Glens Falls, NY, February 18, 2011 – After trailing for much of the game, the Connecticut Whale tied the score late in the third period, and then pulled out a 2-1 shootout win over the Adirondack Phantoms Friday night at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
The game was the Whale’s last tuneup before Saturday night’s historic Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl outdoor game at Rentschler Field against the Providence Bruins.
The only goal for much of the game was a second-period tally by Adirondack’s Mike Testwuide, but Kris Newbury scored with only 2:49 remaining in the third period to tie it at one. Dov Grumet-Morris then stopped all four Adirondack shooters in the shootout, and Newbury and Tim Kennedy bested Phantom goaltender Johan Backlund to secure the win.
The victory was the Whale’s third straight and fifth in their last seven games, and fifth in their last six road games. With a record of 27-22-2-5 for 61 points, the Whale, who are in third place in the AHL’s Atlantic Division, moved three points ahead of fourth-place Worcester, which lost 5-4 in Albany.
The Whale and Phantoms battled through a scoreless first period, despite a total of five power plays being awarded by referee Mark Lemelin. The Whale, which had three man-advantages in the period, managed only six shots, while Adirondack had nine.
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The Whale was outshot 10-5 in the second period, and gave up a goal at 6:43, when they allowed multiple good chances in quick fashion around Grumet-Morris’ crease. A rebound came to Ben Holmstrom in the slot and Grumet-Morris made a sharp save on Holmstrom’s point-blank try, but Testwuide was able to pick up the rebound at the left side of the crease. Testwuide just managed to jam the puck between Grumet-Morris and the post, for Testwuide’s seventh goal of the season.
Backlund (22 saves) appeared headed for a shutout, before Newbury buried a rebound of a Stu Bickel shot at 17:11 of the third. Dupont got the puck out of the corner to Bickel at the top of the circles, and Bickel’s shot went wide. The rebound came off the boards to Newbury at the left side of the slot, though, and Newbury was able to put it into the net before Backlund could recover.
The Whale had a golden opportunity to win it late in regulation, when Lemelin awarded them a five-on-three power play for 55 seconds, but they could not convert. The power play carried over into overtime, and after the Phantoms killed the penalty Dale Weise was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct minor, but the Phantoms could not take advantage either.
The shootout victory was only the Whale’s third in eight trips to the post-overtime penalty-shot contest, and it was Grumet-Morris’ first trip to the shootout in a Whale uniform. In addition to going four-for-four in the shootout, Grumet-Morris (4-2-0) stopped 28 out of 29 shots in regulation and overtime, for his fourth win in his last five appearances.
Saturday night’s Harvest-Properties.com AHL outdoor game between the Whale and Providence faces off at 7:00 PM at Rentschler Field. The AHL contest will be preceded at 4:00 by a Whalers legends vs. Boston Bruins legends game.
Connecticut Whale 2 (SO) at Adirondack Phantoms 1
Friday, February 18, 2011 – Glens Falls Civic Center
Connecticut 0 0 1 0 – 2
Adirondack 0 1 0 0 – 1
1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Gustafsson Adk (delay of game), 0:35; Garlock Ct (slashing), 7:42; Rinaldo Adk (interference), 10:57; DiDiomete Ct (fighting), 13:04; Rinaldo Adk (fighting), 13:04; Soryal Ct (tripping), 15:59; Bordson Adk (hooking), 17:59; Niemi Ct (roughing), 20:00; Holmstrom Adk (roughing), 20:00.
2nd Period-1, Adirondack, Testwuide 7 (Holmstrom, Ryan), 6:43. Penalties-Rinaldo Adk (high-sticking), 8:14; Tessier Ct (hooking), 14:46.
3rd Period-2, Connecticut, Newbury 9 (Bickel), 17:11. Penalties-Niemi Ct (tripping), 2:59; Grachev Ct (delay of game), 6:16; Newbury Ct (fighting), 17:11; Rinaldo Adk (fighting), 17:11; Walker Adk (roughing), 18:07; Kalinski Adk (tripping), 19:11.
OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Weise Ct (unsportsmanlike conduct), 1:50.
Shootout – Connecticut 2 (Kennedy G, Williams NG, Newbury G), Adirondack 0 (Ryan NG, Hamel NG, Moore NG, Pither NG).
Shots on Goal-Connecticut 6-5-11-1-1-24. Adirondack 9-10-9-1-0-29.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 0 / 6; Adirondack 0 / 6.
Goalies-Connecticut, Grumet-Morris 4-2-0 (29 shots-28 saves). Adirondack, Backlund 7-13-3 (23 shots-22 saves).
A-3,012
Referees-Mark Lemelin (84).
Linesmen-Robert St. Lawrence (10), Steeve Lemay (64).
