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April 24, 2007

P-Bruins 5, Hartford 1

PROVIDENCE -- At Monday’s practice, Providence coach Scott Gordon told the P-Bruins that getting the first goal in a game is important, especially in a seven-game series.

In the first three games, he said, the team that scored the first goal won. So he wanted Providence to set the tone early and play with the fire of a team that was on the brink of elimination in last night’s pivotal Game Four played at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.

They did exactly that and their hard work paid off.

At 11:31 of the first period, Providence center Ben Walter gathered a loose puck in enemy territory, made a slick move to beat his defender, and then fired the puck passed Hartford goalie Al Montoya from between the circles to give Providence a 1-0 lead.

Staying true to form, Providence (45-30-2-4) made a statement by crushing Hartford, 5-1, to even its best-of-seven Atlantic Division semifinals series with the Wolf Pack (47-30-3-1) at 2-2 and receive a standing ovation from the crowd of 2,762.

Providence’s impressive win tied for the second-worst Hartford playoff loss in franchise history.

"That was probably the most complete game that we have played in the playoffs," Gordon said. "I think each team has had their moments in the three previous games but I felt like our guys really got a great jump tonight. We did a lot of little things right and exerted effort that we hadnt been exerting in areas when we needed to do it in blocked shots, hitting, and all of the intangibles that don’t show up on the score sheet."

Walter and Jeff Hoggan each scored a goal and had an assist, and goalie Hannu Toivonen made 23 saves.

"I just tried to stop them all and help the team win," Toivonen said about his performance.

"He did a great job controlling the rebounds," Gordon said of Toivonen. He did a better job of getting out and stopping the puck. He did a lot of the intangibles that make goalies successful."

Said Walter of Toivonen’s performance: "He played unbelievable. He made some big saves and we fed off that and we were able to get some big goals for him. We kind of helped each other out."

In a very physical game, Providence welcomed back defenseman Mark Stuart, who had missed the last four games with a leg injury. Providence outworked and out-skated Hartford all night. The P-Bruins outshot the Wolf Pack, 25-24, and limited Hartford’s high-scoring offense to zero power play goals on six opportunities, while going 1-for-4 on their power plays.

"We didn’t want to say that before the game but we all knew that it was a big game," Walter said when asked if the P-Bruins believed that last night’s game was a must win game. "If we went down 3-1 it would be tough to come back, especially with two games left in Hartford so it was a big game and everyone came through tonight."

Providence, which outshot Hartford 11-3 in the opening session, played the majority of the first period on Hartford’s side of the ice. In fact, the P-Bruins did not allow a Wolf Pack shot on goal until 10:24 after the opening faceoff.

Walter’s goal gave Providence the early momentum but Hartford began the second session playing very physical. Unfazed, the P-Bruins extended their lead to 2-0 by scoring a short-handed goal after P-Bruins left wing Pascal Pelletier was called for interference at 7:02 of the period. Right wing Jeff Hoggan scored the unassisted goal 27 seconds later.

Hoggan stole an errant Hartford pass, skated through the neutral zone and up the left side of the ice, and fired a wrist shot passed Montoya from the top of the left circle.

The Wolf Pack answered less than two minutes later to slash the P-Bruins lead to 2-1. Greg Moore, stationed at the left post, crossed the puck to Dane Byers who was at the right post. Byers flipped it into the net.

Providence regained the momentum with 6:38 remaining in the second period when T.J. Trevelyan, from behind the net, fed the puck to a charging Sean Curry who one-timed it in to give Providence a 3-1 cushion. Petr Kalus added an insurance goal 1:16 into the third period, and Pelletier scored another at 7:35.

Providence is hoping to put on a similar performance tomorrow night in Game Five.
"We are just going to go out and play the same way we played tonight and I think if we do that we’ll have a really good chance," Walter said.

--ROB LEE

Posted by Art Martone at 9:24 PM to P-Bruins | Permalink

April 24, 2007

P-Bruins 5, Hartford 1

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