By BRUCE BERLET, Courant Staff Writer
The time for talk is over.
Wolf Pack coach Ryan McGill met briefly Friday with captain Ken Gernander and assistants Lawrence Nycholat, Chad Wiseman and Jed Ortmeyer to discuss a few minor issues, then left it to the players, especially the front-liners, to determine if they want to play past this weekend.
A 3-2 loss Thursday left the Pack facing elimination tonight in Lowell, Mass., in Game 6 of the best-of-seven Atlantic Division semifinals. If the Pack win, they'll have a shot to advance to the division finals with a victory in Game 7 at the Civic Center Sunday.
"We're in a must-win situation and it's up to the veterans, the leaders and the guys who get the ice time to get us through it," McGill said.
"The bottom line is we need to win a hockey game or we go home. We need to do the little things well and it is up to our best players. They have to do it."
The Pack hope defenseman Bryce Lampman is among them. He missed Game 4 with an undisclosed injury and will be a game-time decision.
"He feels pretty good, but we'll see how he is [tonight]," McGill said.
The Pack could use Lampman's speed and experience against the Lock Monsters.
The Pack need Joel Bouchard, Nycholat and Thomas Pock to excel, especially if Lampman can't play. And they need forwards Alexandre Giroux, Jamie Lundmark and Dominic Moore to rediscover their games and Layne Ulmer and Jozef Balej to find theirs.
"It's put up or shut up," said Gernander, who was among a handful of players to participate in an optional skate. "At this point you're not going to change your whole game. You just have to get hungry and win a game, then you start all over the next day."
Goalie Jason LaBarbera said the key will be the start.
"We just have to come out hard, have a good first period and build off it," he said. "We've got to be the aggressor because otherwise we are going home."
Game 5 encapsulated a pattern in which the Pack play well for long stretches, then allow a few mistakes to turn a game.
"It wasn't like we just woke up this morning and said, `Hey, we've got to address this,'" Gernander said. "We started after Game 15. But it's never too late."
The Pack hope to duplicate Game 3, a 4-1 victory in Lowell.
"That was the talk of our meeting, that we proved we can do it," Gernander said. "That's the kind of effort and conscientiousness we need. We followed the plan every minute of every shift instead of just streaks. We don't have to alter anything, just do the things we've done all year."
Lowell coach Tom Rowe agreed.
"Ryan's not going to change his system, and I'm not going to change ours," Rowe said. "Our guys are comfortable with what we've been doing all year, and that's what we talked about. Hartford, Manchester, Providence and us all know each other so well that it's just a matter of doing what you do best. There are no upsets at this stage."
Valiquette To Russia
Goalie Steve Valiquette, who led the AHL in goals-against average (1.77) and could start tonight, has signed with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Russian Elite League for next season.
"I don't know how that leaked out, but I don't really want to comment on it," Valiquette said. "We've got playoffs to focus on."
Said McGill: "I don't want to comment other than to say [Valiquette] has been a good soldier and player for us."
Valiquette is leaving and LaBarbera might follow because the Rangers signed NHL veteran Kevin Weekes and drafted Al Montoya in the first round in 2004 after learning the career of 2001 top pick Dan Blackburn might be over because of a shoulder injury. The Rangers also have highly regarded Henrik Lundqvist in Sweden.
