a full 180 degree turn. They got hot, plain and simple. Aside from two poor performances (an 8-2 road loss to Lowell, and a 5-1 road loss to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers), they were unbeatable. They rolled to an impressive 14-2-0-1 record over their next 17 games, defeating powerful opponents while they were at it as well. They defeated the eventual division champion Portland Pirates 6-0 in the Cumberland County Civic Center thanks to a franchise record five-goal night from Jarkko Immonen. The next week, they beat one of the best teams in the West in the Houston Aeros 4-3 thanks largely to a goal by Sonnenberg 45 seconds into the game. Two weeks later, they rallied from a 4-1 deficit to beat the Albany River Rats 5-4. On March 1st, they snuck out a 7-6 overtime win over the Norfolk Admirals. They headed to Texas, where they defeated Sonnenberg’s former team the San Antonio Rampage 4-2 and followed up with an impressive 5-1 victory over the Houston Aeros the next night. Unfortunately for the Wolf Pack, Sonnenberg got injured in that victory over the Houston. When the team returned to Hartford, they replaced him in the lineup with Rick Kozak.

Hartford lost their next three games.

At this point, management decided it was time for another change. Defenseman Joe Rullier, who was less than thrilled to be playing in Hartford, was loaned to the Manchester Monarchs. Rullier had played the past four seasons with the Monarchs and was always a fan favorite with the Manchester faithful. Returning to Hartford was veteran forward Brad “Shooter” Smyth. The previous season, Ken Gernander surpassed Smyth as the franchise’s all time scoring leader. Smyth took back the title in his first game back with the Pack, scoring 5 points in a 8-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phantoms. Sonnenberg returned to the Pack’s lineup two nights later in Norfolk. The Pack lost 3-2, but rebounded the next night and gained a 5-4 win on the strength of a hat trick by Alexandre Giroux. This game also marked the debut of Marvin Degon, who would become a solid defenseman throughout the Calder Cup playoffs.

March 22, 2006 marked Sonar’s Edu-Skate, and another tilt with the Wolf Pack’s newest rivals the Manchester Monarchs. Rullier was welcomed back to the Civic Center with boo’s, whereas Brad Smyth was instantly embraced in his first home game since rejoining the Wolf Pack. This was a very different Monarchs team than Hartford had seen before, most of their scoring had been traded (or in Smyth’s case, loaned) away in favor of gritty players such as Tim Jackman and Joe Rullier. One very noticeable difference on Manchester’s team was Alexandre Daigle, a former #1 overall draft pick who spent some time with the Wolf Pack. Manchester struck first, thanks to a power play goal by none other than Joe Rullier. Colby Genoway answered 2:03 later with a power play marker of his own. Rullier took his third penalty of the first period at 16:24, and Dwight Helminen scored the eventual game-winner on the ensuing power play. Nigel Dawes would score later on in the game, and Hartford took the contest 3-1. Ivan Baranka injured his hand in this game while fighting Konstantin Pushkarev and wouldn’t play in any of the Pack’s remaining games. The two teams wouldn’t meet again until the playoffs.

Hartford won four of its next five games (including a 9-3 trounce of Springfield with five third period Wolf Pack goals), pushing it’s total record with Martin Sonnenberg in the lineup to 20-4-0-1. They then dropped consecutive decisions to Norfolk, Portland, and in-state rival Bridgeport before rebounding to beat Lowell 3-2 in overtime thanks to a goal by Marvin Degon. Including that defeat of Lowell, the Pack finished the season on a four game winning streak and a final record of 48-24-2-6.

A lot of players had come into Hartford that fans hadn’t seen the entire season, and they were thrown into the lineup. Hartford couldn’t overtake Portland as the top seed in the division, nor could they be overtaken by Manchester or Providence and lose home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. First round draft pick Lauri Korpikoski scored a goal five minutes into his first AHL game and Greg Moore recorded a point in each of his first two AHL games. Later, Brandon Dubinsky would become a key center in the Pack’s playoff run, and Marc Staal got some ice time as well. I wasn’t as impressed with Staal as I thought I would be, I don’t think he made the transition to the pro game as well as some of the other kids did. There’s no question he has potential, but I don’t think he’s ready for the Rangers.

Al Montoya tended the goal for the Pack’s first playoff game against the Manchester Monarchs, and did a great job. He allowed just one goal, and that was to Alexandre Daigle. The goal was Daigle’s first professional playoff tally, but it wouldn’t be his last. None of the Pack’s 39 shots could beat Barry Brust, and the Monarchs took Game 1 by a score of 1-0.

Game 2 became an essential must win for the Wolf Pack, and they knew it. Nigel Dawes finally solved Barry Brust at the 8:43 mark of the first period with a power play goal. That lead stood for roughly thirty minutes, but Mark Ardelan evened the score on the power play with 1:02 remaining in the middle frame. Chad Wiseman regained the lead for Hartford 7:42 into the third period, but Richard Petiot scored an unassisted goal to tie the game less than two minutes later. The score remained 2-2 and the game went to overtime, setting the stage for a dramatic finish. At the 16:17 mark of overtime Martin Sonnenberg snuck one by Barry Brust and sent everyone home. The series headed to the Verizon Wireless Arena tied at a game a piece.

Dwight Helminen and Daniel Girardi scored power play goals on both penalties during a 5 on 3 advantage to take a early 2-0 lead in Game 3, but the lead was erased before the first period was over. Manchester scored again in the second period and early in the third period to take a 4-2 lead, which marked the end of Al Montoya’s time in the Wolf Pack’s goal. Robert Gherson entered the game and allowed a goal to Jeff Giuliano. Hartford trailed 5-2 with 15:15 remaining in the third period. Some considered the game over. The Wolf Pack, however, did not. Nigel Dawes, Alexandre Giroux, and former Monarch Brad Smyth scored third period goals and sent the game to overtime. Despite Hartford out shooting Manchester 15-8 in overtime, neither team found the back of the net. The game was sent into double overtime, setting the stage for an even more dramatic finish than that of Game 2. This time however, the Monarchs would emerge victorious as Giuliano faked out Marc Staal and Gherson and scored the game winner 1:46 into the fifth period. Brust finished with 45 saves, and Manchester managed just 31 shots on goal compared to Hartford’s 50.

In Game 4, the score was 1-0 after 20 minutes of play thanks to a Colby Genoway goal. However, a second period boarding penalty by Joe Rullier more or less energized the Wolf Pack. Nigel Dawes scored his third goal in three games on the power play following the call on Rullier, and Hartford wouldn’t look back from there. The Wolf Pack scored three more power play tallies, finishing 4 for 8 with the man advantage, and added two more even strength goals en route to a 7-0 victory. Genoway (2-3-5), Dubinsky (2-2-4), Dawes (2-2-4), Degon (0-3-3), and Girardi (1-1-2) all recorded multi-point nights in the blowout.

And so, the series returned to the Hartford Civic Center for a pivotal game five. Hartford chased Barry Brust from the Manchester net 46 seconds into the game, and before the game was even 14 minutes old the Wolf Pack had built themselves a 4-0 lead.

At this point, things go horribly wrong.

Joe Rullier assists on an Alexandre Daigle goal with three minutes remaining in the first period, and Al Montoya gets injured in the final few seconds of the opening frame. Rob Gherson came on in relief and allowed seven goals, Manchester won the game 8-6. Rullier finished with 3 assists.

Remember that Chris Holt guy? This is where he comes in. He had been doing color commentary with Bob Crawford, but with the Monarchs on the verge of winning their first ever playoff series, the Wolf Pack elected to start Chris Holt. Holt, who has never appeared in an AHL playoff game makes 29 saves in Game 6 and forces a game 7 at the Hartford Civic Center.

And what a Game 7 it was.

Martin Sonnenberg opened the scoring 3:42 into the game from behind the net, putting the puck off Adam Hauser and in. Dany Roussin, who played junior hockey with Sidney Crosby, tied the game later in the first period. The game remained tied until the third period, when Alexandre Giroux took a pass from Martin Sonnenberg and beat Adam Hauser for the game-winning goal. The third period of that game, especially towards the end, was the loudest I think I’ve ever heard the Civic Center. Chris Holt held the fort, and the Wolf Pack showed that character and determination to win and stunned the Manchester Monarchs.

Chris Holt. Who Knew?

Anyways, the Portland series didn’t go as well for the Wolf Pack as fans hoped it would. Chris Holt played amazing, and gave everything he possibly could give. Portland was just too good a team. Hartford found themselves in a 3-2 series hole, with Game 6 on the road, and needed a win to stay alive. Game 6 went to overtime, and the Wolf Pack’s entire season was irrelevant at that point. One goal would decide it. The past seven months didn’t mean anything.

It was simple. You score, you play again. You don’t, you’re off for the summer.

I had a feeling the Sykora trade would come back to bite us in the behind.

- Calder

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