By Bruce Berlet
HARTFORD, Conn. – The celebrations started early and often in the Insurance City and throughout the rest of Connecticut and other parts of the world Saturday on St. Patrick’s Day.
Parades, green beer, shamrocks and lots of merriment and Irish music could be found everywhere, and the Connecticut Whale joined the festive mood Saturday night after registering a crucial 4-2 victory over the Worcester Sharks before 8,011 at the XL Center.
All-Star right wing Jeremy Williams, back after missing four games with an injury, scored two goals, including the winner, to back the 21-save effort of Dov Grumet-Morris as the Whale (33-25-2-6) won their fifth game in six starts to move two points ahead of the Sharks (30-24-4-8) in the battle for the third and final guaranteed playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. The win got the Whale even at home (14-14-2-2) compared to 19-11-0-4 on the road, where they will be Sunday afternoon as they visit the DCU Center in Worcester for a rematch with the Sharks.
The Whale is 5-1-0-1 against the Sharks, including a 7-2 drubbing at Worcester last Sunday that tied their season high for goals. Besides being eliminated from the playoffs two years ago, the Hartford Wolf Pack/Whale is 14-4-0-2 at the DCU Center, including 2-0-1 this season. Last Sunday was the Sharks’ second-worst loss at home to the 7-1 beating they got from the Wolf Pack on Dec. 8, 2007.
Williams’ first goal tied the game and was the first of two quick power-play strikes after defenseman Jared Nightingale came to the aid of teammate John Mitchell, who had been pushed to the ice from behind by Nick Petrecki.
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“That’s one of the roles that I think I can bring to this team,” said Nightingale, who became an assistant captain after Tim Kennedy was traded to the Florida Panthers on Feb. 26. “I’ve done it the last two years, and I have no problem doing it. I think there are 19 other guys who would be willing to do the same thing. Sometimes a fight can turn around a game. I’m not going to say that fight turned around the game. I think Dov made some big saves, and we just stuck with it, chipped away and just happened to score after the fight.
“We stuck to the game plan, and after the fight they took some penalties, and our power play won the game for us.”
Williams begged to differ, saying Nightingale’s fight influenced the outcome “big time.”
“Any time you’ve got a guy like Nightie, (Justin Soryal) and (Devin DiDiomete), they can change a game,” Williams said. “Getting a goal or one of our guys getting into a good fight is the same kind of momentum builder. That’s why there’s such a good mix of scoring and toughness. If we’re not scoring, we’ve got guys fighting to get everybody up. Nightie sticks up for Mitchell, and it ignites everybody. Everybody gets a little fired up, and from then on, we were pretty good.”
Grumet-Morris said Nightingale’s effort “had a significant impact on our team.”
“I thought it was the right place, right time,” he said. “Obviously we still maintained our power play because he did initiate a fight that the guy was looking for. I think it gave us a boost, and we obviously scored consecutive power-play goals and that clearly turned the game around.”
It started when defenseman Wade Redden made a terrific play to keep John McCarthy’s clearing attempt in the Sharks zone and got the puck to Williams, who moved into the high slot and fired a 40-foot laser that beat Tyson Sexsmith high to the glove side with 6:40 left.
“It was a pretty heady play,” coach Ken Gernander said of Redden’s effort. “He used his body to block the puck and then have the poise to collar the puck and made a good D-to-D pass when you’re getting forced (by McCarthy).”
Then on the ensuing 5-on-4, Kolarik passed in front to Evgeny Grachev and went to the net to convert the Russian’s rebound for his 21st goal with 5:58 to go.
Williams wasn’t certain how he would perform after being out for 10 days.
“I was a little unsure how I was going to feel,” said Williams, who increased his team-leading goal total to 27. “It was kind of weird because we were playing so many games that it was tough to get into some practices where it was game-like and some battle drills. I pretty much waited until I had no pain and then (the coaches) skated me to get me into shape.
“I felt pretty good to be out there, though there were still a few things that I’m a little rusty on. There were a couple of shots that I would have blocked on both their goals and the guy gets it by me. But overall, I thought our line (with Kolarik and Francis Lemieux) and our defense played good. Our power play struggled at the start, but we got it back going and got some goals and momentum started coming. We all weren’t really on the same page. We weren’t really sure what we were doing.
“We were a little too individual, myself included, but don’t take away anything from them because they’re neutral zone on their penalty kill is really unique because they take away the outside and collapse on you when you go inside. You have to make good plays, and if you’re not ready and not bearing down, it’s going to look like our first two power plays. So I think it was a matter of shaking the rust off because we hadn’t played together for a while.”
The Whale came out with more zip than at the start of a 2-1 loss to Hershey on Friday night, but the Sharks took the lead on a deft play at 8:07 by Tommy Wingels, who scored both Worcester goals. Nick Schaus’ blueline shot was tipped by Brandon Mashinter and picked up by Wingels, who skated behind the net and flipped a shot that ricocheted off Grumet-Morris and into the net.
“I was trying to find the puck and ‘get big,’ but Wingels saw I was off my post because I couldn’t see,” Grumet-Morris said. “He knew what he was doing. That was a purposeful goal and a very skillful goal.”
Grumet-Morris kept it close through the remainder of the period thanks to a nifty glove save on Benn Ferriero on a 2-on-1 at 11:58 and denying Michael Swift breaking in off left wing with 3:52 left.
Sexsmith had to be especially sharp at the start of the second period when Kris Newbury stole the puck 20 feet in front at 35 seconds and Kolarik had two excellent rebound bids at 1:12.
Off of the confrontation with Nightingale, Petrecki got an extra minor for slashing, and after Williams was stopped breaking in off right wing, Schaus was whistled for slashing, giving the Whale a 5-on-3 power play for 48 seconds and changing the fortunes of the game.
After the Whale scored the two power-play goals, Grumet-Morris kept them ahead when he made a good glove stab on T.J. Trevelyan’s shot from 20 feet in the slot with the Sharks on a power play with 2:11 left in the period.
The Whale then made it 3-1 at 1:34 of the third period as Pavel Valentenko passed ahead to defensive partner Blake Parlett, who threaded the puck between Schaus and Petrecki to Williams for a breakaway and shot that beat Sexsmith high to the glove side.
“I looked up, and (Williams) is the first guy I saw,” said Parlett, who has been a strong addition since being called up from Greenville of the ECHL on Feb. 17. “He made a good play to get open, and there’s no one else I’d rather give the puck to than him.”
But the Sharks quickly retaliated as Wingels converted the rebound of Petrecki’s shot from the left point 3:04.
Sexsmith kept the Sharks in it when he gloved Dale Weise’s bid from the doorstep off Newbury’s setup with 5:40 left. But after the Sharks pulled Sexsmith for a sixth attacker with 1:20 left, Weise made them pay when he took a pass from Brodie Dupont and scored into the empty net with 41.2 seconds to go.
“I thought we had a very strong game defensively,” Grumet-Morris said. “We had only 23 shots against, and we had only (22) against (Friday) night. So the consistency of our defensive corps and our team defense has been really good.”
Gernander thought likewise of Grumet-Morris, who is 7-3-1 with a 2.02 goals-against average and .920 save percentage since being recalled from Greenville of the ECHL.
“It has been his MO of late (to make timely saves,” Gernander said. “Lots of nights it’s not the workload you have, it’s the save at the big moment. It’s not the volume of work.”
But now that they’ve protected their home ice, the Whale has to continue to excel on the road, where they’ve won three in a row and were 7-3-0-0 during a recent stretch in which they played 10 of 12 games away from the XL Center.
“It’s a six-period game, especially with this weekend being a potential eight-point swing,” Williams said. “They’re going to be hungry (Sunday), so we’re really going to have to match that. We’re going into their building, and we build off what we did in the third period.”
Nightingale said it’s “a great opportunity to widen the gap.”
“This is the last time that we play Worcester, so we have to go in with a must-win and playoff attitude and really separate ourselves from them,” Nightingale said.
WILLIAMS, KUNDRATEK RETURN FOR WHALE
Williams and defenseman Tomas Kundratek returned after missing four and 10 games, respectively. Williams was injured when hit from behind by the shoulder of Kyle Neuber during the Whale’s 3-2 victory over the Springfield Falcons on March 2. Kundratek hadn’t played since a 4-1 victory at Providence on Feb. 13.
Williams replaced DiDiomete, and Kundratek replaced Lee Baldwin and was paired with Bickel. The Whale also scratched center Todd White, wing Chris McKelvie and defensemen Michael Del Zotto and Jyri Niemi.
The Sharks were still minus All-Star right wing Jonathan Cheechoo (18 goals, 29 assists), a 56-goal scorer for the San Jose Sharks in the 2005-06 season who missed his seventh consecutive game because of an ailing back that he’s resting at his home in California. The Sharks also scratched Alex Stalock, Joe Loprieno, Tony Lucia, James Marcou, Jody Pedersen and Cam MacIntyre. …After Sunday’s game, the Whale is off for four days before playing at Manchester on Friday night. They then have a five-game homestand, starting with games against Providence and Springfield on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Then it’s Springfield on March 23, Charlotte on March 25 and Bridgeport on March 26. … The Bears’ victory over the Whale on Friday night enabled Mark French to become the coach to reach 100 wins faster than any coach in the AHL’s 75-year history. French reached 100 in only 147 games (100-39-1-7) and is already the 10th Bears coach to achieve the plateau in less than two seasons. The Bears (40-22-1-4) also reached the 40-win mark for the sixth consecutive season, extending the longest stretch of 40-win seasons in the team’s 73-year AHL history. They have reached 40 wins in every season of an affiliation with the Washington Capitals that began in 2005-06. Hershey’s 3-2 overtime victory over Adirondack on Saturday night moved French within one victory of former Bears and current Capitals’ coach Bruce Boudreau (102-45-11-11) on the team’s all-time wins list. … In a trade that was technically a reassignment, goalie Jared DeMichiel of Avon, who signed an AHL contract with the Bears on July 15 after leading upstart Rochester Institute of Technology to the Frozen Four for the first time last year, was sent from South Carolina to Elmira for the rights to forward Brock McBride, currently with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. DeMichiel, the Atlantic Hockey Association goaltender of the year and NCAA East Regional Most Outstanding Player in 2010, was 2-1-0 with a 3.65 goals-against average and .873 save percentage in five games with the Bears and 14-10-0, 2.66, .913 with one shutout in 26 games with the Stingrays this season. He joined former Whale forwards Tyler Donati and Oren Eizenman in Elmira.
A TRIPLEHEADER: TWO GAMES AND PUCKY BOBBLEHEAD
The first Guns & Hoses Game between police and fire departments from Greater Hartford will be played next Saturday at 4:30 p.m. before the Whale meets Providence at 7 p.m.
Plus, 3,000 lucky fans will receive a bobblehead of Whale mascot Pucky courtesy of Click It or Ticket.
So arrive early and enjoy a doubleheader of action and get a lasting memento that youngsters will enjoy for years.
HOCKEY MINISTRIES NIGHT AT WHALE GAME
Hockey Ministries International Northeast is sponsoring 2011 Faith & Family Night at the game against Charlotte on March 25. Upper bowl seats are $10, and Scarlet Fade will perform a postgame concert.
To order tickets, contact AHL Chapel Coordinator Rick Mitera at 860-817-6440 or rmitera@hockeyministries.org. When someone buys a ticket through Hockey Ministries, they receive a $2 coupon for parking. For more information on Hockey Ministries, visit www.hockeyministriesnortheast.org.
WHALE TO HONOR HOWE FAMILY ON MARCH 26
The Whale will host “Howe Family Night” on March 26 against Bridgeport. The No. 9 of “Mr. Hockey,” one of seven numbers in the XL Center rafters, will be lowered and then raised and re-retired as he and his sons, Mark and Marty, whom he played with for seven seasons in Houston and Hartford, look on. The matriarch of the family, Colleen Howe, who died in 2009, will be honored.
Howe’s No. 9 is in the rafters with the Whalers’ No. 2 (Rick Ley), 5 (Ulf Samuelsson), 10 (Ron Francis), 11 (Kevin Dineen) and 19 (John McKenzie). Gernander’s No. 12 is the only number to be retired in the 14-year history of the AHL team.
The Howes played together for the first time with the Houston Aeros in 1973 before coming to Hartford and signing with the World Hockey Association’s New England Whalers in 1977. Howe ended his legendary 32-year career in the Whalers’ first NHL season (1979-80), when he had 15 goals and 26 assists and was named a NHL All-Star for the 23rd time while helping the Whalers make the playoffs at 52 years old.
Fans who did not attend the Whale’s game against Providence at Rentschler Field in East Hartford because of the frigid weather can redeem their tickets for one to “Howe Family Night” or another game of their choice. If fans want to redeem a ticket, they should contact Whalers Sports and Entertainment president and COO Howard Baldwin Jr. at hlb@whalerssports.com.
A DAY TO REMEMBER FOR QUENNEVILLE AND REST OF BLACKHAWKS
Former Hartford Whalers defenseman Joel Quenneville had a day to remember Friday, as the coach of the Chicago Blackhawks and other team officials and players enjoyed about a 20-minute shift visiting President Barack Obama at the White House.
Obama was especially light on his skates – er, feet – likely because he’s a native of Chicago.
“We have hosted a lot of teams at the White House over the last two years, but this one is a little sweeter, pretty special,” said Obama, who referred to Quenneville as “Coach Q.”
The Blackhawks presented Obama with a team jersey with 44 on the back (he’s the 44th president) and a silver replica of the Stanley Cup complete with engravings. He also got to try on a Stanley Cup ring a day after the Blackhawks took the Cup on a visit to some Wounded Warriors.
“I thought the President had a great attitude,” said Quenneville, who didn’t seem to stop grinning while on the South Lawn to recognize the Blackhawks’ first Stanley Cup since 1961, when, Obama quipped, a movie cost 69 cents, he was still in diapers and “legendary” goalie Glenn Hall played with a wooden stick and no mask. “He seemed really genuine, a regular guy, bubbly and enjoyed meeting all the guys. Going through and meeting all the players, we had some guys who were bandaged up, some guys missing teeth — we had a tough looking group.”
Obama’s speech lasted seven minutes, and he spent about another 15 minutes talking to Blackhawks family members and more than 70 local kids on hand to participate in First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” street hockey clinic on the front lawn.
“It would be unbelievable to do it again,” said wing Patrick Kane, who scored the Cup-clinching goal and was called out by Obama that it was time to grow another “playoff mullet” and come back to the White House next year.
Kane, a 22-year-old Buffalo-area native who manned a Flip-cam for the visit, was awed.
“When it’s happening it’s kind of surreal that it’s really going on,” he said. “You don’t really believe you’re actually meeting the President. A lot of us … were saying, ‘This is probably one of the cooler things we’ve done.’ ”
Quenneville got the last word between the leaders of the ’Hawks and the United States of America.
“It makes you want to win the Cup again,” Quenneville said. “This was the culmination of the celebration. We should all feel fortunate to be here. But at the same time once you win it, you can’t wait to do it again.”
After losing 11 players because of salary cap problems, the Blackhawks will be hard pressed just to make the playoffs next month. But if anyone deserves to be a repeat winner, it’s Quenneville, truly one of the great people and classiest acts anywhere.
WHALE 4, SHARKS 2
Worcester 1 0 1 – 2
Connecticut 0 2 2 – 4
First period: 1. Wor, Wingels 13 (Mashinter, Schaus), 8:07. Penalties: Petrecki, Wor (slashing), 9:49; Moore, Wor (holding), 17:47.
Second period: 2. Conn, Williams 26 (Redden), 13:20 (pp). 3. Conn, Kolarik 21 (Grachev, Mitchell), 14:02 (pp). Penalties: Irwin, Wor (delay of game), 1:16; Nightingale, Ct (cross-checking), 4:07; McLaren, Wor (hooking), 6:21; Petrecki, Wor (slashing, fighting), 11:29; Nightingale, Ct (fighting), 11:29; Schaus, Wor (slashing), 12:42; Valentenko, Ct (tripping), 15:19; Bickel, Ct (cross-checking), 17:23.
Third period: 4. Conn, Williams 27 (Parlett, Valentenko), 1:34. 5. Wor, Wingels 14 (Petrecki, McCarthy), 3:04. 6. Conn, Weise 14 (Dupont, Newbury), 19:18 (en). Penalties: Soryal, Ct (high-sticking), 6:36; Wingels, Wor (roughing), 19:55; served by Lemieux Ct (bench minor-unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:55.
Shots on goal: Worcester 8-5-10-23. Connecticut 10-13-10-33; Power-play opportunities: Worcester 0 of 4; Connecticut 2 of 6; Goalies: Worcester, Sexsmith 2-3-1 (32 shots-29 saves). Connecticut, Grumet-Morris 7-3-1 (23-21); A: 8,011; Referee: Keith Kaval; Linesmen: Paul Simeon, Kevin Redding.
