clarinews@clarinet.com (01/18/90)
_A_l_t_e_r_n_a_t_e_ _L_e_a_d HARTFORD, Conn. (UPI) -- The Hartford Whalers haven't exactly been world beaters on home ice this season, so coach Rick Ley was happy to see his team come from behind to earn a tie with the Boston Bruins. It took a dramatic goal by Kevin Dineen with 17 seconds remaining in the third period Wednesday night to lift the Whalers to a 5-5 tie with the Bruins. ``It takes a lot of guts to come back like we did,'' said Dineen. The Whalers erased a 3-0 deficit with four straight second-period goals, but Ray Bourque and Randy Burridge scored 1:53 apart early in the third period. The Whalers pulled Kay Whitmore and forced overtime when Dineen redirected a Ray Ferraro shot past Andy Moog with 17 seconds left in regulation. ``That's the first time that play worked for us,'' said Ley. ``We were 17 seconds away from a loss and it took a big effort to salvage a tie.'' Neither team had a shot in overtime. The Whalers, who own the NHL's best road record (13-8-2), are 8-13-2 at home. Hartford is now 3-2-1 against Boston this season and is the only team to beat the Bruins more than twice. ``Coming back like we did was a morale-booster,'' said Ley. ``It will build our confidence.'' Bourque had two goals and Craig Janney added three assists for Boston. Janney, who was born in Hartford and raised in nearby Enfield, set up goals by Garry Galley, Bobby Carpenter and Bourque. ``This is a game we should have had,'' said Janney. ``Thank God we salvaged something out of it.'' Mikael Andersson, Randy Ladouceur, Scott Young, Pat Verbeek and Dineen had the goals for Hartford. ``Give Hartford credit for playing with a lot of intensity to get back in the game,'' said Boston coach Mike Milbury. ``It's a hard-working team.'' Galley gave Boston a 1-0 lead 2:45 into the game with a power-play goal. Janney dug the puck out of the right corner and centered to Galley, who unleased a slap shot from the point that eluded a screened Whitmore. The Bruins moved to a 2-0 advantage midway through the first period when Janney backhanded a pass to the slot for Carpenter, who avoided a check from Brad Shaw and backhanded a shot past Whitmore's left skate. Bourque rushed up from his defensive position, took a pass from Janney and beat Whitmore to make it 3-0 at of the second period. ``We were lucky to be up 3-0,'' said Milbury. The Whalers responded with unanswered goals by Andersson, Ladouceur, Young and Verbeek to move to a 4-3 lead. ``We sat back and tried to protect the lead,'' said Janney. ``If I could figure out why we did that, I'd be a coach - and a pretty good one.'' After a Dave Babych shot hit Jim Wiemer, Andersson collected the loose puck and beat Moog to the glove side from the slot at 6:55 to slice the margin to 3-1. Ladouceur made it 3-2 midway through the period after Ron Francis made a rink length dash. Young knotted the score at 3-3 at 15:20 when he connected on a low slap shot. Verbeek gave the Whalers a 4-3 lead with 1:18 remaining in the period when he converted a feed from Dave Tippett. ``This team hasn't quit all year,'' said Ley. ``But we learned that it's not fun to dig out of a hole like that.'' Bourque scored on a powerplay at 3:41 of the third period to knot the score at 4-4. Burridge broke loose on a breakaway and beat Whitmore between the pads at 5:44 to boost Boston to a 5-4 edge. The Bruins were without newly acquired center Dave Poulin, who was traded to Boston by Philadelphia on Tuesday for Ken Linseman. General Manager Harry Sinden said he doesn't expect Poulin to report until after the all-star break.