April 29, 2005
By BRUCE BERLET, Courant Staff Writer
The Wolf Pack learned Thursday night what losing their top defenseman in the playoffs and a mental lapse can do against a high-octane transition team.
After using their tenacity to carry a lead late into the second period, breakdowns by the Pack helped Richie Regehr and Mike Zigomanis score 17 seconds apart and lead the Lowell Lock Monsters to a 3-2 victory before 2,312 at the Civic Center.
The Lock Monsters took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Atlantic Division semifinal series. Game 6 is Saturday in Lowell.
The Pack had the AHL's best home record (30-8-1-1) but lost two in a row at the Civic Center for the first time since Nov. 10 and 12. And they were 19-0-2-1 when leading after the first period.
"They have a lot of fast guys and did a good job pressuring us and forechecking," Pack goalie Jason LaBarbera said. "They got us hemmed in a couple times and we just didn't make smart plays in our own end at times. And we turned the puck over at our blue line, and that's a no-no against a team like that. We have to do a better job at both blue lines. We preach it all the time, but it's just a matter of executing."
The Lock Monsters' quickness against a Pack team without defenseman Bryce Lampman proved decisive in the second. Regehr's right-point shot deflected in off defenseman Craig Weller's hip at 16:42 after Bruno St. Jacques broke his stick on a cross-ice pass to Regehr.
"I didn't even see the goal because I was headed to the bench," said St. Jacques, who had three assists.
"They've scored a couple goals like that," LaBarbera said.
"The communication between five guys just didn't happen," Pack coach Ryan McGill said. "Two guys were on a different page than the other three, and we got running around."
On the second goal, St. Jacques passed to center ice to Chad Larose, who found Zigomanis breaking between Weller and Thomas Pock for a shot that beat LaBarbera high to the glove side.
"It wasn't a set play," Zigomanis said. "I yelled at Rosie and he gave me a perfect pass. I just wanted to get the shot off quick and not give [LaBarbera] a chance. It was a lucky shot."
Said McGill: "We tried to change momentum, but our top line [Dominic Moore, Alexandre Giroux and Jeff Hamilton] was out there and things happen. You can't give a guy like Zigomanis that much room."
Eric Staal gave Lowell a 3-1 lead when he converted St. Jacques' ricochet off the end boards at 9:21 of the third after Giroux's tripping penalty in the offensive zone.
LaBarbera stopped a second Larose short-handed breakaway with 7:47 left, then Hamilton got the Pack close with a 6-on-4 goal with 1:15 left, converting Jamie Lundmark's rebound after Carsen Germyn got a high-sticking penalty.
"They have a lot of skilled guys," McGill said. "But I thought we played a pretty good game until we made two mistakes in the second period and took an offensive zone penalty in the third that wasn't very smart. I thought we bounced back, but we had a mental lapse for less than a minute and didn't capitalize on our chances."
The Pack took a 1-0 lead 9:26 in when Garth Murray deflected in a right-point shot by Weller, who moved from wing to defense for the injured Lampman.
"Obviously Bryce has steadily improved to one of our top two guys since Christmas, so not having him after four games certainly hurts," McGill said. "But that's a great opportunity for guys like Thomas Pock and Joel Bouchard to step up."
Lowell coach Tom Rowe knew his team caught a break.
"That's a huge hole for them," Rowe said. "It's like us missing St. Jacques, [Allan] Rourke or [Mike] Commodore. He and [Lawrence] Nycholat log a lot of minutes and have done a great job against Staal's line."
Without Lampman, Nycholat was paired with Jeff MacMillan and Pock with Weller, whose spot up front was filled by Lucas Lawson. Lampman's status for Saturday is uncertain.
"The playoffs will always boil down to character, whether it's the first game or the sixth or seventh," McGill said. "We feel we have lots of character, and the guys will be ready Saturday."
