SPOTLIGHT: ALEXANDRE GIROUX

BY: Bruce Berlet

For the past two summers, former Hartford Wolf Pack high-scoring wing Alexandre Giroux had Europe on his mind.

The personable Giroux had established himself as a premier AHL player without getting a full-time shot at the NHL, so he thought it might be time to head overseas.

But when the start of free agency rolled around on July 1, 2010, Giroux had second thoughts. Sure he had scored more than 300 goals in the AHL, including 60 and 50 in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons as the Hershey Bears won back-to-back Calder Cup titles, but he had played less than two dozen games at the highest level and the itch remained to be there.

FROM THE CREASE with BRUCE BERLET

BY: Bruce Berlet

Great news that New Canaan native Max Pacioretty was back in a competitive environment Wednesday night more than four months after a severe concussion and fractured vertebrae ended last season for the Montreal Canadiens left wing.

Pacioretty said he felt “weird” as he skated with the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Martin St. Louis, who lives in Greenwich, and the New York Islanders’ Matt Moulson in the Big Assist III charity game at Terry Conners Rink in Stamford. The event benefits the Obie Harrington-Howes Foundation, which has handed out more than $2 million to help improve the quality of life for people with spinal cord injuries and diseases. It was founded after Harrington-Howes, a hockey and lacrosse coach in Darien, was paralyzed in a swimming accident 14 years ago. Among those he coached in youth hockey were Darien’s Ryan Shannon, who organized the event, and Stratford’s Jaime Sifers, who will play in Germany this season.