Bridgeport, CT, November 11, 2012 – Mike Halmo’s breakaway goal with 4:54 left in the third period gave the Bridgeport Sound Tigers a 4-3 win over the Connecticut Whale Sunday at the Webster Bank Arena.

Halmo got behind the Whale defense and took a long pass from Jon Landry, before putting shot off the goalpost, then off Connecticut goaltender Cam Talbot’s back and in.

The Whale lost a 3-1 lead in the game, after getting two goals from ex-Sound Tiger Micheal Haley, making his return to his old home.  Marek Hrivik had two assists for the Whale and Kyle Jean also scored.  Brock Nelson added a goal and an assist for Bridgeport, and Anders Nilsson had 16 saves in the Sound Tiger net.

Haley celebrated being back in Bridgeport by scoring his first Whale goal on the game’s first shift, only 28 seconds in.  After J.T. Miller helped to stop a Sound Tiger breakout, Hrivik passed the puck off right wing to Haley at the left side of the slot, and Haley banged it past Nilsson.

Bridgeport tied it up at 9:06, with defenseman Matt Donovan joining the attack to get his first goal of the year.  Sean Backman worked the puck down left wing to Donovan, who beat Talbot (28 saves) from an extreme angle.

The Whale reclaimed the lead at 13:57, as Jean moved into a tie for the team lead in goals with his fifth of his rookie season.  Landry coughed up the puck in his own end to Jean, who circled the net and, while being knocked down, was able to knife the puck in from Nilsson’s left.

Just 39 seconds after that, Haley would get his second of the game to make it a two-goal Whale advantage.  Once again, Hrivik made the play, as he got to the puck after Blake Parlett shot it wide of the goal and sent a pass out from behind the net to Haley, who finished from in close.

Bridgeport’s special teams controlled the second period, though, starting when the Sound Tigers killed a major boarding penalty to Colin McDonald.  McDonald was penalized at 1:38, after his hit sent Whale defenseman Jyri Niemi into the boards head-first, causing him to have to be taken  off the ice on a stretcher.

After that successful penalty kill, Bridgeport scored a power-play goal at 8:57, when Nelson blasted a shot past Talbot from the top of the right circle.

The Sound Tiger man advantage struck again to tie the game at 14:40, just as a five-on-three was ending.  This time it was Travis Hamonic pounding in a high shot, as he fired from the middle of the blue line and beat Talbot’s catching glove.

The Whale’s next game is at home this Friday, November 16, when the Portland Pirates make their first visit of the season to the XL Center for a 7:00 game.  At each and every Friday Whale home game this year, fans can enjoy $1 hot dogs and $2 beers until 8:00 PM.  Tickets for that game, and all Whale regular season home games at the XL Center, are on sale now at the Public Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, through TicketMaster Charge-by-Phone at 1-800-745-3000 and on-line at www.ticketmaster.com.

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Connecticut Whale 3 at Bridgeport Sound Tigers 4
Sunday, November 11, 2012 – Webster Bank Arena

Connecticut 3 0 0 – 3
Bridgeport 1 2 1 – 4

1st Period-1, Connecticut, Haley 1 (Hrivik, Miller), 0:28. 2, Bridgeport, Donovan 1 (Backman, Halmo), 9:06. 3, Connecticut, Jean 5 (Bourque, Segal), 13:57. 4, Connecticut, Haley 2 (Hrivik, Parlett), 14:36. Penalties-Yogan Ct (tripping), 15:21.

2nd Period-5, Bridgeport, Nelson 7 (Ness, Landry), 8:57 (PP). 6, Bridgeport, Hamonic 2 (Niederreiter, Nelson), 14:40 (PP). Penalties-Segal Ct (roughing, misconduct – continuing altercation), 1:38; McDonald Bri (major – boarding, match – boarding), 1:38; McIver Bri (roughing, misconduct – continuing altercation), 1:38; Collins Ct (holding), 7:29; Newbury Ct (tripping), 12:37; Klassen Ct (tripping), 14:14.

3rd Period-7, Bridgeport, Halmo 1 (Landry, Watkins), 15:06. Penalties-Pyett Ct (tripping), 0:18; Nelson Bri (interference), 2:10; Jean Ct (fighting), 4:21; Persson Bri (fighting), 4:21; McIver Bri (boarding), 4:51; Tessier Ct (cross-checking), 7:39; served by Grant Ct (bench minor – too many men), 9:58; Landry Bri (interference), 19:17.

Shots on Goal-Connecticut 9-5-5-19. Bridgeport 12-11-9-32.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 0 / 4; Bridgeport 2 / 7.
Goalies-Connecticut, Talbot 4-3-0 (32 shots-28 saves). Bridgeport, Nilsson 2-0-0 (19 shots-16 saves).
A-5,871
Referees-Trevor Hanson (47), Jon McIsaac (45).
Linesmen-Kevin Redding (16), Derek Wahl (46).

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Worcester, MA, November 10, 2012 – Christian Thomas had his first two-goal game as a pro, and Kris Newbury added two assists, to lead the Connecticut Whale to a 6-2 win over the Worcester Sharks Saturday night at the DCU Center.

The Whale also got goals from Logan Pyett, Tommy Grant and J.T. Miller, and Chris Kreider, Chad Kolarik and Matt Gilroy had two assists apiece.  Cam Talbot made 21 saves.  Sena Acolatse had a goal and an assist for the Sharks, and John McCarthy had two assists.

The Whale had never led in their previous two games, both losses to Springfield, but they jumped on top only 1:24 into Saturday’s game, on Newbury’s team-leading fifth goal of the season.  After Kreider hustled hard to prevent an icing, the Sharks failed to get the puck out up the boards and it deflected to Newbury at the top of the circles.  With both Thomas and Kreider screening Worcester goaltender Harri Sateri (19 saves), Newbury’s snapshot got through on the glove side.

Connecticut then made it 2-0 on a power play at 14:40.  Newbury worked the puck off the right-wing boards to Kolarik at the top of the circle, and Kolarik partially fanned on a one-timer attempt.  The puck went off of Acolatse’s skate, though, right to Thomas at the left side slot, and he had an open side of the net to bury the puck into.

The only goal of the second period came in a four-on-four situation at 10:19, and it was the second of the season for Pyett.  After moving the puck out of his own zone, Pyett joined the rush and beat a check on the right-wing side, firing a shot that hit Sateri’s catching glove and went in.

Acolatse ruined Talbot’s shutout bid with a four-on-four goal 49 seconds into the third period, taking a pass from McCarthy and putting a high shot in on the short side, but the Whale got that one back on Thomas’ second power-play score of the game at 3:22.  Thomas one-timed a Kreider pass from the top of the slot through Sateri, with Kolarik screening.

Grant tied Newbury for the team goals lead with his fifth of the 1:55 later at 5:17, as Gilroy moved down the right-wing boards and found Grant with a centering feed, before Worcester cut the lead back to three on a Bracken Kearns goal at 15:51, off of a pass from behind the net by Acolatse.

The Sharks then pulled Sateri with just under four minutes left in a desperation attempt to get back in the game, but that backfired when Miller scored his second of the year into an empty net at 18:31.

The victory moved the Whale back to the .500 mark, at 5-5-1-0 for 11 points.

The Whale complete their first three-game weekend of the season Sunday at Bridgeport, taking on the Sound Tigers in a 3:00 PM game.  The play-by-play of that battle can be heard live on “Beethoven Radio” AM 1290, and on-line at www.ctwhale.com. 

The Whale’s next home game is this Friday, November 16, when the Portland Pirates make their first visit of the season to the XL Center for a 7:00 game.  At each and every Friday Whale home game this year, fans can enjoy $1 hot dogs and $2 beers until 8:00 PM.  Tickets for that game, and all Whale regular season home games at the XL Center, are on sale now at the Public Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, through TicketMaster Charge-by-Phone at 1-800-745-3000 and on-line at www.ticketmaster.com.

To continue reading, please click on the continue reading button below if you're on the home page.

Connecticut Whale 6 at Worcester Sharks 2
Saturday, November 10, 2012 – DCU Center

Connecticut 2 1 3 – 6
Worcester 0 0 2 – 2

1st Period-1, Connecticut, Newbury 5 1:24. 2, Connecticut, Thomas 3 (Kolarik, Newbury), 14:40 (PP). Penalties-Jean Ct (tripping), 11:34; Mashinter Wor (hooking), 13:46; Collins Ct (interference), 17:48.

2nd Period-3, Connecticut, Pyett 2 (Newbury, Kreider), 10:19. Penalties-Haley Ct (high-sticking), 1:23; Matsumoto Wor (holding), 7:35; Tessier Ct (hooking), 10:00; Gogol Wor (high-sticking), 10:00; Sheppard Wor (tripping), 14:14; Segal Ct (checking to the head), 19:02.

3rd Period-4, Worcester, Acolatse 4 (McCarthy, Kennedy), 0:49 (PP). 5, Connecticut, Thomas 4 (Kreider, Gilroy), 3:22 (PP). 6, Connecticut, Grant 5 (Gilroy, Kolarik), 5:17. 7, Worcester, Kearns 5 (Acolatse, McCarthy), 15:51. 8, Connecticut, Miller 2 (Jean, Segal), 18:31 (EN). Penalties-Irwin Wor (holding), 2:49; Klassen Ct (roughing), 6:13; Gogol Wor (charging, roughing), 6:13; Kreider Ct (slashing), 8:16; Parlett Ct (holding), 15:31; Kennedy Wor (hooking), 15:35; Newbury Ct (unsportsmanlike conduct, misconduct – continuing altercation), 19:20; Gogol Wor (unsportsmanlike conduct, misconduct – continuing altercation), 19:20; Pelech Wor (roughing, misconduct – continuing altercation), 19:20.

Shots on Goal-Connecticut 7-6-12-25. Worcester 7-8-8-23.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 2 / 7; Worcester 1 / 6.
Goalies-Connecticut, Talbot 4-2-0 (23 shots-21 saves). Worcester, Sateri 0-4-1 (24 shots-19 saves).
A-3,215
Referees-Trent Knorr (44).
Linesmen-John Grandt (98), Bob Bernard (42).

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