By Bruce Berlet
Connecticut Whale coach Ken Gernander offered goalie Chad Johnson a bit of a challenge before the franchise began its 15th season last weekend.
After a solid rookie pro season in 2009-10, Johnson was less successful last season, compiling a 16-19-3 record with a 2.72 goals-against average, .901 save percentage and two shutouts in 40 games before being called up by the New York Rangers on Feb. 28 after Martin Biron sustained a season-ending broken collarbone when hit by a shot in practice. Johnson got plenty of work with Rangers goaltending coach Benoit Allaire and against NHL talent for two months, but he played only 20 minutes while backing up All-Star Henrik Lundqvist.
So how would such an unusual end to a season affect Johnson? Good question, with some special interest/thoughts from his coach in Hartford.
“Yes, we’re expecting more (from Johnson),” Gernander said. “I don’t think last season was satisfactory as far as his self-evaluation. We’re going to have a little bit higher expectations of him moving forward as far as this being his third year and having some opportunity working in the NHL. He didn’t have a lot of NHL minutes or game experience, but he had the opportunity to work with the NHL club, and if he wants to push for a job there, he’s going to have to prove himself here.”
Well, Johnson proved a major point in his season debut Sunday in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., making 41 saves in regulation and overtime and stopping three of five shots in a shootout in a 1-0 victory over the Penguins, last year’s AHL regular-season champion. It tied the second most saves in a shutout for a Hartford Wolf Pack/Whale goalie that Johan Holmqvist had in a 3-0 victory over Lowell on Dec. 23, 2000 and Cam Talbot had in a 3-0 win over Providence last Oct. 17. The team record for saves in a shutout is 44 by Milan Hnilicka in a 4-0 victory over Worcester on March 25, 2000 on the way to the franchise’s only Calder Cup title.
It was Johnson’s sixth AHL shutout and the 25th time since shootouts returned to the AHL in 2004-05 that a game finished scoreless after 65 minutes. The Wolf Pack/Whale has played five such games and has now won four. Gernander has been part of all those tight games as a player and coach, and he had no complaints about this one.
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“Goaltending was the big factor, the difference, and (Johnson) had a really good game,” Gernander said after practice Wednesday at Champions Skating Center in Cromwell. “It was a good start for Chad, who was real consistent throughout and made the saves he had to make.”
It was a rewarding start for Johnson, who performed well in preseason but still had the lingering question about his readiness after seeing so little game action since his last AHL appearance Feb. 24 and finishing the season almost exclusively as a spectator with the Rangers. But Johnson said he continued to concentrate on his approach to games that he admits was lacking at times last season and that he worked on extensively this summer after his time with Allaire and the Rangers.
“I just focused on simplifying my game by just looking at just each period and each game,” Johnson said. “It’s just playing my game, not trying to be somebody else or play a certain way. I’m just worried about getting my focus, which is something that wasn’t happening last season. I was focusing on things that I shouldn’t focus on like how deep I should be and where I should be on certain plays. I was too technical, and I don’t need to worry about that. I’m naturally technical and always been a guy like that who has been technical without having to think about it.
“So for me, it’s just a matter of having a good mindset going into games and knowing what to focus on and just playing my game.”
The 25-year-old Johnson insisted he didn’t feel any extra pressure to perform well after his “weird” second pro season that included the lengthy time off from competition outside of practices and working with Allaire.
“I always put a lot of pressure on myself, but I don’t think it’s something that I use as a negative or something that will hold me back,” Johnson said. “I use it as something that benefits me. Every day my plan is to put pressure on myself to win hockey games. I don’t think there was any more added pressure this year. Obviously you know you want to have a good year, but after not having a good year last season being inconsistent, I just worry about the next game. I don’t really care about what I did last year or two years ago or three years ago. It doesn’t really matter, and I really don’t care, to be honest.”
Johnson, a fifth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2006 acquired for a fifth-round pick in 2009 on June 27 of that year after graduating from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, said he felt he had a good preseason because he started right off focusing on the better frame of mind.
“It helped having worked hard all summer and having some good exhibition games in New York,” Johnson said. “Now I’m just focusing here on today’s practice and what I have to do when games are going on. That’s all that really matters.”
Johnson honestly admits that while playing one period in two months was hardly an ordinary occurrence, he now feels more comfortable that his game was back at the end of the season because of being around Allaire and being challenged daily by NHL shooters.
“I always talk about wanting to have more stability, but that’s the game I’m in,” Johnson said. “I’m in the minors and want to be at that next level in the NHL and obviously want to be play and prove yourself. But this is the situation I’m in and things will happen where guys get hurt so you have to be ready when the opportunity arises. So hopefully someday I can have some stability at the NHL level, but today is important, so I’m just worrying about today.
“Being with the Rangers really makes you come even more prepared and makes you put your best foot forward even more. I think I found it when I was up there as far as my game, the professionalism and speed at that level and getting confidence from Benoit. I could carry all that into the summer and prepare my mind for what I wanted to focus on during the games, which is really nothing. I just let my abilities and what I had done over the years play itself out and try and win hockey games. That’s the biggest thing.”
BALDWIN RESUMES SKATING AS AVERY CONTINUES REHAB
Defenseman Lee Baldwin has resumed practicing with the Whale after sustaining an injury in the preseason finale Oct. 2, a 3-2 victory over the Worcester Sharks. New defenseman Brendan Bell skated with the team for the second time since being assigned after the Rangers returned from Europe on Sunday.
Sean Avery, who arrived Tuesday, is receiving treatment for an injury. Avery, the Rangers’ final cut at forward after losing out for the 13th spot to Erik Christensen, has not skated since playing in his third and final preseason game with the Rangers on Sept. 30 in Gothenburg, Sweden, when he took a high stick to the mouth in the third period and didn’t return.
Avery is not available to the media until he returns to games, and Whale coach Ken Gernander said it’s “pretty doubtful” that Avery will play this weekend at Albany on Friday night or in the team’s home opener Saturday night at 7 against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
“He’s not skating and only rehabbed for two days, so we have to plan accordingly,” Gernander said.
After the two games this weekend, the Whale is off for five more days before hosting the Manchester Monarchs on Oct. 21 and then playing a home-and-home series with the Springfield Falcons on Oct. 22-23, the second game at 3 p.m. at the XL Center.
The Rangers are carrying 24 players, one over the limit, but that includes All-Star defenseman Marc Staal, who is on injured reserve because of recurring post-concussion syndrome headaches, and right wing Chad Kolarik, who is on IR and now rehabbing in Hartford after surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee last Wednesday that will sideline him at least six months. According to capgeek.com, the Rangers have $862,604 in cap space, not including the salaries of Avery, Kolarik ($525,000), defenseman Wade Redden ($6.5 million), who cleared waivers in September, and Trumbull native and former captain Chris Drury ($3.325 million), who retired Aug. 19 after having the final year of his five-year, $35.5 million contract bought out on June 29.
The Rangers gave Avery and his agent, Pat Morris, the right to negotiate with teams in Europe, but that option was quickly abandoned because Avery will earn more in the final year of his four-year, $15.5 million contract, that he signed with the Dallas Stars on July 2, 2008 after leaving the Rangers for the first time as a free agent, than he could make in Europe. Avery played only 23 games with the Stars before being placed on re-entry waivers. The Rangers claimed him and have split his contract with the Stars since. Avery had two goals and one assist in eight games with the Wolf Pack before joining the Rangers.
With Avery in the minors, the Rangers and Stars had $1,937,500 come off their salary cap, which is good for the Rangers since they could look to acquire a veteran defenseman because of the growing uncertainty of Staal, who isn’t skating with the team. It’s bad for the Stars, who are studying moves to add a player because they could drop below the NHL-mandated salary floor of $48.3 million. The Stars have been paying half of Avery’s salary to the Rangers since losing him on recall waivers, and that $1,937,500 has also counted against Dallas’ salary cap.
“It’s an issue that we didn’t think we would have to deal with, but we do, and we are studying every option,” Stars general manager Joe Nieuwendyk said. “Bottom line, you can’t be below the floor.”
The Whale plays a third road game Friday night against their new Northeast Division rival Albany Devils, who lost their first two starts. The Devils have retained two of their top three scorers – No. 1 Matt Anderson (23 goals, 32 assists in 76 games) and former Hartford Wolf Pack wing Chad Wiseman (No. 3 with 16 goals and 28 assists in 48 games). Last season, the Devils swept the then Wolf Pack 3-2 in a shootout in Albany and 3-1 in Hartford, with both games in October.
The Whale plays their home opener Saturday against the Sound Tigers in the first of 10 GEICO Connecticut Cup games and the first opening night under the Whale banner. The Whale was 6-3-0-1 against the Sound Tigers last season, winning 3-2 in a shootout in their first game as the Whale on Nov. 27.
The Sound Tigers, who joined the Whale in the Northeast Division, have split two 4-2 decisions, losing to Portland and beating Albany, as feisty wing Justin DiBenedetto notched a hat trick and Anders Nilsson made 28 saves in his North American debut Sunday. The Sound Tigers, whose coach is former Wolf Pack defenseman Brent Thompson and whose two assistants include West Haven native and 2002 AHL MVP Eric Boguniecki, are at Adirondack on Friday night before heading to Hartford.
There will be a “Whale Blue and Green” Fan Fest in the XL Center atrium starting at 4 p.m. in which fans can hear live music, test their shooting skills in the CT Whale Slap Shot Cage sponsored by Xfinity, frolic in a bounce house and enjoy a Wii station. Five thousand fans will receive a free Whale magnetic schedule, sponsored by Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over. Tickets for all games are on sale at the Public Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, on-line at www.ctwhale.com and through TicketMaster Charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000.
ON COURSE TO GETTING TO KNOW TEAMMATES
With so many new players and late arrivals like the Whale, the Springfield Falcons are already heavy into team building and bonding, including at their annual Italian Columbus Day Open at Crestview Country Club in Agawam, Mass.
“Any team that is going to have success is going to hang together off the ice, condition together, have team meetings,” Falcons president and general manager Bruce Landon told Fran Sypek of the Springfield Republican. “This team has already had a ‘team lunch’ to get to know each other and get on the same page.”
Like the Whale, the Falcons lost their opener and won their second game, and the roster is expected to be tweaked the next few weeks because of injuries with the parent Columbus Blue Jackets. The loss ended the Falcons’ seven-game winning streak in season openers, while Grand Rapids had earned points in eight straight opening games (5-0-2-1) before a 3-2 loss at Rockford on Saturday night.
Former Hartford Wolf Pack left wing and captain Dane Byers has returned to provide a veteran presence. Byers, the Rangers’ second-round pick in 2004, was acquired by the Blue Jackets for Chad Kolarik on Nov. 13 but traded to the Phoenix Coyotes with Rostislav Klesla for Scottie Upshall and Sami Lepisto on Feb. 28. The Blue Jackets hated to lose Byers, who played an AHL record 85 games last season, so they re-signed him as a free agent on July 11.
“I’m excited to be back and this year we’ve got a lot of proven players, guys who have won the Calder Cup and know what it takes to get there,” Byers said. “It looks like we’re going to have a really good team.”
Winning teams tend to be close-knit groups, and Byers hopes it doesn’t take long with the Falcons.
“Events like this are great for bringing guys close together,” Byers said. “We get a chance to meet people in the community and get comfortable.”
Byers plays on a line with Cody Bass and Nicholas Drazenovic, and the trio had nine points in the first two games.
“They looked like they were in midseason form,” Falcons coach Rob Riley told Sypek.
Not lost on Byers and his teammates was that the tournament raised money for the Shriners Hospital, which the players visit while lending a hand in many community events. This was a fun day on a perfect New England Indian Summer autumn day that included lots of Italian food and drink with other ethnic items from the area. There was even a Polish tent with kielbasa and pierogi.
“With so many players, it’s a great opportunity for them to meet people in the community and get together under a relaxed atmosphere,” Riley said. “You never know how long it will take for a team to become a team, but we hope to speed up the process. We have a good mix of players.”
WHALE, FALCONS FANS TO PLAY SEVEN-GAME SERIES
Major League Baseball’s World Series begins next week, then fans of the Whale and Falcons will begin their own seven-game series Oct. 23 at the XL Center in Hartford. It’s the first-ever matchup of fans, who will compete periodically at the XL Center and the MassMutual Center in Springfield through mid-March.
Hockey fan Seth Dussault thought of the idea and cohort Matt Marychuk created a Facebook page to see if there were any interested players. Over the summer, Seth and Matt managed the social media page and interest grew. They used the page to sign up fans to play and communicate between the players and managed to fill rosters for each fan team.
The idea caught the attention of the Falcons’ front office and then the Whale’s and the fan game series was born.
Game 1 of the seven-game series begins at noon, and Game 2 is Dec. 3 in Springfield at 4:30 p.m. Tickets, priced at $16 in Hartford and $10 in Springfield, must be purchased at least 10 days prior to a game and include admission to the AHL game that night. Tickets for the other five games will be on sale soon, and a portion of the sales from all games will benefit Defending the Blue Line, an organization that helps children of military families play hockey.
The other fan games are Dec. 4 in Hartford at noon, Jan. 7 in Hartford at 4 p.m., Jan. 8 in Springfield at 12:30 p.m., Feb. 10 in Springfield at 5 p.m. and March 17 in Hartford at 4 p.m.
For information and/or tickets, contact www.whalefalconsfangame@gmail.com.
CROSBY, WHALERS REMEMBERED
Two entities not in the NHL these days, Sidney Crosby and the Hartford Whalers, received plenty of air time Tuesday night when the Pittsburgh Penguins hosted the Florida Panthers.
Crosby, the Penguins’ captain, missed his team’s home opener against the team coached by former Whalers standout right wing and captain Kevin Dineen because of lingering effects of a concussion nine months ago.
Crosby went through another game-day skate wearing a no-contact helmet but missed his fourth game of this season after being out the final three months of last season. The frustration of not knowing when he might be back was detectable in Crosby’s voice.
“It’s the same as usual,” Crosby told reporters before watching the Penguins beat the Panthers 4-2 without him and Art Ross Trophy winner Evgeni Malkin (right knee surgery). “I feels good. It went good today and I’m excited to be home. … I’m closer than I was yesterday. But I can’t give you a date. I’d love to – trust me – give you a date I can come back and play, but right now, it’s the same.”
Crosby continues to show signs that his recovery is accelerating rapidly, but he was accidentally knocked down by assistant coach Tony Granato during a drill without incident. He said again that he has had no concussion-related symptoms since training camp began Sept. 17.
“It’s never fun watching (games), but it’s nice to be getting closer and it’s nice being out there and going hard and I haven’t had anything that’s really worried me,” Crosby said. “It’s been nice to have had that the last couple of weeks.”
Crosby, 24, usually meets at least once a week with specialist Michael “Mickey” Collins, a clinician and researcher who heads the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center concussion testing unit. Crosby said the sessions usually consist of him answering various questions, taking some concussion-related tests and reviewing his progress to date.
“He asks questions and, like any other doctor and any other injury, he asks questions,” Crosby said. “There’s little tests, there’s always kind of different things they want to make sure are good in their minds, and in mine as well. There’s constant communication and we talk every few days anyway, but when I see him there’s usually a little more testing that goes with it.”
There wasn’t any anticipation when the NHL season began last week that Crosby would be ready to play this soon, but when he traveled with the team on its season-opening three-game trip through Western Canada, there was hope it could happen sooner rather than later.
But for now, Crosby must be content with beating goalie Marc-Andre Fleury during practice rather than opposing NHL goalies during games.
“I enjoy competing out there,” Crosby said. “The more you go through it and the better you come out of it, I think it’s always a good sign.”
But even when Crosby is cleared to deliver and receive hits during practice, it won’t mean he’ll immediately return to the lineup. He must get through various but undisclosed steps during full-contact practices, including making sure he is fully prepared to play all-out, with no worry or hesitation that the next big hit might cause another injury.
“When I come back, I’ve got to make sure I’m confident,” Crosby said. “If I’m thinking about that, the chances of me getting hit are probably better. The more you hesitate, the more chance of that happening. I’ll do everything I can to make sure I’m ready. At the same time, you can’t simulate getting crushed by a guy on the open ice.”
As players such as Crosby and former Wolf Pack center Marc Savard, whose career with the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins is likely over from a blindside hit by the Penguins’ Matt Cooke, know all too well.
Meanwhile, Dineen, who gave and took plenty of tough hits in his 18-year NHL career, was periodically interviewed during the game by Versus announcer Brian Engblom, who discussed the six Dineen brothers in hockey and their father, Bill, who played and coached for more than four decades, including the Whalers in their final season in the World Hockey Association (1978-79). He also coached Gordie Howe and sons Mark and Marty for four WHA seasons and won two championships. He was later named coach of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1992, when he coached Kevin before being fired after the 1992-93 season.
Versus also showed Mark Howe, now the head of pro scouting for the Detroit Red Wings, and mentioned how he had played with his father and brother and would inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame in November. Engblom also mentioned how he had met with Dineen and Tampa Bay Lightning assistant general manager Pat Verbeek, another former Whalers right wing and captain, during the morning skate and then wondered out loud.
“I asked them if they wanted me to start playing ‘Brass Bonanza’ from their Whalers days,” Engblom said with a chuckle.
I’m betting they did and would have loved hearing it. … The Bruins signed forward Rich Peverley to a three-year, $10.75-million contract with a no-trade clause. He is making $1.4 million this season and will earn $3 million in 2012-13 and $3.375 million in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
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Today we’ll take a look at where the Red Sox farmhands ranked in the top 20 of the 
UConn and Notre Dame were the only schools to place three players on the list and the Big East led all conferences with nine selections, followed by the ACC with six, the Big 12 with four, the SEC and Big 10 with three, and the Pac-12 and CAA with two, and the Atlantic 10 with one.