Thank you to everyone who came out tonight to “Stephen Pace in Provincetown” at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum. Thank you to @paam for a wonderful show. On view through September 1, 2019. [Cathy Claman, President, Stephen and Palmina Pace Foundation and Chris McCarthy, Director, Provincetown Art Association and Museum] #stephenpace #pace #abstractexpressionism #abstraction #figuration #hanshofmann #provincetown #provincetownart #provincetownartassociationandmuseum #chrismccarthy #artmuseum #soloexhibition #berrycampbell (at Provincetown, Massachusetts) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz19fEsl23Y/?igshid=ww6mrixr4i6w

Takuya Kuroda announces a new album “'Fly Moon Die Soon” and shares his first single “Change” with Corey King.

Takuya Kuroda announces a new album “'Fly Moon Die Soon” and shares his first single “Change” with Corey King. Takuya Kuroda is a  highly-respected trumpeter, is a forward-thinking musician that has developed a unique hybrid sound, blending classic groovy hard-bop, post-bop, soulful jazz, contemporary funk, fusion and hip hop music. The album consists of nine tracks, seven original compositions, and two classics Ohio Players “Sweet Sticky Thing” featuring Alina Engibaryan on vocals, and Herbie Hancock “Tell Me A Bedtime Story”. For this record Takuya Kuroda freed himself from the constraints of standard tracking with a live band and made hearty use of beats, sampling, overdubs, and other studio magic while also inviting musicians into the studio periodically to collaborate, keeping the collaborative and rough-edged spirit intact. After first listen of the album ended up straight on my personal “best albums of 2020”. It’ s great music, from soul-jazz to funk-jazz through beats, great grooves, heavy basslines and unique sound of Takuya’s trumpet. This album is a must. Watch below a video to Takuya Kuroda feat Corey King new song “Change”, the first single from his forthcoming album “'Fly Moon Die Soon”: Takuya Kuroda has come a long way from his early forays into jazz. Born and raised in Ashiya, a coastal city located between Kobe and Osaka, he has been a resident of New York for the past 15 years, and now channels the energy of both cultures. Read the full article

CANTLON: BIG WEEKEND FOR THE WOLF PACK

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT -  Six months of hard work with all the peaks-and-valleys a season can bring, all boils down to one weekend and a four-game stretch. The Hartford Wolf Pack sporting a 31-16-6-5 record (73 points) sit in third place in the AHL’s Atlantic Division have their third straight three-in-three weekend as well as next Wednesday's meeting with the Providence Bruins, are all division games. This set of games starts with a pair of XL Center home games on Friday and Saturday night against the Hershey Bears, who the Pack trail by three points. “Every game we play is important and we'll say the same thing next weekend and the weekend after that,” Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch said while trying to lower the pre-game temperature. “Unless you’re out of the playoffs, as the season wears on, all games are important.” At 3 PM on Sunday afternoon the Pack play the Springfield Thunderbirds before the meeting on Wednesday with the Bruins. “We want to finish as high as possible. First place in the division gets home-ice advantage. We are going to have to play against Hershey in back-to-back games and then Springfield. That’s our immediate task,” said Knoblauch. Playing three-of-the-four games at home, and then a short 20-mile drive to Springfield takes some of the physical edge off and works in their favor. Knoblauch, as the captain of the ship, is keeping his eyes on his troops and not much on Hershey. The Bears, however, are a quick counter-attack team and present a real tough test for the Wolf Pack. “We're not focusing as much on Hershey, but on our game. Getting a little more structure in our offensive structure. We just have had as much as we should. We need to get back to that.” Having the puck more than the other team sounds trite and simplistic, but was a key to the Pack’s early-season success as well as getting off to fast starts and not playing from behind. “It’s a big part of our identity, getting that first goal is important to get the other team to open up and take advantage of that. Being prepared goes a long way, especially as this time of year rolls around. “This time of the year, every game is big, but against those guys all points are big. We’ve spent the week preparing for this, now it's just time to get out there,” the first-year pro, Patrick Newell, said. Getting good starts in the first period was also a point of emphasis. “We addressed getting off to better starts, not be on our heels so much,” veteran defenseman Vincent LoVerde said. "Something the group is looking to this coming weekend.” Special teams will be a critical role in the weekend's fortunes. “It gets more critical as your season wears on, but so does five-on-five hockey. The teams are so close; special teams can make the difference and will likely factor this weekend,” Knoblauch said while keeping everything close to the vest. For Newell, it's some small adjustments that will help. “We’ve been fine-tuning things. We have some success lately. You're going to have those stretches. The good work will pay off for us.” The goaltending, a source of strength all season while Igor Shesterkin was with the Wolf Pack, will be tested as the Wolf Pack go with veteran J.F. Berube who gets the nod for the next game. “We solidified our goaltending in acquiring him. We have every confidence (in him) as we do in Adam (Huska). We don’t need for him to steal a game with a 58 save shutout. We need solid goaltending, and conversely, we need goal-scoring support from the team for the goaltending,” remarked the coach. The goalscoring issue is not secondary, rather it’s the Wolf Pack’s primary scorers. “We have gotten goals from our third and fourth lines. We need them (the other two lines) to contribute more to the mix. We don’t have any top-leading scorers of the league here, a top gun guy. It's not where it should be or where we expect it to be. We need scoring from all of our forwards,” said Knoblauch. A player with a keen understanding of Berube and what he can do is LoVerde, who won a Calder Cup with him during the Manchester Monarchs last season in the AHL before departing for Ontario. That spring the Monarchs swept the Wolf Pack in the conference finals, the last time Hartford tasted playoff hockey. “I’m very familiar with him having won a championship in Manchester and played with him in Ontario. (He's a) very solid goalie. He knows how to play in crunch time. He’s a winner and he wants to win. He has solidified us back there. He’s a talker like Tom (McCollum) was, and we appreciate him and wish him the best, and Adam has been super all year. We have full confidence in our goaltending,” remarked LoVerde. One element of surprise this weekend could be the return of Boo Nieves, who's missed 13 games since January 31st. Knoblauch hopes to fill a gap that's been occupied in his absence by a variety of players. “We hope so (to have him play). We have missed him. We have filled the gap with Fogs (team captain Steven Fogarty), Newell and Gettinger. He has so many valuable minutes from five on five, penalty kill and the power play. We would love to add to our lineup,” Knoblauch said. The coach was clearly hoping his practice time and contact will allow Nieves to return. NOTES: One worry Knoblauch has and has no control over is what happens with the Rangers who have two emergency recalls left while they are doing a roster high-wire act. “We’ve been fortunate so far this year with the Rangers (on the injury front), but right now they have no extra forwards or extra defenseman. So as soon as they get an injury, somebody has to go. They have no spares,” Knoblauch said. The AHL Trade deadline on Monday only produced one trade, but it might have an impact on the Wolf Pack as the defending Calder Cup champions, the Charlotte Checkers, solidified their lineup by picking up the former captain of the Wolf Pack, Ryan Bourque, from the struggling Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The trade sent Cedric Lacroix and Terry Broadburst to Bridgeport. The first time he was traded was at the NHL Trade deadline five years ago to the Hershey Bears for Chris Brown. Ironically, Brown just signed a contract extension for another year with Nuremberg (Germany-DEL). As they did last season, a few days ago, the Checkers also picked up a veteran goalie for the playoff run. Keith Kinkaid was loaned out from the Laval Rocket after spending most of the year as the number two man in Montreal behind Carey Price. Hershey reassigned ex-Wolf Pack, Chris McCarthy, to the South Carolina Stingray (ECHL). The Springfield Thunderbirds recalled goalie Ryan Bednard from the Greenville Swamp Rabbits whose first AHL win was against the Wolf Pack. The Sound Tigers also made some roster moves calling up Arnaud Durandeau and goalie Jakub Sharek from Worcester. The Utica Comets received from the Vancouver Canucks, ex-Sound Tiger, Justin Bailey and from Kalamazoo, Mitch Eliot, the son of former New Haven Nighthawk, Daren Eliot. The first Division I college signees have started signing ATO deals. Sami Tavernier Merrimack (HE) signs with Syracuse and his teammate Griff Jesks. They head down the road on I-90 to 290 to Worcester (ECHL). There are five Division I players and six Division III players that have signed so far. Read the full article

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CANTLON: WOLF PACK OFF SEASON VOLUME 6 PART 2

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Player and Coaches alike are making moves these days and more announcements are expected. PLAYER AND COACHING MOVEMENT Former Hartford Whaler, Dave Tippett, gave up a luxurious job of creating the new Seattle NHL team to hop behind the bench of the talented, but underachieving Edmonton Oilers as he signed a multi-year deal with the team's new GM Ken Holland, who he himself was just hired from the Detroit Red Wings. Ex Bridgeport Sound Tiger and ex-Hartford Wolf Pack, Chris Bourque makes his third foray to Europe signing with EHC Munich (Germany-DEL) for next season. In 794 games, Bourque leaves the AHL with 746 points, good for tenth place in AHL history.  The son of Hall-of-Famer, Ray Bourque, has several scoring titles, made many All-Star teams, has been the regular season MVP, the playoff MVP, and won several Calder Cups. He is a sure-fire first ballot AHL Hall of Famer when he becomes eligible. Ex-Pack Chris McCarthy re-signs with the Hershey Bears on a one-year AHL deal for next season. Goalie Harri Sateri leaves the Grand Rapids Griffins for Sibir Novosibirsk (Russia-KHL). Grayson Downing, who split the year with the Colorado Eagles and the Utah Grizzlies (ECHL) signs with Esbjerg (Denmark-DHL). Tomas Hyka, who's started the AHL Calder Cup Finals, leaves for Traktor Chelyabinsk (Russia-KHL) next season and Filip Pyrochta leaves the Milwaukee Admirals and heads back to HC Brno (Czech Republic-CEL). Its official defenseman Adam Ollas Mattsson is leaving the Stockton Heat to go to Malmo IF (Sweden-SHL). Brett Walchyka leaves the Rockford IceHogs for Esbjerg (Denmark-DHL). Mike McMurty leaves Stockton for HC Banska Bystrica (Slovakia-SLEL) and ex-Sound Tiger, David Ullstrom, leaves the Tucson Roadrunners and signs with Dynamo Riga (Latvia-KHL). That makes for 32 AHL’ers that have left for Europe and 19 of 31 AHL teams have lost at least one player thus far to Europe. Stephon Williams, an ex-Sound Tiger goalie, signs with SC Bietigheim-Bissen (Germany DEL-2) for next year. Josh Norris has left Michigan (Big-10) after his sophomore year and signed a two-way, three-year ELC deal with the Ottawa Senators. Ryan Black of Northern Michigan (WCHA) signs with HC Briancon (France-FREL). Joining him is Felix Chamberland of Canisius College (AHA) and Chris Moquin of Southern New Hampshire University (CCC). He heads to the Sydney Bears (Australia-AIHKL) that makes 31 collegians that have signed with European teams and 217 overall in total have signed pro deals. There are college hockey coaching changes as well. Merrimack (HE) hires the long-time Division III head coach of Plattsburgh State, (SUNYAC) Bob Emery, as their Director of Hockey Operations. Former AHL’er Karl Goehring was named the new assistant coach with North Dakota (NCHC) University Alaska-Anchorage (WCHA) announces it's moving its team’s home games from the Sullivan Arena to the on-campus Wells Fargo Center in a cost-cutting move with a state budget crisis in Alaska. Ex-CT Whale Kelsey Tessier departs Vienna (Austria-EBEL) and heads back to Sweden. He will lace them up for Vasteras IK (Sweden-Allsvenskan) in the fall. Ex-Sound Tiger Mike Halmo leaves Ilves Tampere (Finland-FEL) to Iserlohn (Germany-DEL). Ex-Pack David Stich leaves KLH Chomutov (Czech Republic-CEL) signs with HC Litvinov (Czech Republic-CEL) for next year. Ex-Pack, Kyle Beach, departs Tolzer Lowen (Germany DEL-2) for DVTK (Romania-EBEL). Ben Lake (Sacred Heart University) stays in the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) going from Coventry (England) to Belfast (Northern Ireland). Defenseman Mike Cichy of New Hartford and born in New Britain, has re-signed with GKS Tychy (Poland-PZIHL). The lowest level of minor league hockey, the Federal Hockey League (FHL), has added two more teams in addition to the Danbury Colonials. The latest team is the Columbus (GA) River Dragons. The city last had a minor pro team, the Columbus Cottonmouth of the SPHL, but that team ceased operations in 2016. The new team hired the old team's head coach/GM as former New Haven Nighthawk, and Whaler draft pick, Jerome Bechard, joins as the VP of Public Relations. No coaching staff has been hired yet. The other team that will be joining the league will be the Delaware Thunder who also have no coaching staff but does have a mini-roster listed with Ray Boudiette (Redding) on the roster. The Canadian National Junior A tournament concluded in Brooks, Alberta. The host Brook Bandits (AJHL) took home the title winning the series and the final game by the same score. They beating the Prince George Spruce Kings 4-3 in the final and won the series 4-3 as well. Six teams competed and some familiar names were involved, the Oakville Blades (OJHL) have Jamie Storr, the former LA King, as head coach and his two player development coaches are former player Jamie Allison and ex-Sound Tiger Rob Hisey. The Ottawa Jr. Senators (CCHL) has Ethan Manderville on the roster. He's the son of former Whaler, Kent Manderville, and the team’s assistant coach is former CT Whale, Ryan Garlock. Former Nighthawk Mark Ferner has stepped down GM/head coach of the Vernon Vipers (BCHL). The QJAAAHL has renamed and they saw former Danbury Trasher, Dustin Traylen, sell the team which was once known as the St. Lazare Revolution. They moved last year and become the Lac (Lake) St. Louis Revolution and are now under new ownership and will be called the West Island Shamrocks. The league is also relocating a team to St. Georges-de-Beauce which is along the Maine and Canadian border. The Hershey Bears have signed Steve Whitney, the younger brother of former Wolf Pack captain and Sound Tiger, Joe Whitney. They've also added goalie Parker Milner (Avon Old Fames) to one year AHL deals for 2019-20. Michael McCosh, the son of former New Haven Nighthawk and Senator Shawn McCosh, commits to the New Mexico Ice Wolves (NAHL) for next year. Remember former Yale University (ECACHL) assistant coach, Dan Poliziani Sr.? He who served under the late Tim Taylor for 11 years in the late 1980s and in the 1990s. His son, Dan Poliziani Jr., graduated from a Canadian college, Ryerson University (OUAA), and signs a deal with Dunkirk (France-Division-2). The elder Poliziani is a head coach with the Canadian high school team called Stanstead College in Quebec (CAHS/MPHL) which is just over the Vermont-Canada border on I-91. Their arena is called the Pat Burns Arena. Prior to his passing, Burns was present for the groundbreaking to make a new hockey rink at the school and sadly passed away a month later in November 2010. Poliziani Sr. played for Yale for four years (1978-1982) was the captain his senior year and had 131 points in 101 games. THE BALDWINS If you think Howard Baldwin Sr. has learned his lessons and changed his ways read these astonishing accounts of their shenanigans that dates back to their CT Whale days. Simply amazing! Read it HERE With that background in mind, we can now return to the facts of this case. In the district court, the Baldwins did not dispute that the amended 2005 tax return they claim to have mailed in June 2011 was never received by the IRS. The Baldwins, therefore, sought to rely on the common-law mailbox rule to establish that the document was presumptively delivered to the IRS in June 2011, shortly after they mailed it. They offered the testimony of two of their employees, who had been tasked with mailing the document on the Baldwins’ behalf. The employees explained that they deposited the amended 2005 return in the mail at the post office in Hartford, Connecticut, on June 21, 2011. Under the common-law mailbox rule, that testimony, if credited by the court, would give rise to a rebuttable presumption that the amended return was delivered to the IRS well before the October 15, 2011, deadline. The district court credited the testimony of the Baldwins’ employees and found, on the basis of the common-law mailbox rule, that the Baldwins’ claim for a refund had been timely filed. Read the full article

CANTLON'S CORNER: (FOR THE FANS) PACK SEASON COMES TO A MERCIFUL END

BY: Gerry Cantlon, HOWLINGS HARTFORD, CT- The 2018-19 season has mercifully ended for the Hartford Wolf Pack and thus begins another long spring without having playoffs in the Connecticut capitol and a summer of big questions for the New York Rangers' AHL franchise. The locker room was silent. The ice surface is gone as scrubbers cleaned up any residual water left over. Wolf Pack players received their exit interviews and left for various different ports in the US, Canada, and Europe. On a day the world mourned the burning of the 870-year-old iconic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, the Rangers were completing the immolation of the latest edition of the Pack. The Rangers relieved head coach Keith McCambridge and his assistant coach, Joe Mormina. The team chose not to renew their contracts. This hardly came as a surprise given the team's performance these past two years. They became the first AHL coaching casualties of the 2018-19 season. Pack GM, Chris Drury, declined to be interviewed as he was conducting the exit interviews. Calls to McCambridge were not returned. Three weeks ago, Cantlon Corner was told by an NHL source that McCambridge had been informed his tenure was up. Out of respect for McCambridge, an honorable man, we declined to publish that. “It’s tough. You feel really bad, and you wish you could have done more for the team as a whole. It’s not fun for anyone,” Shawn O’Donnell said. The 30-year-old completed his third tour of duty in Hartford. “One thing is we had a lot of (personnel) turnover and it’s a part of the league. You look at Hershey. They had very few changes in the second half of the season. We had changes on an almost a weekly basis.” One of the assistant captains, Rob O’Gara, was sidelined for much of the second half with back spasms was very disappointed. "When you work with someone who has helped you and you develop a relationship with them, it's never fun to see them go through something like this. We do develop a family atmosphere and (McCambridge) was very honest with me, which I appreciated, and he helped me because I struggled a lot early on trying to do too much. I got to be in a good spot where I was playing some good minutes, and then I got injured, but I appreciate he gave me a leadership role this season.” The season result was not all McCambridge’s fault, nor was it his predecessor, Ken Gernander’s, fault either. Asking a head coach to turn lemons into lemonade is what was asked of both men. The Wolf Pack have hit bottom and have been cresting at the bottom of the division and the entire AHL for almost five years. They have not made the playoffs in six of the last seven years. That's an organizational failure, not just a coaching problem. There have been some moments to celebrate the signs of player development, but those are few and far between and what has seemed to become a trend, change is in the air again. The team’s break up day process was shifted until Tuesday despite ending on Sunday with a 3-1 loss in Hershey. Many of the players who ended the season with Hartford now will clearly not be here for training camp next fall. Sunday’s loss saw the Bears sweep all the Pack in all six games they played this season. On January 14th, the Wolf Pack (40 pts) were four points ahead of the Bears (36) and just three points out of the fourth and final playoff spot in the Atlantic division. At the conclusion of the season, the Pack finished 25 points behind them! Give some credit to the Bears, who played .789 hockey from that point and amassed 56 points. They will deservedly be in the playoffs while the Wolf Pack will look back to see that they won only TEN games in the final three months. January 14th was the day the Rangers made the fateful decision to trade Pack captain Cole Schneider to Milwaukee for Connor Brickley. The Wolf Pack simply never recovered. “It was rough no question," O'Donnell said. "Cole was a good hockey player, a good leader, and was an all-around good guy. We lost guys to the NHL and a couple of other trades. It was different that’s for sure.” Schneider was the fourth captain in a row that was traded. For this Wolf Pack team, the self-inflicted pyromania by the Rangers continued with the subsequent trading of their goaltender, Marek Mazanec, who was the team's first off-season signee. Then came the departure of their leading goal scorer, Peter Holland. All of this went down in a three-week span as the Rangers made it clear they had thrown in the towel, not only in New York but in Hartford as well. “I had no idea that three other captains had been traded before Cole," O'Gara said. "His going was tough enough. He was the backbone of this team and it was a lot harder than I thought it would be because we won the first game after the trade, 6-5 in OT, in Lehigh Valley. We weren’t consistent enough. We would win five in a row, then turn around and drop five in a row. In some games, we struggled to be consistent. We would have a bad five-minute segment that would kill us. Just before Christmas we were above .500. We never got back to that level the rest of the way.” O’Donnell is at a playing crossroads and enjoys Hartford. “Hartford has become a second home. I like it here, but this is still a business. What comes my way this summer, and my second year when we went to the conference finals, I will look back at the years here were one of the best of my life in hockey and it's great to go on a playoff run like that. I just wish we could have had a few more of those here." The scoring on Sunday by Hershey was all done by ex-Pack, Chris McCarthy. He tallied a goal and two assists, while Joey Leach, who was just recalled from the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL, scored his first of the season. Joe Snively, fresh out of Yale, also tallied a goal and two assists. Hershey’s Aaron Ness had two assists on Friday night in Hartford’s home finale. That production allowed him to surpass the Pack's John Gilmour 55 to 54 points and capture the AHL defenseman scoring title. The on-ice carnage is best reflective in the plus/minus numbers. While plus/minus can be skewered by individuals making a faux pas that reflects on the rest of their teammates on the ice, but once a player gets into the deep teens or to over minus-twenty, that reflects far more on a fundamental flaws that extend from the forwards to the defensemen and possibly even the goaltender. Six Pack players were a minus-20. In that category, Bobby Butler and defenseman Libor Hajak were both a minus-26. Lias Andersson was a staggering minus-24 in just 36 games, breaking Matt Gilroy’s record of minus-16 in 31 games mark, yet he was recalled to NY. Sean Day was a minus-23 in 47 games. Steven Fogarty, the team MVP, was also over 20 with a minus-21. Rookie Tim Gettinger was a minus-20. The best players on defense ended their season on the injured list, Chris Bigras (ankle) was a plus-5, assistant captain Rob O’Gara (back spasms) plus-3, Ryan Lindgren (concussion) with two Rangers recalls at minus-1. Only Binghamton, Ontario, and San Antonio had numbers like that. Daniel Brickley, Ontario's Jake Walman, John Gilmour’s collegiate defense partner were tied for the worst at minus-31. The Rangers are on the hook here as they await the naming of a new president of the team to succeed Glen Sather. That fortunate soul will have to pick through the debris in New York and Hartford and try to plot a forward course. The Rangers clear indifference to Hartford has to end. Winning and the playoffs were once synonymous here. Over a 14-year consecutive stretch where the team made the playoffs and competed at the top end of the AHL. Winning and playoffs still matter. The Rangers have to decide if they care to accomplish that objective here. Cantlon’s Corner has learned that the Rangers have had a preliminarily interview with at least one Hockey East coach about the Hartford opening, However until a new President is named, these preliminary interviews will likely be done to present the new person a list of candidates to come for second interviews. Director of Player Development, Jed Ortmeyer, was on the bench during three games this season. He also conducted several practices last week and is likely on an initial short list. Clearly, the Rangers talent evaluation process is broken. A major shakeup is needed to achieve better results so necessary changes in the scouting department will likely happen. About seven years ago in Worcester, a former high-ranking AHL official in a profanity-laced tirade lamented at how poorly Hartford had become both on-and-off the ice. Since then, it has only gotten worse. Too many average skilled players have been sent to the Connecticut state capitol. Others were picked off the waiver wire scrap heap, or they were traded for, have all dotted the lineup over the past five years. Many of the present Wolf Pack need to excise a set of words from their vocabulary how good, great or talented they are. The team's record demonstrates the team's reality and other teams that used to fear the Wolf Pack over the years, have, over the past several seasons, feasted on the Wolf Pack. The Rangers have an abundance of selections coming up at the Vancouver Entry Draft this summer and that's all fine and dandy, but they need to make sound choices and sign genuine quality AHL free agents to help nurse them along the path. The days of bringing in the likes of players like Akim Aliu, Cody Beach, Andre Deveaux, Dustin Tokarski, and Bobby Butler have to stop. The organization must stop the goaltending madness. This year with simply a redux of years past with a refined packaging of rotating people to be Henrik Lundqvist’s backup. Remember the Cam Talbot-Chad Johnson saga when the Ranger's rotated them up and down the Merritt Parkway like a relay recall race? Both players went elsewhere to find NHL playing time in other NHL cities. This year Alexander Georgiev was dispatched to play in Hartford while Lundqvist went one of his playing tears. Tokarski and Mazanec went to New York to be well-paid practice goalies and fatten their bank accounts but didn't help either team. If the Rangers choose to name a captain or to sign a player next season to assume that role, that agent must extract the first AHL NTC-No Trade Clause. A franchise that set the standard of what a captain should be and that had his number retired as his should have been, that indifferent approach to the captaincy has to end. The Schneider situation demonstrates so clearly that it can have a truly devastating consequence to the team's in-season plight and the growth and development of their prospects. The Rangers have to make choices in Hartford. You don't need to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce that the status quo is not good and not working. Read the full article

CANTLON: WOLF PACK START FINAL WEEKEND OF THE SEASON

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The 2018-19 season that started out with so much promise, comes to an end with it being the fifth of the last six springs in Hartford without post-season hockey. The magic of fourteen straight seasons with the Wolf Pack playing post season hockey has long since gone. In its place have come an annual ritual of eerily quiet locker rooms and the omnipresent feel of gloom with the recognition that the roster for 2018-19 does not resemble the one that started or in some cases that ends this season. Friday night is the home finale against the Hershey Bears with the puck drop coming at 7:15 pm on Fan Appreciation night. Then the team travels to Pennsylvania to close things out. Saturday night they will be in Allentown against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and then on to the Giant Center in Hershey on Sunday. The team's record of 29-34-7-3 will again be under .500 for the season. The Pack is 3-6-1-0 in their last ten, currently 40 points behind the division-leading and AHL's best, the Charlotte Checkers, and twenty points behind Hershey, who were below the Pack in the standings on December 1st. The team will be in eighth and last place in the Atlantic Division. Only the Binghamton Devils prevent them from being last in the 16 team conference. The Pack will finish with either the fourth or fifth worst record in the AHL and have the third worst goals against at 2.54. Not a pleasant read. John Gilmour is battling Steven Fogarty for the team scoring title. Gilmour has 54 points and was named to the first team of the AHL All-Stars on Thursday. Gilmour is also in a race with Hershey’s Aaron Ness (51 points), and Zach Redmond of Rochester (50 points) to lead all AHL defenseman in scoring. If he succeeds, after Sunday's games, Gilmour will become only the second player in franchise history to do so.  In 2008-09, Andrew Hutchison was the other. One of the likely 2019-20 roster members will be Nick Jones. In his first six games, Jones has shown elements missing for large chunks of this season in Hartford. He picked up two points last week in a game in Springfield, His first pro goal helped the Pack climb back into the game. “It felt good to get it out of the way and not have to think about it too much. I caught him (Springfield goalie, Chris Driedger) in a weird position and I was able to sneak by the five-hole on him,” remarked Jones. Jones is going through the standard pro-baptism like every college and Junior level player goes through. “There is such a wide range of guys here and it’s a nice organization, happy to be here,” said Jones. He has learned to play with different players very quickly. “Seems like I have a new set of linemates every night and I’m certainly getting a feel for different players. Actually, at North Dakota, I had a lot of different linemates too. It’s nothing new to me." Life at North Dakota saw him get to play at one of the more prestigious hockey programs. He played at the Ralph Engel Arena, one the nicer hockey venues in the country. “It’s a special place. I was very happy and fortunate to play there. The fan base, the culture, and the history it's amazing to play in that arena every night.” The Calgary, Alberta native opted for the college route than major junior. “It gives you more time to develop. I think you don’t finish at 20, just a little later and I think it made a difference for me. I think you get more practice time, get to play against bigger players, which helps when coming to this level. There are a lot of draft picks on the team and in the league, and you get a lot of exposure.“ Jones is completing his degree with a concentration in sociology. Getting his diploma means working on time management. “It’s so different. I’m trying to figure out what do with so much time because I’m running off to class and going to finish things up and head back for graduation next month. His audition thus far looks like Jones will be a major piece of the 2019-20 puzzle for the Wolf Pack. PYATT RETURNS Its been ten long years and a lot of traveling, but ex-Pack forward, Tom Pyatt, finally found himself back in Hartford last weekend with the Utica Comets. He started out his third season in Ottawa but got caught up in in the early season issues of the Senators and was traded to the Vancouver Canucks and found himself back in the AHL with the Comets. He was able to pop in a goal in a 4-0 shutout victory. “I was very excited to play here tonight," Pyatt said. "I was able to walk downtown a bit before the game and it brought back a lot of memories. Time goes by quickly. I was 20-21 years old then, now I’m 32. It’s good to be back." With all his travels as a player, the thought of being back in Hartford wasn't at the top of his mind. “Things go by so quickly. You never know in this business where you might wind up.” Pyatt scored just his fifth goal in 33 games so it meant a lot to him to get on the scoresheet last Saturday. “Its been a while since I scored, so that felt really good. Credit Reid (Boucher). He did all the work on that play. Getting one shorthanded, always a plus. We have gone through a tough month-and-a-half. Between here and the changes in Vancouver, it hasn’t been an easy time. We've stuck together pretty good. It was nice to get Maz (ex-Pack netminder, Marek Mazanec) a shutout. It was one of our better defensive efforts,” Pyatt said, Pyatt and his teammates helped the former Hartford goalie to record his first shutout of the season. Pyatt spent two seasons in Switzerland with HC Geneva-Servette where he was coached by a former New Haven Nighthawk, Chris McSorley. He is currently undecided on his future hockey plans. “I really am not sure. Been a pretty tough season. I started out my third year in Ottawa and halfway through changed my address. I really enjoyed my experience over there in Europe. I’m just looking to finish out this season and take some time off and think over the summer back in Thunder Bay and enjoy the family, enjoy the house and then make a decision later in the summer." When he was a member of the Wolf Pack, Pyatt took an extended period to help his middle brother, Taylor Pyatt, who had lost his then-fiancee, Carly Bragnalo, as a result of a car accident in a cab in Jamaica. She was just 27-years-old. Time has been a great healer. “It was great. I got to play with him in his last year of pro in Switzerland. That was a lot of fun. Now, he is a Dad with a two-year-old girl. I was in Hartford back then and took time off. It was a hard time for him. He got married again, and man how time flies, but things are all good for him now.” In his time in Hartford, Pyatt was a very underappreciated player by the Rangers. He went on to rack up nearly 500 NHL games in other places like Montreal, Ottawa, and Vancouver. “When you're that young, you don’t appreciate the breadth of the game. I’ve had a lot of different experiences, but I got it all started here. It takes a few years to develop. I had two good years here and enjoyed my time here." Hopefully, Pyatt has a few more years of service as he's one of the true good guys in hockey. NOTES: Former UCONN defenseman, and their team captain, Derek Pratt, who played in the Wolf Pack training camp, and was later recalled from Maine, but never played here signed a PTO deal with Utica for the final AHL regular season weekend. The Pack released defenseman Matt Register after five undistinguishable games where he added an assist and five shots on goal. He was returned to the Toledo Walleye (ECHL). Quinnipiac’s Scott Davidson signs with the AHL’s best team, the Charlotte Checkers. He brings the number of Division I college players that have signed pro contracts to 155 and the total number of college players to 174. Ex-Pack, Chris McCarthy, who spent all season with the Reading Royals (ECHL) signs a PTO deal with Hershey. Former Yale Bulldog, Mike Doherty, goes from Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) and signs a PTO deal with the Providence Bruins. Another former UCONN player, Joseph Masonius, was released after twelve games with Manchester (ECHL). He's had a long season. Masonius was cut from the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins after (AHL) camp. He was sent to the Wheeling Nailers (ECHL). His contract was brought out so he then played one game with the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL) before being released. Pro hockey is a tough business. Stratford native, Jamie Sifers, played his high school hockey at Fairfield Prep and Salisbury Prep (winning titles at both schools). He was in the opening lineup last weekend for Utica. He announced he will retire after this weekend after playing in 640 AHL games and compiling 167 points. Sifers won a Calder Cup with Lake Erie (nee Cleveland) in 2016 and had 37 NHL games with Toronto and Minnesota. He also spent three seasons in the German DEL league after a four-year college career at the University of Vermont. Ex-Pack Bert Robertsson gets his first head coaching gig in Sweden after seven years as an assistant coach at Skelleftea AIK in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He will be the head coach of Linkopings HC in the fall. Congrats to ex-Pack and ex-Ranger, Dane Byers, truly one of the nicest players ever to come through the Connecticut capitol city. He has announced his retirement from hockey after completing a second season with the Manchester Storm (England-EIHL) where he was their team captain. He tallied 29 goals and 55 points in 56 games and 182 PM. He had 11 games in England 53 goals and 125 points and 289 PM Byers played for the Wolf Pack for three-and-a-half years. He was the captain for two-plus years. Byers was the last captain before the ill-fated switch to the CT Whale brand. He was the first Wolf Pack captain ever traded, albeit at his own request, and ironically his first game was with the then Springfield Falcons in Hartford two days later on November 12, 2010. In 255 games in Hartford, Byers scored 72 goals had 90 assists for 162 points and racked up 546 PM. He was a captain with Hershey and Springfield, plus he was an assistant captain at Oklahoma City. In 564 AHL games, Byers had 128 goals and 304 points and 1,245 PM. He played with San Antonio too. In just 14 NHL games he scored one goal with the Rangers and had 60 PIM. He was an assistant captain for the Lahti Pelicans (Finland-FEL) for one season. His brother Cole Byers played in one Wolf Pack training camp with him. He is the cousin of legendary Bruins ruffian, Lyndon Byers. His wife Ashley and their three sons are moving back to his native province of Saskatchewan and taking a job outside of hockey. The IIHF Division 2 Group A World Championships are underway in Belgrade, Serbia with Cheshire, CT native, Rob Malloy, playing for the third time for the Australian National Team. In their first game, Malloy tallied the second goal at 2:58 of the first period just 1:27 after Australia struck first. The Mighty Roos dropped the opener in overtime to Belgium 4-3, but they won their second game, 3-2 over host Serbia. The key came in killing off a major penalty late in the second period and early third period to preserve their first win. The Australian team shutout Spain 4-0 in their third game. Malloy was helped on their first tally, a power play goal, at 13:01 of the opening frame. Switching off with Jamie Woodman at the right point, Malloy headed to the left side of the net. Woodman’s right point shot was redirected by Malloy but was stopped by Spain goalie Ander Alcaine. However, the rebound was the right there for AIHL top scorer Darge Wehebe to bang the rebound at the right side of the net. Vadim Virjassov and Kieren Webster each had a goal and an assist for Australia including beautiful play on the fourth goal with Webster intercepting a Spanish outlet pass and sent a great behind the back pass to Visjassov and finished it with a forehand to backhand lifted over a prone Alcaine with 5:50 left in regulation. The other countries in the six-team group are Serbia, Belgium, Croatia, Spain and China. The only other familiar name is former NHL first round pick for Boston and AHL’er, Shaone Morrison is skating for Team Croatia after playing the regular season with the Oji Eagles (Japan-ALIH). -When Malloy returns for the start of AIHL (Australian Ice Hockey League) season he will see a CT face face in the lineup against him with the Melbourne Ice. Former UCONN player Jesse Schwartz who played this season with Roanoke Valley (SPHL) and a  two game recall to Brampton (ECHL) become the third university player to play in the AIHL (Matt Grogran and Trevor Gerling were the others). -The short season South African Super League (SASL) has a new champion in year four of the league as the Cape Town Kings finished with the best regular season record winning all eight games and outscored their opponents 61-26. The leagues’s leading scorer is a former US Division III college player (Nazarethy College-UCHC) Uthman Sammal with 32 points in those eight games. The Pretoria Capitals finished in second place. Read the full article

KEELEY: FOUR UNANSWERED GOALS CARRY ROYALS OVER MARINERS

Mariners still alive in the playoff hunt, but suffer a setback BY: Michael Keeley, Maine Mariners                                                                                                           PORTLAND, ME – Apr 3, 2019 – The Reading Royals responded to a 1-0 deficit with four goals in a row on their way to a 4-1 win on Wednesday night at the Cross Insurance Arena. With their win, the Royals staved off elimination and jumped the Mariners for fifth place in the North Division standings. The Mariners remain in contention for the postseason, with three games remaining. After most of the first period was scoreless, the Mariners drew first blood when Greg Chase scored a nifty wraparound goal at 14:32. Wade Murphy was called for boarding and Reading capitalized on a bit of a controversial goal at 16:46. Mariners goaltender Francois Brassard claimed he had the puck covered to his left but it eventually popped back out for Nick Luukko to blast home from the point to tie the game at one. The score was tied up at one at the end of 20 minutes. Reading had the better chances and zone time in the 2nd and broke the tie on a two-on-one rush at 15:58. Kevin Goumas fed Josh MacDonald who one-timed it past Brassard giving Reading its first lead, which they took into the 2nd intermission. In the third, the Royals added on with their second power-play goal at 4:05 of the period, MacDonald once again the recipient. Brassard couldn’t squeeze his pads and MacDonald jumped on a loose puck to make it 3-1. The Mariners pulled Brassard with just under five minutes to go and after a big stop by netminder Jamie Phillips, Chris McCarthy tipped one past Zach Tolkinen and found the empty net to seal the game. Each team finished with 40 shots on goal, Phillips making 39 saves and Brassard, 36. The Mariners remain three points behind Brampton but also fell behind Reading with the loss. The Beast has to finish their season with three games against Central Division leaders Cincinnati and Toledo. Reading travels to Adirondack to start a season-ending home-and-home. Maine will host the Worcester Railers on Friday and the Newfoundland Growlers next Sunday. In between, they finish their road schedule on Saturday in Manchester. NESN Bruins TV host and former AHL Mariners broadcaster Dale Arnold will make an appearance on Friday. Tickets to all home games are available at MarinersOfMaine.com or at the Trusted Choice Box Office inside the Cross Insurance Arena. The Trusted Choice Box Office can be reached at 207-775-3468. Read the full article

KEELEY: MARINERS WEEKLY: NEW OPPONENTS VISIT MAINE IN BUSY HOME WEEKEND

  BY: Michael Keeley, Maine Mariners  Feb. 5, 2019 – The Mariners got a feel-good win on Saturday night when they defeated the Adirondack Thunder, 5-3. The victory snapped a five-game skid and also served as a breakout game for the offense, which had scored more than two goals only once in their previous seven games. Four Mariners enjoyed multi-point games, and it was a much-needed confidence boost heading into a three-game home weekend filled with unfamiliar foes. The week that was Wednesday, Jan. 30th – MNE: 1, REA: 3 Visiting Reading for the first time since early November, the Mariners played the Royals to a scoreless tie through one period. Reading jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second on goals by Frank Hora and Chris McCarthy. John Furgele split the deficit, but his goal would be the only one the Mariners would muster as an empty netter gave the Royals a two-goal win. FULL GAME RECAP Friday, Feb. 1st – MNE: 2, MAN: 3 The Mariners registered 17 first period shots but got only one goal to show for it – Greg Chase skated in alone coming out of the penalty box and beat Monarchs goaltender Charles Williams. Before they could take a lead into the locker room, the Mariners surrendered a late power play goal. They lost momentum and fell down 3-1 in the second, but got back to within a goal in the third when Michael McNicholas broke a 13-game scoreless string. Despite a season-high 43 shots in total, the tying goal never came, as the Mariners took a pair of late penalties. Morgan Adams-Moisan was suspended for three games for head contact on Manchester’s Michael Doherty. FULL GAME RECAP Saturday, Feb. 2nd – ADK: 3, MNE: 5 In a classic back and forth contest, the Mariners had leads of 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, and 4-3, thanks to goals by Drew Melanson, Brycen Martin, Dillan Fox (PPG), and Greg Chase. Finally, with 2:02 left, McNicholas created the game’s first two-goal margin with an insurance tally, set up nicely by Martin. McNicholas and Martin each finished with three points, while Chase and Fox had a goal plus an assist each. Mike Szmatula scored a pair for the Thunder, who saw a three-game win streak come to an end. FULL GAME RECAP & HIGHLIGHTS Transactions -D Zach Tolkinen was loaned to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack -The Mariners acquired D Sean Campbell from Reading and F Johnny McInnis from Rapid City -D Ryan Culkin was recalled to AHL’s Laval Rocket Coming up (all times Eastern) Fri, Feb. 8th vs. Cincinnati Cyclones – 7:15 PM (HOME) Sat, Feb. 9th vs. Greenville Swamp Rabbits – 6:00 PM (HOME) Sun, Feb. 10th vs. Wheeling Nailers – 3:00 PM (HOME) It’s a three-game home weekend as the Mariners continue their five-game homestand. The Western Conference-leading Cincinnati Cyclones kick off the weekend on Friday, which is “Honor Flight Maine Night” presented by News Center Maine. On Saturday, the Mariners celebrate EqualityMaine Pride night and You Can Play/Hockey is for Everyone, as they host the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. The first 2,000 fans will receive a pride T-shirt. On Sunday, the Wheeling Nailers, with whom Riley Armstrong coached for two seasons, make their first trip to Maine. Following the game, fans can skate with the team, presented by Redbank Village. The Mariners are calling it, “#3kend.” Fans who check in to all three games at the promotions port will be eligible to win a Mariners Prize Pack. Fun Facts/Notes: -The Mariners are now 10-4-0-0 on Saturdays -Friday’s game is the first in Mariners franchise history against a Western Conference opponent -Brandon Halverson is 3rd in the ECHL in minutes (1750) and saves (950) Read the full article

KEELEY: MARINERS FALL IN READING DESPITE FURGELE'S GOAL

   Second-period offense favors Royals in Mariners loss BY: Michael Keeley, Maine Mariners READING, PA – January 30, 2019 – A pair of Reading Royals second-period goals were enough for an eventual 3-1 win on Wednesday night at Santander Arena. John Furgele brought the Mariners within a goal in the 2nd, but they couldn’t get even and dropped their fourth straight. After a scoreless opening frame, Reading defenseman Frank Hora pitched a rebound over Brandon Halverson for a 1-0 lead at 3:59 of the 2nd. It was Hora’s first goal of the season and just the second of his professional career. During 4-on-4 at 9:31, Chris McCarthy was able to poke a loose puck past Halverson, whose own stick attempt was unsuccessful. Moments after McCarthy’s goal, Derek Pratt ripped a shot past Royals goaltender Andrew D’Agostini and off the inside of the post. The goal light flickered but it was ruled no goal. The next stoppage, at 13:21, turned out to be a Mariners goal when John Furgele took a cross-ice pass from Dillan Fox and deked to the backhand to beat D’Agostini. Jason Salvaggio added a secondary assist. Reading led 2-1 after two. The Mariners’ best scoring chance of the third came on a power play in the first half of the period. Ryan Culkin’s shot from the center point hit the goal post and then jumped the stick of Terrence Wallin, hoping to cash the rebound. Tyler Brown sealed the game with an empty netter at 19:29. Halverson stopped 28 of 30 in the loss while D’Agostini improved to 5-0-1 in his Royals career with 22 saves on 23 Mariners shots. The Mariners head back North to face Manchester on Friday in New Hampshire at 7 PM before returning home for a meeting with the Adirondack Thunder on Saturday, February 2nd. It’s “Women in Sports Night” presented by the Maine Sports Commission. The first 2,000 fans through the gate will also receive a Grocery Tote Bag, presented by Townsquare Media. Game time is 6:00 PM. Tickets can be purchased at MarinersofMaine.com or by visiting or calling the Trusted Choice Box Office: 207-775-3458. Read the full article

CANTLON'S CORNER: HOCKEY NEWS AND NOTES VOLUME 23

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Player Movement, industry news and a tragic loss made the headlines for the past week in professional hockey. Plenty of news surrounding the Hartford Wolf Pack. Chris McCarthy, who played for the Pack and last was rostered with the Hershey Bears last season has retired from hockey. Another former Pack player, Darin Olver, who played just six games with Hartford, and his only American Hockey League (AHL) time in 2006-07, moves on from ERC Ingolstadt (Germany-DEL) to Schwenninger Wild Wings (Germany-DEL). He has played his whole pro career in Germany. Two weeks ago, Spectra, the building manager of the XL Center, changed the designation for 21 employees from "furlough" to "permanent lay-off." Among those people named was the only voice the Hartford Wolf Pack have ever known, Bob Crawford. Crawford has built a 30 year career of AHL experience behind the mike. In addition to being with the Pack from its inception in 1997, Crawford has also had gigs in both Adirondack and Providence. In Hartford, he was also the Public Relations Director. The team dropped its radio deal last year and has been broadcasting solely on the internet. For Crawford's sake, and the rest of the staff, hopefully this lay-off becomes temporary until next season is solidified and as a schedule and sponsorship return to the Wolf Pack. AHL Read the full article

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