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Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Roundup – 12/19

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as some of the other sports. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

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UConn Men’s Basketball links

‘He’s Going to Have Jerry West on His Jersey’ [David Borges – New Haven Register]

UConn 77, Holy Cross 40: Jim Calhoun’s Take [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

UConn 77, Holy Cross 40: Wrapping Things Up [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

UConn men 77, Holy Cross 40: the wrap [Ed Daigneault – The Republican-American]

Post-game breakdown, video: Holy Cross [Gavin Keefe – The Day]

Drummond explodes as UConn routs Holy Cross [John Nash – The Hour]

Notes/Quotes from Holy Cross: “About 100 percent. And he’s got another thousand to go.” [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Holy Night [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Drummond, Oriakhi power UConn over Holy Cross [CT Post]

UConn men: What we learned [CT Post]

UConn Men Rout Holy Cross, 77-40 [Hartford Courant]

R.J. Evans Back in Connecticut With Holy Cross [Hartford Courant]

Andre Drummond leads Huskies in rout of Holy Cross [New Haven Register]

Huskies’ return infused with energy [The Day]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Huskies fail to deliver knock out blow [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Waco crowd gives Geno a warm reception [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

No. 1 Baylor defeats No. 2 UConn women [CT Post]

UConn Women Lose 66-61 To Baylor [Hartford Courant]

A Big Game, But Not For UConn Huskies [Hartford Courant]

Jeff Van Gundy A Big Fan Of Auriemma [Hartford Courant]

In The End, No Getting Around Griner [Hartford Courant]

Top-ranked Baylor rallies to beat Huskies [New Haven Register]

Career paths for Bria Hartley, Odyssey Sims filled with similarities [New Haven Register]

Baylor hands No. 2 UConn its first loss [Mechelle Voepel – ESPN.com]

UConn Football links

UConn Huskies give Indianapolis Colts first win of the season [John Nash – The Hour]

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Video: Highlights of UConn Women’s 66-61 Loss to Baylor

Here are the highlights of the No. 2 UConn Huskies women’s basketball team’s 66-61 loss to the No. 1 Baylor Lady Bears on Sunday night at the Ferrell Center in Waco, TX.

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Watch this video on your smartphone

The UConn women will be back in action on Wednesday night when they take on the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC at 7 p.m. The game will be televised locally in Connecticut on CPTV.

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Rangers Recall Stu Bickel from Whale

New York, December 18, 2011 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that defenseman Stu Bickel has been recalled from the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL) on an emergency basis.

CT WhaleBickel, 25, has recorded two points (one goal and one assist) and a plus-two rating in the last four games.  In 27 games with Connecticut this season, he has registered one goal and three assists, along with 80 penalty minutes and a plus-four rating.  His plus-four rating is tied for third on the team.  Bickel recorded his first shorthanded point of the season with an assist on Friday vs. Bridgeport. 

The Chanhassen, Minnesota native was acquired by the Rangers from Anaheim in exchange for Nigel Williams on November 23, 2010.  He was originally signed by the Ducks as an undrafted free agent on July 2, 2008.

The Rangers’ practice schedule for tomorrow, December 19, is 11:30 a.m. at the MSG Training Center.

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Video: UConn Postgame Interviews With Calhoun & Drummond

Here are postgame interviews with Jim Calhoun and Andre Drummond by ESPN’s Kara Lawson after the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team’s 77-40 win over the Holy Cross Crusaders on Sunday afternoon at the XL Center in Hartford, CT.

{flvremote}http://cdn.ianbethune.com/calhoundrummond12-18.flv{/flvremote}

Watch this video on your smartphone

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Drummond Breaks Out In UConn’s 77-40 Win Over Holy Cross

Connecticut's Andre Drummond (12) celebrates during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Hartford, Conn., on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011.

In the first nine games of the UConn Huskies men’s basketball season, we’ve seen Andre Drummond barely scratch the surface of his potential. On Sunday afternoon, he broke through it.

Drummond led the way with a career-high 24 points to help the Huskies to a 77-40 win over the Holy Cross Crusaders in front of 13,396 at the XL Center in Hartford, CT.

The Huskies improve to 9-1 on the season while the Crusaders fall to 4-7.

Drummond’s career-high on came on 11-of-12 shooting from the floor while pulling down eight rebounds and five blcoked shots. Alex Oriakhi added 15 points and four rebounds. Despite shooting 4-of-16 from the floor, Jeremy Lamb added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Shabbaz Napier chipped in with a career-high 13 assists, many of them coming to Drummond while scoring just three points.

Norwich, CT native R.J. Evans paced the Crusaders with 15 points. Phil Beans added eight points while Dave Dudzinski led Holy Cross with seven rebounds.

With the final margin of the game being 37 points, this game was a lot closer early on UConn was a little slow out of the gates in their first game since final exams ended on Friday.

Holy Cross stayed with UConn for the first 10 minutes or so of the game. They got out to a quick 5-2 lead on a three from Beans and a layup by Evans. The Huskies battled back to take the lead on baskets by Oriakhi and Tyler Olander.

A Malcolm Miller three tied it up for Holy Cross at 10 and then Devin Brown’s three gave the Crusaders their last lead of the game at 13-12. UConn then went on a 7-0 run to open up a six point lead. Holy Cross battled back to two points at 19-17 but from there it would all UConn.

With 6:38 to go in the first half, the Huskies were holding on to a 25-21 lead. From there though, things started clicking as they went on an 18-3 run to close out the half to take a 43-24 lead.

It was more of the same in the second half as the Huskies continued to grow their lead behind Drummond and Napier.

While Lamb struggled offensively, he played great on the defensive end. But the big story of the game was Drummond.

While a good portion of his points came on dunks and/or layups, Drummond showed some post moves that we haven’t seen from him in the first nine games. As he continues to get more comfortable on the court, he can only get better.

A solid win nonetheless playing for the first time in 10 days.

Next up for the Huskies is matchup with the Fairfield Stags. For UConn’s Tyler Olander, it will be the first collegiate matchup with his brother Ryan who plays for the Stags. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the XL Center and the game will be broadcast locally on SNY.

To continue reading the Holy Cross Crusaders @ UConn Huskies recap, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Notes and musings:

Holy Cross Crusaders @ UConn Huskies 12.18.11 box score

Here are the postgame quotes from UConn head coach Jim Calhoun and Holy Cross head coach Milan Brown. Player quotes are available underneath the coach’s quotes.

The starters for the Huskies were Shabazz Napier, Jeremy Lamb, DeAndre Daniels, Alex Oriakhi and Andre Drummond.

UConn shot 50% (34-68) from the floor for the game while the Crusaders shot 26.2% (16-61).

The Huskies had 23 assists on their 34 made baskets.

UConn was just 2-of-12 (16.7%) on threes. The Crusaders were 6-of-18 (33.3%).

The Huskies were 7-of-12 (58.3%) from the charity stripe.

UConn won the battle of the boards outrebounding Holy Cross 45-38.

The Huskies had 18 points off of 17 Crusaders turnovers. Holy Cross had eight points off seven UConn turnovers.

UConn outscored Holy Cross 58-18 in the paint and 26-4 on the fast break. UConn 12 second chance points to nine for the Crusaders.

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Photo credit: AP Photo

Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Roundup – 12/18

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as some of the other sports. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

It’s game day for the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team as they’ll host the Holy Cross Crusaders this afternoon at 1 p.m. at the XL Center in Hartford, CT. The game will be broadcast locally on SNY.

It’s also game day for the No. 2 UConn women’s basketball team as they’re in Waco, TX for matchup with No. 1 Baylor. The game is scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Blaney to Face Alma Mater … Finally! [David Borges – New Haven Register]

The Essential-O-Meter act one: the injured guy and the Germans [The UConn Blog]

UConn men’s basketball team gets back to work [CT Post]

UConn Men Finding Their Roles As Big East Play Looms [Hartford Courant]

Huskies ready to get back on court [New Haven Register]

UConn’s Blaney faces former school for first time [The Day]

UConn men’s basketball glance [The Hour]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Catching up with Moriah Jefferson [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Buck and Stokes believe they are ready [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Griner Looking Forward To Rematch With Huskies [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Hartley Finding Success In Games Against Top Ranked Teams [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Three ACL Tears Have Not Stopped Doty [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

UConn’s Dolson believes she’s better prepared for Griner this time [CT Post]

Torn ACLs, injuries devastate, but UConn’s women keep coming back [CT Post]

UConn women in No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups [CT Post]

UConn Task: Beat Griner And Her Talented Supporting Cast In Texas [Hartford Courant]

UConn Vs. Baylor: Dolson Knows She Has To Be Tough, And Smart [Hartford Courant]

Recruit Moriah Jefferson happy to share the spotlight [New Haven Register]

Meeting with No. 1 Baylor features plenty of subplots [New Haven Register]

UConn women’s basketball glance [The Hour]

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Providence Bruins 2, Connecticut Whale 1 (SO)

By Brian Ring

Hartford, CT, December 17, 2011 – The Connecticut Whale were defeated by the Providence Bruins, 2-1, in a shootout before a crowd of 4,863 at the XL Center Saturday night in Hartford.

CT WhaleKris Newbury scored the only goal in regulation for Connecticut, with Jamie Tardif tallying Providence’s lone score. Josh Hennessy recorded the shootout-ending goal for the Bruins, who defeated the Whale for the second time in five meetings on the year.

“There were chances,” said Whale head coach Ken Gernander. “I thought we worked pretty hard…[Providence] works hard and bottles things up in the neutral zone.

“That being said, you have got to get pucks in behind them and win the footraces or create the turn-overs to get possession.”

Newbury got the Whale on the board first with a snipe of a slap shot that got past Providence goaltender Michael Hutchinson (30 saves) at 5:57 of the first period. Hutchinson had no chance on Newbury’s shot, which beat him high to the stick side for the Whale forward’s ninth goal of the season. Jonathan Audy-Marchessault and Pavel Valentenko accounted for the assists on the goal, the only scoring in the first period.

Providence evened the game at one at 7:49 of the second period, as Whale goaltender Chad Johnson (29 saves) attempted to defuse a Jamie Tardif breakaway chance by rushing towards the loose puck pursued by the Bruins wing. The puck, however, hit the heel of Johnson’s stick and went straight to Tardif, who had an easy empty-net goal.

“You want them to earn everything they get,” said Johnson. “Then you give them a gift right there with the empty net. It’s disappointing but it happens.”

Neither team broke through in the third period, leading to an eventful overtime frame.

The Whale wound up shorthanded in overtime, but Jordan Owens was hooked on a breakaway during the penalty-kill, creating a rare overtime penalty shot opportunity for Connecticut. Hutchinson, however, was up to the task and the game was forced to the shootout, the second between the teams this season.

Providence received shootout goals from Jamie Arniel and Josh Hennessy, which proved to be more than enough, as the Whale could not solve Hutchinson in the tie-breaker.

“I thought we played hard but they came out with a lot of jump too,” said Johnson. “It was a hockey game, that’s all you can really say about it.”

The Whale will be back in action Wednesday night, when they take on the Adirondack Phantoms at the XL Center in their last game before the Christmas holiday (7:00 PM).

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Providence Bruins 2 (SO) at Connecticut Whale 1
Saturday, December 17, 2011 – XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Providence 0 1 0 0 – 2
Connecticut 1 0 0 0 – 1

1st Period-1, Connecticut, Newbury 9 (Audy-Marchessault, Valentenko), 5:57. Penalties-Audy-Marchessault Ct (tripping), 9:47.

2nd Period-2, Providence, Tardif 8   7:49. Penalties-Whitfield Pro (hooking), 10:19; Owens Ct (tripping), 12:52; Newbury Ct (cross-checking), 17:42; Arniel Pro (slashing), 18:13.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Bodnarchuk Pro (tripping), 0:13; Thuresson Ct (tripping), 5:29; Tardif Pro (diving), 11:01; Erixon Ct (slashing), 11:01; Bickel Ct (tripping), 17:12.

OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Whitfield Pro (roughing), 3:42; Bell Ct (tripping), 3:42; Nightingale Ct (roughing), 3:42.

Shootout – Providence 2 (Camper NG, Caron NG, Arniel G, Hennessy G), Connecticut 0 (Bell NG, Audy-Marchessault NG, Newbury NG, Thuresson NG).
Shots on Goal-Providence 6-8-15-1-1-31. Connecticut 6-13-7-5-0-31.
Power Play Opportunities-Providence 0 / 6; Connecticut 0 / 3.
Goalies-Providence, Hutchinson 2-5-0 (31 shots-30 saves). Connecticut, Johnson 9-4-3 (30 shots-29 saves).
A-4,863
Referees-Chris Brown (86), Tim Mayer (19).
Linesmen-Jim Briggs (83), Brent Colby (7).

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Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Roundup – 12/17

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as some of the other sports. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Calhoun’s Holiday Food Drive on Monday [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Do the Right Thing [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Huskies Need More From DeAndre Daniels [Hartford Courant]

Sorting it all out [Journal Inquirer]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

UConn in unchartered waters [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Griner and Auriemma to be reunited [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

UConn-Baylor? Jeff Van Gundy is ready [ESPNW]

Huskies In Uncustomary Role As Underdog At Baylor Sunday [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Sunday Showdown Between Nation’s Top Two on ESPN [UConnHuskies.com]

Despite competitive desire, Walters had to call it quits [CT Post]

No. 2 UConn in rare role as the underdog [CT Post]

Geno: It’s A Good Time To Face Unbeaten Baylor [Hartford Courant]

This Time, Big Dog Is An Underdog [Hartford Courant]

A foul mood won’t help [Journal Inquirer]

Huskies face a big challenge in Griner [New Haven Register]

UConn battling Baylor in matchup of top 2 teams [Norwich Bulletin]

UConn Football links

Former UConn QB coach introduced as Fordham’s new boss [John Nash – The Hour]

Other UConn related links

Baseball. Valentine To Speak At Preseason Dinner on January 27 [UConnHuskies.com]

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Rangers Return Tim Erixon to Whale

New York, December 16, 2011 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that defenseman Tim Erixon has been assigned to the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL).

CT WhaleErixon, 20, did not skate in the Rangers 4-1 loss yesterday at St. Louis following his recall from Connecticut on Wednesday.  He began the season on the Rangers opening night roster, and skated in nine games with the Blueshirts before being assigned to Connecticut on October 29.  Erixon posted a plus or even rating in six of his nine contests.  He made his NHL debut on October 7 against Los Angeles in Stockholm, Sweden, as part of the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Premiere.

The Port Chester, New York native returns to Connecticut where he has registered one goal and 11 assists for 12 points, along with 10 penalty minutes in 13 games this season.  He currently has a three-game AHL assist streak, tallying four assists during the stretch which began with a two-assist effort on December 9 vs. Hershey.  Erixon leads all Whale defensemen and is tied for sixth on the team in scoring with 12 points, and ranks second on Connecticut overall in average points per game (0.92) and is tied for third in assists (11).  He registered seven points in a five-game span (one goal and six assists), beginning with his first career AHL goal on November 12 at St. John’s and culminating with a career-high, three assists on November 23 vs. Portland.  Erixon tallied an assist while making his AHL debut on November 2 at Bridgeport.

Erixon was acquired by the Rangers along with a fifth round selection in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft (Shane McColgan) from Calgary, in exchange for Roman Horak and two second round picks in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft (Markus Granlund, Tyler Wotherspoon) on June 1, 2011.  He was originally selected by the Flames in the first round, 23rd overall, in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

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