By Bruce Berlet

HARTFORD, Conn. – With a playoff berth having been secured 24 hours earlier, the Connecticut Whale went with a young lineup against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Saturday night that included the six college and junior players signed to amateur tryout contracts the past two weeks.

The group included defenseman Dylan McIlrath, the New York Rangers’ first-round pick (10^th overall) in 2010 who played in his first pro game, along with backup goalie Jason Missiaen and forwards Shayne Wiebe and Andrew Yogan, who worked out with the Whale for several weeks while recovering from an injury. Wings Tommy Grant and Kale Kerbashian played in their sixth and fourth pro games.

The Whale had a different look on all four lines and two of their three defensive pairings as goalie Dov Grumet-Morris, defensemen Wade Redden and Pavel Valentenko and forwards Brodie Dupont, John Mitchell and All-Star Jeremy Williams sat out. Valentenko’s scratch meant the Whale wouldn’t have any player to play all 80 games.

The Sound Tigers had 10 players who had signed ATOs and two more who had professional tryout contracts. It all made for a scrambly game in front of goalies Nathan Lawson and the Whale’s Cam Talbot, who faced several odd-man rushes, including a three-on-none off a turnover that produced Bridgeport’s second goal by Rob Hisey.

Yogan scored his first two goals in his first pro game, but the Sound Tigers made fewer mistakes and won a penalty-filled game 4-3 on goals by Hisey, Tyler McNeely, Jeremy Colliton and West Haven native Joe Pereira before 6,952 at the XL Center.

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Whale coach Ken Gernander didn’t like his team’s lack of discipline – each team had eight power plays – but some of the youngsters earned kudos.

“Yogan was pretty good, eh,” Gernander said. “Aside from the two goals, I thought he made some pretty good passes. We’d seen a bit of Kerbashian, and Wiebe had some pretty good energy. Their size isn’t overwhelming, so they’re going to have to get in there and get body position. They’re going to have to use their quickness and agility to get to loose pucks. And I like McIlrath’s game. He has a good package.”

The loss, coupled with Portland’s 3-2 shootout victory at Albany, assured the Whale (40-31-2-6) would play a best-of-seven, first-round series against the Pirates, who clinched the Atlantic Division title with their win. The first two games of the series will be at Portland on Thursday and Saturday at 7 p.m. Games 3 and 4 will be at the XL Center next Sunday at 6 p.m. and April 19 at 7 p.m. If necessary, Game 5 will at Portland on April 21 at 7 p.m., Game 6 at the XL Center on April 23 at 7 p.m. and Game 7 at Portland on April 25 at 7 p.m. The Whale was 5-3-0-0 against the Pirates, coached by former Hartford Whalers standout wing and captain Kevin Dineen, but six games were decided by one goal, including three overtime wins for the Whale.

The Sound Tigers (29-39-4-7) took the lead for good 10:58 into the game when McNeely’s pass deflected off the skate of Whale defenseman Stu Bickel and between Talbot’s legs. Just 2:02 later, two Whale players collided along the boards, and Pereira touched the puck to Hisey, who broke in alone to make it 2-0 at 13:00.

Lawson (30 saves) made an excellent stop on Kelsey Tessier’s one-timer off a Ryan Garlock pass with 3:37 left in the period. But the Whale got to 2-1 as Tessier made a nifty pass from behind the net to Yogan, who beat Lawson to the glove side for his first pro goal at 1:54 of the second period. Justin Soryal retrieved the puck as a keepsake for Yogan.

McIlrath and the Sound Tigers’ Alex O’Neil had a spirited fight at 10:32, and then Colliton made it 3-1 off McNeely’s rebound at 12:28.

After the Whale failed on a 5-on-3 power play early in the third period, Pereira, who attended South Kent Prep for two years and then Boston University, took a pass from Brian Day and beat Talbot to the stick side at 9:16 for the winner.

Yogan, who had three goals and one assist in only 10 games with Erie of the Ontario Hockey League after his injury kept him out until mid-March, scored his second of the game on a power play when he redirected Bickel’s shot from the right point into the open side of the net with 7:35 left.

“It felt good to get a couple of goals,” said Yogan, who received several congratulatory calls from his father after the game. “Obviously I would have felt better if we had won the game, but it was nice to get that behind me. You want to get that monkey off your back and get some confidence in the league. It was a physical game, and I’m big (6-foot-3, 203 pounds) and like to use my body. We really wanted to win this one, and if I can’t get excited for this one, you shouldn’t be here.”

On a later power play, the Whale made it 4-3 as Newbury one-timed Blake Parlett’s brilliant cross-slot pass into the right circle past Lawson with 5:52 left.

The Whale continued their frantic late push over the final five minutes and pulled Talbot for a sixth attacker with 1:03 left but couldn’t get the equalizer.

“There’s a fine line between winning and losing in playoff hockey, and you can’t be putting yourself behind the 8-ball from a penalty perspective,” Gernander said. “We haven’t been killing of late, either, so along those lines, you’re overtaxing some of your better players and taking other players out of the flow of the game.

“We want to be careful, too, that we don’t take our foot off the pedal at all. Coming out of the game tomorrow (against Norfolk), we have to be ready for the playoffs.”

Newbury, who fought Shayne Neigum with 1:23 left after taking an elbow to the head, said he feels the Whale is ready for the postseason.

“We’ve accomplished one goal at the beginning of the year to make the playoffs,” Newbury said. “That was kind of the easy part. Now the hard part begins of trying to get four rounds of winning and hopefully hoisting the (Calder Cup) trophy at the end of it.

“I think we have a good all-around team with four good lines and our defense has gotten better as the season has gone on. If we just play simple hockey and use our forecheck to our advantage, we’ll be in good shape. … Portland is a good hockey team with a lot of speed up front, and their defense is really good at moving the puck and getting the first pass out of their zone. So we’ll have to be patient, have a good forecheck, and when we get through the neutral zone, just kind of wait for our chances and hopefully eliminate our turnovers. The playoffs are a different beast, so you have to put what happens on the ice behind you, just worry about the game and do whatever you can to help your team win hockey games. At the end of the day when your teammates look back at that, they’ll be a lot more thankful than getting some revenge.”

WHALE RECEIVES GEICO CONNECTICUT CUP

Before the game, Newbury accepted the GEICO Connecticut Cup that the Whale clinched with a 4-1 victory at Bridgeport on Friday night. The Whale finished 6-3-0-1 against their intrastate rival. … The Whale also scratched injured defenseman Michael Del Zotto and forwards Chad Kolarik, Devin DiDiomete and Todd White. … With Redden scratched, Weise was an alternate captain with Newbury and Jared Nightingale. … The Sound Tigers scratched forwards Rhett Rakhshani, David Ullstrom, Robin Figren, Brett Gallant, Chris Barton and Jeremy Yablonski and defensemen Dustin Kohn, Cameron Wind, Anton Klementyev and Mark Wotton, the team captain. Rakhshani, an AHL all-rookie team forward, was injured when checked by Dupont on Friday night.

WHALE END REGULAR SEASON AGAINST NORFOLK ON SUNDAY

The Whale will conclude the regular season Sunday at 5 p.m. when the Norfolk Admirals (38-25-9-7) visit the XL Center. The Admirals have qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2007 but have lost three in a row and seven of eight after a 5-4 loss at Syracuse Saturday night. But the Admirals have won two of three meetings with the Whale, who took the last game 3-2 at Norfolk on Jan. 8.

Marc-Antoine Pouliot (24 goals, 46 assists) is the Admirals’ runaway leader on offense, followed by Blair Jones (23, 29), Johan Harju (23, 28), Paul Szczechura (20, 30), James Wright (16, 30) and Matt Fornataro (17, 25). Cedrick Desjardins (15-6-1, 2.59, .905) has the two wins against the Whale, allowing only three goals for a 1.50 GAA with a .941 save percentage, but is on recall to the parent Tampa Bay Lightning. The goaltending is now handled by Dustin Tokarski (21-20-4, 2.65 goals-against average, .901 save percentage), Jaroslav Janus (1-5-1, 3.73, .874) and Pat Nagle, who hasn’t played an AHL game since signing a free-agent, two-year entry-level contract with the Lightning on March 22 after having an 18-14-5 record with 2.02 GAA, .923 save percentage and three shutouts in his senior year at Ferris State.

Fans will have a chance to win a player’s jersey in the annual “Shirts Off Our Backs” promotion, and 3,000 will receive a free Whale T-shirt courtesy of the Connecticut DOT. Entry forms for the “Shirts Off Our Backs” promotion will be handed out at the door, and drop boxes will be throughout the arena. Season ticket holders can enter the public and STH raffle. STH’s can go to the fan center to get a special ballot to enter the exclusive season ticket allotment. Half of the team’s jersey allotment will be reserved for season ticket holders, the other half is available to all fans, including STH’s.

Jersey winners will be announced in the third period and directed to the Prize Den behind Section 124 and escorted to the zamboni entrance by promotion staff. After the stars are announced, winners will line up on the ice to receive their jerseys. The players will come out with the jerseys, present them to the winners, sign them and get their picture taken. The jerseys will be the road blue jerseys. The Whale’s team awards will be presented before the jerseys are handed out.

FORMER WOLF PACK CAPTAIN BYERS SETS AHL RECORD

Former Hartford Wolf Pack left wing/captain Dane Byers set an AHL record Saturday night when he played in his 84^th game of the season.

Byers had three goals and six assists in 16 games with the Wolf Pack before being traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Nov. 11 for right wing Chad Kolarik. After getting nine goals and 16 assists in 48 games with the Springfield Falcons, Byers was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes on Feb. 28 with Rostislav Klesla for Scottie Upshall and Sami Lepisto. Byers has two goals and nine assists in 20 games with the San Antonio Rampage, enabling him to break the AHL record for games played in a season set by Paxton Schulte in 1995-96 with the Cornwall Aces and Saint John Flames. … Wethersfield native Colin McDonald continued his torrid finish to the regular season Friday night when he had a career-high four goals in the Oklahoma City Barons’ 7-2 victory over the Rampage. The line of McDonald, former Wolf Pack wing Alexandre Giroux and Brad Moran combined for 12 points. McDonald, the son of former Hartford Whalers defenseman Gerry McDonald, got the four goals in 10 shots, and Giroux and Moran each assisted on McDonald’s goals. McDonald, who had never scored more than 12 goals in any of his previous three AHL seasons, gained a tie for the league goal-scoring lead with former Wolf Pack wing Nigel Dawes of the Hamilton Bulldogs when he scored his 41^st goal in a 2-0 victory over Texas on Saturday night.

INSPIRING RETURN FOR DRURY

New York Rangers captain and Trumbull native Chris Drury made an inspirational return to the lineup Saturday, scoring on his first shift in his first game since Feb. 3 to help the Black-and-Blueshirts rally for a 5-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils and keep their playoff hopes alive. It was the first goal in 24 games this season for Drury, who missed 58 games because of a twice-broken finger and a knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery. He had missed 27 games before Saturday.

Rookie defenseman Ryan McDonagh, called up from the Whale on Jan. 3, scored his first NHL goal at 11:59 of the second period in his 40^th game to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead they never relinquished and earned him the No. 1 star. He also was plus-2, giving him a plus or even rating in 32 of his 40 games and a plus-16 for the season, which is second on the team and sixth among NHL rookies.

But the Rangers needed help from Tampa Bay, and they got it when the Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes 6-2 Saturday night, assuring the Rangers wouldn’t miss the playoffs for second consecutive year and that the Metropolitan New York area would continue to have a team in the postseason. The last time it didn’t happen was 1966. With the Rangers qualifying, McDonagh and goalie Chad Johnson will remain in New York. They were on the Whale’s Clear Day list along with wing Mats Zuccarello. Coach John Tortorella said Zuccarello had been brought up in case the game against the Devils when to a shootout.

The man likely to succeed Drury as captain, former Wolf Pack right wing Ryan Callahan, received the Rangers’ Players Player Award as voted by the players. The award recognizes the player who best exemplifies what it means to be a teammate. Callahan also was named the winner of the John Halligan Good Guy Award, chosen by the New York chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, which recognizes players’ cooperation with the media. The award is named in honor of John Halligan, a longtime Rangers and NHL public relations executive who died in 2010.

Callahan is serving his second year as an alternate captain, though he’s out indefinitely after sustaining a broken ankle when hit by a shot by Boston Bruins’ defenseman Zdeno Chara late in a 5-4 victory Monday. Callahan, who received a standing ovation when he walked onto the Madison Square Garden ice on crutches, ranks fifth among NHL forwards in blocked shots (77) and is 10^th in hits (224). He leads the Rangers in power-play goals (10) and game-winning goals (five), ranks second in goals (24), points (49) and power-play points (15) and third in assists (25).

The media named goalie Henrik Lundqvist the team’s MVP for a record fifth consecutive year. Lundqvist leads the NHL in shutouts (11) and is tied for sixth in wins (36), ice time (4,007), save percentage (.923) and goals-against average (2.28). He is the only goalie in NHL history to post at least 30 wins in each of his first six seasons and is the first Rangers goalie to have six straight 30-win seasons.

Feisty left wing Brandon Prust received the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award, presented by Lightspeed Trading as voted on by the fans, to recognize the player who performs “above and beyond the call of duty.” The award is named after New York City police officer Steven McDonald, who was paralyzed when he was shot in the line of duty in November 1988. McDonald and his son, city cop Conor McDonald, presented the award with Callahan, last year’s winner.

The award has been given annually to the player who fans believe plays with extra effort on the ice. Prust is tied for second in the NHL in shorthanded points (seven), tied for third in shorthanded goals (five) and is tied for fourth in fighting majors (18). He’s fourth on the team in hits (157).

CONDOLESCENCES TO MCGUIRE CLAN

I was so sorry to hear about the death of former Hartford Wolf Pack coach EJ McGuire on Thursday after losing a five-month battle with cancer that was diagnosed in December.

I didn’t start covering the Wolf Pack until the season after EJ left Hartford, but the man who spent more than 40 years in hockey as a coach and administrator was always so pleasant and energetic whenever I met him after he guided the Wolf Pack to an 81-55-17-7 record in 1997-98 and 1998-99 and a berth in the Eastern Conference finals in the team’s inaugural season. That included a tenure as vice president of the NHL Central Scouting Bureau, a position he held from 2005 until he got beat by an opponent that no one beats at 58. McGuire was the architect of many of the innovations that Central Scouting pioneered in the past decade to achieve its mandate of providing the teams with the most comprehensive list of NHL entry-draft-eligible prospects.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman related a story that senior vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell told him about when he became coach of the Rangers in the mid-1990s and reached out to McGuire as a possible assistant. But McGuire had already committed to coaching the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League.

“Even though he could have made four times as much money and come to the NHL, he didn’t do it because he felt the need and felt it was appropriate, it was his values, to honor the commitment to the youngsters in major junior,” Bettman said.

Such a story wouldn’t surprise Gernander, who played for McGuire for two seasons.

“Everybody is going to say he was a hard worker, which was a given and probably an understatement,” Gernander said. “I remember games where we would come back from a road trip, show up at the rink for a 10 o’clock meeting and he’d have clips from Los Angeles-Calgary the night before at 3 a.m. That’s why you hear about (his death) in Bridgeport and on every website because he was such a quality person. I don’t think anybody had a bad word to say about him.

“He would go the extra mile to help anybody at any point in time. It seems a little odd to say these things because people always say them when someone passes, but as far as E.J. goes, he was a very quality person.”

Gernander said the thing he took most from McGuire’s coaching is how much he cared about things.

“He was really detailed-oriented,” Gernander said. “I remember he had a ruler on the white board so when he wrote the lines up for the game they were in perfect straight lines and were color coded. So if we were to play Bridgeport, it would be blue with orange highlight in it. He was very meticulous and very thorough, but he truly cared about the team and each individual. He had a big heart and was a really giving guy who had time for everybody. And he loved to run. There were only two people in training camp to beat him, Ed Belfour and John Blue.”

I’m sure the passionate, selfless and tireless good guy EJ is smiling through that familiar moustache somewhere in that Great Rink in the Sky.

SOUND TIGERS 4, WHALE 3

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

First period: 1. Bri, McNeely 4 (Donovan, Colliton), 10:58 (pp). 2. Bri, Hisey 15 (Pereira), 13:00. Penalties: Couture, Ct (delay of game), 1:44; Marcinko, Bri (delay of game), 6:11; Parlett, Ct (delay of game), 9:56; served by Ginand, Bri (bench minor-too many men), 14:27.

Second period: 3. Conn, Yogan 1 (Tessier, Grachev), 1:54. 4. Bri, Colliton 17 (McNeely, Romano), 12:28 (pp). Penalties: Olson, Bri (slashing), 4:52; Lemieux, Ct (holding), 7:17; Nightingale, Ct (cross-checking), 8:09; Soryal, Ct (cross-checking), 8:30; O’Neil, Bri (fighting), 10:32; McIlrath, Ct (fighting), 10:32; Newbury, Ct (tripping), 11:00; DiBenedetto, Bri (roughing), 13:10; Newbury, Ct (roughing, roughing), 13:10.

Third period: 5. Bri, Pereira 2 (Day), 9:16. 6. Conn, Yogan 2 (Bickel), 12:25. 7. Conn, Newbury 17 (Parlett, Weise), 14:08 (pp). Penalties: Bidlevskii, Bri (roughing), 0:53; McIlrath, Ct (boarding), 3:20; Olson, Bri (hooking), 5:56; McNeely, Bri (hooking), 6:54; Bidlevskii, Bri (cross-checking), 10:24; Olson, Bri (roughing, fighting), 12:45; Soryal, Ct (fighting), 12:45; Neigum, Bri (fighting), 18:37; Newbury, Ct (fighting), 18:37.

Shots on goal: Bridgeport 14-11-1-26. Connecticut 10-10-13-33; Power-play opportunities: Bridgeport 2 of 8; Connecticut 1 of 8; Goalies: Bridgeport, Lawson 6-5-4 (33 shots-30 saves). Connecticut, Talbot 11-8-2 (26-22); A: 6,952; Referees: Ryan Fraser, Tim Mayer; Linesmen: Brent Colby, David Spannaus.

HARTFORD, April 9, 2011:  Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today the schedule for the team’s first-round Calder Cup playoff battle with the Portland Pirates.

The Whale, who will finish third in the AHL’s Atlantic Division, will tangle with Head Coach Kevin Dineen’s division-champion Pirates in a best-of-seven series, which will begin this Thursday night, April 14 in Portland.

Games One and Two will be at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland this Thursday, April 14 and Saturday, April 16, with faceoff at 7:00 PM both nights.  The series then shifts to Hartford’s XL Center for Games Three and Four, which are scheduled for next Sunday, April 17 at 6:00 PM and Tuesday, April 19 at 7:00.  If a Game Five is necessary, it will be in Portland on Thursday, April 21 at 7:00, a possible Game Six would be Saturday, April 23 at the XL Center at 7:00, and if the series goes the full seven games, the decider would be Monday, April 25 in Portland, with faceoff at 7:00.

Connecticut Whale vs. Portland Pirates, Atlantic Division Semi-finals (best of seven):

Game One                            Thu., Apr. 14       Cumberland Cty. Civic Center      7:00

Game Two                            Sat., Apr. 16       Cumberland Cty. Civic Center      7:00

Game Three                          Sun., Apr. 17      XL Center                                  6:00

Game Four                           Tue., Apr. 19       XL Center                                  7:00

Game Five (if necessary)   Thu., Apr. 21       Cumberland Cty. Civic Center      7:00

Game Six (if necessary)      Sat., Apr. 23       XL Center                                  7:00

Game 7 (if necessary)         Mon., Apr. 25      Cumberland Cty. Civic Center      7:00

Tickets for the Whale’s first two home games in the series (Games “A” and “B”) will go on sale tomorrow, Sunday, April 10, at 10:00 AM at www.ticketmaster.com and through Ticketmaster Charge-by-Phone at 1-800-745-3000.

Playoff ticket packages are also available that include tickets to all 16 possible home playoff games, plus rollover options and incentives for next year’s season tickets.  To speak to a Whale account executive about a playoff ticket package, call (860) 728-3366.  More information is available at www.ctwhale.com.

By Bruce Berlet

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – The Connecticut Whale hit the daily double Friday night.

First, All-Star right wing Jeremy Williams had a goal and two assists to back the 21-save effort of Dov Grumet-Morris in a 4-1 victory over the undermanned Bridgeport Sound Tigers before 5,742 at the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard.

The Whale’s second victory after a four-game losing streak assured they would be back in the AHL playoffs after the first miss in their 14-year history as they closed out the win about 20 minutes after the Charlotte Checkers, their former ECHL affiliate, beat the Worcester Sharks, 2-1.

The Whale (40-20-2-6) clinched the third and final guaranteed playoff spot in the Atlantic Division when they moved five points ahead of the Sharks (36-30-4-9), who have only one game left compared to two for the Whale. The Whale will play division-leading Portland or second-place Manchester in a best-of-seven first round series that starts next week.

“It’s a good feeling because you always want to make the playoffs,” said Whale coach Ken Gernander, who was 12-for-12 as a player, assistant coach and coach with the former Hartford Wolf Pack before last season. “Now we want to do something. We’ve given ourselves an opportunity, and now we want to make something of it.”

The Whale’s strong forechecking and cycling caused havoc for the Sound Tigers (28-39-3-3), who have the AHL’s worst record but had won two in a row and were on a 7-2-1-2 run. But they had five players on amateur tryout contracts and one on a professional tryout deal on defense, and the Whale took advantage to amass a 40-22 shot advantage, including 18-3 in the first period.

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“Before the season, it’s always a goal to get to the postseason,” said defenseman/alternate captain Jared Nightingale, one of only eight holdovers from the 2009-2010 team. “We’ll enjoy that, but now is when the fun starts and most of the work begins. It’s a whole different season with a whole different bunch of guys, but you can always look back and also find a lot of positives. You don’t want that taste in your mouth again. The guys who came back this year learned from last year’s disappointments and made the most of this year.

“Hopefully we have lots more hockey to play. A lot of teams deal with a lot of injuries and call-ups, which is the nature of minor league hockey. But I think the team that adjusts the best has the most depth most of the time, so it’s a lot of credit to the guys in the dressing room that we stuck with it and found a way.”

Grumet-Morris rightfully called the clincher “a simple game and a very strong road game.”

“It really did result in exactly what we wanted,” said Grumet-Morris, who improved to 13-5-1 with a 2.00 goals-against average, .925 save percentage and one shutout. “We gave up under 25 shots, which is a great start, and did well in the special teams battle, and that’s usually the difference at this level.

“It was the same thing in the last game (a 4-2 win over Portland), but it was a two-goal game in the third period so from now on, you pretty much have to assume every game is going to be that type. Small details are going to be the difference at every level, from the NHL all the way down to the amateur level.”

Despite the lopsided shot advantage in the first period, the Whale didn’t beat Mikko Koskinen (36 saves) until Williams picked off a clearing attempt by Cameron Wind, one of the Sound Tigers’ young defensemen, and passed to Ryan Garlock, who converted his own rebound with 2:38 left. Until then, Koskinen had stopped Evgeny Grachev’s backhander off a steal at 1:03, made a toe save on Williams’ deflection at 4:31 and stopped Kris Newbury’s partial breakaway at 9:14. The Sound Tigers then sustained a tough break when right wing Rhett Rakhshani, presented crystal in a pregame ceremony honoring him for being named to the AHL all-rookie team, didn’t return after he sustained an injury when checked by Brodie Dupont with 7:05 left.

The Whale continued to press on a carryover power play early in the second period and made it 2-0 at 1:11 when Williams’ 40-foot shot deflected off rookie defenseman Blake Parlett’s leg and past Koskinen off a setup by Newbury.

“I was trying to get out of the way, but the puck hit me and went in,” a smiling Parlett said of his second AHL goal and what proved to be his second game-winner in 23 games with the Whale. “But I’ll take it.”

The Sound Tigers then pressured Grumet-Morris for the first time, and he had to be alert to deny good bids from the slot by David Ullstrom and Aaron Ness at 2:28 and 3:06.

The Sound Tigers soon had back-to-back power plays and converted on the second as Matt Donovan intercepted John Mitchell’s clearing attempt and got the puck to Ness, who found Ullstrom in the right circle for a wrist shot that beat Grumet-Morris cleanly at 12:51.

The Whale nearly made it 3-1 on an ensuing power play, but Williams hit the crossbar for the third time in two games with 4:44 left in the period.

But the Whale then got a golden opportunity to break the game open when Sound Tigers veteran center Jeremy Colliton was given a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct when he ran Tomas Kundratek into the boards with 3:51 left. Before the puck was dropped, Sound Tigers defenseman Benn Olson was whistled for slashing Newbury, giving the Whale a 5-on-3 for two minutes.

It took only 53 seconds for the Whale to take advantage as Dale Weise got the puck to the left circle to Williams, who put a wrist shot off the crossbar and in for his team-leading 32^nd goal and a 3-1 lead. The 32 goals tie his career high last season with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

“My one-timer for some reason isn’t hitting the net, and (assistant coach) J.J. (Daigneault) said I should take more wrist shots, maybe pump-fake and just throw wristers and it worked,” Williams said. “The last game against them didn’t end the way we wanted (a 5-1 loss), and they’re a hard-working team. They had a lot of guys out, but it’s tough to play a team that’s flying around out there. There’s not a lot of room, so if you’re not smart mentally, it’s going to be a long night.

“But fortunately guys got their legs moving, we matched their speed and we were smart with the puck. We wanted to take advantage of any sort of flaw on their side, and that was working down low. Guys filled in and were in the right spots, and it’s always a little easier when you’re not always second-guessing when you’re going to jump because there’s always a guy behind you.”

The Whale played especially smart defensively in the third period but gave the Sound Tigers three power plays, including a 6-on-4 for nearly two minutes after the home team pulled Koskinen for a sixth attacker with 3:33 left. But the Whale allowed only one shot on Grumet-Morris and got the insurance goal when Mitchell scored into an empty net with 54.2 seconds left.

When the final horn sounded, the Whale mobbed Grumet-Morris, who was quite the addition after being called up from Greenville of the ECHL and then signed to an AHL contract after helping the Road Warriors begin a run to the second-best record in the league.

“We played a pretty solid game, but we could have been a little more disciplined, though I can understand some of it because they want to defend their teammates,” Gernander said. “Now we’ll approach it as one game at a time and one step at a time. And it’ll be a little bit of everything from here on out. A lot of the playoffs is discipline in all areas of your game, and obviously there was a little bit of a test tonight.”

Williams, one of the Whale’s newcomers, was just happy to have another chance at the playoffs after being eliminated early last season.

“It’s definitely nice to make the playoffs with a couple of game left,” Williams said. “It’s nerve-wracking when it comes down to the final game. It came down to the wire, but we found a way. The guys’ confidence level going into this weekend was high, and it worked out and is a big deal for everybody.”

Tickets for the Whale’s first two home playoff games go on sale at the XL Center ticket office Saturday night, when the Whale have a rematch with the Sound Tigers. Tickets also will be available at 10 a.m. Sunday at TicketMaster.com and TicketMaster charge-by-phone at 800-745-3000.

ZUCCARELLO RECALLED; MITCHELL, LEMIEUX RETURN

The Whale lost Mats Zuccarello to a recall to the Rangers after he had four assists in three games after being reassigned last week. But centers Mitchell and Francis Lemieux returned after missing five and three games due to injuries. Mitchell played between Grachev and Derek Couture, and Lemieux skated between Williams and Tommy Grant.

The Whale scratched defenseman Jyri Niemi, injured forwards Chad Kolarik, Devin DiDiomete, Todd White and defenseman Michael Del Zotto and five players who signed amateur tryout contracts after finishing their college or junior seasons – goalie Jason Missiaen, forwards Kale Kerbashian, Andrew Yogan and Shayne Wiebe and defenseman Dylan McIlrath, the Rangers’ first-round pick (10^th overall) in 2010. With the Whale having clinched a playoff spot, several of those players could get a chance to play in the last two games so Gernander can rest some of the veterans.

The Sound Tigers scratched forwards Brett Gallant, Chris Barton, Robin Figren, Phil Ginand and Jeremy Yablonski and defensemen Dustin Kohn, Anton Klementyev, Brett Motherwell and Mark Wotton, the captain.

AUCTION, SALE BEFORE GAME SATURDAY NIGHT

Before the Whale and Sound Tigers have their rematch Saturday night, there will be an auction and sale starting at 5 p.m. in the XL Center atrium. Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl game-used Hartford Whalers and Boston Bruins jerseys will be up for bid, and Whale-used sticks and equipment will be for sale. And 3,000 fans will receive a free Whale travel mug courtesy of the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

The Whale will conclude the regular season Sunday at 5 p.m. when the Norfolk Admirals (38-25-9-7) visit the XL Center. The Admirals have qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2007 but have lost two in a row and six of seven. But they’ve won two of three meetings with the Whale, who took the last game 3-2 at Norfolk on Jan. 8. Marc-Antoine Pouliot (24 goals, 46 assists) is the Admirals’ runaway leader on offense, followed by Blair Jones (23, 28), Johan Harju (21, 27), Paul Szczechura (20, 29), James Wright (16, 30) and Matt Fornataro (17, 25). Cedrick Desjardins (15-6-1, 2.59, .905) has the two wins against the Whale, allowing only three goals for a 1.50 GAA with a .941 save percentage, but is on recall to the parent Tampa Bay Lightning. The goaltending is now handled by Dustin Tokarski (21-19-4, 2.60 goals-against average, .903 save percentage), Jaroslav Janus (1-5-1, 3.73, .874) and Pat Nagle, who hasn’t played an AHL game since signing a free-agent, two-year entry-level contract with the Lightning on March 22 after having an 18-14-5 record with 2.02 GAA, .923 save percentage and three shutouts in his senior year at Ferris State.

Fans will have a chance to win a player’s jersey in the annual “Shirts Off Our Backs” promotion, and 3,000 will receive a free Whale T-shirt courtesy of the Connecticut DOT. Entry forms for the “Shirts Off Our Backs” promotion will be handed out at the door, and drop boxes will be throughout the arena. Season ticket holders can enter the public and STH raffle. STH’s can go to the fan center to get a special ballot to enter the exclusive season ticket allotment. Half of the team’s jersey allotment will be reserved for season ticket holders, the other half is available to all fans, including STH’s. Jersey winners will be announced in the third period and directed to the Prize Den behind Section 124 and escorted to the zamboni entrance by promotion staff. After the stars are announced, winners will line up on the ice to receive their jerseys. The players will come out with the jerseys, present them to the winners, sign them and get their picture taken. The jerseys will be the road blue jerseys. The Whale’s season awards will be presented before the jerseys.

FORMER WOLF PACK LOCKE NAMED AHL’S MVP

Former Hartford Wolf Pack center Corey Locke of the Binghamton Senators was named the winner of the Les Cunningham Award as the AHL’s MVP on Friday.

Locke leads the AHL in assists (65) and points (86), establishing career highs in assists, points and plus-minus (plus-13) while leading the Senators to their first Calder Cup playoff berth in six years. Locke, who has recorded a point in 54 of 69 games he has played, will finish as his team’s scoring leader for the fourth consecutive season and is on the verge of winning his first AHL scoring title. He previously was the leading scorer for Hamilton (72 points), Houston (79) and Hartford (85).

Locke was named a first-team All-Star last week after representing the Senators in the AHL All-Star Classic in his fifth career appearance, extending his league record for career points with his 10^th and 11^th. A 26-year-old native of Toronto, Locke joined the Ottawa Senators organization as a free agent on July 7. He has 162 goals and 317 assists in 535 career AHL games in seven pro seasons and has one assist in nine NHL games. He won the Calder Cup with Hamilton in 2007 and has 45 points in 46 career AHL postseason games.

The award, first presented in 1948, honors the late Les Cunningham, a 2009 AHL Hall of Fame inductee who was a five-time All-Star and three-time Calder Cup champion with the original Cleveland Barons. Previous MVPs include former Wolf Pack center Derek Armstrong (2001) and goalie Jason LaBarbera (2004), former Hartford Whalers wing John Anderson of the New Haven Nighthawks in 1992 and former Wolf Pack wing Alexandre Giroux of the Hershey Bears in 2009.

On Thursday, Portland Pirates forward Luke Adam (28 goals, 33 assists and plus-20 in 55 games) won the Dudley “Red” Garrett Award as the league’s top rookie. Adam, a second-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 2008, leads AHL rookies in goals and is second in plus-minus. He started the season with two goals and two assists in an opening-night victory over Manchester on Oct. 9, the first of 16 multiple-point efforts. His 11-game scoring streak from Feb. 26 to March 22 was the longest by an AHL rookie forward since 2005. Adam also has three goals and one assists in 19 games with the Sabres. Adam is the third consecutive Portland skater to win the Garrett Award, following Nathan Gerbe and Tyler Ennis, both of whom are with the Sabres. That’s high marks for Pirates coach Kevin Dineen, the former Hartford Whalers standout forward and captain whose No. 11 is retired in the XL Center rafters.

FORMER WOLF PACK WING CALLAHAN WINS TWO RANGERS AWARDS

Former Wolf Pack right wing Ryan Callahan received the Rangers’ Players Player Award as voted by the players. The award recognizes the player who best exemplifies what it means to be a teammate. Callahan also was named the winner of the John Halligan Good Guy Award, chosen by the New York chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, which recognizes players’ cooperation with the media. The award is named in honor of John Halligan, a longtime Rangers and NHL public relations executive who died in 2010.

Callahan is serving in his second year as alternate captain, though he’s out indefinitely after sustaining a broken ankle when hit by a shot by Boston Bruins’ defenseman Zdeno Chara. Callahan, who received a standing ovation when he walked onto the Madison Square Garden ice on crutches, ranks fifth among NHL forwards in blocked shots (77) and is 10^th in hits (224). He leads the Rangers in power-play goals (10) and game-winning goals (five), ranks second in goals (24), points (49) and power-play points (15) and third in assists (25).

The media named goalie Henrik Lundqvist the team’s MVP for a record fifth consecutive year. Lundqvist leads the NHL in shutouts (11) and is tied for sixth in wins (35), ice time (3,947), save percentage (.923) and goals-against average (2.28). He is the only goalie in NHL history to post at least 30 wins in each of his first six seasons and is the first Rangers goalie to have six straight 30-win seasons.

Feisty left wing Brandon Prust received the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award, presented by Lightspeed Trading as voted on by the fans, to recognize the player who performs “above and beyond the call of duty.” The award is named after New York City police officer Steven McDonald, who was paralyzed when he was shot in the line of duty in November 1988. McDonald and his son, city cop Conor McDonald, presented the award with Callahan, last year’s winner.

The award has been given annually to the player who fans believe plays with extra effort on the ice. Prust is tied for second in the NHL in shorthanded points (seven), tied for third in shorthanded goals (five) and is tied for fourth in fighting majors (18). He’s fourth on the team in hits (157). … Rangers captain and Trumbull native Chris Drury, out since Feb. 3 with a knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery, skated for the seventh straight day Friday and pushed to play in the team’s regular season finale Saturday against the New Jersey Devils. The Rangers no longer hold their playoff destiny in their hands after a 3-0 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday night. Now the Rangers need help from the Carolina Hurricanes and/or Buffalo Sabres or they will miss the playoffs for second consecutive year and assure there won’t be a team from the Metropolitan New York area in the postseason for the first time since 1966. If the Rangers don’t make it, Zuccarello and defenseman Ryan McDonagh could rejoin the Whale for the AHL playoffs, as they were on the Whale’s Clear Day list.

CONDOLESCENCES TO MCGUIRE CLAN

So sorry to hear about the death of former Hartford Wolf Pack coach EJ McGuire on Thursday he lost a five-month battle with cancer that was diagnosed in December.

I didn’t start covering the Wolf Pack until the season after EJ left Hartford, but the man who spent more than 40 years in hockey as a coach and administrator was always so pleasant and energetic whenever I met him after he guided the Wolf Pack to an 81-55-17-7 record in 1997-98 and 1998-99 and a berth in the Eastern Conference finals in the team’s inaugural season. That included a tenure as vice president of the NHL Central Scouting Bureau, a position he held from 2005 until he got beat by an opponent that no one beats at 58. McGuire was the architect of many of the innovations that Central Scouting pioneered in the past decade to achieve its mandate of providing the teams with the most comprehensive list of NHL entry-draft-eligible prospects.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman related a story that senior vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell told him about when he became coach of the Rangers in the mid-1990s and reached out to McGuire as a possible assistant. But McGuire had already committed to coaching the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League.

“Even though he could have made four times as much money and come to the NHL, he didn’t do it because he felt the need and felt it was appropriate, it was his values, to honor the commitment to the youngsters in major junior,” Bettman said.

Campbell later shared his thoughts on McGuire.

“EJ was one of those pure-and-simple hockey people,” Campbell said. “When I retired as a player and became an assistant coach in Detroit, I run into EJ, who had moved from Philadelphia during the Keenan years and went with Mike to Chicago – when the assistant coaches did all of the coaching that coaches did at the time that wasn’t just coaching but was handing out meal money, working out players when they were ready to come back from injuries, figuring out how to do ice time.

“EJ was the first assistant coach with the group of us assistant coaches who figured out a system other than by longhand to do ice time. He was one of the few educated assistant coaches, the rest of us were just dumb jock players. We all gravitated toward EJ. He had a university degree and I think he had it figured out, computers at that time in the mid-’80s.”

I’m sure the passionate, selfless and tireless good guy EJ is smiling through that familiar moustache somewhere in that Great Rink in the Sky.

MIELE WINS HOBEY BAKER AWARD

Miami of Ohio senior forward Andy Miele won the Hobey Baker Award, signifying college hockey’s best player, on Friday night at the Frozen Four at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

Miele’s 71 points (24 goals, 47 assists) in only 39 games were 11 more than runner-up Matt Frattin of the University of North Dakota as he became the first Miami RedHawk to win the award. The other finalist was Boston College junior forward Cam Atkinson of Greenwich, who prepped at Avon Old Farms, led the 2010 national champion Eagles in scoring for the second consecutive year and has two goals and two assists in his first three pro games with the Springfield Falcons.

WHALE 4, SOUND TIGERS 1

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

First period: 1. Conn, Garlock 3 (Williams), 17:21. Penalties: Weise, Ct (roughing), 0:39; Colliton, Bri (hooking), 0:39; Donovan, Bri (hooking), 19:14.

Second period: 2. Conn, Parlett 2 (Williams, Newbury), 1:11 (pp). 3, Brd, Ullstrom 17 (Ness, Donovan), 12:51 (pp). 4. Conn, Williams 32 (Weise, Newbury), 17:03 (pp). Penalties: DiBenedetto, Bri (goaltender interference), 3:06; Weise, Ct (hooking), 10:36; Nightingale, Ct (slashing), 12:35; Bidlevskii, Bri (interference), 14:07; Dupont, Ct (fighting), 16:09; Colliton, Bri (major-boarding, fighting, game misconduct-boarding), 16:09; Olson, Bri (slashing), 16:09; Couture, Ct (roughing), 17:21; Redden, Ct (hooking), 17:21; Marcinko, Bri (roughing, goaltender interference), 17:21.

Third period: 5. Conn, Mitchell 7 (Grachev, Couture), 19:05 (en). Penalties: Nightingale, Ct (delay of game), 6:33; Williams, Ct (roughing), 10:39; DiBenedetto, Bri (interference), 11:15; Nightingale, Ct (roughing), 15:58; Garlock, Ct (fighting), 19:40; Neigum, Bri (fighting), 19:40.

Shots on goal: Connecticut 18-12-10-40. Bridgeport 3-11-8-22; Power-play opportunities: Connecticut 2 of 6; Bridgeport 1 of 5; Goalies: Connecticut, Grumet-Morris 13-5-1 (22 shots-21 saves). Bridgeport, Koskinen 11-21-1 (39-36); A: 5,742; Referee: Marcus Vinnerborg; Linesmen: Paul Simeon, Luke Galvin.

New York, April 8, 2011 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that forward Mats Zuccarello has been recalled from the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Zuccarello, 23, has tallied four assists in three games since his assignment to Connecticut on April 1, including the primary assist on the game-winning goal in a 4-2 victory vs. Portland on Sunday.  He has registered 13 goals and 16 assists for 29 points, along with 16 penalty minutes in 36 games this season.  He recorded 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) in his last 24 AHL games with four goals and nine assists in his last 10 contests.  He leads all Connecticut rookies in goals, points, shots on goal (107), and power play goals (three), and ranks second in assists.  Zuccarello posted an AHL career-high, four points, including his first career hat trick in a 7-1 win vs. Bridgeport on November 7.  He made his AHL debut on October 9 vs. Charlotte, and tallied his first career point with a goal on October 15 at Albany.

Zuccarello returns to the Rangers where he has registered six goals and 16 assists for 22 points, along with four penalty minutes in 41 games this season.  He is tied for the team lead with nine power play assists, and ranks seventh on the team with nine power play points.  Zuccarello is also tied for first on the team and fifth and third in the NHL, respectively, with five shootout goals and three shootout game-deciding goals, and ranks second on the Rangers with a 55.6% shootout percentage.  He has posted four multi-point performances this season, including a career-high, three-assist effort on January 25 vs. Florida and his first career multi-goal game with two goals on March 6 vs. Philadelphia.  Zuccarello made his NHL debut on December 23 vs. Tampa Bay, tallying a shootout goal in the contest.  He recorded his first NHL point with a power play assist on December 27 vs. the New York Islanders, and notched his first career goal with the overtime game-winner on January 5 vs. Carolina.

The Oslo, Norway native signed with the Rangers as a free agent on May 26, 2010.

HARTFORD, April 7, 2011:  Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the team has signed forwards Andrew Yogan and Shayne Wiebe to Amateur Tryout (ATO) agreements.

Yogan, a fourth-round pick (100^th overall) by the parent New York Rangers in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft comes to the Whale from the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).  The 6-3, 203-pound native of Coral Springs, FL was limited by injury this year to 10 games-played, in which he had three goals and one assist for four points, along with six penalty minutes.  All three of Yogan’s goals came in one game, a hat trick performance vs. Kitchener March 12, in a 5-4 shootout win for the Otters.  In three postseason games with Erie, the 19-year-old Yogan had two assists and four penalty minutes.

Last season with the Otters, Yogan totaled 25 goals and 30 assists for 55 points, plus a team-leading 97 PIM, in 63 games.  Those numbers were good for fourth on the Erie club in assists and fifth in points and goals.  In 174 career OHL games over four seasons with the Otters and the Windsor Spitfires, Yogan has registered 55 goals and 53 assists for 108 points, along with 191 PIM.

Wiebe, 21, just finished a season with the Western Hockey League’s Brandon Wheat Kings that saw him score a team-high 44 goals, and add 21 assists for 65 points, in 72 games.  Wiebe’s 65 points ranked third on the Wheat Kings’ squad, and he also had 60 PIM.  A 6-0, 190-pound Brandon native, Wiebe tied for the Wheat King team lead in postseason goals with four, and tied for third on the club in playoff points with eight, in six playoff contests.

Wiebe went all the way to the championship game of the 2010 Memorial Cup with the Wheat Kings, who lost that final game to the Ontario Hockey League’s Windsor Spitfires.  Wiebe totaled 23 goals and 27 assists for 50 points in 65 games in 2009-10, between Brandon and the Kamloops Blazers.  In 15 WHL playoff games with the Wheat Kings, he notched two goals and nine assists for 11 points.  Wiebe’s WHL career totals with Kamloops and Brandon over five seasons include: 276 games-played, 108 goals, 89 assists, 197 points and 287 PIM.

The Whale are next in action tomorrow night, Friday, April 8, at Bridgeport, as they take on the Sound Tigers in a GEICO Connecticut Cup game (7:00 faceoff, WTIC HD 2, www.ctwhale.com, www.wtic.com).  That is the front half of a home-and-home set between the two Nutmeg-State rivals, who will face off at the XL Center on Saturday night in a 7:00 contest.  Free Whale travel mugs will be given away to 3,000 fans that night, courtesy of CT DOT, and there will be a Connecticut Whale Auction and Sale, starting at 5:00 PM in the XL Center atrium.  Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl game-used Whalers and Bruins jerseys, as well as Whale Bowl sticks, will be up for bid, and CT Whale used sticks and game equipment will be available for sale at great prices.

Tickets for all 2010-11 Whale home games are available now at the XL Center box office, through Ticketmaster Charge-by-Phone at 1-800-745-3000 and on-line at www.ctwhale.com.  Tickets start at $7 each at the XL Center ticket office on game day.

For information on Whale ticket packages, group sales and VIP packages, call (860) 728-3366.

HARTFORD, April 7, 2011:  The National Hockey League today announced the loss of Edward John “EJ” McGuire, who passed away after a courageous battle with cancer.  He was 58.

McGuire, who was Vice-President of the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau at the time of his death, was the Hartford Wolf Pack’s head coach for the first two seasons of the franchise’s existence, 1997-98 and 1998-99.  The Buffalo, NY native led the Wolf Pack to an 81-55-17-7 record over those two years, a .581 winning percentage, and a berth in the Eastern Conference Finals in the team’s inaugural season.

“The National Hockey League was privileged to benefit from EJ’s expertise and enthusiasm, both of which were limitless,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “EJ loved scouting games and loved the internal debates over the strengths and weaknesses of Entry Draft prospects. The way he ran Central Scouting made it vitally important to every one of our Clubs.

“The NHL family has suffered a tremendous loss,” Commissioner Bettman added. “As we celebrate EJ’s contributions and mourn his passing, we send our condolences – and our gratitude – to EJ’s family and friends.”

McGuire is survived by his wife, Terry, and their daughters, Jacqueline and Erin.

McGuire had been director of NHL Central Scouting since 2005.  Prior to that, in addition to his two years with the Wolf Pack and extensive scouting stints, he served as an NHL assistant coach with the Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks and Ottawa Senators.  McGuire also had head-coaching stints with the AHL’s Maine Mariners and the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League.

Funeral arrangements will be announced once they are finalized.

HARTFORD, April 6, 2011:  Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the team has signed defenseman Dylan McIlrath to an Amateur Tryout (ATO) agreement.

McIlrath, 18, was the parent New York Rangers’ first-round pick (10^th overall) in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.  The 6-5, 215-pound Winnipeg, Manitoba native has played the last three seasons in the Western Hockey League for the Moose Jaw Warriors.  In 2010-11, McIlrath skated in 62 games for the Warriors, notching five goals and adding 18 assists for 23 points.  Those numbers were good for third among Moose Jaw defensemen in points and goals, and McIlrath’s penalty minute total of 153 ranked second overall on the team.  In six postseason games with the Warriors, he was scoreless with 15 PIM.

In 180 career WHL games with Moose Jaw, McIlrath has amassed totals of 13 goals and 38 assists for 51 points, along with 424 PIM.  He agreed to terms on an NHL contract with the Rangers March 16.

The Whale are next in action this Friday night, April 8 at Bridgeport, as they take on the Sound Tigers in a GEICO Connecticut Cup game (7:00 faceoff, www.ctwhale.com, www.wtic.com).  That is the front half of a home-and-home set between the two Nutmeg-State rivals, who will face off at the XL Center on Saturday night in a 7:00 contest.  Free Whale travel mugs will be given away to 3,000 fans that night, courtesy of CT DOT, and there will be a Connecticut Whale Auction and Sale, starting at 5:00 PM in the XL Center atrium.  Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl game-used Whalers and Bruins jerseys, as well as Whale Bowl sticks, will be up for bid, and CT Whale used sticks and game equipment will be available for sale at great prices.

Tickets for all 2010-11 Whale home games are available now at the XL Center box office, through Ticketmaster Charge-by-Phone at 1-800-745-3000 and on-line at www.ctwhale.com.  Tickets start at $7 each at the XL Center ticket office on game day.

For information on Whale ticket packages, group sales and VIP packages, call (860) 728-3366.

I’ve been remiss over the last couple of months in writing my Ice Chips columns.  With the Connecticut Whale PR staff doing a wonderful job of covering the team on and off the ice I think it’s time we change Ice Chips basically to a look at the past history of our beloved Hartford/New England Whalers.

In the past we closed the columns out with a look at a few former players who were on the team at some point in their career.  In this column we’re going to take a look at not only some former Whalers players but current NHL coaches.  In fact we are going to look at possibly the largest contingent of Hartford alumni known to man masquerading as the coaching staff for the Phoenix Coyotes.

The head coach in Phoenix is the one and only Dave Tippett. In addition he is joined on his staff by two other members of the SOX & Dawgs All-Whalers team in Ulf Samuelsson and Sean Burke as well as Doug Sulliman.

Tippett, a left wing played with the Whalers from 1983-84 to 1989-90 scoring 75 goals and 120 assists for 195 points in 483 games.  Tippett, one of the most liked and respected players to ever wear the Whale tail, also played for Washington, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia in addition to the Canadian Olympic team in 1984 and 1992.

After he finished playing he went on to coach the Dallas Stars for six seasons and shortly after being removed as head coach he was hired in Phoenix to succeed Wayne Gretzky behind the bench where he is now in his second year leading the Coyotes.

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

Burke was one of the best net minders in Whalers history.  He played 256 games for the club after coming over in a trade from New Jersey with Eric Weinrich for Bobby Holik and a 1993 2^nd round draft pick on August 28, 1992. As a Whaler Burke registered 10 shutouts for the club and posed a 3.21 GAA while recording his 100^th Hartford win in the teams last game against Tampa Bay. Burke also played for Carolina, Vancouver, Philadelphia, Florida, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles and Phoenix as well as the Canadian Olympic and National teams prior to retiring.  He is now the Coyotes goalie coach.

Samuelsson, a native of Sweden, was a Whalers 4^th round draft pick in 1982 and was with the team until the blockbuster trade that sent the defenseman and captain Ron Francis along with two Stanley Cup Championships to Pittsburgh in 1991.  After playing in Sweden he made his Whalers debut in 1984-85 playing in 41 games.  Overall he played in 441 games for Hartford scoring 31 goals and 144 assists for 175 total points.  In addition to Pittsburgh and Hartford, Ulfie played for the New York Rangers, Philadelphia and Detroit before retiring.  He is probably best known as the man who ruined Cam Neely’s career with what some thing was a premeditated vicious knee on knee hit.

Sulliman, probably the least known of the Coyote coaching quartet, was a first round (13^th overall) pick of the New York Rangers in 1979.  Sulliman, a rightwing who never really caught on with New York came to Hartford for the 1981-82 season and played three seasons with the club.  In 321 games he scored 57 goals and 72 assists for 129 points.  Sulliman’s best NHL season came in his first year in Hartford when he notched 29 goals and 40 assists for 69 points in 77 games.  After that his production dropped off and he was dealt in the summer of 1984 to New Jersey.  He finished his career with Philadelphia in 1990.

Photo credit: Getty Images

By Bruce Berlet

With veterans such as Wade Redden, Kris Newbury, Brodie Dupont and All-Star Jeremy Williams in the Connecticut Whale locker room, one might not think there’s much room for others to make an imprint on the team.

But defenseman Jared Nightingale has put a major dent in that theory. Whether it’s being part of the Whale’s No. 1 defensive pairing with Redden, sticking up for teammates, coordinating countless team functions or being constantly involved in community relations, Nightingale has put his stamp on the organization on and off the ice.

Coaches Ken Gernander, J.J. Daigneault and Pat Boller thought so much of Nightingale that when Tim Kennedy was traded on Feb. 26, the rugged defenseman replaced the crafty center as one of the Whale’s three alternate captains, serving with Redden and Newbury.

“I like his leadership quality and how he approaches the game,” Gernander said after practice Tuesday at the XL Center in Hartford. “He’s been a pretty good soldier for us and takes it upon himself to do a lot of things.”

So it’s no surprise that the Whale chose Nightingale as the team’s IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year for outstanding contributions to local community and charitable organizations. He is now one of 30 finalists for the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award honoring the overall AHL Man of the Year. The league award is named after the former Hershey Bears forward who died in 1997 at 24 following a 16-month battle with leukemia. Dupre, an AHL All-Star in 1995, had 169 points in 207 AHL games and played in 35 NHL games with the Philadelphia Flyers. The AHL award will be announced Wednesday.

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

“It’s a great honor and speaks highly because we have a lot of guys deserving of it,” said Nightingale, 28, who is completing his third season in Hartford after starting his pro career with the Springfield Falcons in 2006 out of Michigan State. “It wasn’t just me going out in the community. I think everybody at one time or another this season got out to a children’s hospital or elementary schools. It’s really a collective effort, from the players to the front office and the people behind the scenes.”

The Whale’s outstanding community involvement started with Whalers Sports and Entertainment chairman and CEO Howard Baldwin, who encouraged player commitment to fans off the ice while owner and managing general partner of the Hartford Whalers.

“One of Mr. Baldwin’s priorities was to get out in the community and give back,” said Nightingale, “and that’s exactly what we’ve done.”

The players’ commitment has been spearheaded by Frank Berrian, the team’s community relations coordinator.

“Jared is an outstanding member of the Connecticut Whale community,” Berrian said. “He is always the first one to volunteer for an appearance and even takes it upon himself to make appearances at local hospitals. Personally, Jared is a ‘go out of his way’ kind of guy. If I need anything, he is always a phone call away. I not only consider him a colleague but a friend. Wherever Jared goes, he not only makes fans but he also makes friends.”

Nightingale has indeed been tireless in his enthusiasm for community outreach. Berrian said Nightingale consistently is the first to offer his time to charitable, school or hospital appearances that are scheduled and has frequently initiated his own. He has forged strong relationships with area hospitals, especially the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford and Gaylord Rehabilitation Hospital in Wallingford, which is the beneficiary of the Whale’s annual “Tip a Player Dinner and Sports Carnival.”

“I’ve learned from guys who have been here in the past and looked up to,” Nightingale said. “I didn’t always give as much of myself as I should have. Going into this season, I didn’t know how much more I’d be playing, so I wanted to use the platform that I have and the time that I have wisely and as much as I can to get out and help in any way possible.

“I remember growing up and going to college hockey games an hour away at Lake Superior State (in Michigan) in their glory years and it meant a lot when those guys came out and acknowledged you and talked to you. It was kind of the highlight of our season, and I remember really looking up to them and seeing how they handled themselves, so I know how important that is.”

Nightingale has made a significant impression on many students and faculty members during numerous school visits. He and Whale forward Kelsey Tessier earned plaudits from Judy Fitzgerald, a first-grade teacher at Naubuc School in Glastonbury, where the two made a surprise appearance for about 80 first graders in March.

“I was very impressed with the players,” Fitzgerald said. “I thought they related well to the children. I even asked Jared if he ever thought about being a teacher because he did such a good job with the children. He mentioned his mother is a teacher and had considered being a teacher.”

Nightingale has made a special impression on 6-year-old Ryan Bell, who has followed the Hartford Wolf Pack/Whale for several years and was one of the first-graders surprised by Nightingale and Tessier.

“Jared is my favorite player because he’s always so nice when he sees me,” Ryan said. “He takes time to talk to me, and it was great when he surprised me and my friends at school. I wish there was hockey in the summer because I don’t want the games to end.”

Other Man of the Year nominees included Bridgeport Sound Tigers forward Tony Romano and former Wolf Pack defenseman Jake Taylor (Oklahoma City).

ZUCCARELLO KNOWS HOW HUSKIES FEEL

Whale rookie wing Mats Zuccarello can relate to the University of Connecticut men’s basketball team. Not as far as winning a national championship as the Huskies did Monday night, but he knows all about playing four games in four days as they did in capturing the Big East tournament in the start of their four-week title drive.

But Zuccarello went the Huskies a few better. He played four games in four days in five different cities. He was in the parent New York Rangers’ lineup in a 6-2 loss to the New York Islanders in Uniondale, N.Y., on Thursday night. After the Islanders loss, Zuccarello was reassigned to the Whale and played in a 3-2 loss at Providence on Friday night, a 6-2 loss at Springfield on Saturday night and a 4-2 victory over Portland at the XL Center on Sunday afternoon.

That was actually four games in about 72 hours, so it was borderline amazing that Zuccarello had two assists, hit the post and crossbar and was named the No. 2 star in Sunday’s game, giving him four assists in three games while helping the power play. So no one enjoyed the Whale’s off day Monday more than the 5-foot-7, 174-pounder known as “The Norwegian Hobbit.”

“I was pretty tired (Tuesday),” Zuccarello said in a declaration that was totally understandable. “Three (games) in three (days) is the only thing I’ve played.”

Zuccarello said he wasn’t surprised or upset about being sent down after getting six goals, 16 assists, including a team-high nine on the power play, and five shootout goals, including three winners, in 41 games on Broadway.

“It’s no problem,” Zuccarello said. “I’m getting the ice time that you need to do well instead of being up there playing seven minutes (a game). That doesn’t do anything for me. Of course you want to stay up there, but like I told (coach John Tortorella), I know I’m good enough to play up there. But they have all their key guys back, and they need their minutes, but that’s how this game is. Instead of playing seven minutes it’s better that I play close to 20 minutes, the important minutes, and get my groove back. That’s how you get better, and hopefully I can be back there one day.”

That day may come sooner rather than later, as not long after practice ended, the Rangers announced former Wolf Pack right wing Ryan Callahan, whose gritty style epitomizes the Black-and-Blueshirts’ never-say-die attitude this season, would be sidelined indefinitely after he sustained a fracture in his right leg in the third period of a come-from-behind 5-3 victory over the Boston Bruins on Monday night. Callahan has career highs in goals (23), assists (25), points (48), power-play goals (10) and game-winning goals (five) despite missing 20 of the Rangers’ 80 games. He leads the team in power-play and game-winning goals and is second in goals, points, power-play points (15) and hits (224). He missed 19 games from Dec. 16 to Jan. 25 with a broken hand sustained in a Dec. 15 game at Pittsburgh. Since returning Feb. 1, he leads the Rangers in scoring with 13 goals and 11 assists in 27 games.

Center Kris Newbury, the Whale’s leading scorer (16 goals, 42 assists in 58 games), was reassigned to the Whale after being called up as a precaution in case any of several players that Tortorella said had “dings” couldn’t play Monday night. They all played, so Newbury watched and then headed back to Hartford.

Gernander said little changed since Zuccarello was called up Dec. 23 to replace injured Marian Gaborik after getting 13 goals, second among AHL rookies at the time, and 11 assists in 32 games with the Whale. He had 11 goals and 12 assists in the 21 games before his call-up.

“He’s a tenacious guy, and he has to be at that size, and it is one of his strengths,” Gernander said. “Sometimes you can use your little bit shorter stature to your advantage to get in underneath guys where you can get position with your leverage. That’s the way he’s got to play.”

What about Zuccarello playing four games in less than four days?

“Not too shabby,” Gernander said.

Injured forwards John Mitchell, Chad Kolarik and Francis Lemieux and defenseman Michael Del Zotto have resumed practicing with the team. But they are in various stages of recovery, and their status for the final three regular season games this weekend varies from questionable to out.

WHALE ENDS AGAINST STREAKING SOUND TIGERS, HOPEFUL ADMIRALS

The Whale finishes the regular season with a home-and-home with the Sound Tigers and a home game against the Norfolk Admirals. The Whale is at the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport on Friday night and then hosts the Sound Tigers on Saturday night.

The Whale is 5-2-0-1 against the Sound Tigers and needs one point to clinch the GEICO Connecticut Cup. The Sound Tigers (28-38-4-7) are last in the Atlantic Division but on a 6-2-1 run that includes a 5-1 victory over the Whale at the XL Center on March 26 and 6-2 win over the Springfield Falcons on Tuesday, as All-AHL rookie forward Rhett Rakhshani scored a hat trick and veteran center Jeremy Colliton had four assists.

Rakhshani leads all rookies in scoring with 24 goals and 38 assists and has been the major mainstay for the Sound Tigers, who, like the Whale, have spent much of the season shorthanded because of injuries and call-ups to the parent Islanders. Rakhshani and Rob Hisey (14, 31) are the Sound Tigers’ leading scorers for the season and against the Whale with six points each. Rookie David Ullstrom (16, 24) and Colliton (16, 26) are their other major threats. Mikko Koskinen (11-20-1, 3.52 goals-against average, .888 save percentage) and Nathan Lawson (5-5-4, 2.89, .913) are among six goalies to play in Bridgeport this season.

There will be an auction and sale before Saturday’s game, starting at 5 p.m. in the XL Center atrium. Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl game-used Hartford Whalers and Boston Bruins jerseys will be up for bid, and Whale-used sticks and equipment will be for sale. And 3,000 fans will receive a free Whale travel mug courtesy of the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

The Admirals (38-24-8-7) scored three power-play goals in a 5-2 victory over Charlotte on Monday night that ended a four-game losing streak in the start of a five-game road trip to end the season. The recent slide had dropped the Admirals into a tie for fourth with Binghamton in the battle for the final guaranteed playoff spot in the East Division, but they’re now only one point from clinching a postseason berth and within three points of the second-place Checkers with a game in hand. They can earn a playoff spot Wednesday night when they visit Binghamton, which is two points ahead of the Whale in the battle for the crossover playoff berth.

The Admirals have won two of three meetings with the Whale, who took the last game 3-2 at Norfolk on Jan. 8. Marc-Antoine Pouliot (23, 46) had three assists Monday and is the Admirals’ runaway leader on offense, followed by Blair Jones (23, 28), who had two goals and an assist against the Checkers, Johan Harju (21, 27), Paul Szczechura (19, 29), James Wright (16, 30) and Matt Fornataro (17, 25). Cedrick Desjardins (15-6-1, 2.59, .905) has the two wins against the Whale, allowing only three goals for a 1.50 GAA with a .941 save percentage, but is on recall to the parent Tampa Bay Lightning. Jaroslav Janus (1-3-1, 4.06, .853) made 24 saves for his first victory of the season Monday while sharing the goaltending with Dustin Tokarski (21-19-4, 2.60, .903) and Pat Nagle, who hasn’t played an AHL game since signing a free-agent, two-year entry-level contract with the Lightning on March 22 after having an 18-14-5 record with 2.02 GAA, .923 save percentage and three shutouts in his senior year at Ferris State.

3,000 fans will receive a free Whale T-shirt courtesy of the Connecticut DOT, and all fans will have a chance to win a player’s jersey in the annual “Shirts Off Our Backs” promotion. The Whale’s season awards will be presented after the game.

GRUMET-MORRIS, LEMIEUX ON ECHL SECOND ALL-STAR TEAM

Despite each being with the Whale for more than a month, Whale goalie Dov Grumet-Morris and center Francis Lemieux were named to the ECHL All-Star second team.

Grumet-Morris was 15-8-1 with a 2.32 GAA, third in the ECHL, .922 save percentage, second in the league, and three shutouts in 18 games with the Greenville Road Warriors before being called up by the Whale for a second and final time on Feb. 4. He was only the third goalie in ECHL history to be named Goalie of the Week in consecutive weeks (Dec. 5 and 12) and was Goalie of the Month in December with a 9-2-1 record. He is 11-4-1-1 with a 2.05 GAA, .924 save percentage and one shutout in 20 games with the Whale.

“Personal accolades don’t mean much to me right now,” Grumet-Morris said, “but I definitely take it as an honor that the coaches and players thought enough of what I did in about two months to name me to a slot. I don’t think people realize how many good goalies there are in the ECHL. James Reimer, starting for the Toronto Maple Leafs now, started in the Coast League.”

Lemieux was the ECHL’s leading scorer with 28 goals and 45 assists in 56 games with the Florida Everblades when called up by the Whale for a second time and then signed to an AHL contract Feb. 21. He had two assists in 17 games with the Whale before being injured last week.

Greenville defenseman Wes Cunningham was a first-team selection and wing Brendan Connolly, who was in Wolf Pack/Whale training camp, shared the Reebok Plus Performer of the Year award with Kalamazoo’s Trent Daavettilla at plus-28, as the Road Warriors (46-22-4) won the Eastern Conference title in their inaugural season.

The affiliate of the Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers start a best-of-five, first-round series Tuesday and Wednesday at Elmira and then play the final three games in South Carolina on Friday, Saturday and Monday, if the last two games are necessary. The Road Warriors should be helped by the addition of speedy rookie wing Chris McKelvie, reassigned by the Whale on Monday after missing 31 games since Jan. 22 because of an injury. McKelvie had one goal and two assists and was plus-3 in 17 games with the Whale after getting three goals and three assists in 16 ECHL games.

Elmira’s roster includes former Whale forwards Oren Eizenman and Tyler Donati and former Wolf Pack forward Ryan Hillier, a third-round pick of the Rangers in 2006 who was traded to Anaheim with Aaron Voros for Steve Eminger on July 9, 2010. Donati’s twin brother, Justin, led the ECHL in scoring with 27 goals and 67 assists in 63 games after finishing second last season to Tyler, the league MVP, who is sidelined with a shoulder injury.

FORMER WOLF PACK PLAYERS RECOGNIZED

Congratulations to three former Wolf Pack forwards on being named to the AHL All-Star teams.

Binghamton center Corey Locke and Oklahoma City Barons left wing Alexandre Giroux, the league’s top two scorers with 86 and 74 points, were named to the first team. Hamilton Bulldogs left wing Nigel Dawes, who leads the league with 40 goals in only 63 games, was on the second team. Dawes has 13 goals and eight assists in 16 games since joining the Bulldogs after being acquired from the Atlanta Thrashers on Feb. 24. Last week, he had six goals, including his third hat trick of the season, and three assists and was plus-7 in four games.

Other AHL award winners announced so far are Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Brad Thiessen, Aldege “Baz” Bastien Award (outstanding goaltender, 34-7-1, 1.93 GAA, .922 save percentage, seven shutouts in 44 games), Portland’s Marc-Andre Gragnani, Eddie Shore Award (outstanding defenseman, 12 goals, 48 assists, plus-22 in 63 games) and Oklahoma City defenseman Bryan Helmer, Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award (sportsmanship, determination and dedication to hockey). Gernander (1996, 2004), former Hartford Whalers center Glenn Merkosky (1987, 1991) and Murray Eaves (1989-90) are the only two-time Hunt winners. Rakhshani was among six players on the all-rookie team. Other winners to be announced are the Dupre Memorial Award and Louis A.R. Pieri Award (outstanding coach) on Wednesday, Dudley “Red” Garrett Award (outstanding rookie) on Thursday and Les Cunningham Award (MVP) on Friday. … Though not named to an all-league team, Wethersfield native Colin McDonald of Oklahoma City is having the season of his life. The son of former Whalers defenseman Gerry McDonald has 36 goals, which is triple his previous high of 12 in any of his previous three pro seasons. In fact, he had a total of 34 goals as a pro in that span but now ranks second in the AHL to Dawes. … Providence Bruins center Trent Whitfield (12 goals, 10 assists, league-best 22 points in 13 games), Syracuse Crunch right wing Kyle Palmieri (12 goals, including five winners, three assists and plus-8 in 13 games) and Manchester Monarchs goalie Jeff Zatkoff (5-3-1, 1.55 GAA, .949 save percentage, two shutouts in nine games) were named the Reebok/AHL player, rookie and goaltender of the month for March. Player of the Month nominees also included Dawes, Whale defenseman Pavel Valentenko and South Windsor native Jon DiSalvatore (Houston Aeros). Grumet-Morris and Whale defenseman Blake Parlett were among the goalie and rookie nominees. … Former Wolf Pack wing Chad Wiseman of the Albany Devils was named winner of the reGen Muscle Recovery Beverage/AHL Performance of the Month award for March. With his team trailing the Sound Tigers by three goals on March 9, Wiseman scored four times in the final 9:25, tying an AHL record for goals in a period and lifting the Devils to an improbable 5-4 victory. Wiseman has 15 goals and 26 assists in 44 games this season. … Oklahoma City goalie Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers was named Reebok/AHL Player of the Week for getting two shutouts with 55 saves in 7-0 and 2-0 victories over Rockford and Texas. The Whale nominated Zuccarello, and other nominees included Dawes, Rakhshani, former Wolf Pack forward Jeff Taffe (Rockford) and Avon native and former Farmington High/Avon Old Farms/Boston University standout center Nick Bonino (Syracuse).

MONTOYA GETS MUCH-DESERVED SHOT IN NHL

Congratulations to former Wolf Pack goalie Al Montoya on his one-year contract extension from the New York Islanders last week. The 26-year-old Montoya has had a roller-coaster career since being the Rangers’ first-round pick (sixth overall) in 2004. It started in Hartford and continued through never playing in New York and rarely in Phoenix before being traded to the Islanders on Feb. 9 for a sixth-round pick in June. He played 197 games with the Wolf Pack and San Antonio Rampage, compiling a 96-72-7 record with nine shutouts, and only five NHL games with the Coyotes before a series of injuries on Long Island gave Montoya his first legitimate shot in the NHL. He has responded with a 9-5-4 record, 2.37 GAA, .921 save percentage and one shutout with one of the NHL’s worst teams. One of his wins was his first over the Rangers on March 31, when he made 25 saves in a 6-2 victory in which Henrik Lundqvist was pulled for Chad Johnson, making his first appearance since being called up from the Whale on March 2. It was a bounce back for Montoya, who was shaky in a 6-3 loss to the Rangers on March 15. Kudos to Montoya, for his perseverance. … Nice to hear former New Canaan High and Taft-Watertown standout forward Max Pacioretty took a light skate Friday for the first time since the Montreal Canadiens speedster sustained a severe concussion and broken vertebrae in his neck when checked into a stanchion by Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara on March 8. Pacioretty skated about 20 minutes in the start of what he hopes will be a successful return to hockey’s highest level. “It is part of the protocol, it’s the beginning of his rehabilitation,” Canadiens coach Jacques Martin said. Before his injury, Pacioretty was having a breakout season with 14 goals and 10 assists in 37 games with the Canadiens after getting 17 goals and 15 assists in 27 games with Hamilton.

New York, April 5, 2011 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that forward Kris Newbury has been assigned to the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Newbury, 29, did not dress in last night’s 5-3 victory vs. Boston at Madison Square Garden.  He has registered one assist and 35 penalty minutes in 11 games this season.  He made his Blueshirts debut at Montreal on January 15, and recorded his first point as a Ranger with the primary assist on the game-tying goal in a 3-2 shootout win at Atlanta on January 22.

Newbury returns to Connecticut where he has registered 16 goals and 42 assists for 58 points, along with 128 penalty minutes in 67 AHL games with Connecticut this season.  He has established career-highs in assists and shots on goal (192), and leads the team in points and assists, is tied for first on the Whale in game-winning goals, fourth in goals, and ranks fifth in penalty minutes.  Newbury led Connecticut with 14 points (six goals, eight assists) and a plus-seven rating in 13 games during the month of March, including a seven-game scoring streak from March 5 at Springfield to March 18 at Manchester (six goals, five assists over the span).  The 5-11, 213-pounder established a career-high with an eight-game assist streak from November 28 vs. Adirondack to December 17 vs. Worcester, recording three goals and 12 assists over the span.

The Brampton, Ontario native was originally San Jose’s fifth round pick, 139th overall, in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.  He was acquired by the Rangers from Detroit in exchange for forward Jordan Owens on March 3, 2010.