□ Pack's 8th Straight Playoff Berth
By BRUCE BERLET, Courant Staff Writer
Wolf Pack coach Ryan McGill had mixed reviews of a second straight overtime victory Saturday night.
McGill liked that the Pack rallied for a seventh victory when trailing after two periods as Craig Weller scored at 3:16 of overtime in a 3-2 decision over the Portland Pirates before 5,547 at the Civic Center.
But McGill didn't like that it took more than two periods for the Pack to overcome the Pirates and clinch an eighth consecutive playoff berth.
"I'm very ecstatic that we came back, but I'm very disappointed with our play around our net," McGill said. "We showed some jam on the road [Friday] night, but we have to establish more constant pressure in our own building. Why do we have to wait until the third period? If you wait like that in the playoffs, you're going to be out quick."
McGill also had mixed feelings about Weller, who returned to defense from wing after Joel Bouchard sustained a hip sprain in his season debut, a 1-0 overtime win over Springfield Friday.
"He wasn't very good in our own zone at times with [Jeff] MacMillan, but give him credit," McGill said. "We needed a goal, and he went and got it. That showed a lot of character."
Weller got his first goal and second point in 24 games when he picked off a Portland clearing attempt, got around Brooks Laich, momentarily lost control of the puck and then squeezed a bad-angle shot past Kirk Daubenspeck. Daubenspeck had relieved Maxime Daigneault, who left with leg cramps with 13:13 left in regulation.
"I've been working on trying to jump up and be a little more offensive," Weller said. "That was kind of a loose puck that I thought I could get to. I knew I was 2-on-1 with Jozef [Balej], and the ice was pretty bad so I was kind of looking to pass it and mishandled it. Then I saw a little light, chipped it and just tried to throw it off his pad. I got lucky."
Weller's fifth winner gave the Pack (45-21-3-3) a 4-0-1-1 streak. The victory kept the Pack four points behind Atlantic Division leader Manchester, which beat Springfield 3-2 in overtime, and eight points ahead of Lowell, which lost 3-1 to Providence and hosts the Pack today.
The Pack had tied it at 2 on a 5-on-3 power play when Alexandre Giroux one-timed Jamie Lundmark's pass past Daubenspeck for his team-leading 29th goal with 9:00 left in regulation.
After Jason LaBarbera (28 saves) stopped short-handed bids by Jason Ulmer and Brian Willsie, Jeff Hamilton gave the Pack a 1-0 lead. Hamilton got a pass from Lawrence Nycholat, raced down the right wing and his shot from the circle beat Daigneault to the far corner at 6:25 of the second.
The Pirates tied it when LaBarbera made a sprawling save on Trent Whitfield, who picked up the rebound, circled the net and flipped a backhander that deflected off the scrambling goalie's glove at 12:13. They took a 2-1 lead after Willsie picked up a loose puck in the right corner, skated through the slot and fired a 30-foot shot that beat a screened LaBarbera with 20.6 seconds left in the period.
But the Pirates (31-31-5-5) couldn't hold off the Pack, and extended their slide to 0-3-2. With eight games left, they are 12 points behind Providence for the final Atlantic Division playoff spot.
Playoff Tickets
Strips for a possible 16 Wolf Pack playoff games can be purchased by calling the team office at 860-548-2000. Prices are $12.40 to $22.90 for adults and $6.70 to $11.95 for children 16 and under.
Individual game tickets for the first round, which will likely start April 20, go on sale this week at the Civic Center, Ticketmaster and online at hartfordwolfpack.com. Prices are $17 to $29 for adults and $9 to $15 for children.
