Worcester, MA, March 13, 2011 – A third-period Connecticut Whale comeback fell just short Sunday at the DCU Center, and the Worcester Sharks held on for a 5-4 win to move back into a third-place tie with the Whale in the Atlantic Division standings.
Trailing 5-2 in the third, the Whale scored twice in the final 5:23, but could not manage an equalizer and saw a five-game winning streak in the season series against Worcester come to an end. The two teams are deadlocked at 74 points with 13 games left in their respective seasons and their eight-game season series complete.
John McCarthy scored a pair of goals, his first two AHL goals of the season, to lead the Sharks, who earned a split of a home-and-home series with the Whale after losing 4-2 at the XL Center on Saturday night. Worcester also got goals from Dan DaSilva, Tommy Wingels and Kevin Henderson, who had the game-winner early in the third. Carter Hutton made 29 saves in his first appearance of the year against the Whale. Kris Newbury, Brodie Dupont and Kelsey Tessier had a goal and an assist each for Connecticut, and Jeremy Williams upped his Whale-leading goal total to 28 with his third goal in two games. Rookie defenseman Blake Parlett had his first career multiple-point game in the AHL with three assists.
Worcester opened the scoring at 5:29 of the first period, on DaSilva’s 14th goal of the season.
Michael Swift pounced on a Whale turnover just outside the Connecticut blue line and moved left to right across the slot before feeding DaSilva, who fired a shot from the right faceoff dot past the glove of Whale goaltender Cam Talbot (24 saves).
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A major swing occurred about seven minutes later, when the Whale appeared to have tied the game at 12:19, with Francis Lemieux poking the puck past Hutton, but not only was the goal disallowed, Lemieux was also called for a high-sticking penalty, and Worcester scored only seven seconds into the resulting power play.
That goal was scored by Wingels, who had both Shark goals in Saturday night’s game. Jamie McGinn sent the puck to Wingels between the circles and Wingels beat Talbot with a snap shot to the stick side.
The Whale narrowly missed going down 3-0 with about two minutes left in the first, when Talbot stopped DaSilva on a breakaway with a left-pad save.
The Sharks were able to extend the lead just 1:19 into the second, though, on a shorthanded goal by McCarthy, just the third shorthander given up by the Whale in 67 games on the season. Williams had the puck trickle away from him at the left point, and McCarthy broke two-on-one with McGinn. Using McGinn as a decoy, McCarthy unloaded a shot off of right wing that went underneath Talbot’s stick-side arm. The goal was McCarthy’s first in 12 AHL games on the season.
Connecticut finally got on the scoreboard at 11:29 of the second, with Newbury getting his 14th goal of the year and his fifth in the last six games. Hutton made a pair of saves, and had a teammate bat the puck out of the air from in behind him, but couldn’t stop Newbury’s shot from the top of the circles, off of a pass from Tessier.
The Whale then got a shorthanded goal of their own at 17:04, as Newbury and Dupont broke in on a two-on-one. Newbury passed to Dupont in the right circle, and even though Dupont didn’t get all of the shot, he still had enough room to get it by Hutton on the glove side.
The Sharks got that one back, however, just 1:55 later on McCarthy’s second of the game. McCarthy took a pass from Sean Sullivan and circled the net, coming out to Talbot’s right. McCarthy jammed the puck toward the crease, and it found its way past Talbot for a 4-2 Worcester lead.
Worcester gave itself a three-goal cushion only 1:49 into the third period, as T.J. Trevelyan won an offensive zone faceoff from Lemieux and Matt Irwin’s shot from the right point was deflected in by Henderson.
While that looked like it was going to be an insurance goal, it turned out to be the game-winner when Tessier and Williams scored 3:11 apart, starting at the 14:37 mark.
Connecticut cut the lead to 5-3 when Parlett brought the puck down right wing in the Worcester zone and centered it across the slot, and Tessier, who had been knocked down hard at the far side of the net, reached out with his stick while down on the ice and slid the puck into the goal.
That tally, Tessier’s eighth of the season, was followed at 17:48 by Williams’ goal, which came as a result of Tomas Kundratek finding Williams unguarded in front of Hutton. Williams backpedaled to about 15 feet from the net and snapped the puck into the top corner over Hutton’s catching glove.
The Whale ended up with a 12-6 shots on goal in the third period, and a 33-29 edge for the game, but could not solve Hutton again, finishing the season series against the Sharks 5-2-0-1. The loss was only the Whale’s fifth all-time regular-season regulation defeat in Worcester against the Sharks, in 21 total visits (14-5-0-2). The Whale also had a three-game road winning streak, and a five-game win streak against Atlantic Division teams, snapped in the loss.
RARE DAILY DOUBLE FOR RANGERS ORGANIZATION
It’s not often the major-league team and top affiliate of two organizations face off in the same night, but that’s what happened Saturday with the New York Rangers and San Jose Sharks.
And the Rangers organization emerged with a much-needed daily double in a pair of tight playoff races.
First, the Whale grinded out a come-from-behind 4-2 victory over the Worcester Sharks behind two goals from All-Star right wing Williams, back after missing four games with an injury, steady goaltending from Dov Grumet-Morris and a successful, stand-up-for a-teammate fight by defenseman Jared Nightingale in the second period that turned the momentum of the game. The win helped ease the pain of a 2-1 loss to the two-time defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears the previous night.
About an hour after Dale Weise’s empty-net goal finished off Worcester, the Rangers set out to try to atone for a disappointing 5-2 loss in Anaheim on Tuesday night in the start of a two-game West Coast road trip. They responded with one of their most important victories of the season, a 3-2 shootout decision over the San Jose Sharks.
Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves in regulation and overtime, including all 12 shots he faced in the third period, and then was 5-for-6 in the shootout. Former Hartford Wolf Pack forward Brandon Dubinsky scored the winner after Wojtek Wolski extended the shootout by beating Sharks goalie Antti Niemi in the third round with the Rangers on the verge of losing the game.
“It was huge how we responded after that game on Wednesday,” said Lundqvist, who made his 14th consecutive start. “We needed to play well, but more importantly, we needed the points. And we got both. This was such an important win for us.”
The victory vaulted the Rangers past the Buffalo Sabres, who lost 4-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier in the evening, and back into seventh place in the Eastern Conference with 76 points. The Rangers are now 11-4 in overtime and 8-2 in games decided by the shootout, thanks largely to Lundqvist.
Erik Christensen and former Wolf Pack defenseman Michael Sauer scored for the Rangers in regulation.
“We knew how big it was with the other teams that lost tonight and where we’re at in the standings,” Dubinsky said. “It was a huge two points. We understood that we had to get back to who we are against a much better team in San Jose. We had to be that hard-working team that’s tough to play against, and we did that right from the get-go.”
With a split on the West Coast, the Rangers flew home Sunday and now play four of their next five games at home, starting Tuesday night against the streaking New York Islanders.
The Whale is in a similar situation. They are off for four days before playing at Manchester on Friday night and then having 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.
A TRIPLEHEADER: TWO GAMES AND PUCKY BOBBLEHEAD
The first Guns & Hoses Game between police and fire departments from Greater Hartford will be played 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 an 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.
Connecticut Whale 4 at Worcester Sharks 5
Sunday, March 13, 2011 – DCU Center
Connecticut 0 2 2 – 4
Worcester 2 2 1 – 5
1st Period-1, Worcester, DaSilva 14 (Swift), 5:29. 2, Worcester, Wingels 15 (McGinn, Ferriero), 12:26 (PP). Penalties-Kundratek Ct (holding), 5:56; Schaus Wor (holding), 8:32; Irwin Wor (hooking), 10:15; Lemieux Ct (high-sticking), 12:19.
2nd Period-3, Worcester, McCarthy 1 1:19 (SH). 4, Connecticut, Newbury 14 (Tessier, Parlett), 11:29. 5, Connecticut, Dupont 14 (Newbury, Parlett), 17:04 (SH). 6, Worcester, McCarthy 2 (Davis, Sullivan), 18:59. Penalties-Moore Wor (boarding), 0:19; Kundratek Ct (interference), 3:01; Mitchell Ct (high-sticking), 12:53; Bickel Ct (cross-checking), 16:01.
3rd Period-7, Worcester, Henderson 7 (Irwin, Trevelyan), 1:49. 8, Connecticut, Tessier 8 (Parlett, Dupont), 14:37. 9, Connecticut, Williams 28 (Kundratek, Grachev), 17:48. Penalties-Petrecki Wor (cross-checking), 4:07; Grachev Ct (hooking), 9:16.
Shots on Goal-Connecticut 12-9-12-33. Worcester 10-13-6-29.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 0 / 4; Worcester 1 / 6.
Goalies-Connecticut, Talbot 10-4-2 (29 shots-24 saves). Worcester, Hutton 6-3-2 (33 shots-29 saves).
A-4,247
Referees-Tim Mayer (19).
Linesmen-Todd Whittemore (70), Bob Paquette (18).
