HARTFORD, Conn. – There were no John Wayne heroics or SportsCenter Top 10-worthy plays for the Connecticut Whale Saturday night at the XL Center.
Instead, “Howe Family Night” resembled Fight Night as the Whale and Bridgeport Sound Tigers engaged in five rounds of fisticuffs, all in the first 28 minutes.
After a solid start that helped produce an early lead, the Whale took a series of bad penalties that led to three Sound Tigers power-play goals in a 5-1 victory before 9,276 who celebrated the appearance of “Mr. Hockey” and his two hockey-playing sons, Mark and Marty.
The Sound Tigers (25-36-4-7) wiped out their early deficit on power-play goals by David Ullstrom and Jeremy Colliton 70 seconds apart midway through the first period as they extended their points streak to seven games (4-0-1-2) after a 3-22-2-3 slide to start 2011 that dropped them into the Atlantic Division cellar with the AHL’s worst record. They also won 5-1 Friday night at division-leading Portland.
Meanwhile, the Whale (38-27-2-6) had a five-game winning streak ended, though they got some unexpected help from the Springfield Falcons, who beat the host Worcester Sharks 7-2 to end a 0-11-1-0 slide since Feb. 27. The Whale, who had won 10 of 12 games, remained six points ahead of the Sharks (33-28-4-8) in the battle for the third and final guaranteed playoff berth in the Atlantic Division.
But the Whale fell one point behind Binghamton (39-27-3-4), which beat visiting Providence 4-1 and is fifth in the East Division in the fight for a possible crossover playoff berth. The crossover rule says the top four teams in the East Division and the top three in the Atlantic Division qualify for the playoffs, and the conference’s eighth and final spot will go to whichever has more points between the East’s fifth-place team and the Atlantic’s fourth-place club.
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Things started well for the Whale when Derek Couture scored on a rebound at 6:57 after Jeremy Colliton’s clearing attempt went off Blake Parlett and Kelsey Tessier. The Whale nearly made it 2-0 on Brodie Dupont’s one-timer at 8:12, but Devin DiDiomete, back after missing two games with an injury, then turned the tide for the Sound Tigers when he received a five-minute major for boarding on Phil Ginand at 9:04. That led to the game’s first fight between the Whale’s Justin Soryal and Tigers’ Benn Olson, with DiDiomete getting an extra minor for roughing and being benched.
“One of the few things that we addressed in the meeting before the game is they have a good power play and don’t want to give them unnecessary opportunities,” said Whale head coach Ken Gernander. “I tried to commend for the games we beat Charlotte and Manchester where we had one penalty kill in each of them. So it was most certainly addressed, and for the most part I thought the penalties were pretty selfish. They had no bearing on the play.
“It’s a fickle game, and you can’t take shortcuts, can’t cheat in any aspect of the game and think you’re going to get away with it for extended period of time. So if you can’t be disciplined, you’re going to take penalties against a good power play and put yourself behind the eight-ball.”
The Whale lost Couture at 7:43 of the second period when he was injured in a fight with Art Bidlevskii, so they played short for more than 32 minutes.
What irked Gernander most is he was even considering finding other players after the Whale climbed back into playoff position with more disciplined play.
“Why look to all these external players when we were playing well here,” Gernander said. “The fact of the matter is we made decisions that took us out of the game. We would use other guys if they were available, but I don’t think we have to go and search and grasp at straws to find enough players to win games. There are enough players here to win games, but you have to play our style of hockey, be disciplined and outwork your opponent. A lot of it is the guys’ hands as far as how they respond tomorrow (at Providence).
“We won five in a row, but you obviously have to get your message across because if it doesn’t work in the regular season, it won’t work in the playoffs either. And with Worcester losing and Binghamton winning, it’s a big two points lost. But we’re not looking for outside help. We should be able to take matters into our own hands, play our best hockey and take control of our destiny, but not the way we played tonight.”
The Sound Tigers took advantage of the Whale’s early penalties to score the two quick goals for a lead they never relinquished. On a 4-on-3 power play, Ullstrom took a pass from Mark Katic in the left corner, maneuvered around Pavel Valentenko and beat Cam Talbot to the glove side at 10:27. Then on a 5-on-3 man advantage, Ullstrom got the puck in front to a wide-open Jeremy Colliton for a quick finish at 11:37.
Soryal and Olson had their personal Round 2 with 1:38 left in the period, and then Kris Newbury scored a takedown on former Hartford Wolf Pack defenseman Dylan Reese during their fight with 57 seconds to go.
The Sound Tigers made it 3-1 at 4:55 of the second period as Joe Pereira passed to the left corner to Rob Hisey, who maneuvered around Valentenko and Tessier and slipped the puck past Talbot.
After Couture’s battle with Bidlevskii, the Whale’s Jared Nightingale fought Brian Day at 8:05. The Whale then had an opportunity to get back in the game when Valentenko was bloodied when high-sticked by Tony Romano at 12:58. But Jeremy Williams took a holding penalty at 13:20 and Grachev a hooking penalty a minute later.
The Whale’s Tomas Kundratek thought he scored with 3:06 left, but referee Chris Brown ruled the puck didn’t cross the goal line. After Talbot stopped Romano’s partial breakaway with 2:51 to go, the Sound Tigers made it 4-1 as Colliton whiffed on Hisey’s pass from the right corner, but the puck went to Aaron Ness, who beat Talbot to the glove side with 16.3 seconds left.
It went to 5-1 at 6:26 of the third period as Day passed to Hisey, who got position on Nightingale and beat Talbot high to the glove side.
The teams then played out the final 131/2 minutes, with Hisey firing high and wide on his bid for a hat trick off a 2-on-1 with 28 seconds left. The Whale fell to 5-2-0-1 in the GEICO Connecticut Cup against their intrastate rival, who were 3-for-8 on the power play.
“It just felt like we didn’t have a whole lot of jump, and then we took some penalties that maybe we shouldn’t have taken,” Newbury said. “So we put ourselves behind the eight-ball early, ran out of gas and didn’t have anything left.
“I thought our emotion level before the game was really good, but they played us pretty good in the first period. They didn’t give us a lot of room in the offensive zone to make plays so give them some credit. But we know we can be a lot better, so that’s the good news coming out of the game. We just have to find a way to be more disciplined and stay more focused in the game. The good thing is we can put it behind us real quick and get after it again tomorrow afternoon.”
HOWE FAMILY NIGHT MEMORABLE
“Howe Family Night” brought plenty of memories for the fans and legendary Hall of Famer Gordie Howe and his two hockey-playing sons, Mark and Marty. The three were honored with their wife/mother Colleen, who handled their contracts and other business affairs for decades before she died in 2009.
“No family will ever do what the Howe family did,” said Whalers Sports and Entertainment chairman and CEO Howard Baldwin, who was instrumental in bringing the Howes to Hartford while Whalers owner and managing general partner. “I want everyone to look to the ice and realize that you’re seeing the greatest hockey player in history and his two sons.”
The No. 9 of “Mr. Hockey,” one of seven numbers in the XL Center rafters, was refurbished, and a new banner saluting the Howes with their numbers – 9, 5 for Mark and 18 for Marty – and Colleen’s name alongside a Whalers logo was raised. Whale players wore special 1978 vintage No. 9 Gordie Howe New England Whales home jerseys in warm-ups, and 10 of them were auctioned after being signed by Gordie. There also was a live auction, and a two-minute video tribute to the Howes during a first-intermission ceremony.
“This is such an honor for the family, especially having my mom included,” Marty Howe said. “I don’t think many people had any idea all she did for the family. I take care of Gordie’s affairs, and I have no idea how she did everything that she did – and I have a computer.”
Mark, a longtime scout for the Detroit Red Wings, said his dad, who turns 83 on Thursday, perks up every time he gets into public, including Saturday night.
“He was tired this afternoon and took a nap,” Mark said, “but as soon as he got here he was like a kid again.”
Before the game, fans could meet Gordie and get a personalized autographed book and photo by purchasing a copy of the colorful 185-page book “9. Nine. A Salute to Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe.” Also, 2,000 fans received a free commemorative 36-page Gordie Howe tribute program full of color photos and stories.
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. 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. His 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.
MITCHELL MISSES FIRST GAME WITH WHALE
Center John Mitchell, who won a key faceoff to help the Whale rally to beat the Charlotte Checkers on Friday night, missed his first game in 13 since being acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 28 for a seventh-round pick in 2012.
Mitchell, who had five goals and six assists in 12 games, was replaced by DiDiomete and Francis Lemieux took Mitchell’s spot between Grachev and Williams. Ryan Garlock moved into Lemieux’s spot between Couture and Tessier.
The Whale also scratched forwards Chad Kolarik, Chris McKelvie and Todd White and defensemen Michael Del Zotto and Jyri Niemi, who is expected to return Sunday after missing 15 games with an injury. The Sound Tigers scratched defensemen Dustin Kohn, Anton Klementyev and captain Mark Wotton and forwards Justin DiBenedetto, Tomas Marcinko, Jeremy Yablonski and Andy Hilbert. … The Whale signed forward Tommy Grant to an amateur tryout agreement. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound native of North Vancouver, B.C., just completed four years at the University of Alaska-Anchorage, where he led the Seawolves in goals (16) and points (32) this season. Grant, 22, had 45 goals and 45 assists in 134 career games.
WHALE HITS THE ROAD SUNDAY
The Sound Tigers game was the end of the Whale’s second five-game home stand of the season in which they had four wins after being 14-14-2-2 in their first 32 games at the XL Center. The Whale play back-to-back games at Providence on Sunday afternoon and Friday night, visit Springfield on Saturday night and then return home next Sunday to face Portland, coached by Dineen, on First Tee of Connecticut Day. Level 200 tickets will be $12, with the First Tee of Connecticut receiving $5 from each ticket sold. To purchase tickets and help local youngsters interested in improving their golf game and life skills, contact Nick Criscuolo at 860-728-3366 or ncriscuolo@whalerssports.com.
The Whale is 5-2-0-1 against the Bruins (32-34-3-3), who are led by All-Star center Jamie Arniel (20 goals, 24 assists), center Zach Hamill (8, 32), right wing Kirk MacDonald (13, 21) and centers Trent Whitfield (16, 13) and Maxime Sauve (19, 14), who has had a pair of two-goal games against the Whale, plus a winning shootout goal. Rugged left wing Lane MacDermid, son of former Whalers right wing Paul MacDermid, has six goals, 10 assists and 146 penalty minutes. Since being acquired from the Minnesota Wild for Jeff Penner and Mikko Lehtonen on Feb. 28, Anton Khudobin is 6-2-2 with a 2.39 goals-against average, .912 save percentage and two shutouts. Rookie Michael Hutchinson is 10-10-1, 3.33, .898 with one shutout.
The Whale end their 14th regular season with a game at Bridgeport on April 8, followed by home games against the Sound Tigers and Norfolk Admirals on April 9 and 10. The Calder Cup playoffs begin the following week, and the Whale are in position to return to postseason play after missing for the only time in franchise history last year by three points. … South Windsor native and Houston Aeros captain Jon DiSalvatore added to his career-high total with two goals in a 4-1 victory over the visiting Oklahoma City on Friday night. Former Hartford Wolf Pack wing Alexandre Giroux scored his 30th goal of the season – the seventh straight season he has reached that milestone – on a power play 3:34 into the game. But DiSalvatore responded with a man advantage only 1:10 later and added his second goal of the game and 25th of the season in the third period. … Syracuse Crunch rookie center Nick Bonino of Avon had one goal and two assists in a 6-2 victory over Albany. … Former Wolf Pack center Jeff Taffe scored his team-high 25th goal at 1:46 of overtime to give the Rockford IceHogs a 4-3 win over visiting Hamilton.
SOUND TIGERS 5, WHALE 1
Bridgeport 2 2 1 — 5
Connecticut 1 0 1 – 1
First period: 1. Conn, Couture 3 (Tessier, Parlett), 6:57. 2. Brd, Ullstrom 15 (Katic, Rakhshani), 10:27 (pp). 3, Brd, Colliton 15 (Ullstrom, Katic), 11:37 (pp). Penalties: Neigum, Bri (roughing), 9:04; Olson, Bri (fighting), 9:04; Svendsen, Bri (roughing), 9:04; DiDiomete, Ct (roughing, major-boarding), 9:04; Soryal, Ct (fighting), 9:04; Dupont, Ct (unsportsmanlike conduct), 9:14; Williams, Ct (high-sticking), 10:27; Rakhshani, Bri (cross-checking), 15:46; Olson, Bri (fighting), 18:22; Soryal, Ct (fighting), 18:22; Reese, Bri (fighting), 19:03; Dupont, Ct (slashing), 19:03; Newbury, Ct (fighting), 19:03.
Second period: 4. Brd, Hisey 13 (Pereira), 4:55. 5. Brd, Ness 1 (Colliton, Hisey), 19:43 (pp). Penalties: Bidlevskii, Bri (fighting), 7:43; Couture, Ct (fighting), 7:43; Day, Bri (fighting), 8:05; Nightingale, Ct (roughing, fighting), 8:05; Romano, Bri (double minor-high-sticking), 12:58; Williams, Ct (holding), 13:20; Grachev, Ct (hooking), 14:20; Williams, Ct (cross-checking), 18:29.
Third period: 6. Bri, Hisey 14 (Day), 6:26. Penalties: None.
Shots on goal: Bridgeport 11-14-7-32. Connecticut 7-10-5-22; Power-play opportunities: Bridgeport 3 of 8; Connecticut 0 of 3; Goalies: Bridgeport, Lawson 5-4-4 (22 shots-21 saves). Connecticut, Talbot 11-6-2 (32-27); A: 9,276; Referee: Chris Brown; Linesmen: Robert St. Lawrence, David Spannaus.
