By Brian Ring

Hartford, CT, October 23, 2011 – The Connecticut Whale defeated the Springfield Falcons, 4-1, Sunday afternoon at the XL Center, completing a sweep of their set of three games in three days. The Whale beat Springfield for the second consecutive night, after winning 2-1 at the MassMutual Center Saturday night.

The Whale scored three goals in the second period to open the game up, and rookie Jonathan Audy-Marchessault earned First-Star honors with a goal and two assists on the night.

“It’s key to find your team identity,” said Whale goaltender Chad Johnson after the game. “This weekend we sort of found it in all the games. This weekend, the guys and the lines really relied on each other and trusted each other and stuck together to get the two points.”

The Whale took the lead at 16:35 of the first period, when former Harford Whalers draft pick and Springfield goaltender Manny Legace (27 saves) failed to cover up a Jyri Niemi attempt. Audy-Marchessault picked up the loose puck from beside Legace and put it over the Falcons’ netminder for Audy-Marchessault’s second goal in as many games.

Connecticut managed to escape the period with their lead intact, despite taking three first period penalties.

Blake Parlett extended the Whale lead to 2-0 at 4:01 of the second period on a power play, stuffing a Carl Hagelin chance past Legace for his first goal of the season.

Connecticut struck again just 32 seconds later, when Andreas Thuresson beat Legace to make it a 3-0 game. Tommy Grant and Audy-Marchessault assisted on the goal, giving Audy-Marchessault his first multi-point professional game.

Grant put the Whale ahead 4-0 at 13:24 of the period, as Connecticut struck again on the power-play, this time with Dane Byers in the box. Grant’s initial bid was turned-away by Legace, but Audy-Marchessault picked up another rebound and fed Grant for an easy one-timer.  Stu Bickel also added an assist on the goal.

The Falcons finally got on the board at 14:33 of the third period to close the Whale lead to 4-1, when Greenwich, CT native Cam Atkinson scored his second of the season on a one-time shot against Johnson (27 saves), with the assists going to Martin St. Pierre and Cody Goloubef. That was all the offense the Falcons could muster against Johnson, who kept the Whale steady throughout the night and helped the team’s penalty-kill manage a perfect 7-for-7 performance. Connecticut also withstood a pair of Falcons five-on-three chances.

“I thought we played well through the whole game, we took some penalties but it’s going to happen during a game,” said Johnson. “I thought we did a good job of killing them. It gives your team momentum when you can get through those situations.”

The Whale will now take to the road for three straight games, heading to Glens Falls, NY Friday to take on the Adirondack Phantoms (7:00) and then to Worcester to face the Sharks Saturday (7:05). Connecticut will meet the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in school-day action next Wednesday in Bridgeport (11:00 AM) before finally returning home to host the new St. John’s IceCaps on Friday, Nov. 4 (7:00).

Springfield Falcons 1 at Connecticut Whale 4
Sunday, October 23, 2011 – XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Springfield 0 0 1 – 1
Connecticut 1 3 0 – 4

1st Period-1, Connecticut, Audy-Marchessault 2 (Niemi), 16:35. Penalties-Joudrey Spr (hooking), 1:57; Byers Spr (tripping), 5:30; Nightingale Ct (high-sticking), 10:33; Mitchell Ct (slashing), 10:46; served by McKelvie Ct (bench minor – too many men), 13:10; Thomas Spr (slashing), 19:15.

2nd Period-2, Connecticut, Parlett 1 (Hagelin), 4:01 (PP). 3, Connecticut, Thuresson 2 (Grant, Audy-Marchessault), 4:33. 4, Connecticut, Grant 1 (Audy-Marchessault, Bickel), 13:24 (PP). Penalties-Deveaux Ct (diving), 0:23; served by MacLeod Spr (bench minor – too many men), 3:21; Calvert Spr (slashing), 9:24; Byers Spr (elbowing), 11:39; Delisle Spr (high-sticking), 14:44; Byers Spr (fighting, misconduct – continuing altercation), 18:41; Bickel Ct (fighting), 18:41; Mair Spr (fighting), 18:52; Deveaux Ct (fighting, misconduct – continuing altercation), 18:52; Owens Ct (interference), 19:48.

3rd Period-5, Springfield, Atkinson 2 (St. Pierre, Goloubef), 14:33. Penalties-Drazenovic Spr (kneeing), 6:19; Russell Spr (fighting), 9:36; Owens Ct (boarding, fighting), 9:36; Bickel Ct (high-sticking), 10:47.

Shots on Goal-Springfield 10-7-11-28. Connecticut 10-18-3-31.
Power Play Opportunities-Springfield 0 / 7; Connecticut 2 / 8.
Goalies-Springfield, Legace 0-2-0 (31 shots-27 saves). Connecticut, Johnson 2-0-2 (28 shots-27 saves).
A-2,764
Referees-Tim Mayer (19), Keith Kaval (40).
Linesmen-Marty Demers (79), Luke Galvin (2).

By Brian Ring

Springfield, MA, October 22, 2011 – The Connecticut Whale defeated the Springfield Falcons, 2-1, Saturday night at the MassMutual Center. The game was the first of twelve between the two teams on the season, and the win was the Whale’s second in a row.

Connecticut’s Mats Zuccarello recorded the game-winning goal late in the third period, giving the Whale the lead in what was a low-scoring and hotly contested game. The Whale scored two goals in the third to rally from a 1-0 deficit.

“It was awesome,” said Whale head coach Ken Gernander. “He’s [Zuccarello] been a big time player for us in just the short two games he’s been with us, but he’s pretty good at generating offense for us.”

The first period was scoreless, despite a number of quality chances for the Whale during a pair of power-play opportunities. Connecticut outshot Springfield, 14-8, and dictated the majority of the play, thanks in part of the physical play of a line made up of Jordan Owens, Scott Tanski and Chris McKelvie.

Springfield netminder Dan Taylor (26 saves) made a number of notable saves to keep the frame scoreless, stopping Jonathan Audy-Marchessault and Blake Parlett on quality chances.

The Falcons took a 1-0 lead at 5:49 of the second period, as Wade MacLeod cut across the crease in front of Whale goaltender Cam Talbot (32 saves), banging the puck in after getting past the Whale defense. Cam Atkinson and Ray Macias both assisted on the goal, with Macias registering his first point with Springfield.

The Whale were outshot in the second period, 15-4, with Talbot keeping Connecticut in the game with several key saves, including a paddle effort at 16:07.

Connecticut tied it at one 2:41 into the third period, when Audy-Marchessault scored his first professional goal. Audy-Marchessault dug in to the right of Taylor and tapped a Tomas Kundratek rebound past the Springfield goaltender for the equalizer. Andre Deveaux also assisted on the goal.

Talbot continued to stand tall in goal for Connecticut, making a flurry of saves on in-close opportunities at the 13:22 mark.

“I felt really well coming off the shutout last night (a 5-0 home win over the Manchester Monarchs), and again the boys played well in front of me and blocked a lot of shots,” said Talbot. “They just kept throwing pucks at the net, pucks were bouncing off of everything and I tried to control my rebounds the best I could.  Sometimes you need to get help from the post and other times you need to get help from your defensemen, and I got a lot of help from both tonight.”

Zuccarello finally gave the Whale a 2-1 lead with 4:53 remaining in the period, with his third goal in two games. Zuccarello was below the goal line when he fired what appeared to be a centering pass, but it deflected off of the goaltender Taylor and in for the go-ahead score. Andreas Thuresson and John Mitchell assisted on the goal.

“I just tried to get it on net and it was a lucky bounce. I’ve done it before,” said a smiling Zuccarello, who admitted that he saw Taylor was a bit far out from the crease and could be vulnerable to a bank shot.

After winning two in a row, the Whale will close out their three games in three days set on Sunday, when they host the Springfield Falcons in an afternoon game at the XL Center (3:00).

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Connecticut Whale 2 at Springfield Falcons 1 – Status: Final
Saturday, October 22, 2011 – MassMutual Center

Connecticut 0 0 2 – 2
Springfield 0 1 0 – 1

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Regner Spr (tripping), 3:23; Byers Spr (roughing), 11:16.

2nd Period-1, Springfield, MacLeod 1 (Atkinson, Macias), 5:49. Penalties-McKelvie Ct (high-sticking), 8:31; Parlett Ct (delay of game), 9:41.

3rd Period-2, Connecticut, Audy-Marchessault 1 (Kundratek, Deveaux), 2:41. 3, Connecticut, Zuccarello 3 (Thuresson, Mitchell), 15:07. Penalties-Parlett Ct (fighting), 3:10; Mair Spr (fighting), 3:10; Goloubef Spr (high-sticking), 3:20.

Shots on Goal-Connecticut 14-4-10-28. Springfield 8-15-11-34.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 0 / 3; Springfield 0 / 2.
Goalies-Connecticut, Talbot 2-1-0 (34 shots-33 saves). Springfield, Taylor 1-1-0 (28 shots-26 saves).
A-2,757
Referees-Ryan Hersey (46).
Linesmen-Robert St. Lawrence (10), Rich Patry (52).

By Brian Ring

Hartford, CT, October 21, 2011 – The Connecticut Whale defeated the Manchester Monarchs Friday night, 5-0, before 3,272 fans at the XL Center. The Whale received two goals and an assist from forward Mats Zuccarello, who made his first appearance with the club after opening the season with the parent New York Rangers.

“He’s a nifty passer and sees the ice well,” said Whale head coach Ken Gernander of Zuccarello. “He’s a clever player and a lot of fun to watch.”

Goaltender Cam Talbot recorded his first win of the season for the Whale, coming up with a 23-save shutout against the Monarchs.

“To continue on the pace they showed tonight would be in everybody’s best interest,” said Gernander.

The Whale took the lead 8:37 into the first period when Andreas Thuresson backhanded his first goal of the season past Monarchs starting goaltender Martin Jones (22 saves). Thuresson took a quick shot without turning around, the floating shot beating Jones. The score came unassisted.

Connecticut came out strong in the second period while on the power-play, scoring just 42 seconds into the frame’s opening minute to put the Whale up 2-0.  Zuccarello recorded his first goal with the Whale this season, putting the puck past a sprawling Jones. Mitchell and defenseman Blake Parlett each assisted on the goal.

“I’m here to show that I can be a player that can contribute offensively in the NHL,” said Zuccarello. “That’s everybody’s dream down here, to play there, I’ve been there and I know I can play there, I just have to keep doing it here.”

Andre Deveaux extended the Whale lead to 3-0, as the home team again capitalized on the power-play at 7:38. Parlett passed to Wade Redden in the left circle, and he immediately fed Deveaux in the Manchester slot for the easy tip-in. The goal was Deveaux’s third of the season, tying him with Carl Hagelin for the team lead.

Zuccarello struck again at 14:04 with his second goal of the game, putting in a rebound from a seemingly innocuous John Mitchell shot from the top of the circles. Mitchell received the only assist on the goal, his second of the night.

The big period continued at 16:45, when Mitchell made it 5-0. Zuccarello carried the puck across the Manchester blue line before feeding Mitchell, who laced a wrist shot up and over Jones to make it a four-goal period for the Whale.

Jeff Zatkoff made three saves for Manchester in the third period relief of Jones.

The Whale will return to action Saturday night, as they face the Springfield Falcons at the MassMutual Center in the first game of a home-and-home set (7:00). Connecticut will then return home to host the Falcons on Sunday afternoon (3:00) to close out their weekend of three games in three nights.

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Manchester Monarchs 0 at Connecticut Whale 5
Friday, October 21, 2011 – XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Manchester 0 0 0 – 0
Connecticut 1 4 0 – 5

1st Period-1, Connecticut, Thuresson 1 8:37. Penalties-Grant Ct (hooking), 1:44; Niemi Ct (slashing), 9:48; Bickel Ct (cross-checking), 10:05; Cliche Mch (holding), 12:21; Clune Mch (goaltender interference), 15:31; Bickel Ct (unsportsmanlike conduct), 15:31; Clune Mch (fighting), 17:43; Bickel Ct (fighting), 17:43; Deslauriers Mch (boarding), 19:14.

2nd Period-2, Connecticut, Zuccarello 1 (Mitchell, Parlett), 0:42 (PP). 3, Connecticut, Deveaux 3 (Redden, Parlett), 7:28 (PP). 4, Connecticut, Zuccarello 2 (Mitchell, Hagelin), 14:04. 5, Connecticut, Mitchell 1 (Zuccarello), 16:45. Penalties-Kaunisto Mch (diving), 6:52; Legein Mch (roughing), 14:55; Grant Ct (roughing), 14:55.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Deveaux Ct (tripping), 5:16; Muzzin Mch (interference), 6:10; Vey Mch (tripping), 13:10.

Shots on Goal-Manchester 7-8-8-23. Connecticut 12-15-6-33.
Power Play Opportunities-Manchester 0 / 4; Connecticut 2 / 5.
Goalies-Manchester, Jones 3-3-0 (27 shots-22 saves); Zatkoff 0-1-0 (6 shots-6 saves). Connecticut, Talbot 1-1-0 (23 shots-23 saves).
A-3,272
Referees-Jon McIsaac (39).
Linesmen-Paul Simeon (66), Glen Cooke (6)