April 30, 2006
By BRUCE BERLET, Courant Staff Writer
It's called "top cheese" and it sure was tasty to the Wolf Pack Saturday night.
Alexandre Giroux scored off a 3-on-2 with Martin Sonnenberg early in the third period, and goalie Chris Holt made it stand for a 2-1 victory over the Manchester Monarchs in the deciding seventh game of the Atlantic Division semifinals before 4,357 at the Civic Center.
"I didn't know if Sonny saw me, so I kept yelling," said Giroux, who took a drop pass from Sonnenberg, maneuvered into the slot and beat Adam Hauser high to the stick side at 6:16 for his third playoff goal. "But he made a great pass, and Greg [Moore] drove the net or I don't have that shot. Those two guys made the play, and I just shot the puck and picked the corner."
Sonnenberg, who had the Pack's first goal, knew where Giroux was and heeded the words of coach Jim Schoenfeld.
"Schoeny kept telling us to take the puck wide, and as I was going down the [left] wing, I saw [Giroux] out of the corner of my eye," Sonnenberg said. "And it just happened [Moore] went to the net and took the other defenseman and Rooster had a ton of time. He went a little lower than he wanted but put it in the right spot."
The Pack, eliminated in six games in the first round last year, will face regular season division champion Portland, which ousted Providence Friday. Game 1 of the best-of-seven series is Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center. The Monarchs failed to escape the first round for the fifth time in their five-year history.
The Pack are 12-7 in elimination games and 5-2 in winner-take-all matchups, including 2-0 against the Monarchs. They are 3-1 in Game 7s and can thank another stout defensive effort in front of Holt, who was making his second pro playoff start in place of injured goalie Al Montoya after spending most of the season with Charlotte of the ECHL.
"I felt like the underdog coming in, but I turned it around and used it to battle the pressure," said Holt, who stopped 55 of 57 shots in two games, including 26 Saturday. "It helped me approach it like it was the 20th game of the season, and I appreciate how the other guys picked up their game to help me, knowing I hadn't played [in 21/2 weeks].
"I remember a really juicy rebound in the first, and [defenseman] Martin Grenier whacked away a sure goal with one hand. Something like that really boosts my confidence and lets me know they're here to battle for me and I'm here to battle for them."
Assistant coach Ulf Samuelsson said it was "the Chris Holt factor again.
"We played pretty good hockey throughout the series, but he was the key at the end with some phenomenal saves," Samuelsson said. "And we did a good job of adjusting our free-flowing game on the rush and getting the puck deep against a team that's well coached and tight."
Samuelsson and Sonnenberg said the Pack were a bit nervous, apprehensive and disorganized at the start. But after Holt flicked out his right pad to deny Connor James at 1:43, Sonnenberg picked up Moore's shot that hit the side of the net and scored at 3:42 on a shot from behind the net that banked in off Hauser (34 saves).
Holt stopped Ryan Murphy breaking in alone at 7:28, then made bang-bang saves on Mark Ardelan and Petr Kanko and got a piece of Dany Roussin's deflection during a Monarchs power play. But seven seconds after the man advantage ended, former Pack defenseman Marty Wilford's shot deflected off Roussin's skate and past Holt at 11:47, giving the Monarchs an 11-4 shot advantage and a 1-1 tie.
Holt kept it even when he made a sprawling save on Murphy off a 2-on-1 at 2:20 of the second and stopped Ned Lukacevic's spin-around at 11:33. The Pack pressed early in the third and got Giroux's winner, then Holt kept the Pack ahead when he denied Noah Clarke at the post at 8:25.
The Monarchs pulled Hauser for a sixth skater with 1:10 left, but Holt held them off, with help from diving defenseman David Liffiton and a hustle play by Lee Falardeau that negated an icing.
"It was fun and pretty exciting at the end," said Holt. "It's been an absolute merry-go-round of a season, and I can't think of a better way for things to go. It's bittersweet that Monty is hurt, but these opportunities don't present themselves all the time and I'm very thankful Coach had the faith to put me in after not playing for a long time."
