HARTFORD, February 28, 2013:  Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the Whale has released forward Michael Pelech from his Professional Tryout agreement.  Pelech will rejoin the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.

After being signed by the Whale February 7, Pelech dressed for seven games, going scoreless and Even with eight penalty minutes and three shots on goal.

The Whale’s next action is on home ice, tomorrow night, Friday, March 1 vs. the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at 7:00 PM.  As at all Friday-night Whale home games, fans that night can enjoy $1 hot dogs and $2 beers at the XL Center until the end of the first intermission.

Tickets to all Whale home games start as low as $10 each ($12 each when tickets are purchased on the day of the game), and 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.

For information on season seats, and all of the Whale’s many ticketing options, visit www.ctwhale.com, or call the CT Whale ticket office at (860) 548-2000 to talk with an account executive today.

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NEW YORK, February 28, 2013 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has assigned forward Chris Kreider to the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Kreider, 21, has registered one goal and one assist for two points in 11 games this season. He tallied a point in consecutive games, including his first career regular season point with a goal on February 5 at New Jersey and his first career regular season assist on February 7 against the New York Islanders, after missing the previous five games, including four games due to injury. He made his NHL regular season debut in the season opener on January 19 at Boston. Kreider returns to Connecticut, where he has registered five goals and seven assists, along with 57 penalty minutes in 34 games this season.

The 6-3, 230-pounder established an NHL record for most postseason goals (five) and points (seven) by a player before skating in a regular season game during the 2012 playoffs. Kreider tied for first among NHL rookies in goals and power play goals (two), second in game-winning goals (two) and power play points (two), and ranked fourth in points during the playoffs. He also tied for third on the team in playoff goals, first in power play goals and second in game-winning goals. Kreider made his NHL debut on April 16, 2012, at Ottawa in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, becoming the first player to win an NCAA title and make his NHL debut in that year’s playoffs since 1990.

The Boxford, Massachusetts native was originally selected by the Rangers as a first round choice, 19^th overall, in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

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NEW YORK, February 27, 2013 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has assigned forward Brandon Mashinter to the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Mashinter, 24, skated in four games with the Rangers following his recall on February 18. He made his debut with the Blueshirts on February 19 against Montreal. Mashinter returns to Connecticut, where he has registered five goals and six assists for 11 points, along with 23 penalty minutes in 14 games this season. He has tallied a point in each of his last three contests with the Whale (two goals, one assist), including the game-winning goals on February 15 against Portland and February 17 against Manchester.

Mashinter was acquired by the Rangers from San Jose in exchange for forward Tommy Grant and a conditional pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft on January 16. He posted a four-game point streak from January 20 at Providence to January 26 against Springfield, registering two goals and four assists over the span. Mashinter has recorded seven goals and nine assists for 16 points, along with 67 penalty minutes in 44 total games with Connecticut and Worcester this season.

The Bradford, Ontario native was originally signed by San Jose as an undrafted free agent on March 3, 2009.

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NEW YORK, February 25, 2013 –New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has assigned forward Christian Thomas to the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Thomas, 20, was credited with three hits and registered two shots on goal in 12:46 of ice time while making his NHL debut on Saturday at Montreal. He returns to Connecticut where he has registered 13 goals and 11 assists for 24 points, along with 13 penalty minutes in 52 games with the Whale this season. Thomas leads all Connecticut rookies in goals, points, power play goals (three) and shots on goal (104), and is tied for fifth on the team overall in points, ranks fourth in goals, and is tied for fourth in shots and power play goals. He has posted four multi-point performances, including multi-goal efforts on November 10 at Worcester (two goals) and February 15 against Portland (two goals). Thomas has tallied four goals and three assists in his last six games with Connecticut, including a career-high, three-point effort on February 9 at St. John’s (one goal, two assists).

The 5-9, 170-pounder registered one goal and one assist in five games with Connecticut last season. He made his professional debut with Connecticut on April 7, 2012, at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and recorded his first professional points with a goal and an assist on April 13, 2012, against Manchester. Thomas also skated in six postseason contests with the Whale during the 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs.

The Toronto, Ontario native was originally selected as the Rangers’ second round choice, 40^th overall, in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

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HARTFORD, February 25, 2013:  Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the parent New York Rangers have reassigned goaltender Scott Stajcer from the Whale back to its ECHL affiliate, the Greenville Road Warriors.

Stajcer, a rookie and fifth-round (140^th overall) 2009 Ranger draft pick, served as the Whale’s backup netminder for Connecticut’s two games this past weekend, after being summoned from the Road Warriors on Thursday.

The Whale’s next action is on home ice, this Friday, March 1 vs. the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at 7:00 PM.  As at all Friday-night Whale home games, fans that night can enjoy $1 hot dogs and $2 beers at the XL Center until the end of the first intermission.

Tickets to all Whale home games start as low as $10 each ($12 each when tickets are purchased on the day of the game), and 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.

For information on season seats, and all of the Whale’s many ticketing options, visit www.ctwhale.com, or call the CT Whale ticket office at (860) 548-2000 to talk with an account executive today.

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Syracuse, NY, February 24, 2013 – Cedrick Desjardins made 28 saves to get the shutout, and Tyler Johnson scored twice, as the Syracuse Crunch defeated the Connecticut Whale 4-0 Sunday at the Onondaga County War Memorial at Oncenter.

It was the second consecutive shutout for Desjardins, and his second in three games since he joined the Crunch in a trade.  Pierre-Cedric Labrie and J.T. Wyman also scored for Syracuse, which was 2/5 on the power play.  Ondrej Palat had three assists and Mark Barberio had two helpers.

Cam Talbot made 34 saves in the Whale net.  The Whale played two skaters short of the normal roster limit of 18, after defenseman Blake Parlett was injured in Saturday’s 2-1 overtime loss at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

“I thought we gave a pretty honest effort,” Whale head coach Ken Gernander said.  “The first goal was a little bit tough to take, an unfortunate bounce, and then we had a couple of individual breakdowns on some penalty-kill situations.  I thought the score wasn’t necessarily indicative of the game.  I thought we had some chances and that we carried the play for stretches of time.”

The Crunch built a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Labrie and Johnson.

Labrie opened the scoring at 9:11, after Whale defenseman Sean Collins didn’t see a loose puck near his own goalmouth.  Vlad Namestnikov fed it to Labrie, who moved right to left across the slot and fired a shot past the stick side of Talbot.

Johnson then tallied his AHL-leading 27^th of the year on the game’s first power play at 14:29.  With Logan Pyett in the penalty box for holding, Johnson took a cross-slot feed from Palat at the left side of the goalmouth and got a low, hard shot past Talbot.

The only goal of the second period also came off of Johnson’s stick, on another power play at 18:16.  Barberio found Johnson in the left circle and Johnson had time to wind up for a shot, beating Talbot on the glove side.

Wyman completed the scoring at 7:34 of the third period, after the Whale misplayed an exchange of the puck just inside the Crunch blue line.  Palat carried the puck into the Connecticut zone and dished to Wyman, who deflected it just underneath the pads of a sliding Talbot.

The loss dropped the Whale to 25-23-5-2 on the year.  With 57 points, the Whale continue to hold down the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of Worcester.

The Whale’s next action is on home ice, this Friday, March 1 against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at 7:00 PM.  As at all Friday-night Whale home games, fans that night can enjoy $1 hot dogs and $2 beers at the XL Center until the end of the first intermission.

For all Whale home games, tickets start as low as $10 each ($12 each when tickets are purchased on the day of the game), 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 0 at Syracuse Crunch 4
Sunday, February 24, 2013 – Onondaga County War Memorial at Oncenter

Connecticut 0 0 0 – 0
Syracuse 2 1 1 – 4

1st Period-1, Syracuse, Labrie 11 (Namestnikov, Connolly), 9:11. 2, Syracuse, Johnson 27 (Palat, Barberio), 14:29 (PP). Penalties-Pyett Ct (holding), 12:53; Yogan Ct (roughing), 18:13.

2nd Period-3, Syracuse, Johnson 28 (Barberio, Palat), 18:16 (PP). Penalties-Pyett Ct (roughing), 6:19; Carroll Ct (roughing), 8:29; Angelidis Syr (roughing), 8:29; Devos Syr (holding), 15:08; Newbury Ct (hooking), 17:18; Carroll Ct (fighting), 18:32; Pelech Ct (boarding), 18:32; Tyrell Syr (roughing, fighting), 18:32.

3rd Period-4, Syracuse, Wyman 10 (Palat), 7:34. Penalties-Brown Syr (cross-checking), 7:59; Segal Ct (unsportsmanlike conduct), 15:38.

Shots on Goal-Connecticut 9-13-7-29. Syracuse 13-16-9-38.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 0 / 2; Syracuse 2 / 5.
Goalies-Connecticut, Talbot 19-22-1 (38 shots-34 saves). Syracuse, Desjardins 10-13-2 (29 shots-29 saves).
A-5,009
Referees-Trent Knorr (44).
Linesmen-Andy Petrus (26), Fraser McIntyre (94).

Wilkes-Barre, PA, February 23, 2013 – Rookie defenseman Joe Morrow’s goal with 52.5 seconds left in overtime gave the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins a 2-1 win over the Connecticut Whale Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.

With the win, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton moved to two points ahead of the Whale (25-22-5-2, 57 points) in the Eastern Conference playoff race.  The Whale currently hold down the eighth-and-final playoff spot in the conference, three points ahead of ninth-place Worcester.

Brandon Segal scored the only Whale goal Saturday, and former Whale Chad Kolarik had the other Penguin tally.  Trevor Smith assisted on both Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goals.  Jeff Zatkoff got the win in the Penguin net with 26 saves, and Cam Talbot stopped 30 shots for the Whale, who played the game one skater short of the roster limit of 18.

“It was a hard-fought game by us,” Segal said.  “We had a depleted lineup, and it was a little rough at the start, but as the game went on we got better and better.  We gave a heck of an effort and can definitely take a positive out of this game.”

The deciding goal resulted from a faceoff win by Smith in the Whale zone.  He drew the puck back to the left point to Joey Mormina, and he sent it to Morrow at the middle of the blue line.  Morrow’s long snap shot found its way past Talbot to end the game.

Scoring chances were scarce in the first period, in which the Whale were outshot 8-5, and the Whale’s best chance of the second period was a partial breakaway for Andrew Carroll around the seven-minute mark.

Carroll made a move to the forehand but Zatkoff got his right skate to the post, and Carroll’s try went wide.  Near the end of the period, Kolarik was able to walk up the slot in the Connecticut zone, but his shot went off the crossbar behind Talbot.

The game remained scoreless headed into the third period, before the two teams traded power-play goals only 1:27 apart early in the third.

First it was Kolarik finding the net at 4:16, with Segal in the penalty box for closing his hand on the puck.  Smith fed a pass across to an unchecked Kolarik at the left side of the slot, and he was easily able to bang the puck in.

The Whale responded at 5:43 on a two-man advantage, after Zach Sill was hit with a double-minor for high-sticking Kelsey Tessier only 34 seconds after Tom Kostopoulos took an interference minor.

On the five-on-three, Kris Newbury fed the puck from the right-wing faceoff dot across the slot to Segal, whose one-timer from the bottom of the left circle beat Zatkoff.

The Whale continue a two-game road weekend Sunday afternoon in Syracuse, with a 3:00 PM game against the Crunch.  All of the action of that game can be heard live on “Beethoven Radio” AM 1290, as well as on-line at www.ctwhale.com.  Video streaming is available at www.ahllive.com. 

The next home game for the Whale is this Friday, March 1 against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at 7:00 PM.  As at all Friday-night Whale home games, fans that night can enjoy $1 hot dogs and $2 beers at the XL Center until the end of the first intermission.

For all Whale home games, tickets start as low as $10 each ($12 each when tickets are purchased on the day of the game), 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 1 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 2 (OT)
Saturday, February 23, 2013 – Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

Connecticut 0 0 1 0 – 1
W-B/Scranton 0 0 1 1 – 2

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Payerl Wbs (delay of game), 3:06.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Newbury Ct (interference), 3:19.

3rd Period-1, W-B/Scranton, Kolarik 20 (Smith, Dumoulin), 4:16 (PP). 2, Connecticut, Segal 15 (Newbury, Pyett), 5:43 (PP). Penalties-Segal Ct (closing hand on puck), 4:02; Kostopoulos Wbs (interference), 4:31; Sill Wbs (double minor – high-sticking), 5:05; Kolarik Wbs (delay of game), 18:34.

OT Period-3, W-B/Scranton, Morrow 3 (Mormina, Smith), 4:07. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Connecticut 5-8-13-1-27. W-B/Scranton 8-15-8-1-32.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 1 / 5; W-B/Scranton 1 / 2.
Goalies-Connecticut, Talbot 19-21-1 (32 shots-30 saves). W-B/Scranton, Zatkoff 17-15-0 (27 shots-26 saves).
A-8,242
Referees-Trent Knorr (44).
Linesmen-Scott Adams (20), Jud Ritter (34).

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NEW YORK, February 23, 2013 –New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has recalled forward Christian Thomas from the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Thomas, 20, has tallied four goals and three assists in the last six games with Connecticut, including a career-high, three-point effort on February 9 at St. John’s (one goal, two assists). He has registered 13 goals and 11 assists for 24 points, along with 13 penalty minutes in 52 games with the Whale this season. Thomas leads all Connecticut rookies in goals, points, power play goals (three) and shots on goal (104), and is tied for fifth on the team overall in points, ranks fourth in goals and shots, and is tied for third in power play goals. He has posted four multi-point performances, including multi-goal efforts on November 10 at Worcester (two goals) and February 15 against Portland (two goals).

The 5-9, 170-pounder registered one goal and one assist in five games with Connecticut last season. He made his professional debut with Connecticut on April 7, 2012, at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and recorded his first professional points with a goal and an assist on April 13, 2012, against Manchester. Thomas also skated in six postseason contests with the Whale during the 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs.

Prior to turning professional, Thomas skated in 244 career games over four seasons with the Oshawa Generals and London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), registering 137 goals and 120 assists for 257 points, along with 91 penalty minutes. He established OHL career-highs in games played (66), goals (54), assists (45), points (99), power play goals (19), penalty minutes (38) and plus/minus rating (plus-20) during the 2010-11 season. He and his father, former NHL forward Steve Thomas, became the first father-son duo to record 50+ goals in an OHL campaign. Thomas led the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) in goals over a two-year span, registering 95 goals combined over the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons.

The Toronto, Ontario native was originally selected as the Rangers’ second round choice, 40^th overall, in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

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HARTFORD, February 21, 2013:  Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the parent New York Rangers have reassigned goaltender Scott Stajcer to the Whale from its ECHL affiliate, the Greenville Road Warriors.

Stajcer, a rookie and fifth-round (140^th overall) 2009 Ranger draft pick, appeared in three games earlier this season for the Whale, going 0-2-0 with ten goals-against on 63 shots (4.32 GAA, 84.1% save percentage).  After being reassigned to Greenville October 24, the 6-3, 196-pound Cambridge, Ontario native was 8-4-3 in 15 ECHL games, with a 2.72 GAA and a 91.8% save percentage.

Prior to turning pro this year, Stajcer played five seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Owen Sound Attack, compiling a career record of 57-61-12, with a 3.44 GAA, 90.2% save percentage and three shutouts.

The Whale’s next action is this Saturday night, February 23, when Connecticut travels to Wilkes-Barre, PA to take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.  Faceoff is 7:05 PM, and fans can hear all the action live on “The Rock” 106.9 WCCC, as well as on-line at www.ctwhale.com.  Video streaming is available at www.ahllive.com. 

The next home game for the Whale is next Friday, March 1 vs. the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at 7:00 PM.  As at all Friday-night Whale home games, fans that night can enjoy $1 hot dogs and $2 beers at the XL Center until the end of the first intermission.

Tickets to all Whale home games start as low as $10 each ($12 each when tickets are purchased on the day of the game), and 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.

For information on season seats, and all of the Whale’s many ticketing options, visit www.ctwhale.com, or call the CT Whale ticket office at (860) 548-2000 to talk with an account executive today.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

By Wil Goldsholl

Hartford, CT, February 20, 2013 – In their fourth and final matchup of the season, the St. John’s IceCaps made easy work of the Connecticut Whale, winning 5-1 on Wednesday night at the XL Center. Over the season series, the teams got the best of one another on the road; Connecticut won twice in Newfoundland just two weekends ago, while St. John’s previously bested the Whale in Hartford back in early October.

Eric O’Dell potted a hat trick in the win, which snapped a five-game Whale winning streak, with stellar performances from linemates Kael Mouillierat and Carl Klingberg. Mouillierat finished with four assists, while Klingberg had two of his own. Mark Dekanich also put together a high quality performance between the pipes; Connecticut had a tough time getting it to him, around him, or through him.

St. John’s jumped out to an early lead in the first when Ben Chiarot got dumped on a cross-check by Jyri Niemi 5:28 in. It took the Winnipeg Jets’ top affiliate time to find the zone on the man advantage; the power play unit was turned away at the Whale blueline five or six times before a successful break-in. With nine seconds left in the advantage, however, Ben Maxwell got a pass from Will O’Neill at the point. Maxwell fired a slapper from the high slot for his fourth of the year at 7:19.

Connecticut surrendered another quick one on a broken play. Klingberg walked in to the zone and Mouillierat let one fly from the circle. It tipped off a stick on the way and, while Whale netminder Cam Talbot came up with the initial kick save, the rebound was laid out for O’Dell to put away for a 2-0 advantage.

O’Dell would gather his second of the night with 89 seconds to go in the period. Klingberg again gained the zone and fed Mouillierat in the slot. The pass to the crease created an easy put-away for O’Dell, and the 3-0 edge would take St. John’s into the second with a decisive lead and an 11-5 shot advantage.

Talbot’s 40^th appearance of the year would end short; Jason Missiaen replaced him for the start of the second. Andrew Carroll and Patrice Cormier engaged in fisticuffs at 6:25 following a stoppage; the first of two fights for St. John’s’ number 28 on the night.

Finally showing signs of life, earning a few chances on goal, the Whale got on the board near the midway mark of the period. Nick Palmieri rolled out of the corner and fed a deflected pass across to Kris Newbury. Newbury dished to Andrew Yogan on the backdoor from the top of the circle and Yogan scored his fourth at 10:40. The second ended with the Whale trailing 3-1.

The third didn’t get any easier on Connecticut. Just over two minutes in, the IceCaps went up 4-1 when O’Dell converted his third; this time an easy tap-in rebound of a Mouillierat shot. Completing the hat trick earned O’Dell his 14^th, 15^th and 16^th goals of the season.

On the next shift, Maxime Macenauer found a Maxwell shot on the doorstep for a redirect and a 5-1 lead.

The Whale’s Brandon Segal spoke briefly after the game, saying, “We had a lousy day, we came out flat and they got ahead of us. We made a little attempt in the second but they came hard and we didn’t match them. We’ve been playing good hockey, we’ll turn it back around. Gotta delete it and move on. We had that power play opportunity in the second to pull within one but we didn’t capitalize. Have to give [St. John’s] credit; they’ve been struggling and they played well. We’ll bounce back too.”

Dekanich saw 26 shots against, and allowed just one with a handful of quality chances, and few rebounds surrendered. Talbot finished with eight saves on 11 IceCaps tries, while Missiaen stopped 24 of 26 in his 40 minutes played.

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St. John's IceCaps 5 at Connecticut Whale 1
Wednesday, February 20, 2013 – XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum

St. John's 3 0 2 – 5
Connecticut 0 1 0 – 1

1st Period-1, St. John's, Maxwell 4 (O'Neill, Mouillierat), 7:19 (PP). 2, St. John's, O'Dell 14 (Mouillierat, Klingberg), 8:05. 3, St. John's, O'Dell 15 (Mouillierat, Klingberg), 18:31. Penalties-Niemi Ct (cross-checking), 5:28; McIlrath Ct (delay of game), 18:49.

2nd Period-4, Connecticut, Yogan 4 (Newbury, Palmieri), 10:40. Penalties-Parlett Ct (boarding), 3:20; Cormier Stj (fighting), 6:25; Carroll Ct (fighting), 6:25; Klingberg Stj (holding), 19:15.

3rd Period-5, St. John's, O'Dell 16 (Mouillierat, Sol), 2:02. 6, St. John's, Macenauer 9 (Maxwell, Ramsey), 2:36. Penalties-Newbury Ct (tripping), 5:26; Pelech Ct (tripping), 7:58; Cormier Stj (fighting), 12:58; McIlrath Ct (fighting), 12:58.

Shots on Goal-St. John's 11-15-11-37. Connecticut 5-10-11-26.
Power Play Opportunities-St. John's 1 / 5; Connecticut 0 / 1.
Goalies-St. John's, Dekanich 8-9-0 (26 shots-25 saves). Connecticut, Talbot 19-20-1 (11 shots-8 saves); Missiaen 6-4-1 (26 shots-24 saves).
A-3,508
Referees-Darcy Burchell (42), Geoff Miller (28).
Linesmen-Jim Briggs (83), Luke Galvin (2).

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