HARTFORD, Conn. – There were no John Wayne heroics or SportsCenter Top 10-worthy plays for the Connecticut Whale Saturday night at the XL Center.

Instead, “Howe Family Night” resembled Fight Night as the Whale and Bridgeport Sound Tigers engaged in five rounds of fisticuffs, all in the first 28 minutes.

After a solid start that helped produce an early lead, the Whale took a series of bad penalties that led to three Sound Tigers power-play goals in a 5-1 victory before 9,276 who celebrated the appearance of “Mr. Hockey” and his two hockey-playing sons, Mark and Marty.

The Sound Tigers (25-36-4-7) wiped out their early deficit on power-play goals by David Ullstrom and Jeremy Colliton 70 seconds apart midway through the first period as they extended their points streak to seven games (4-0-1-2) after a 3-22-2-3 slide to start 2011 that dropped them into the Atlantic Division cellar with the AHL’s worst record. They also won 5-1 Friday night at division-leading Portland.

Meanwhile, the Whale (38-27-2-6) had a five-game winning streak ended, though they got some unexpected help from the Springfield Falcons, who beat the host Worcester Sharks 7-2 to end a 0-11-1-0 slide since Feb. 27. The Whale, who had won 10 of 12 games, remained six points ahead of the Sharks (33-28-4-8) in the battle for the third and final guaranteed playoff berth in the Atlantic Division.

But the Whale fell one point behind Binghamton (39-27-3-4), which beat visiting Providence 4-1 and is fifth in the East Division in the fight for a possible crossover playoff berth. The crossover rule says the top four teams in the East Division and the top three in the Atlantic Division qualify for the playoffs, and the conference’s eighth and final spot will go to whichever has more points between the East’s fifth-place team and the Atlantic’s fourth-place club.

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Things started well for the Whale when Derek Couture scored on a rebound at 6:57 after Jeremy Colliton’s clearing attempt went off Blake Parlett and Kelsey Tessier. The Whale nearly made it 2-0 on Brodie Dupont’s one-timer at 8:12, but Devin DiDiomete, back after missing two games with an injury, then turned the tide for the Sound Tigers when he received a five-minute major for boarding on Phil Ginand at 9:04. That led to the game’s first fight between the Whale’s Justin Soryal and Tigers’ Benn Olson, with DiDiomete getting an extra minor for roughing and being benched.

“One of the few things that we addressed in the meeting before the game is they have a good power play and don’t want to give them unnecessary opportunities,” said Whale head coach Ken Gernander.  “I tried to commend for the games we beat Charlotte and Manchester where we had one penalty kill in each of them. So it was most certainly addressed, and for the most part I thought the penalties were pretty selfish. They had no bearing on the play.

“It’s a fickle game, and you can’t take shortcuts, can’t cheat in any aspect of the game and think you’re going to get away with it for extended period of time. So if you can’t be disciplined, you’re going to take penalties against a good power play and put yourself behind the eight-ball.”

The Whale lost Couture at 7:43 of the second period when he was injured in a fight with Art Bidlevskii, so they played short for more than 32 minutes.

What irked Gernander most is he was even considering finding other players after the Whale climbed back into playoff position with more disciplined play.

“Why look to all these external players when we were playing well here,” Gernander said. “The fact of the matter is we made decisions that took us out of the game. We would use other guys if they were available, but I don’t think we have to go and search and grasp at straws to find enough players to win games. There are enough players here to win games, but you have to play our style of hockey, be disciplined and outwork your opponent. A lot of it is the guys’ hands as far as how they respond tomorrow (at Providence).

“We won five in a row, but you obviously have to get your message across because if it doesn’t work in the regular season, it won’t work in the playoffs either. And with Worcester losing and Binghamton winning, it’s a big two points lost. But we’re not looking for outside help. We should be able to take matters into our own hands, play our best hockey and take control of our destiny, but not the way we played tonight.”

The Sound Tigers took advantage of the Whale’s early penalties to score the two quick goals for a lead they never relinquished. On a 4-on-3 power play, Ullstrom took a pass from Mark Katic in the left corner, maneuvered around Pavel Valentenko and beat Cam Talbot to the glove side at 10:27. Then on a 5-on-3 man advantage, Ullstrom got the puck in front to a wide-open Jeremy Colliton for a quick finish at 11:37.

Soryal and Olson had their personal Round 2 with 1:38 left in the period, and then Kris Newbury scored a takedown on former Hartford Wolf Pack defenseman Dylan Reese during their fight with 57 seconds to go.

The Sound Tigers made it 3-1 at 4:55 of the second period as Joe Pereira passed to the left corner to Rob Hisey, who maneuvered around Valentenko and Tessier and slipped the puck past Talbot.

After Couture’s battle with Bidlevskii, the Whale’s Jared Nightingale fought Brian Day at 8:05. The Whale then had an opportunity to get back in the game when Valentenko was bloodied when high-sticked by Tony Romano at 12:58. But Jeremy Williams took a holding penalty at 13:20 and Grachev a hooking penalty a minute later.

The Whale’s Tomas Kundratek thought he scored with 3:06 left, but referee Chris Brown ruled the puck didn’t cross the goal line. After Talbot stopped Romano’s partial breakaway with 2:51 to go, the Sound Tigers made it 4-1 as Colliton whiffed on Hisey’s pass from the right corner, but the puck went to Aaron Ness, who beat Talbot to the glove side with 16.3 seconds left.

It went to 5-1 at 6:26 of the third period as Day passed to Hisey, who got position on Nightingale and beat Talbot high to the glove side.

The teams then played out the final 131/2 minutes, with Hisey firing high and wide on his bid for a hat trick off a 2-on-1 with 28 seconds left. The Whale fell to 5-2-0-1 in the GEICO Connecticut Cup against their intrastate rival, who were 3-for-8 on the power play.

“It just felt like we didn’t have a whole lot of jump, and then we took some penalties that maybe we shouldn’t have taken,” Newbury said. “So we put ourselves behind the eight-ball early, ran out of gas and didn’t have anything left.

“I thought our emotion level before the game was really good, but they played us pretty good in the first period. They didn’t give us a lot of room in the offensive zone to make plays so give them some credit. But we know we can be a lot better, so that’s the good news coming out of the game. We just have to find a way to be more disciplined and stay more focused in the game. The good thing is we can put it behind us real quick and get after it again tomorrow afternoon.”

HOWE FAMILY NIGHT MEMORABLE

“Howe Family Night” brought plenty of memories for the fans and legendary Hall of Famer Gordie Howe and his two hockey-playing sons, Mark and Marty. The three were honored with their wife/mother Colleen, who handled their contracts and other business affairs for decades before she died in 2009.

“No family will ever do what the Howe family did,” said Whalers Sports and Entertainment chairman and CEO Howard Baldwin, who was instrumental in bringing the Howes to Hartford while Whalers owner and managing general partner. “I want everyone to look to the ice and realize that you’re seeing the greatest hockey player in history and his two sons.”

The No. 9 of “Mr. Hockey,” one of seven numbers in the XL Center rafters, was refurbished, and a new banner saluting the Howes with their numbers – 9, 5 for Mark and 18 for Marty – and Colleen’s name alongside a Whalers logo was raised. Whale players wore special 1978 vintage No. 9 Gordie Howe New England Whales home jerseys in warm-ups, and 10 of them were auctioned after being signed by Gordie. There also was a live auction, and a two-minute video tribute to the Howes during a first-intermission ceremony.

“This is such an honor for the family, especially having my mom included,” Marty Howe said. “I don’t think many people had any idea all she did for the family. I take care of Gordie’s affairs, and I have no idea how she did everything that she did – and I have a computer.”

Mark, a longtime scout for the Detroit Red Wings, said his dad, who turns 83 on Thursday, perks up every time he gets into public, including Saturday night.

“He was tired this afternoon and took a nap,” Mark said, “but as soon as he got here he was like a kid again.”

Before the game, fans could meet Gordie and get a personalized autographed book and photo by purchasing a copy of the colorful 185-page book “9. Nine. A Salute to Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe.” Also, 2,000 fans received a free commemorative 36-page Gordie Howe tribute program full of color photos and stories.

The Howes played together for the first time with the Houston Aeros in 1973 before coming to Hartford and signing with the World Hockey Association’s New England Whalers. Howe ended his legendary 32-year career in the Whalers’ first NHL season (1979-80), when he had 15 goals and 26 assists and was named a NHL All-Star for the 23^rd time while helping the Whalers make the playoffs at 52 years old. His No. 9 is in the rafters with the Whalers’ No. 2 (Rick Ley), 5 (Ulf Samuelsson), 10 (Ron Francis), 11 (Kevin Dineen) and 19 (John McKenzie). Gernander’s No. 12 is the only number to be retired in the 14-year history of the AHL team.

MITCHELL MISSES FIRST GAME WITH WHALE

Center John Mitchell, who won a key faceoff to help the Whale rally to beat the Charlotte Checkers on Friday night, missed his first game in 13 since being acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 28 for a seventh-round pick in 2012.

Mitchell, who had five goals and six assists in 12 games, was replaced by DiDiomete and Francis Lemieux took Mitchell’s spot between Grachev and Williams. Ryan Garlock moved into Lemieux’s spot between Couture and Tessier.

The Whale also scratched forwards Chad Kolarik, Chris McKelvie and Todd White and defensemen Michael Del Zotto and Jyri Niemi, who is expected to return Sunday after missing 15 games with an injury. The Sound Tigers scratched defensemen Dustin Kohn, Anton Klementyev and captain Mark Wotton and forwards Justin DiBenedetto, Tomas Marcinko, Jeremy Yablonski and Andy Hilbert. … The Whale signed forward Tommy Grant to an amateur tryout agreement. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound native of North Vancouver, B.C., just completed four years at the University of Alaska-Anchorage, where he led the Seawolves in goals (16) and points (32) this season. Grant, 22, had 45 goals and 45 assists in 134 career games.

WHALE HITS THE ROAD SUNDAY

The Sound Tigers game was the end of the Whale’s second five-game home stand of the season in which they had four wins after being 14-14-2-2 in their first 32 games at the XL Center. The Whale play back-to-back games at Providence on Sunday afternoon and Friday night, visit Springfield on Saturday night and then return home next Sunday to face Portland, coached by Dineen, on First Tee of Connecticut Day. Level 200 tickets will be $12, with the First Tee of Connecticut receiving $5 from each ticket sold. To purchase tickets and help local youngsters interested in improving their golf game and life skills, contact Nick Criscuolo at 860-728-3366 or ncriscuolo@whalerssports.com.

The Whale is 5-2-0-1 against the Bruins (32-34-3-3), who are led by All-Star center Jamie Arniel (20 goals, 24 assists), center Zach Hamill (8, 32), right wing Kirk MacDonald (13, 21) and centers Trent Whitfield (16, 13) and Maxime Sauve (19, 14), who has had a pair of two-goal games against the Whale, plus a winning shootout goal. Rugged left wing Lane MacDermid, son of former Whalers right wing Paul MacDermid, has six goals, 10 assists and 146 penalty minutes. Since being acquired from the Minnesota Wild for Jeff Penner and Mikko Lehtonen on Feb. 28, Anton Khudobin is 6-2-2 with a 2.39 goals-against average, .912 save percentage and two shutouts. Rookie Michael Hutchinson is 10-10-1, 3.33, .898 with one shutout.

The Whale end their 14^th regular season with a game at Bridgeport on April 8, followed by home games against the Sound Tigers and Norfolk Admirals on April 9 and 10. The Calder Cup playoffs begin the following week, and the Whale are in position to return to postseason play after missing for the only time in franchise history last year by three points. … South Windsor native and Houston Aeros captain Jon DiSalvatore added to his career-high total with two goals in a 4-1 victory over the visiting Oklahoma City on Friday night. Former Hartford Wolf Pack wing Alexandre Giroux scored his 30th goal of the season – the seventh straight season he has reached that milestone – on a power play 3:34 into the game. But DiSalvatore responded with a man advantage only 1:10 later and added his second goal of the game and 25^th of the season in the third period. … Syracuse Crunch rookie center Nick Bonino of Avon had one goal and two assists in a 6-2 victory over Albany. … Former Wolf Pack center Jeff Taffe scored his team-high 25^th goal at 1:46 of overtime to give the Rockford IceHogs a 4-3 win over visiting Hamilton.

SOUND TIGERS 5, WHALE 1

Bridgeport         2 2 1 — 5
Connecticut       1 0 1 –  1

First period: 1. Conn, Couture 3 (Tessier, Parlett), 6:57. 2. Brd, Ullstrom 15 (Katic, Rakhshani), 10:27 (pp). 3, Brd, Colliton 15 (Ullstrom, Katic), 11:37 (pp). Penalties: Neigum, Bri (roughing), 9:04; Olson, Bri (fighting), 9:04; Svendsen, Bri (roughing), 9:04; DiDiomete, Ct (roughing, major-boarding), 9:04; Soryal, Ct (fighting), 9:04; Dupont, Ct (unsportsmanlike conduct), 9:14; Williams, Ct (high-sticking), 10:27; Rakhshani, Bri (cross-checking), 15:46; Olson, Bri (fighting), 18:22; Soryal, Ct (fighting), 18:22; Reese, Bri (fighting), 19:03; Dupont, Ct (slashing), 19:03; Newbury, Ct (fighting), 19:03.

Second period: 4. Brd, Hisey 13 (Pereira), 4:55. 5. Brd, Ness 1 (Colliton, Hisey), 19:43 (pp). Penalties: Bidlevskii, Bri (fighting), 7:43; Couture, Ct (fighting), 7:43; Day, Bri (fighting), 8:05; Nightingale, Ct (roughing, fighting), 8:05; Romano, Bri (double minor-high-sticking), 12:58; Williams, Ct (holding), 13:20; Grachev, Ct (hooking), 14:20; Williams, Ct (cross-checking), 18:29.

Third period: 6. Bri, Hisey 14 (Day), 6:26. Penalties: None.

Shots on goal: Bridgeport 11-14-7-32. Connecticut 7-10-5-22; Power-play opportunities: Bridgeport 3 of 8; Connecticut 0 of 3; Goalies: Bridgeport, Lawson 5-4-4 (22 shots-21 saves). Connecticut, Talbot 11-6-2 (32-27); A: 9,276; Referee: Chris Brown; Linesmen: Robert St. Lawrence, David Spannaus.

HARTFORD, March 26, 2011:  Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the team has signed forward Tommy Grant to an Amateur Tryout (ATO) agreement.

Grant, a 6-2, 195-pound native of North Vancouver, B.C., comes to the Whale after four seasons at the University of Alaska-Anchorage (WCHA).  Grant, 24, led the Seawolves in points and goals this year, with 16-16-32 in 37 games, and his 57 penalty minutes were the second-most on the team.  Five of Grant’s 16 goals were game-winners, which was good for a tie for fourth in the WCHA in that category.

In 134 career games with Alaska-Anchorage, Grant struck for 45 goals and 45 assists for 90 points and served 179 minutes in penalties.

The Whale return to action tonight at the XL Center, hosting the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in GEICO Connecticut Cup action at 7:00.  Tonight is “Howe Family Night”, as the Whale honor the great Gordie Howe, his sons Mark and Marty and late wife Colleen.

The entire Howe clan will be saluted for their contributions to hockey in the Hartford market, as Gordie, Mark and Marty will be on the ice for a first-intermission ceremony, during which a banner honoring entire Howe family will be raised to the XL Center rafters.  Before the game, starting at 5:30 PM in the XL Center atrium, Gordie Howe will be signing copies of the colorful, 185-page book “Howe #9”, which can be purchased for $70.  Also, 2,000 fans will receive a free commemorative 36-page Gordie Howe tribute program, loaded with full color photos and stories.

The Whale players will wear special 1978-vintage “#9 Gordie Howe” New England Whaler white home jerseys during their pre-game warmup skate.  Ten of those jerseys, which are all autographed by Gordie Howe, will be up for bids during the game.  That will be via silent auction through the start of the second intermission and then in a live auction, among the highest silent-auction bidders, in the second intermission.

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.

By Bruce Berlet

HARTFORD, Conn. – The Connecticut Whale had been living on the edge the past few weeks, needing strong finishes to compensate for sluggish starts while winning nine of 11 games, four when trailing after two periods.

The Whale erased the unwanted slow-start trend Friday night and then pulled a Harry Houdini to beat the Charlotte Checkers 3-2 on Evgeny Grachev’s first shootout goal in the fifth and final round before 5,862 at the XL Center.

Veteran Justin Pogge, subbing for injured Mike Murphy, appeared on the way to his first shutout of the season before critical faceoff wins by former Toronto Marlies teammates Kris Newbury and John Mitchell led to long-range goals by defensemen Pavel Valentenko and Stu Bickel 73 seconds apart in the final 2:21 of regulation.

Then after Dov Grumet-Morris (29 saves) made SportsCenter-worthy stops on Nick Dodge, former Hartford Wolf Pack defenseman Bryan Rodney and Zac Dalpe in the final 52 seconds of overtime, Mitchell and Grachev scored in the skills competition as the Whale (38-26-2-6) improved to 8-21-0-2 when trailing after the second period, with three of those wins coming in the last four games.

“We tried to stay positive and not get frustrated,” Grachev said. “We had our chances in the first two periods but had some bad bounces and missed nets. But we knew if we kept doing the right thing – working down low, putting pucks to the net and drive the net – good things would happen. Finally our defensemen got hot with two strikes from the blue line, and it’s so good to make such a big comeback against such a good team. To win in the shootout is a good win for us and now we have to keep rolling.”

Murphy had excelled as the Checkers beat the Whale 5-1 and 1-0 in Charlotte on Feb. 24 and 26, and Pogge continued to frustrate the Whale until Newbury won a faceoff from Jacob Micflikier to Blake Parlett, who passed to his right to Valentenko for a one-timer that beat Pogge high to the glove side with 2:21 left to end a scoring drought against the Checkers of 123:45.

“I’m always trying to shoot like that, but sometimes I’m wide,” Valentenko said. “I switched sides (with Parlett) and shot 80 percent. I’m looking to be quicker with my shot, but I was concentrating more on hitting the net. It finally worked.”

After Grumet-Morris was pulled for a sixth attacker, Mitchell won a faceoff from Jon Matsumoto to Wade Redden, who again passed right to Bickel for a one-timer that again beat Pogge high to the glove side with 1:08 to go.

“All game that lane was open for us, and I just tried to get tight into Reds so I could get off the one-timer,” Bickel said. “I just looked at the lane where I could get the puck thought to the net. We knew what we wanted to do off the draw, and it worked out. When you’re not scoring a ton, you look at where you’re shooting and maybe try to change things up, but from the point, you’re mostly looking for the lane to get it through. If you see a corner, you’re obviously going to shoot there, but you’re not so much trying to pick a corner as you are trying to the puck through on net.”

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Williams said the Whale followed the script needed against the 6-foot-3 Pogge.

“He’s a really good goalie who could have been in the NHL when he was younger, but when he got the opportunity (with the Toronto Maple Leafs), he unfortunately didn’t have much of a team in front of him,” Williams said. “He’s big, so the only way you’re going to score on him is if he can’t see the puck.”

Grachev, who was unable to convert on a 2-on-1 with 19 seconds left in overtime, gave the Whale the improbable victory, their fifth in a row and a six-point lead over Worcester, a 4-2 loser to Providence, in the battle for the third and final guaranteed playoff berth in the Atlantic Division. They also remained one point in front of Binghamton (38-27-3-4), a 3-0 winner over Wilkes-Barre Scranton and fifth in the East Division in the fight for a possible crossover playoff berth. The crossover rule says the top four teams in the East Division and the top three in the Atlantic Division qualify for the playoffs, and the conference’s eighth and final spot will go to whichever has more points between the East’s fifth-place team and the Atlantic’s fourth-place club.

“(Pogge) is a big guy, and I was looking between the pad and blocker,” Grachev said. “I haven’t been getting a lot of opportunities (in shootouts), but maybe I’ll get more now.”

When asked about fellow Russian Valentenko’s goal, Grachev smiled and said, “He’s got a bomb. If it’s not going in, he’s going to hurt somebody or break somebody’s stick. The set play we had didn’t work for us this year. Maybe we didn’t try it enough. Maybe we didn’t get those clean draws. But Newber and Mitchell won draws, and we got two good goals.”

Grumet-Morris extended his AHL career-high winning streak to seven games as the Whale finished 2-2 against the first-year Checkers (39-25-3-6), their former ECHL affiliate.

“They played a great game and trapped very well,” Grumet-Morris said. “Until 2:21 was left, we had only one goal in nearly three games, which tells you how good their goaltending and defensive scheme is. Obviously our defensemen came up big after our centers won their two big draws, and then we deserved to win the shootout.”

Grumet-Morris tried to downplay his excellence at the end of regulation and in the shootout.

“Some goalie coaches say if you’re stretching like that you’re out of position, but I’ll take the saves, I guess,” he said. “But I’m just very happy that we were able to come through in the shootout. That’s what really impressed me. I thought Pogge did really good in the shootout but just got unlucky. He had a great game and deserved to win just as much as me.

“Certainly we were excited to win. It was a big point, and to get the second point in the shootout was really big. I know it’s a cliché, but those points are important right now. We were as excited about winning the game as we were about getting those points, and our playoffs hopes ride on that.”

Bickel gave Grumet-Morris props when he said, “He’s a good goalie and exciting to watch because he battles. And you really appreciate that from your teammates. It gets you fired up and your adrenaline going.”

The Whale finally had a good first period, outshooting the Checkers 12-5, which were four more shots than they had in the opening 20 minutes of the previous two games combined. But they again ran into another hot Checkers goalie, as Pogge made good blocker saves on Dale Weise during the Whale’s first power play and Williams and a good glove save on Mitchell.

The Whale also failed on two power plays, including a 5-on-3 for 40 seconds. With Brad Herauf in the penalty box for boarding, Nicolas Blanchard was called for goaltender interference, though it was Redden who was nudged into Dov Grumet-Morris and sent the goalie sprawling. Trainer Damien Hess came out to attend to Grumet-Morris, who needed several minutes to clear his head and continue. He also made good stops off Matthew Pistilli at 2:16 and Micflikier with 7:49 left in the period.

Grumet-Morris denied Cedric McNicoll from 30 feet in the slot at 3:08 of the second period, but the Checkers took the lead 22 seconds later. Herauf took the puck from Redden along the right boards, skated into the circle, used defenseman Jared Nightingale as a partial screen and beat Grumet-Morris to the far stick side for his third goal of the season.

Pogge then made a good chest stop on Derek Couture from 25 feet in the slot at 7:20 and denied Grachev from the left circle at 9:38. Three minutes later, Bickel dove and poked the puck from McNicoll on his breakaway bid.

Pogge stopped Mitchell’s backhander from in front with 4:29 left in the period, but the Checkers took a 2-0 lead when Zach FitzGerald cleared the puck from behind his net along the right-wing boards, where it was missed by Dalpe and Valentenko. Zack Boychuk took advantage, grabbed the puck in the neutral zone, broke down the right wing and fired a shot from the top of the circle that hit off Grumet-Morris’ stick and trickled through his legs and into the net with 25 seconds left for Boychuk’s 20^th goal.

The Checkers nearly made it 3-0 at 2:34 of the third period, but Chris Terry hit the post. Then at 6:23, the Checkers broke in 2-on-1, with Grumet-Morris making a strong stop on Terry before Matsumoto had a goal disallowed for kicking the rebound into the net.

Pogge made another big save off Kris Newbury at 6:23, and on the counter attack, Grumet-Morris sprawled to deny Boychuk on a 2-on-1.

Then came the magical end to regulation, Grumet-Morris’ brilliance in overtime and the clutch shots by Mitchell and Grachev in the shootout.

“It’s a critical time of year with two big points every night,” Whale coach Ken Gernander said. “They play a good, sound defensive game and wait for their offensive opportunities and are pretty good at capitalizing because they have some pretty skilled forwards. We certainly feel fortunate because they’re a very strong defensive team, but it came down to two pretty good point shots.”

WHALE SCRATCH SAME SIXSOME

The Whale again scratched defensemen Michael Del Zotto and Jyri Niemi and forwards Chad Kolarik, Devin DiDiomete, Chris McKelvie and Todd White, who is likely out for the remainder of the season after sustaining a concussion in a seemingly harmless collision with teammate Brodie Dupont in a 4-2 loss to Manchester on Feb. 28. White was playing in only his second game after returning from another injury that had sidelined him for four games. He missed his 24^th consecutive game Friday night and has played in only nine games since clearing waivers and being assigned by the parent New York Rangers on Dec. 29. He has three goals and two assists with the Whale after getting one goal and one assist in 18 games with the Rangers, who acquired White from the Atlanta Thrashers on Aug. 2 for disgruntled forwards Donald Brashear and Patrick Rissmiller. … The Checkers scratched forwards Jared Staal, Mike McKenzie and Oskar Osala, former Hartford Wolf Pack defenseman Ethan Graham and goalie Mike Murphy, who starred in the Checkers’ 5-1 and 1-0 wins over the Whale in Charlotte on Feb. 24 and 26. Staal is the younger brother of the three Staals in the NHL – Marc with the Rangers, Jordan with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Eric with the Carolina Hurricanes, the Checkers’ parent club. All three were first-round picks. … Former Wolf Pack defensemen Bobby Sanguinetti, the Rangers’ first-round pick (21^st overall) in 2006, and AHL All-Star and captain Bryan Rodney were one of the Checkers’ defensive pairings. It was Sanguinetti’s first game in Hartford since he was traded to Carolina on draft day 2010. … The Checkers started a weekend that had them playing the Whale, Portland and Norfolk, which were 12-0-1-1 in their last 14 games combined. … Two former Wolf Pack wings who are among the AHL’s goal-scoring leaders are back in the league. Nigel Dawes, No. 1 with 33 goals in only 55 games because of several recalls to the Atlanta Thrashers and Montreal Canadiens, was reassigned to the Hamilton Bulldogs by the Canadiens. The Edmonton Oilers demoted Alexandre Giroux, tied for fourth in goals with 29, to the Oklahoma City Barons.

WHALE HONORS HOWE FAMILY ON SATURDAY NIGHT

“Howe Family Night” arrives Saturday night as the Whale honors legendary Gordie Howe, sons Mark and Marty and his wife, Colleen, who died in 2009. Before a game against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, fans can meet Gordie and get a personalized autographed book and photo by purchasing a copy of the colorful 185-page book “9. Nine. A Salute to Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe.” The book sells for $70, and he will sign copies starting at 5:30 p.m. in the XL Center atrium. The first 2,000 fans will receive a free commemorative 36-page Gordie Howe tribute program full of color photos and stories, and there will be a video tribute to the Howes during a first-intermission ceremony.  A refurbished banner honoring the No. 9 of “Mr. Hockey,” one of seven numbers in the XL Center rafters, will be spotlighted as he and his sons, whom he played with for seven seasons in Houston and Hartford, look on. Colleen also will be honored as a new banner saluting the Howes will be raised.

In warm-ups, Whale players will wear special 1978 vintage No. 9 Gordie Howe New England Whalers white home jerseys, and 10 of them will be auctioned off. Bids, which start at $170 per sweater, can be made in the atrium from shortly after the puck drops through the start of the second intermission, and there will then be a live auction in the second intermission. The sweaters are hand-signed by Gordie Howe and come with a certificate of authenticity also signed by Gordie.

The Howes played together for the first time with the Houston Aeros in 1973 before coming to Hartford and signing with the World Hockey Association’s New England Whalers. Howe ended his legendary 32-year career in the Whalers’ first NHL season (1979-80), when he had 15 goals and 26 assists and was named a NHL All-Star for the 23^rd time while helping the Whalers make the playoffs at 52 years old. His No. 9 is in the rafters with the Whalers’ No. 2 (Rick Ley), 5 (Ulf Samuelsson), 10 (Ron Francis), 11 (Kevin Dineen) and 19 (John McKenzie). Gernander’s No. 12 is the only number to be retired in the 14-year history of the AHL team.

Mark Howe was at the XL Center on Friday night scouting for the Detroit Red Wings after being on Long Island on Thursday night as the Atlanta Thrashers beat the New York Islanders 2-1. On his way to Hartford on Friday, he made a pit stop in Bridgeport and watched Minnesota-Duluth beat Union 2-0 in the NCAA regional semifinals at Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard. Minnesota-Duluth plays in the final Saturday night against top-seeded Yale, which beat Air Force 2-1 in overtime.

The Whale is 5-1-0-1 against the Sound Tigers (24-36-4-7) and won the last three meetings. The Sound Tigers are on a six-game points streak (3-0-1-2) after a 3-22-2-3 slide to start 2011 that dropped them into the Atlantic Division cellar with the AHL’s worst record. Right wing Rhett Rakhshani (20, 34) is the Sound Tigers’ leading scorer and second among AHL rookies, followed by centers Rob Hisey (11, 26) and rookie David Ullstrom (14, 21). Rakhshani had a hat trick in a 5-1 victory at Atlantic Division-leading Portland on Friday night. The Sound Tigers have used an AHL-high seven goalies, and Mikko Koskinen (7-19-3, 3.69, .883) and Nathan Lawson (4-4-4, 3.02, .913) are now in Bridgeport.

The Sound Tigers game is the end of the Whale’s second five-game homestand of the season. They play back-to-back games at Providence on Sunday afternoon and Friday night, visit the Springfield Falcons next Saturday night and then return home April 3 to face Portland, coached by former Hartford Whalers standout right wing and captain Kevin Dineen, on First Tee of Connecticut Day. Level 200 tickets will be $12, with the First Tee of Connecticut receiving $5 from each ticket sold. To purchase tickets and help local youngsters interested in improving their golf game and life skills, contact Nick Criscuolo at 860-728-3366 or ncriscuolo@whalerssports.com.

The Whale end their 14^th regular season with a game at Bridgeport on April 8, followed by home games against the Sound Tigers and Norfolk Admirals on April 9 and 10. The Calder Cup playoffs begin the following week, and the Whale hope to return to postseason play after missing for the only time in franchise history last year by three points.

QUICK DOES IT AGAIN

Hamden native Jonathan Quick is proving to be quite the stalwart in shootouts. He improved to 9-for-9 this season on Thursday night, stopping four of five shots in the skills competition as the Los Angeles Kings beat the rival San Jose Sharks 4-3 before a raucous sellout crowd of 18,118 at the Staples Center.

Kings captain Dustin Brown, a former standout with the Manchester Monarchs, scored twice in regulation and beat Antti Niemi in the fifth round as the Kings won back-to-back shootouts and moved into a tie for fifth place with Nashville in the wacky Western Conference with 90 points. The Sharks, who had their four-game winning streak snapped, pulled even with Detroit for second in the West with 95 points, though the Wings own the tiebreaker because they’ve played one fewer game.

The Sharks got to overtime when a wide-open Patrick Marleau scored a sixth-attacker goal with 4.1 seconds left. That was 1:38 after the Kings thought they had won on Brown’s power-play goal. Marleau also tied the score at 2-2 with 3:32 left when his wrist shot from just inside the left circle dipped under Quick’s glove.

“They sneak a point out of it, and I think we outplayed them for a majority of the game and we played a solid game as a team,” Quick said. “At the end of the day, we got two points and you can’t complain about that.”

The Kings were playing their first game without top-line wing Justin Williams, who sustained a dislocated shoulder in a 2-1 shootout victory over Calgary on Monday. Oscar Moller, recalled from Manchester, took his place and assisted on Willie Mitchell’s goal. … Former Wolf Pack wing Lauri Korpikoski, who has a career-high 18 goals, sustained an upper-body injury in the second period of the Phoenix Coyotes’ 3-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night. Ilya Bryzgalov had 29 saves, and former Rangers defensemen Michal Rozsival and Derek Morris scored as the Coyotes remained three points ahead of the Kings and Nashville. It was Rozsival’s third goal in 27 games since being acquired from the Rangers for Wojtek Wolski on Jan. 10. Bryzgalov, who is 7-2-0 with a 1.88 goals-against average in his last nine starts against Columbus, recorded his seventh shutout of the season and 21st as a Coyote to tie Nikolai Khabibulin’s franchise record. Former Wolf Pack forward Ryan Hollweg was called up Friday to replace Korpikoski.

WHALE 3, CHECKERS 2 (SO)

Charlotte        0  2  0  0  0 — 2
Connecticut   0  0  2   0  1 — 3

First period: No scoring. Penalties: Herauf, Char, boarding, 6:42; Blanchard, Char, goaltender interference, 8:02.

Second period: 1. Char, Herauf 3, 3:30; 2. Char, Boychuk 20, 19:35. Penalty: Williams, Hart, tripping, 13:13.

Third period: 3. Conn, Valentenko 3 (Parlett, Newbury), 18:39; 4. Conn, Bickel 2 (Redden, Mitchell), 18:52. Penalties: None.

Overtime: No scoring. Penalties: None.

Shootout: Connecticut 2 (Mitchell G, Williams NG, Newbury NG, Weise NG, Grachev G. Charlotte 1 (Dalpe G, McNicoll NG, Terry NG, Micflikier NG, Matsumoto NG).

Shots on goal: Charlotte 5-10-11-5-0–31. Connecticut 12-15-8-1-1-37. Power-play opportunities: Charlotte 0 of 1. Connecticut 0 of 2. Goaltenders: Charlotte, Justin Pogge, 18-17-3 (36 shots-34 saves). Connecticut, Dov Grumet-Morris, 11-3-1 (31-29). A: ????; Referee: Chris Cozzan; Linesmen: Derek Wahl, Kevin Redding.

By Bruce Berlet

HARTFORD, Conn. – Like their previous game Sunday and their parent club’s outing 24 hours earlier, the Connecticut Whale faced another “trap game” Wednesday night at the XL Center.

The Whale had lots of reasons not to bring their best after winning five in a row against the Springfield Falcons, who were on an 11-game losing streak that knocked them out of playoff contention again.

For the second time in four days, the Whale came out flat but recovered for a critical come-from-behind decision, as a brilliant individual move by All-Star right wing Jeremy Williams set up John Mitchell’s tie-breaking goal with 8:43 left in a 3-2 victory before 3,176.

Williams maneuvered his way around and through the Falcons’ line of former Hartford Wolf Pack captain Greg Moore, leading scorer Tomas Kubalik and Trevor Smith and then had the presence of mind to find Mitchell in the high slot as he was falling to the ice. Williams was looking for defenseman Wade Redden, who helped devise the faceoff play that set the winning goal in motion. But Mitchell intervened, putting a 30-foot shot between the legs of Falcons goalie Paul Dainton, making his AHL debut as he works on finishing his degree at the University of Massachusetts.

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“I kind of blacked out there,” a smiling Williams said of his series of dipsy-doodle moves. “Redden said on the faceoff play we were going to with him going down the wall me popping out (to cover the point). It ended up happening three or four times on one shift where he played forward and I played defense. It was fortunate play where I found some room.

“A blind squirrel even finds a nut once in a while because that’s the most inconsistent part of my game. Sometimes I can see the holes, and sometimes I can’t. Fortunately I was able to have a little bit of vision there. I thought Reds was coming down and tried to move it over to him, but Mitch ended up going into the spot was Reds was. I putted where I wanted, but Mitchell stepped up.”

Mitchell said he thought his longtime friend who will be the best man in his wedding this summer was going to shoot, so he planned to go to the front of the net and wait for rebound or deflection. But when Williams got tangled up, Mitchell went to the net figuring he was going to pass to Redden. But with Redden having moved up, Mitchell planned to cover the point so he could backcheck if needed. But the puck popped loose, and Mitchell got off a clean shot.

“I just wanted to grab the puck, turn and shoot it as quickly as I could,” said Mitchell, acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 28 for a seventh-round pick in 2012. “That works out a lot of the time. Even in the NHL, goals are scored like that where guys just turn and shoot as quick as they can to surprise the goalie. That’s exactly what happened, but we have to be ready from the drop of the puck and be ready for the full 60 minutes. Desperation has kicked in, and the boys have responded well. That’s a bonus, but we want to go in ready from the get-go because that’s what it’s going to take to win games in the playoffs.”

The latest sagging start helped put the Whale (37-26-2-6) into a two-goal hole, but as they did Sunday in a 3-1 victory over the Falcons and the Rangers did Tuesday night in a 1-0 win over the Florida Panthers, they rallied from a sluggish beginning to win their fourth in a row and ninth in 11 starts to reach their high-water mark this season of 11 games over .500. They regained a four-point lead over the idle Worcester Sharks (33-26-4-8) in the battle for the third and final guaranteed spot in the Atlantic Division playoff race and remained one point in front of Binghamton (37-27-3-4), a 6-3 winner over Albany and fifth in the East Division in the fight for a possible crossover playoff berth. The crossover rule says the top four teams in the East Division and the top three in the Atlantic Division qualify for the playoffs, and the conference’s eighth and final spot will go to whichever has more points between the East’s fifth-place team and the Atlantic’s fourth-place club.

“We came out slow, but they came out hard and played very well and enthusiastically,” said Whale goalie Dov Grumet-Morris, who extended his AHL career-high winning streak to six games with 25 saves, including a game-saver off Moore with 4:09 left. “They certainly dominated the first half of the game, then we started to play in spurts and got some momentum at the end of the second period against a goalie who played an outstanding game and we were fortunate to have a great third period.”

The strong finish enabled the Whale to improve to 7-21-0-2 when trailing after two periods, but four of those wins have come in the last three weeks. The Whale are now 6-1-1-1 and have won six in a row against the Falcons (30-37-2-3), who are on a 0-11-1-0 slide since the loss of rugged wings Tom Sestito and former Wolf Pack captain Dane Byers via deals at the trade deadline. They were challenging for their first playoff berth since 2005 before the freefall dating to a 4-1 victory over Portland on Feb. 27. Their only point in the slump came March 5 in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Whale.

The first period resembled the opening 20 minutes Sunday, when the Whale came out sluggish but pulled out a win. This time, they were outshot 10-5 in the first period and never seriously threatened Dainton, who signed an amateur tryout contract Monday after finishing his career at UMass, where he was 6-18-5 with a 3.06 goals-against average and .908 save percentage with one shutout in 32 games this season.

“After winning three games in three nights and having a little break, you have to recapture that intensity,” Whale coach Ken Gernander said. “We had addressed that we wanted to have a much better start than (Sunday), but that wasn’t the case. But again the guys stuck with it and found a way to get the two points. If we want to make a run in the playoffs, we can’t wait until the second period to get going.”

Grumet-Morris made excellent stops off a wide-open Kyle Neuber at the left post at 6:21 and Petr Kalus in front with 3:44 left in the period. But the Falcons got the period’s only goal from one of Dainton’s former Hockey East rivals, left wing Wade McLeod, who also signed an ATO on Monday after completing his eligibility at Northeastern, where he led the Huskies in scoring the last three seasons, including career highs in goals (22), assists (23) and points (45) in 38 games this season. He scored in his first pro game when he took a long cross-ice pass from David Savard, skated into the left circle, outmaneuvered Tomas Kundratek and beat Grumet-Morris to the glove side with 1:58 left in the period.

The Whale heeded Gernander’s words during the first intermission to shoot more, and Dainton had to stop strong bids by Kris Newbury, Evgeny Grachev and Pavel Valentenko in the opening minute. Grumet-Morris then denied Kubalik breaking in off right wing at 1:28.

Then six seconds after the Falcons’ first power play expired, Cody Goloubef took a pass from Kubalik and fired a 40-foot shot that went past Grumet-Morris at 8:59 as he was being screened by Moore and Whale defenseman Stu Bickel.

The Whale finally showed some steady life, and Ryan Garlock picked off Theo Ruth’s pass in the neutral zone, skated into the Falcons’ zone and pushed the puck ahead to the right circle to Derek Couture, who beat Dainton to the far stick side at 11:52.

“Finally one goes in for me,” said Couture, who has had several excellent scoring chances since being called up from Victoria of the ECHL but had only scored when the opposition put the puck in its own net. “Keep shooting and they’re going to go in. It’s got to happen. I played the same way all the time, and if the goals go in, it’s kind of a bonus in my (checking) role. … It’s a good team to be on that builds throughout the game. You can tell that we just gradually took over that game. And night in and night out Dov keeps kicking for us.”

Grumet-Morris kept the Whale close when he stopped Trevor Frischmon’s shorthanded rush down left wing with 22.5 seconds left in the period. Given that reprieve, the Whale got even on the carryover power play into the third period, but it didn’t come easily. Dainton (31 saves) made a diving stop to smother Brodie Dupont’s rebound of Williams’ shot at 38 seconds. But 16 seconds later, Dale Weise got inside Nick Holden, kicked the puck to Newbury and then redirected his centering pass past Dainton to tie it.

“We had good pressure on the power play, and I just kind of redirected the puck to Newbs, who’s a good passer,” Weise said. “I beat my man to the net and he gave me a great pass.”

Then with the Whale on their third period rise, Grumet-Morris had Moore talking to himself as he stopped his rush down left wing at 2:54. He then somehow got his left pad on an even better bid off another left-wing rush while sprawled in the crease at 4:09, then stopped a secondary chance by Ben Guite.

“Moore made a great play to cut in and made a great move, and I got lucky and made a lucky save,” Grumet-Morris said. “That’s a standard desperation play all goalies do. That’s nothing special or unique to this level or myself. When he extends his hands to go around you, he loses the ability to lift the puck. When he goes to the full extension, I know he’s trying to go around me but he’s not going to be able to lift it, so I try to take away everything low.”

The Falcons pulled Dainton for a sixth attacker with 1:22 left, but the Whale didn’t allow a shot the rest of the way in notching yet another come-from-behind win.

“The third period is when this team just seems to come on and want to play, but that’s good and bad,” Weise said. “It’s good because no lead (for the opposition) is safe because we know we can come back, but you can’t spot good teams leads like that. These are big games and big points for us, and I don’t know why we’re not able to get up for them. They don’t mean as much to them as they do to us, but give them credit because they came out hard while playing for jobs.

“I don’t have the answer why we don’t have good starts, but at the end of the day, we got the two points and we’ll address that tomorrow.”

Again.

KERBASHIAN MAKES WHALE DEBUT

Kale Kerbashian made his pro debut with the Whale, replacing Devin DiDiomete and playing on a line with center Francis Lemieux and Kelsey Tessier. Kerbashian signed an amateur tryout agreement for this season and an AHL contract for next season on Monday. The 5-foot-11, 173-pound Kerbashian joined the Whale after getting 37 goals and 51 assists in 68 games with Sarnia of the Ontario Hockey League. The 20-year-old free agent from Thunder Bay, Ontario, saw his first pro action last season when he had two goals and an assist in four ECHL games with Wheeling.

Besides DiDiomete, who was injured Sunday, the Whale scratched defensemen Michael Del Zotto and Jyri Niemi and forwards Todd White, former Falcons right wing Chad Kolarik and Chris McKelvie, who skated for the first time Wednesday since surgery to repair an injury sustained in a 5-1 victory over the Falcons on Jan. 22. That happened in his second game after being recalled from the ECHL’s Greenville Road Warriors. He missed his 25^th game Wednesday night. … The Falcons scratched goalie Gustaf Wesslau, defensemen Mike Commodore, Brent Regner and Anton Blomqvist and forwards Kyle Wilson, Tomas Kana, Chris D’Alvise, Mike Blunden and Maksim Mayorov, recalled earlier in the day by the parent Columbus Blue Jackets. … Greenville clinched the ECHL’s South Division title in their first season with a 3-1 victory over the South Carolina Stingrays on Tuesday night. The Road Warriors are affiliated with the Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers.

CHECKERS, SOUND TIGERS VISIT FRIDAY AND SATURDAY

The first-year Charlotte Checkers, the Whale’s former ECHL affiliate, make their second visit to Hartford Friday night and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers are in town Saturday night to end a five-game homestand. The Whale then plays successive games at Providence on Sunday and April 1.

The Checkers (39-25-2-6) lost to the Whale 4-2 on opening night Oct. 9 but won 5-1 and 1-0 at home on Feb. 24 and 26. The Checkers beat Adirondack 5-2 Tuesday night thanks to going 4-for-11 on the power play. Their balanced attack is led by left wings Chris Terry (29, 27) and Jacob Micflikier (24, 28) and centers Zach Boychuk (19, 33) and Zac Dalpe (19, 28), the AHL’s third-leading rookie scorer who has a goal and three assists against the Whale. Right wing Jerome Samson (26, 28) is on recall to the parent Carolina Hurricanes.

Rookie Mike Murphy (21-11-3, 2.53 goals-against average, .919 save percentage, two shutouts) has the two wins against the Whale, allowing only four goals in three appearances. He has shared the goaltending with Justin Pogge (18-16-3, 3.10, .908) as the Checkers are the only AHL team to use two goalies throughout the season.

Hockey Ministries International Northeast is sponsoring “Faith & Family Night” that includes the band Scarlet Fade performing in the XL Center atrium before and after the game. Contact AHL Chapel Coordinator Rick Mitera at 860-817-6440 or rmitera@hockeyministries.org to order $10 tickets for upper bowl seats. Anyone who buys a ticket through Hockey Ministries will receive a $2 coupon for parking. For more information on Hockey Ministries, visit www.hockeyministriesnortheast.org.

PADDOCK TO BE INDUCTED INTO BINGHAMTON HALL OF FAME

Congratulations to AHL coaching legend John Paddock, who led the Wolf Pack to their only Calder Cup title in 2000 and will be inducted into the Binghamton Hockey Hall of Fame on Friday night at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena before the Senators play the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Award-winning goalie Corey Hirsch and BC Icemen standout Chris Grenville will join Paddock in the Class of 2011. Paddock, 56, led the Binghamton Rangers and Senators to successful inaugural seasons that ended in the third round of the playoffs. He had a 121-90-24 regular-season record in Binghamton before taking over as co-coach of the B-Senators in 2004-05. He was honored by the Wolf Pack last season after being inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame.

“I’m thrilled by (the induction),” Paddock told the Binghamton Press. “Those years were a big part of my career. They were good times professionally and also in the community. This is something above and beyond, and I’m very grateful.”

Paddock is the only coach to lead three teams to the Calder Cup – Maine Mariners, Hershey Bears and Wolf Pack. He also was coach and general manager of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets and Phoenix Coyotes before joining the Wolf Pack and then returning in 2002 to where he had some of his most memorable hockey moments.

“Binghamton was Rangers territory, so it was pretty neat for Binghamton to have the Rangers as their parent club,” Paddock said. “I was there the first year they came. It was an exciting time. Then with Ottawa, lots of players that played in Binghamton went on to be the supporting cast of that Stanley Cup finals team (in 2007). On the flip side, we finished first overall the lockout year (2004-05), then lost in the first round. That was one of my bigger disappointments in hockey.”

Paddock was promoted to assistant coach in Ottawa for the 2005-06 season and then took over as head coach in 2007-08. After being fired the next season, he was named coach of the Philadelphia Phantoms, the Flyers’ AHL affiliate, and is now an assistant general manager to former Whalers coach and GM Paul Holmgren. Paddock also played 10 seasons professionally, including 102 NHL games and winning a Calder Cup with the Mariners… Oklahoma City Barons right wing Colin McDonald, a Wethersfield native and son of former Hartford Whalers defenseman Gerry McDonald, has scored 32 goals this season after totaling 34 in his first three AHL seasons. He had his first pro hat trick at Rockford on Friday.

CAREER SEASONS FOR KORPIKOSKI AND QUICK

Former Wolf Pack and Rangers forward Lauri Korpikoski scored the winner with three minutes left in the second period Tuesday night as the Phoenix Coyotes beat the St. Louis Blues 2-1 to solidify their hold on fourth in the Western Conference and move within one point of the third-place San Jose Sharks, who hosted the Flames on Wednesday night.

Korpikoski, the Rangers’ first-round pick (19^th overall) in 2004, has career highs in goals (18), assists (19) and points (37) this season and is plus-19, second on the Coyotes to Adrian Aucoin’s plus-21. He assisted on Ray Whitney’s goal and then tied Radim Vrbata and captain Shane Doan for the team lead in goals after entering the season with only 11 goals in his first two NHL seasons. While he doesn’t have a single power-play goal, Korpikoski does have seven points in his last eight games while playing between Whitney and Vrbata in place of the injured Martin Hanzal, and his 38 points are 27 more than he had all last season.

“Two more big plays by Korpi, he’s really meant the world to us all season,” Doan said. “No one is surprised to see him scoring like this. He’s an elite player and everyone has been kind of waiting for him to put it together. We count on him to break the game open with his skill.”

Korpikoski, known for his defense and penalty killing but named the game’s No. 1 star for his offense, said, “I’m playing with good players and on the top line. I think it’s normal when you get more chances to score and you put it in. I think it just comes with the opportunity to play.”

Another player with local ties having a career season is Hamden native Jonathan Quick, who made 27 saves in regulation and overtime and then stopped two of three shots in a shootout in the Los Angeles Kings’ 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Monday night. The game was scoreless until the Kings’ Jarret Stoll scored with 5:52 left, but Olli Jokinen tied it on the game’s next shot 55 seconds later. Quick made four big saves during a Flames power play late in overtime before earning the victory and No. 1 star as the Kings moved two points ahead of the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks into a tie for fifth in the tightly bunched Western Conference playoff race.

“Every point we get, whether it’s one point or two points, it helps build a resume to make the playoffs,” said Quick, who improved to 8-0 in shootouts this season. “We’re just trying to get two points every time we’re out. We got two points and that’s all that matters.” Stoll got the Kings even in the shootout after Alex Tanguay beat Quick, and Anze Kopitar gave the Kings the win when he slipped the puck through Miikka Kiprusoff’s legs.

At the other end of the spectrum is former Rangers and Wolf Pack forward Manny Malhotra, who will miss the rest of the season and playoffs because of a left eye injury. Malhotra, in his first season with the Vancouver Canucks, was injured when a shot by the Colorado Avalanche’s Erik Johnson hit him in the face during a game March 16 and then had surgery. The Rangers’ first-round pick (seventh overall) in 1998 has 11 goals, 19 assists and is second in the NHL in faceoff winning percentage at .617.

FIRST TEE OF CONNECTICUT DAY ON APRIL 3

The Whale will host First Tee of Connecticut Day on April 3, when the Portland Pirates are at the XL Center at 3 p.m. Level 200 tickets are $12, with the First Tee of Connecticut receiving $5 from each ticket sold. To purchase tickets and help local youngsters interested in improving their golf game and life skills, contact Nick Criscuolo at 860-728-3366 or ncriscuolo@whalerssports.com.

WHALE 3, FALCONS 2

Springfield        1 1 0 – 2
Connecticut       0 1 2 – 3

First period: 1. Spr, MacLeod 1 (Savard, Holden), 18:02. Penalties: None.

Second period: 2. Spr, Goloubef 5 (Kubalik, Smith), 8:59. 3. Conn, Couture 2 (Garlock), 11:52. Penalties: Filatov, Spr (slashing), 2:52; Parlett, Ct (tripping), 6:53; Lemieux, Ct (interference), 13:35; Goloubef Spr (holding), 19:03.

Third period: 4. Conn, Weise 16 (Newbury, Dupont), 0:54 (pp). 5. Conn, Mitchell 6 (Williams, Grachev), 11:17. Penalty: Guite, Spr (high-sticking), 1:55.

Shots on goal: Springfield 10-11-6-27. Connecticut 5-13-16-34; Power-play opportunities: Springfield 0 of 2; Connecticut 1 of 3; Goalies: Springfield, Dainton 0-1-0 (34 shots-31 saves). Connecticut, Grumet-Morris 10-3-1 (27-25); A: 3,176; Referees: Terry Koharski, Marcus Vinnerborg; Linesmen: Brent Colby, David Spannaus.

The State of Connecticut is full of long suffering Hartford Whalers fans, like Ian and myself.  For those of you who aren’t aware the Whalers left town in 1997 when Carpetbagger Peter Karmanos, who had come from Michigan and bought the team, moved it to North Carolina and re-named them the Carolina Hurricanes.  It’s a move that still stings.

In fact after disparaging the ‘Canes head d-bag in a tweet I heard from one of his cousins who tried to inform me what a generous and nice guy Karmanos is.  I told her I felt sorry for her due to the relation and reiterated that he is still hated and despised in CT.

But I digress, the fact is many of us still love the Whalers and threw my new friend Brittany Auerbach who runs the BA Loves the Whalers blog come these two items.

First are Hartford Whalers sneakers designed on a pair of Nike Air Jordan Retro 1.  Uber cool high tops in Whalers colors rocking the Whalers logo.  Nice.

The second item on the Whale is a book written by Andover MA resident, Robert Muldoon.  Muldoon worked his way through his college years and early twenty’s by working part-time for the Whalers.  Most of his duties consisted of driving the new cars on ice between periods for promotions.  His book: Brass Bonanza Plays Again: How Hockey’s Greatest Goon Brought Back Mark Twain and a Dead Team – And Made a City Believe Again was published in January of this year.

The book which took nine years to write, “is a mix of real characters such as Ron Francis, Kevin Dineen and Ulf Samuelsson along side a fictional goon who goes from being homeless and living under a bridge to center ice with a reunited Whalers team”.

While working for the club he even wrote articles for the Sunday Hartford Courant and Goal Magazine. Muldoon worked for the team from 1984-1994 and was heartbroken when the Carpetbagger run away to Carolina with his favorite team.  When the team left he even attended the “Irish Wake” with the city journalists at a local bar.

He is selling his Book through Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

Photo credit: Casey Custom Sneakers, Andover Patch

By Bruce Berlet

Connecticut Whale rookie goalie Cam Talbot paid defenseman Pavel Valentenko quite the compliment Sunday.

“He blocks shots so well it’s like having three goalies,” Talbot said after watching Valentenko doing plenty of just such dirty work in a 3-1 victory over the Springfield Falcons.

With the Whale on the way to tying a season low of 18 shots, Valentenko also gave them some unexpected offense when one of his lasers from the left point overpowered goalie Gustaf Wesslau, hitting his stick and going into the net for his third goal at 9:07 of the third period.

“I’ve had a hard shot all my life, but it has always gone the wrong way,” a smiling Valentenko said after practice Tuesday at the XL Center in Hartford. “Now I’ve been practicing my shot almost every day with (assistant coach) J.J. (Daigneault), and it goes in the net. I’ve worked on shooting quicker and hitting the net.”

Valentenko, a self-proclaimed stay-at-home defenseman, also has specialized in blocked shots since he began learning the game in Nizhnekamsk, Russia.

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“All my hockey career I’ve tried to block shots because then it’s easier for the goalie and better for us,” said Valentenko, nicknamed “Tank” in training camp by New York Rangers coach John Tortorella. “Even when as I was a kid I was staying in the net and blocking shots. My father said, ‘Be a goalie if you want.’ I didn’t want to be a goalie. I just wanted to protect the net.”

Personal issues at home and a pair of injuries limited Valentenko to 19 games the past two seasons, so he is delighted to be the only Whale player to appear in all 70 games this season. But he hasn’t completely escaped the injury bug. He had difficulty talking for nearly three months after he sustained nerve damage in his throat when clipped by a stick during a scrimmage in Rangers training camp.

“The last two years was a hard time for me,” Valentenko said. “I had two big injuries, and now I’m so happy that I’m playing.”

The 23-year-old Valentenko has been paired mostly with rookies Tomas Kundratek, 21, and Blake Parlett, 21, an ECHL All-Star recalled from Greenville on Feb. 17 as Kundratek battled an infection.

“I’m doing my best and everything for the team and guys have helped me,” Valentenko said. “So the season has been pretty good, and I think I’ve improved my shot and penalty kill.”

Others say Valentenko has been much more than “pretty good.”

Whale coach Ken Gernander commended Valentenko for being willing to sacrifice his body at a moment’s notice.

“He has always been a pretty good shot blocker,” Gernander said, “and when he’s on his game, he plays physical, hits and contains in the defensive zone. And he has a big shot. Maybe he could be more selective with it, make sure he gets it through and things like that, but obviously that was a big goal for us (Sunday). It was much needed offense from a source that isn’t typical of some of our power-play guys.”

Despite Valentenko’s heavy shot, Kundratek, Parlett, veteran Wade Redden, injured second-year pro Michael Del Zotto and All-Star right wing Jeremy Williams usually man the points on the Whale’s top power-play units. Right wing Dale Weise even was used there for a few games, while Valentenko, Jared Nightingale and Stu Bickel have focused on penalty killing.

Valentenko’s three goals and 10 assists might not catch the eye of many Whale followers, but he leads the team in plus-minus at plus-20, two better than fellow Russian Evgeny Grachev. And some of Valentenko’s bone-crushing hits rank among the best in hockey.

“He’s obviously a great shot blocker, always in those lanes, and even if he doesn’t block it, he usually gets a stick on it or something,” Talbot said. “One-on-one, no one (hardly) ever gets around him. Anyone who tries to make a move on him, he just gets the stick on the puck, knocks it in the corner and rubs the guy out. He obviously has really improved all season long, and it’s starting to show for us.”

Valentenko and defenseman Ryan McDonagh, both of whom were acquired in a seven-player trade with the Montreal Canadiens that included center Scott Gomez, were narrowly edged out in training camp by former Hartford Wolf Pack defenseman Michael Sauer, who has been one of the Rangers’ major surprises and leads the parent club in plus-minus at plus-18, one more than McDonagh entering a game against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. Ironically, Sauer and McDonagh, who started the season with the Wolf Pack, are now the Rangers’ No. 2 defensive pairing behind two former Wolf Pack players, All-Star Marc Staal and Dan Girardi.

“I thought I did pretty well in training camp after I (hardly) played in two seasons,” Valentenko said. “I was working hard in the summer before camp, and I think I did pretty well. I was doing my best, but when I got sent down, I just told myself to work harder and wait for my chance to make the big team.”

Daigneault, who handles the defense, also noted the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Valentenko’s willingness to block shots and how he has improved his defensive coverage and finished checks better while still trying to get a quicker release on his shot and push soft passes to his teammates.

“His strength is on the (penalty) kill and blocking shots, but there are a few things I’ve worked with him on,” Daigneault said. “Early in the season, he had the habit of jumping from one check to another, and I think it’s important for a defenseman to focus on one job. But sometimes it’s just wanting to do too much, taking one guy and then jumping on the other check, so that’s what I keep showing him on video.

“He also needs to show a little more physicality, but he’s also finished some big hits on the rush and down low. He does have a big shot, but he also has a big windup so I’ve worked with him on getting his shot off quicker. In our league, opponents are really good at taking the lanes away so oftentimes he wasn’t able to exploit his big shot because he was taking too long. But you saw (Sunday) the one-timer from the blue line, which is a drill we’ve been working on in practice to get a feel for that one-time shot. He told me those are things that no one had ever taught him, but I think those are the kinds of things that young defensemen need to know.”

It’s all about the basics.

“If you improve your skating, your passing or your shot from the first time you’re here, fundamentals will allow you to play anywhere,” Daigneault said. “So I’d love the young guys to be a Ranger one day, but if they have good fundamentals and the Rangers think they can get a (draft) pick for those players, then they can go play somewhere else. If you have fundamentals, I think you can play anywhere.”

After growing up in the hockey ranks in his native Nizhnekamsk, Valentenko was a fifth-round pick of the Canadiens in 2005 and moved to North America a year later. He had two goals and an assist in six games playing for Team Russia in the 2007 World Junior Championships and was voted the Bulldogs’ top rookie in his first season (2007-08) after getting one goal and 15 assists in 57 games. He also was part of the group of players the Canadiens called up for the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs in the case of injuries.

On Oct. 30, 2008, after getting two assists in four games with Hamilton to start the 2008-09 season, Valentenko decided to leave the Bulldogs to help provide for family members, including his parents, and signed a three-year contract with Dynamo Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League.

“He was concerned about how his family would survive,” Gordie Clark, the Rangers’ director of player personnel, told www.newyorkrangers.com. “He went to the Canadiens first, unlike some other guys who just go home. He told them that he didn’t want to leave, but he had to for the best interest of his family. So he did it, and he had to set his pro career back for that.”

When he left, Valentenko intended to return when his wife’s finances were more stable. But after he played only eight games with Dynamo that season, the Canadiens didn’t want to wait. On June 30, 2009, Valentenko was traded with McDonagh, the Canadiens’ No. 1 pick (12^th overall) in 2007 who started this season with the Wolf Pack before switching places with Del Zotto on Jan. 3, former Yale center Chris Higgins and former Springfield Pics defenseman Doug Janik for Gomez, former Wolf Pack wing Tom Pyatt and defenseman Michael Busto.

“I was so happy that Montreal traded me to the Rangers because I wanted to come back to North America,” Valentenko said. “I had a hard time in my family and had to go back home, but I always wanted to come back to North America. But the Canadiens signed seven defensemen to one-way contracts, and I didn’t think I got a chance (to make the team).”

As Valentenko prepared for last season, he sustained an injury that required surgery just before the season started. After diligent rehab, he returned Jan. 5, 2010, and played in Novokuznetsk’s 4-3 victory. He played six more games before the nagging injury ended his season on Feb. 7.

But the left-handed shooting Valentenko has progressed well while paired with two other good, young right-handed prospects.

“I thought Valentenko and Parlett were a good compliment,” Daigneault said. “Parlett is a good skater and very good at the short pass to exit the defensive zone, and one is physical and the other likes to get up the ice. It’s like Chris Chelios and (Craig) Ludwig, so I thought the combination was good. I don’t particularly like having two right-handed shooters together like Kundratek and Bickel, but there’s nothing I can do with four right-handed guys.”

Valentenko is now on the cusp of being a NHL player, and it seems appropriate it could be with the Rangers. One of Valentenko’s favorite souvenirs is a Rangers’ 1994 Stanley Cup championship cap that his father bought while attending his 10-year-old son’s seven “friendship games” in 1997. Pavel’s team played in Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, where he watched a New York Islanders game and also visited Madison Square Garden, the home of the Rangers.

“My dad went to Madison Square Garden and bought the hat,” Valentenko said. “I loved the Rangers, and my father also has a miniature Rangers player that he hangs on his keys or rear-view mirror. He likes the Rangers because they have so much history and had a couple of Russian players on the championship team – (Alex) Kovalev, (Sergei) Nemchinov, (Sergei) Zubov and (Alexander) Karpovtsev. He followed them and read about them.”

Now Valentenko would love to have his father and thousands of others get to watch him play in The World’s Most Famous Arena.

NEWCOMER PRACTICES WITH WHALE

Forward Kale Kerbashian had his first practice with the Whale on Tuesday, a day after signing an amateur tryout agreement for this season and an AHL contract for next season. The 5-foot-11, 173-pound Kerbashian joined the Whale after getting 37 goals and 51 assists in 68 games with Sarnia of the Ontario Hockey League.

The 20-year-old free agent from Thunder Bay, Ontario, saw his first pro action last season when he had two goals and an assist in four ECHL games with Wheeling. He is the Whale’s only healthy extra and is eligible to play in the playoffs if the team reaches the postseason.

Kerbashian stayed with the same family in Sarnia as new teammate Devin DiDiomete and played against Del Zotto and Parlett in the OHL. Defenseman Jyri Niemi continued to skate on his own, but Del Zotto and forwards Chad Kolarik, Todd White and Chris McKelvie are just rehabbing or resting.

REMATCH WITH FALCONS WEDNESDAY NIGHT

The Whale (36-26-2-6) has a rematch with the Falcons on Wednesday night at the XL Center in the start of four games in five days. The Whale has won three in a row and eight of 10 to reach their high-water mark this season of 10 games over .500. The 3-1 win over the Falcons on Sunday moved the Whale four points ahead of Worcester in the battle for the third and final guaranteed spot in the Atlantic Division playoff race and one point in front of Binghamton (36-27-3-4), which is fifth in the East Division in the fight for a possible crossover playoff berth. The crossover rule stipulates the top four teams in the East Division and the top three in the Atlantic Division qualify for the playoffs, and the conference’s eighth and final spot will go to whichever has more points between the East’s fifth-place team and the Atlantic’s fourth-place club.

If the Sharks (33-26-4-8) eke out a playoff spot, they might look back to a 5-4 overtime victory over the Atlantic Division-leading Portland Pirates on Tuesday morning. Rookie Corey Tropp’s goal only 13 seconds into the game sparked the Pirates to an early 3-0 lead before Patrick Davis’ shorthanded goal got the Sharks started. The Pirates took a 4-2 lead early in the second period, but Nick Schaus got the Sharks to 4-3 by the end of the period. With the Pirates on the verge of clinching a playoff spot and expanding their division lead to four points with four games in hand on Manchester, another defenseman, Joe Loprieno, tied it with 3:23 left in regulation. Left wing John McCarthy then scored only 16 seconds into overtime to get Sharks within two points of the Whale and one point of Binghamton. The Sharks had been outscored 19-7 in losing their three previous visits to Portland.

The stage for a Whale-Falcons rematch was set when the teams had to be separated after the final buzzer sounded as they were leaving their benches Sunday. The scuffle was precipitated by Falcons tough guy Kyle Neuber jabbing at Kris Newbury and DiDiomete, the AHL leader in fighting majors (32) and penalty minutes (296). It wasn’t the first time this season the Whale had a run-in with Neuber. His hit on All-Star right wing Jeremy Williams in the Whale’s 3-2 victory on March 2 forced the team leader in goals (29) to miss four games.

While the Whale has surged into a playoff spot, the Falcons (30-36-2-3) are on a 0-10-1-0 slide since the loss of rugged wings Tom Sestito and former Wolf Pack captain Dane Byers via deals at the trade deadline. They were challenging for their first playoff berth since 2005 before the freefall dating to a 4-1 victory over Portland on Feb. 27. Their only point in the slump came March 5 in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Whale, who are 5-1-1-1 and have won five in a row against their I-91 rival. The Falcons have been shut out twice and scored only four goals in their last five games.

The Falcons are led by rookie right wing Tomas Kubalik (21, 24), veteran centers Trevor Smith (18, 22) and Ben Guite (14, 25) and rookie left wing Maksim Mayorov (18, 13). Former Wolf Pack captain/center Greg Moore has one assist in 10 games since being part of the Sestito trade. Former Wolf Pack David LeNeveu (16-20-2, 2.97 goals-against average, .896 save percentage) and Gustaf Wesslau (12-16-1, 3.17, .897) share the goaltending. LeNeveu was pulled after the second period Sunday because of fatigue from having played three games in less than 48 hours, including a trip to Binghamton, N.Y.

After the rematch, the first-year Charlotte Checkers, the Whale’s former ECHL affiliate, make their second Hartford appearance Friday night and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers visit Saturday night to end the homestand. The Whale then plays successive games at Providence on Sunday and April 1.

WHALE HONOR HOWE FAMILY ON SATURDAY NIGHT

“Howe Family Night” arrives Saturday as the Whale honors legendary Gordie Howe, sons Mark and Marty and his wife, Colleen, who died in 2009. Before the game, fans can meet Gordie and get a personalized autographed book and photo by purchasing a copy of the colorful 185-page book “9. Nine. A Salute to Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe.” The book sells for $70, and he will sign copies starting at 5:30 p.m. in the XL Center atrium. The first 2,000 fans will receive a free commemorative 36-page Gordie Howe tribute program full of color photos and stories, and there will be a video tribute to the Howes during a pregame ceremony.

In pregame warm-ups, Whale players will wear a special 1978 vintage No. 9 Gordie Howe New England Whalers white home jerseys. A refurbished banner honoring the No. 9 of “Mr. Hockey,” one of seven numbers in the XL Center rafters, will be will be spotlighted as he and his sons, whom he played with for seven seasons in Houston and Hartford, look on. Colleen Howe also will be honored as a new banner saluting the Howes will be raised. There will be a highlight film of the Howes shown on the video screen as area fans can salute them for their contributions to hockey in general and the Hartford market in particular.

Howe’s No. 9 is in the rafters with the Whalers’ No. 2 (Rick Ley), 5 (Ulf Samuelsson), 10 (Ron Francis), 11 (Kevin Dineen) and 19 (John McKenzie). Gernander’s No. 12 is the only number to be retired in the 14-year history of the AHL team.

The Howes played together for the first time with the Houston Aeros in 1973 before coming to Hartford and signing with the World Hockey Association’s New England Whalers in 1977. Howe ended his legendary 32-year career in the Whalers’ first NHL season (1979-80), when he had 15 goals and 26 assists and was named a NHL All-Star for the 23^rd time while helping the Whalers make the playoffs at 52 years old.

Tickets for all Whale games are available 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 at the XL Center ticket office on game day. Fans who did not attend the Whale’s outdoor game against Providence because of the frigid weather can redeem their tickets for one to “Howe Family Night” or another game of their choice. If fans want to redeem a ticket, they should contact Baldwin Jr. at hlb@whalerssports.com. … Wethersfield native Colin McDonald, son of former Hartford Whalers defenseman Gerry McDonald who had his first pro trick at Rockford on Friday, has scored 32 goals this season after totaling 34 in his first three AHL seasons. … Former Rangers and Wolf Pack forward Manny Malhotra will miss the rest of the season and playoffs because of a left eye injury. Malhotra was injured when a shot by the Colorado Avalanche’s Erik Johnson hit him in the face during a game March 16, requiring surgery. In his first season with the Canucks, the Rangers’ first-round pick (seventh overall) in 1998 has 11 goals, 30 points and is second in the NHL in faceoff winning percentage at .617. … Hamden native Jonathan Quick did it again for the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night, making 27 saves in regulation and overtime and then stopping two of three shots in a shootout in a 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames. The game was scoreless until the Kings’ Jarret Stoll scored with 5:52 left, but Olli Jokinen tied it for the Flames on the game’s next shot only 55 seconds later. Quick then made four big saves during a Flames power play late in overtime before earning the victory and game’s No. 1 star as the Kings moved two points ahead of the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks into fifth place in the tightly bunched Western Conference playoff race. “Every point we get, whether it’s one point or two points, it helps build a resume to make the playoffs,” said Quick, who improved to 8-0 in shootouts this season. “We’re just trying to get two points every time we’re out. We got two points and that’s all that matters.” Stoll got the Kings even in the shootout after Alex Tanguay beat Quick, and Anze Kopitar gave the Kings the win when he slipped the puck through Miikka Kiprusoff’s legs.

CONGRATULATIONS, DAVE ANDREWS AND JARED DEMICHIEL

Congratulations to AHL president and CEO David Andrew and Avon native Jared DeMichiel for being named recipients of two significant awards.

Andrews has been selected by the Ace Bailey Children’s Foundation as the 2011 recipient of its Ace Bailey Good Guy Award, presented annually to individuals who have supported and advanced the game of hockey on the professional, school or youth level and who are regarded to be truly “good guys.” Andrews will be honored on Wednesday night at the organization’s “Face Off for Ace” dinner in Cambridge, Mass.

The Ace Bailey Children’s Foundation was established in memory of Garnet “Ace” Bailey, who won the 1969 Calder Cup with the Hershey Bears and went on to play eight years in the NHL, capturing the Stanley Cup with Boston in 1972. Bailey was a victim of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and his family created the foundation to perpetuate his deep caring for the well-being and happiness of children through the improvement of hospital environments and services.

DeMichiel was named the Rochester Press-Radio Club’s PAXCHEX Male College Athlete of the Year for 2010 after leading the surprising Rochester Institute of Technology to the NCAA Frozen Four last year. He will be recognized at the organization’s awards dinner May 24, when the featured speaker will be former Detroit Lions quarterback Clay Matthews.

In his senior year at RIT, DeMichiel was 27-10-1 with a 2.09 GAA, .921 save percentage and six shutouts, capped by victories over top-seeded Denver University and the University of New Hampshire to give the school a record for wins in a season and its first berth in the Frozen Four before an 8-1 loss in the semifinals to Wisconsin, led by McDonagh and Rangers center Derek Stepan. Wisconsin lost 5-0 in the title game to Boston College, led by right wing Chris Kreider, the Rangers’ top prospect after being a first-round pick (19^th overall) in 2009.

DeMichiel’s stellar senior year earned him an AHL contract with Hershey, but he started this season with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays, where he was 14-10-0, 2.66, .913 with two shutouts in 26 games before being traded on March 11 to the Elmira Jackals for the rights to forward Brock McBride, who was with the Milwaukee Admirals. DeMichiel is 1-0-1, 3.37, .909 in two games with the Jackals, losing 3-2 to the Trenton Devils in a shootout despite making 49 saves. He’s also 2-1-0, 3.65, .873 in five games with the Bears.

HARTFORD, March 21, 2011:  Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the team has agreed to terms with forward Kale Kerbashian on an AHL contract for next season, and that Kerbashian will be added to the Whale’s current roster on an Amateur Tryout (ATO) agreement.

The 5-11, 173-pound Kerbashian comes to the Whale from the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).  In 68 games with the Sting this season, Kerbashian, a 20-year-old native of Thunder Bay, Ontario scored 37 goals and added 51 assists for 88 points, while serving 52 minutes in penalties.  His point and goal totals were both good for second on the Sting club, and Kerbashian finished tied for tenth among all OHL skaters in points.

In 2009-10, Kerbashian led the Sarnia squad in points, goals and assists, with 26-30-56, despite playing in only 58 of the team’s 68 games.  He also saw his first career pro action last season, skating in four ECHL games with the Wheeling Nailers and chipping in two goals and an assist for three points.

In 252 career OHL games over five seasons with the London Knights, Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors and Sting, Kerbashian totaled 87 goals and 120 assists for 207 points, along with 157 penalty minutes.

The Whale are back in action this Wednesday night, March 23, taking on the Springfield Falcons in an Atlantic Division battle at the XL Center.  Faceoff is 7:00 PM.

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.

By Bruce Berlet

HARTFORD, Conn. – It was the classic “trap game.”

On one side, a team rolling along with seven victories in nine games, capped by stirring, one-goal wins over division rivals the previous two nights.

On the other side, a team suffering through a 10-game winless streak since losing two of their major components at the trade deadline that didn’t get home until 2 a.m. Sunday after being shut out in Binghamton, N.Y.

Yes, the surging Connecticut Whale had to guard against a major letdown in a matinee matchup with the Springfield Falcons at the XL Center. Not to mention goalie Cam Talbot wanting to atone for a rare off-day in a loss at Worcester a week earlier and keep pace with Dov Grumet-Morris, who backstopped the victories over Atlantic Division-leading Manchester and archrival Providence on Friday and Saturday nights.

The Whale was sluggish and a step behind through the first half of the game while killing a series of penalties but escaped with a tie thanks to several key Talbot saves and then put together enough offense to get goals from Dale Weise and Pavel Valentenko for a 3-1 victory before 4,985.

“I didn’t think we had a very good start, but once again our goaltender held us in the game and we did what we had to do to win the game,” Weise said. “At the beginning of the season, we were finding ways to lose games like that, but the past few weeks we’ve been finding ways to win games like that.

“Going in the final stretch and eventually into the playoffs, it’s key that you’ll able to come back in the third period, have some offense in your team and know we’re never out of a game. That’s the attitude that we have. Whether we’re down or up in the third period, we’re pretty confident, and that’s real big coming down the stretch.”

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The Whale’s 18 shots tied a season low, but they won their third game in less than 48 hours to improve their high-water mark of the season to 10 games over .500. The Whale (36-26-2-6) remained four points ahead of Worcester (32-26-4-8), which won 3-2 at Manchester, in the battle for the third and final guaranteed spot in the division playoff race. They also remained one point ahead of the Binghamton Senators (36-27-3-4), who are in fifth place in the East Division in the battle for a possible crossover playoff spot after a 4-3 overtime victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, who are 2-0-1-2 in their last five games.

“We’re not going to thumb our nose at any win at this point in time,” Whale coach Ken Gernander said. “We’re happy with the two points in a pretty good grind of a weekend of three games in three days. The Sunday ones are maybe a little bit tough, but the guys got through it.

“It’s that time of year when those things take their toll on you, so you have to manage your game a little bit. And it’s not always equal footing. You have a guy who does extra on special teams and is a physical, bigger guy and he really has to pay the price to maintain that pace for two nights as opposed to maybe a guy who floated around for two nights on the perimeter and plays a little bit different role. It affects each guy differently, but I think our guys played hard, and most importantly got the win.”

Talbot rebounded from a sub-par effort a week earlier that he blamed for a 5-4 loss.

“You have to put (a poor game) behind you and move on,” said Talbot, who had 22 saves as he improved to 11-5-2 with a 2.42 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and two shutouts. “You can’t let one game affect the next one, so you have to come mentally prepared like the last game never happened and just focus on (Sunday).”

Time with Rangers goaltenders coach Benoit Allaire during the week also was beneficial.

“Working with Bennie helps every time,” Talbot said. “Basically he said stop the puck and don’t worry about anything. If you let up a rebound, you just have to be in position for the next save. I was seeing the puck a lot better. I was seeing through screens a lot better and we blocked a lot of big shots, especially Jared Nightingale and Pavel Valentenko, who’s like having three goalies.

“I think we’ve got a pretty good goalie tandem right now. There are not too many games where we’re losing because of goaltending, that’s for sure. Then again, we haven’t lost that much at all lately. Any time you can keep the opposing team to one or two goals, you know our team is going to fire in at least three. The guys have been playing great, and they came out in the third period and really kept the shots to the outside. They got a few inside on the power play, but the guys did a good job of clogging up the middle and let me see all the shots.

“Guys are really buying into the system in the offensive and defensive zone. We’ve been working the puck down low and getting the third man high, so we’ve been limiting the odd-man rushes. Anytime you can limit odd-man rushes, they have to dump it in and then we have the first guys back making good outlet passes. Every game this time of year is obviously a playoff game, so there aren’t going to be many scoring chances, and it’s going to be tight games from here on out.”

The only shot to beat Talbot was Ben Guite’s deflection of a David Savard power-play point drive that the goalie couldn’t see while being screened by Trevor Smith at 10:25. That came after the Whale had taken a 1-0 lead when Evgeny Grachev pushed the puck ahead to Jeremy Williams, who skated into the right circle and beat former Hartford Wolf Pack goalie David LeNeveu to the far stick side at 9:35 for his team-leading 29^th goal.

The Whale was outshot 7-3 in the first period, matching their low shot total for a period this season, but escaped with the tie despite committing four penalties, capped by a minor for too many men on the ice. The Whale killed the carryover infraction, but Jared Nightingale’s slashing penalty at 1:43 of the second period gave the Falcons a fifth power play. The Whale didn’t have as many shots as penalties until Weise’s good bid from the right circle at 7:40 of the second.

But that’s as close as the Falcons (30-36-2-3) would get as they went to 0-10-1-0 since the loss of rugged wings Tom Sestito and former Wolf Pack captain Dane Byers via deals at the trade deadline. They were challenging for their first playoff berth since 2005 before the freefall since a 4-1 victory over Portland on Feb. 26. Their only point since then came March 5 in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Whale, who are 5-1-1-1 and have won five in a row against their I-91 rival.

The Whale finally showed some serious life midway through the second period with hard-luck Derek Couture being robbed by LeNeveu at 9:45 off a 2-on-1 with Francis Lemieux. But 90 seconds later, Tomas Kundratek cleared the puck into the right corner to Kris Newbury, whose blind back pass into the right circle found Weise, who got inside Falcons defenseman Cody Goloubef and one-timed a shot past LeNeveu’s stick side for his third winner of the season.

The Whale caught a break as LeNeveu had lost his stick and borrowed one from a defenseman. When LeNeveu put the stick down to stop Weise’s shot with his paddle, there was no paddle.

“We had a set play off the faceoff, and Tomas hit me up high and I just put it on net looking for a tip,” Weise said. “I find the soft areas pretty well, and Newbs knows where I am so I gave a quick holler. He made a great pass, and I got it off quick. I saw LeNeveu didn’t have his stick, so I tried to keep it low and get it in his feet somewhere. There wasn’t much (LeNeveu) could do.”

Gustaf Wesslau replaced LeNeveu at the start of the third period and kept the Falcons close with strong saves off Weise at 5:35 and Ryan Garlock at 6:59. But the Whale got the insurance they needed when Kelsey Tessier got the puck to Couture, who found defenseman Pavel Valentenko at the left point for a laser that went off Wesslau’s stick and in the net at 9:07.

“Valentenko has a good shot that he has to make sure gets through,” Gernander said. “Obviously that was a big goal for us, so that was much-needed offense from a source that’s not typical of some of our power-play guys.”

Tessier thought he had tipped Valentenko’s laser but settled for an assist.

“We didn’t shoot much the first period, but we hung in there and started to play a lot better,” Tessier said. “We had a better third man high and made sure we helped out our defense a little more. Talbot played really well, and we just had to work harder than them at the end of the game.

“Lately our third period has always been the best the last 10 to 12 games and we want to keep that going but make sure we’re ahead when we’re going into the third period. It was three (games) in three (nights), so you have to grind it out. You can’t get too fancy. It’s a dump-and-chase game pretty much, and when you have the opportunity to bring it to the net, you have to. We didn’t have as many as we wanted in the first period, but we came back hard in the second and third and proved we can get a few more goals.”

The Falcons had two more power plays, including a 6-on-4 for the final 1:42 after pulling Wesslau for an extra attacker. But Talbot & Co. sealed the deal without any difficulty, though there was a scuffle near the benches after the final horn assured the Whale would improve to 21-1-0-3 when leading after two periods.

The nastiness was a warm-up to a rematch Wednesday night at the XL Center.

“I think (the scuffle) just added a little more motivation for Wednesday, and I think our team thrives on that,” Weise said. “We’re real team tough. We don’t any real super heavyweight. We play together and stand up for each other. If they want to play games like that, we’re perfectly OK with a physical brand of hockey.

WHALE SCRATCHES SAME FIVESOME

The Whale again scratched forwards Todd White, Chris McKelvie and former Falcons right wing Chad Kolarik and defensemen Michael Del Zotto and Jyri Niemi. The Falcons scratched forwards Kyle Wilson, Chris D’Alvise, Mike Blunden and Nikita Filatov and defensemen Mike Commodore and Anton Blomqvist.

… After the rematch with the Falcons, the first-year Charlotte Checkers, the Whale’s former ECHL affiliate, make their second Hartford appearance on Friday night and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers visit Saturday night to end the homestand. The Whale then plays successive games at Providence on Sunday and April 1. … Wilkes-Barre/Scranton clinched the first spot in the Calder Cup playoffs with a come-from-behind 5-3 victory over visiting Worcester on Saturday night. The Penguins, who lost in the finals in 2001, 2004, and 2008, have punched their ninth consecutive postseason berth. Tim Wallace scored twice in the final 8:44 to break a 3-3 tie, and former Wolf Pack defenseman Corey Potter had one of the Penguins’ other three goals. Goalie Brad Thiessen, a leading contender for AHL goalie of the year, made 19 saves to earn his league-leading 30th win (30-7-1). He got No. 31 Sunday with 25 saves in a 2-1 victory over Charlotte as the Penguins (50-18-0-1) won their fourth in a row and became the first team to reach 50 wins and surpass 100 points. … Wethersfield native Colin McDonald, son of former Hartford Whalers defenseman Gerry McDonald, moved into a share of second in the AHL in goal with his 32^nd of the season in Oklahoma City’s 4-3 road win over the Chicago Wolves on Saturday night. But McDonald and the rest of the Barons were stymied Sunday as Edward Pasquale made 34 saves and Jason Krog had two goals and an assist in the Wolves’ 4-0 victory.

WHALE TO HONOR HOWE FAMILY NEXT SATURDAY

The Whale will host “Howe Family Night” when the Sound Tigers visit Saturday. The No. 9 of “Mr. Hockey,” one of seven numbers in the XL Center rafters, will be lowered and then raised and re-retired as he and his sons, Mark and Marty, whom he played with for seven seasons in Houston and Hartford, look on. The matriarch of the family, Colleen Howe, who died in 2009, will be honored as a new banner saluting the Howes, hockey’s first family, will also be raised to the rafters. There will be highlight film of the Howe shown on the video screen as area fans can salute the Howes for their contributions to hockey in general and the Hartford market in particular.

“I really hope people come out in droves to see the ‘Babe Ruth of Hockey’ and the first family of hockey,” said Whalers Sports and Entertainment chairman and CEO Howard Baldwin, who helped negotiate the deal to get the Howes to come to Hartford from Houston. “The Howes came here in 1977, and the next year the (Hartford Civic Center) roof collapsed. I’m not saying the Howes were solely responsible for getting the building rebuilt, but who knows what would have if they weren’t here.”

Prior to the game, fans can meet Gordie and get a personalized autographed book and photo by purchasing a copy of the colorful 185-page book “Howe No. 9.” The book sells for $70, and he will sign copies starting at 5:30 p.m. in the XL Center atrium. The first 2,000 fans will receive a free commemorative 36-page Gordie Howe tribute program full of color photos and stories, and there will be a video tribute to the Howes during a pregame ceremony.

Howe’s No. 9 is in the rafters with the Whalers’ No. 2 (Rick Ley), 5 (Ulf Samuelsson), 10 (Ron Francis), 11 (Kevin Dineen) and 19 (John McKenzie). Gernander’s No. 12 is the only number to be retired in the 14-year history of the AHL team.

“I think the next test of this market will be on Howe Family Night,” WSE president and COO Howard Baldwin Jr. said. “People should come out and show Gordie the respect that he deserves. It’s one of the biggest nights of the season, and I agree with (Hartford Courant sports columnist) Jeff Jacobs that it’s the time when the tire meets the road. It’s a big game on our schedule, and we don’t have a lot of games left. I’d be very disappointed if we didn’t have 10,000 people.”

The Howes played together for the first time with the Houston Aeros in 1973 before coming to Hartford and signing with the World Hockey Association’s New England Whalers in 1977. Howe ended his legendary 32-year career in the Whalers’ first NHL season (1979-80), when he had 15 goals and 26 assists and was named a NHL All-Star for the 23^rd time while helping the Whalers make the playoffs at 52 years old.

Tickets for all Whale games are available 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 at the XL Center ticket office on game day. Fans who did not attend the Whale’s outdoor game against Providence because of the frigid weather can redeem their tickets for one to “Howe Family Night” or another game of their choice. If fans want to redeem a ticket, they should contact Baldwin Jr. at hlb@whalerssports.com.

HOCKEY MINISTRIES NIGHT AT WHALE GAME

Hockey Ministries International Northeast is sponsoring 2011 Faith & Family Night at the game against Charlotte. Upper bowl seats are $10, and Scarlet Fade will perform a postgame concert.

To order tickets, contact AHL Chapel Coordinator Rick Mitera at 860-817-6440 or rmitera@hockeyministries.org. When someone buys a ticket through Hockey Ministries, they receive a $2 coupon for parking. For more information on Hockey Ministries, visit www.hockeyministriesnortheast.org.

FIRST TEE OF CONNECTICUT DAY ON APRIL 3

The Whale will host First Tee of Connecticut Day on April 3, when the Portland Pirates are at the XL Center at 3 p.m.

Level 200 tickets are $12, with the First Tee of Connecticut receiving $5 from each ticket sold. To purchase tickets and help local youngsters interested in improving their golf game and life skills, contact Nick Criscuolo at 860-728-3366 or ncriscuolo@whalerssports.com.

CONGRATULATIONS, JARED DEMICHIEL

Congratulations to Avon native Jared DeMichiel on being named the Rochester Press-Radio Club’s PAXCHEX Male College Athlete of the Year for 2010 after leading the surprising Rochester Institute of Technology to the NCAA Frozen Four last year. He will be recognized at the organization’s awards dinner May 24, when the featured speaker will be former Detroit Lions quarterback Clay Matthews.

In his senior year at RIT, DeMichiel was 27-10-1 with a 2.09 goals-against average, .921 save percentage and six shutouts, capped by victories over top-seeded Denver University and the University of New Hampshire to give the school a record for wins in a season and its first berth in the Frozen Four before an 8-1 loss in the semifinals to Wisconsin, led by Rangers center Derek Stepan and defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who began the season with the Whale. Wisconsin lost 5-0 in the championship game to Boston College, led by right wing Chris Kreider, the Rangers’ top prospect after being a first-round pick (19^th overall) in 2009.

His stellar senior year earned DeMichiel an AHL contract with the Hershey Bears, but he started this season with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays, where he was 14-10-0, 2.66, .913 with two shutouts in 26 games before being traded on March 11 to the Elmira Jackals for the rights to forward Brock McBride, who was with the Milwaukee Admirals. DeMichiel is 1-0-1, 3.37, .909 in two games with the Jackals, losing 3-2 to the Trenton Devils in a shootout despite making 49 saves. He’s also 2-1-0, 3.65, .873 in five games with the Bears.

WHALE 3, FALCONS 1

Springfield        1 0 0 — 1
Connecticut       1 1 1 — 3

First period: 1. Conn, Williams 29 (Grachev), 9:35. 2. Spr, Guite 14 (Savard, Kubalik), 10:25 (pp). Penalties: Nightingale, Ct (interference), 5:11; Kundratek, Ct (interference), 10:16; Ruth, Spr (interference), 11:56; Tessier, Ct (tripping), 14:45; served by DiDiomete, Ct (bench minor – too many men), 19:40.

Second period: 3. Conn, Weise 15 (Newbury, Kundratek), 11:15. Penalties: Nightingale, Ct (slashing), 1:43; Sigalet, Spr (tripping), 12:47; Moore, Spr (delay of game), 14:28.

Third period: 4. Conn, Valentenko 3 (Couture, Tessier), 9:07. Penalties: Holden, Spr (holding the stick), 3:44; Kana, Spr (game misconduct-third man in), 6:59; Moore, Spr (fighting), 6:59; Smith, Spr (slashing), 6:59; DiDiomete, Ct (fighting), 6:59; Soryal, Ct (slashing), 6:59; served by Soryal Ct (bench minor-too many men), 11:11; Parlett, Ct (cross-checking), 18:18; Neuber, Spr (slashing), 20:00; DiDiomete. Ct (slashing), 20:00.

Shots on goal: Springfield 7-7-9-23. Connecticut 3-9-6-18; Power-play opportunities: Springfield 1 of 7; Connecticut 0 of 4; Goalies: Springfield, LeNeveu 16-20-2 (12 shots-10 saves); Wesslau (6-5). Connecticut, Talbot 11-5-2 (23-22); A: 4,985; Referees: Chris Cozzan, Mark Lemelin; Linesmen: Kevin Redding, Chris Low.

By Bruce Berlet

HARTFORD, Conn. – Fortuitous bounces abounded Saturday night at the XL Center, and veteran center Francis Lemieux’s changeup in the eighth round of a shootout proved the most telling blow.

Lemieux, who helped set up Derek Couture’s first AHL goal this season, slowly skated in on Anton Khudobin and beat the Providence Bruins goalie high to the glove side to give the Connecticut Whale a stirring, come-from-behind 4-3 victory before 9,103.

It was Lemieux’s first AHL shootout goal and gave the Whale (35-26-2-6) their seventh win in nine starts and their high-water mark of nine games over .500 this season. It also gave them a four-point lead over the Worcester Sharks, a 5-3 loser at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, in the battle for the third and final guaranteed spot in the Atlantic Division playoff race. The Whale remained one point ahead of Binghamton, which is in fifth place in the East Division and beat slumping Springfield, 2-0.

“That’s my move,” Lemieux said. “I told (Kelsey Tessier) on the bench that if (coach Ken Gernander) is sending me, I’m going East Coast speed so the goalie isn’t expecting that, so that’s what I did. I was coming pretty slow, just waiting for the goalie to make a move and shoot over his shoulder.

“I had just one thing in mind, and I was ready to do that the whole time. I was just waiting on the bench for the tap on the back, and I got it and made it work. This is the first year that I’m actually going in the shootout, and my confidence has been building.”

Lemieux also made it work while with the Florida Everblades in a victory over the Greenville Road Warriors, the Whale’s ECHL affiliate.

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“When it worked, I just stuck with it,” Lemieux said. “(Khudobin) is catching with the left hand, so it’s easier for me because it’s his blocker side and tougher for him to reach over his shoulder. So I was just coming slowly and just waiting for him to put his shoulder down.”

Dov Grumet-Morris (34 saves) extended his AHL career-best win streak to five games when he stopped Jordan LaVallee-Smotherman in Round 8. Jamie Arniel had given the Bruins a 1-0 lead in Round 3, but Dale Weise tied it in Round 4. It stayed even until Lemieux’s first winner with the Whale.

“It feels good to contribute,” said Lemieux, the ECHL’s leading scorer when he left the Everblades but goalless with two assists in 14 games with the Whale. “Couture got a big goal for us that got us back in the game, so it was good for our whole line to create offensively. We’re just trying to work hard every night. We know we’re there to create some energy and scoring chances and not make any mistakes mentally, and that’s what we did tonight. We were first on the puck all night and finished our hits, and it worked well for us.”

The Whale got to overtime when Evgeny Grachev took a pass from John Mitchell in center ice, broke in 1-on-3 and took a shot from the top of the left circle that glanced off Khudobin’s glove and trickled into the net with 3:26 left in regulation. When Grachev realized he had scored his 16^th goal of the season, he made like Tiger Woods and pumped his right arm several times.

“We were shorthanded, I was going down the (left wing) and I saw (Khudobin) go down to one knee,” Grachev said. “I got a fortunate break and the shot went off his glove. We had a lot of heart. It was tremendous to come back. When you get a goal like that, you get pumped up.”

The Whale’s 600^th regular-season victory in their 14-year franchise history – they’re 600(W)-361(L)-66(T)-49(OTL)-33(SOL) – came after an evenly played first period that ended in a 1-1 tie thanks to a pair of somewhat fluky power-play goals.

After Mitchell lost the puck after splitting the Bruins defense and breaking in alone, the Whale’s recent acquisition’s one-timer of a cross-crease pass from Blake Parlett into the right circle knuckled into the far corner at 10:15.

The Bruins got even on their second man advantage when Zach Hamill’s 40-foot shot from the slot deflected off of Whale defenseman Jared Nightingale’s skate and Whale nemesis Maxime Sauve’s shin pad to Trent Whitfield at the left post, and the Providence veteran captain had an easy finish into an open net with 1:38 left in the period.

The Bruins took the impetus early in the second period, just as the Whale had done Friday night in a 1-0 victory at Manchester. The Bruins had a 7-1 shot advantage in the opening 81/2 minutes but were unable to beat Grumet-Morris. First, Kirk MacDonald raced around Parlett shorthanded but had his backhander from in close stopped at 1:26. Grumet-Morris then made sprawling save on All-Star Jamie Arniel’s rebound at 5:44 and robbed MacDonald off a 2-on-1 at 8:38 that had the Bruins wing shaking his head.

The Whale finally showed some semblance of life as Ryan Garlock raced down the left wing and tried a wraparound that went just wide at 9:52. Then at 10:54, Khudobin flicked out his stick to deny Kris Newbury and smothered a good Brodie Dupont bid.

But defenseman Stu Bickel took a roughing penalty out near his own blue line, and the Bruins made him and the Whale pay with another fluky goal as Andrew Bodnarchuk’s shot from the left point deflected off Dupont to Jordan Caron alone at the right post with 6:34 left in the period.

The Bruins extended their lead to 3-1 with 4:38 to go when Jordan LaVallee-Smotherman deftly batted the puck out of midair and past Grumet-Morris.

But 60 seconds later, a snake-bitten Couture got credit for the game’s fourth fluky goal when his backhander went in off of MacDonald’s stick for Couture’s first AHL goal in nine games with the Whale this season, after Pavel Valentenko’s slap shot went off Lemieux to the rugged right wing.

“I’ve had three breakaways and two good, solid opportunities from the slot, and that’s the one that goes in?” Couture said. “But that’s how the game works sometimes. Each line has to chip in, and we felt good out there.”

Still, the Whale was fortunate to escape the second period down only one goal after being outshot 14-7.

“I made some (good) saves in the second period,” Grumet-Morris said. “If they had got one or two of those, the game could have been out of reach. Then we did a great job on the penalty kill in the third period, and that was a great goal by Grachev. We really needed these two points. That’s the only thing that matters at this point.”

Grumet-Morris kept the Whale close when he stopped Whitfield off a 3-on-2 at 6:48 of the third period before Couture fanned on pass from Lemieux on a 2-on-1 at 10:51. Grumet-Morris then kept it 3-2 when he stopped MacDonald’s screened shot from 20 feet in the slot with 4:41 left.

The Bruins then appeared to have a chance to put the game away on their fourth power play after Bickel was whistled for high-sticking with 4:02 left, but Grachev dramatically changed the course of the game.

“That obviously was a big goal for us,” Gernander said. “We didn’t want to take a penalty that late in the game. The emphasis was that we were going to kill this off and then we’ll make a push, but luckily we got the shorthander.”

Grumet-Morris enabled the Whale to get to overtime when he smothered MacDonald’s jam attempt off a Nightingale turnover with 2:01 to go. After allowing the soft goal by Grachev, Khudobin kept the Bruins alive when he somehow got his right arm on Parlett’s laser from 30 feet in the slot off a setup by Newbury at 2:20 of overtime. Grumet-Morris then got the Whale to the shootout when he again denied MacDonald’s seventh shot on a 2-on-1 with nine seconds left.

“Dov has played really strong for us,” Gernander said. “He got the shutout in Manchester (2-0 on Friday night), so we came back with him, and he had a big game tonight and was really clutch in the shootout. He was real poised and real solid, and we stuck with it to the end. Part of mental toughness or a playoff mentality is that there are going to be hops or bad breaks throughout the course of a game, and you can let it defeat you or you can overcome or, if it’s in your favor, capitalize on it. But a lot of times that’s just a mindset.”

Lemieux earned the game’s No. 1 star and Grumet-Morris the third as the Whale improved to 4-6 in shootouts and 6-21-0-2 when trailing after two periods, with three of those wins coming in the last three weeks.

“I’m obviously happy with the two points, but we were fortunate,” Gernander said. “As every day passes, you’re going to have to get better and better because obviously the stakes are higher. Everybody is building an improving and playing a little closer to playoff-type hockey. We know we’ve got better and have to bring better.”

WHALE SCRATCHES SAME FIVE

The Whale again scratched forwards Chad Kolarik, Todd White and Chris McKelvie and defensemen Michael Del Zotto and Jyri Niemi. The Bruins scratched center Kyle MacKinnon, left wing Antoine Roussel and defensemen Nathan McIver, Boris Valabik and Kevan Miller.

SPRINGFIELD VISITS SUNDAY AFTERNOON

The Whale completes a busy weekend Sunday at 3 p.m. with the first of back-to-back games against the Falcons (30-35-2-3), whose loss to Binghamton extended their season-high slide to 0-9-0-1 since the loss of rugged wings Tom Sestito and former Wolf Pack captain Dane Byers via deals at the trade deadline. The Falcons were challenging for their first playoff berth since 2005 before the freefall that has existed since a 4-1 victory over Portland on Feb. 26. Their only point since then came on March 5 in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Whale, who are 4-1-1-1 against Springfield and have won four in a row with three games left in the I-91 series.

The Falcons are led by rookie right wing Tomas Kubalik (21, 23), veteran centers Trevor Smith (18, 22) and Ben Guite (13, 25) and rookie left wing Maksim Mayorov (18, 13). Smith has six goals and seven assists but is minus-17 in 23 games with the Falcons since being acquired from the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 4 for defenseman Nate Guenin, the Rangers’ fourth-round pick in 2002 who never played in the organization before signing a free-agent contract with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2006 after four years at Ohio State. Former Wolf Pack captain/center Greg Moore has one assist in seven games since being part of the Sestito trade. Former Wolf Pack David LeNeveu (16-18-2, 2.98, .895) and Gustaf Wesslau (12-16-1, 3.17, .898) are sharing the goaltending. Fans are encouraged to bring their skates for a postgame skate that will include some Whale players.

The Whale and Falcons have a rematch Wednesday before the first-year Charlotte Checkers, the Whale’s former ECHL affiliate, make their second XL Center appearance on Friday and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers visit next Saturday to end the homestand. The Whale then plays successive games at Providence on March 27 and April 1. … At the request of the City of Bridgeport and Fairfield University, the Sound Tigers have moved their game against Binghamton at the Webster Bank Arena on Sunday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. to allow the Stags men’s basketball team to host a second-round NIT game against Kent State at 12:30 p.m. Any fans who have purchased a ticket to Sunday’s game can use the ticket for the game against Binghamton and will also receive a free ticket to the Fairfield-Kent State game by showing their ticket to the Sound Tigers’ game to a representative at the Webster Bank Arena box office. Fans can get their ticket to any remaining four Sound Tigers home games by bringing their ticket stub from Sunday’s game to the box office. … Wethersfield native Colin McDonald, son of former Hartford Whalers defenseman Gerry McDonald, scored three goals for his first professional hat trick in visiting Oklahoma City’s 5-1 road win over Rockford on Friday. McDonald, who had never scored as many as 20 goals in a season, passed the 30-goal plateau and now ranks third in the AHL with 31 goals in 69 games. … Chris Chappell, who played with the Whale earlier this season, had a goal and Chris Beckford-Tseu made 27 saves as the Greenville Road Warriors beat the Cincinnati Cyclones 5-0 Friday night to clinch their first ECHL playoff berth. Defenseman Lee Baldwin, reassigned to Greenville by the Whale on Thursday, assisted on the first of Matt Schepke’s two goals. Beckford-Tseu had his first shutout of the season after being claimed off waivers from Victoria earlier in the week. The Road Warriors (40-21-4) have a shared affiliation with the Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers.

WHALE TO HONOR HOWE FAMILY NEXT SATURDAY

The Whale will host “Howe Family Night” when the Sound Tigers visit Saturday. The No. 9 of “Mr. Hockey,” one of seven numbers in the XL Center rafters, will be lowered and then raised and re-retired as he and his sons, Mark and Marty, whom he played with for seven seasons in Houston and Hartford, look on. The matriarch of the family, Colleen Howe, who died in 2009, will be honored.

A new banner saluting the Howes, hockey’s first family, will also be raised to the rafters and area fans will be able to salute the Howe clan for their contributions to hockey in general and the Hartford market in particular.

“In a lot of ways, Gordie Howe really put Hartford on the hockey map,” Whalers Sports and Entertainment president and COO Howard Baldwin Jr. said. “He brought true greatness to the city and helped usher the Whalers into the NHL. We feel that now is the perfect time to honor him and his legendary family with so many great things going on with the Whale, the Harvest-Properties.com Whalers Hockey Fest having been such a momentous event, and so much excitement around hockey in Connecticut right now.”

Prior to the game, fans can meet Gordie and get a personalized autographed book and photo by purchasing a copy of the colorful 185-page book “Howe No. 9.” The book sells for $70, and he will sign copies starting at 5:30 p.m. in the XL Center atrium.  2,000 fans will receive a free commemorative 36-page Gordie Howe tribute program full of color photos and stories.

Howe’s No. 9 is in the rafters with the Whalers’ No. 2 (Rick Ley), 5 (Ulf Samuelsson), 10 (Ron Francis), 11 (Kevin Dineen) and 19 (John McKenzie). Gernander’s No. 12 is the only number to be retired in the 14-year history of the AHL team.

“I think the next test of this market will be on Howe Family Night,” Baldwin Jr. said. “People should come out and show Gordie the respect that he deserves. It’s one of the biggest nights of the season, and I agree with (Hartford Courant sports columnist) Jeff Jacobs that it’s the time when the tire meets the road. It’s a big game on our schedule, and we don’t have a lot of games left. I’d be very disappointed if we didn’t have 10,000 people.”

The Howes played together for the first time with the Houston Aeros in 1973 before coming to Hartford and signing with the World Hockey Association’s New England Whalers in 1977. Howe ended his legendary 32-year career in the Whalers’ first NHL season (1979-80), when he had 15 goals and 26 assists and was named a NHL All-Star for the 23^rd time while helping the Whalers make the playoffs at 52 years old.

Tickets for all Whale games are available 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 at the XL Center ticket office on game day. Fans who did not attend the Whale’s outdoor game against Providence because of the frigid weather can redeem their tickets for one to “Howe Family Night” or another game of their choice. If fans want to redeem a ticket, they should contact Baldwin Jr. at hlb@whalerssports.com.

HOCKEY MINISTRIES NIGHT AT WHALE GAME

Hockey Ministries International Northeast is sponsoring 2011 Faith & Family Night at the game against Charlotte. Upper bowl seats are $10, and Scarlet Fade will perform a postgame concert.

To order tickets, contact AHL Chapel Coordinator Rick Mitera at 860-817-6440 or rmitera@hockeyministries.org. When someone buys a ticket through Hockey Ministries, they receive a $2 coupon for parking. For more information on Hockey Ministries, visit www.hockeyministriesnortheast.org.

FIRST TEE OF CONNECTICUT DAY ON APRIL 3

The Whale will host First Tee of Connecticut Day on April 3, when the Portland Pirates are at the XL Center at 3 p.m.

Level 200 tickets are $12, with the First Tee of Connecticut receiving $5 from each ticket sold. To purchase tickets and help local youngsters interested in improving their golf game and life skills, contact Nick Criscuolo at 860-728-3366 or ncriscuolo@whalerssports.com.

WHALE 4, BRUINS 3 (so)

Providence      1 2 0 0 0 — 3
Connecticut     1 1 1 0 1 — 4

First period: 1. Conn, Mitchell 5 (Parlett, Grachev), 11:15 (pp). 2. Prov, Whitfield 13 (Sauve, Hamill), 18:22 (pp). Penalties: Mitchell, Ct (tripping), 1:33; Laliberte, Pro (hooking), 9:21; Bodnarchuk, Pro (roughing), 17:11; DiDiomete, Ct (slashing, roughing), 17:11; LaVallee-Smotherman, Pro (elbowing), 19:47.

Second period: 3. Prov, Caron 10 (Bartkowski, Hamill), 13:26 (pp). 4. Prov, LaVallee-Smotherman 13 (Whitfield, MacDonald), 15:22. 5. Conn, Couture 1 (Valentenko, Lemieux), 16:22. Penalties: Bickel, Ct (roughing), 12:42.

Third period: 6. Conn, Grachev 16 (Mitchell, Redden), 16:34 (sh). Penalties: Whitfield, Pro (roughing), 0:29; Newbury, Ct (roughing), 0:29; Sauve, Pro (slashing), 2:05; Bickel, Ct (high-sticking), 15:58.

Overtime:  No scoring. Penalties: None.

Shootout: Providence 1 (Hamill NG, Sauve NG, Arniel G, Whitfield NG, Caron NG, MacDonald NG, Laliberte NG, LaVallee-Smotherman NG), Connecticut 2 (Mitchell NG, Williams NG, Grachev NG, Weise G, Redden NG, Newbury NG, Kundratek NG, Lemieux G).

Shots on goal: Providence 12-14-9-2-0-37. Connecticut 9-7-10-3-1-30; Power-play opportunities: Providence 2 of 4; Connecticut 1 of 3; Goalies: Providence, Khudobin 24-13-2 (29 shots-26 saves). Connecticut, Grumet-Morris 9-3-1 (37-34); A: 9,103; Referee: Ghislain Hebert; Linesmen: Jim Briggs, Derek Wahl.

Manchester, NH, March 18, 2011 – Dov Grumet-Morris made 25 saves for his first Connecticut Whale shutout, and Kris Newbury’s third-period goal was the only scoring in the game, in a 1-0 Whale win over the first-place Manchester Monarchs Friday night at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

The victory, combined with the Worcester Sharks’ 4-1 loss in Providence, moved the Whale (34-26-2-6, 76 pts.) back into sole possession of third place in the Atlantic Division, two points ahead of the Sharks.  It was also only the Whale’s second win in their eight-game season series with the Monarchs (2-5-0-1)

The first period was evenly played, with the shots 10-9 in favor of the Whale, but Manchester goaltender Jeff Zatkoff (32 saves) was forced to shine in the second.

The Whale had 16 shots to the Monarchs eight in the second frame but were unable to solve Zatkoff, who did particularly strong work on a pair of Connecticut power plays.

Connecticut finally broke the scoreless tie at 2:47 of the third session, with Newbury getting his 15^th goal of the season and his sixth in the last seven games.

Newbury led a breakout from the Whale zone, then moved to the left-wing side of the slot in the Manchester end, where he took a pass from Brodie Dupont and fired a shot that Zatkoff got a piece of with his left arm but could not stop.

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The goal extended a point streak for Newbury, the Whale’s leading point-scorer (15-38-53 in 58 games), to seven straight games (6-5-11).

The Whale start a stretch of five straight home games Saturday night at the XL Center against the Providence Bruins at 7:00 PM.  Saturday will also feature the first annual “Guns and Hoses Cup”, as police and fire department personnel from numerous different Connecticut localities battle it out before the Whale-Bruins game.  The police-fire game faces off at 4:30, and tickets can be purchased at CTHeroescup.com for $20, with half of that going to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association.  Tickets for the benefit game are also good for the Whale-Bruins game, and Whale season seat-holders can receive free admission to the police-fire game by presenting their season ticket at the gate.

Connecticut Whale 1 at Manchester Monarchs 0
Friday, March 18, 2011 – Verizon Wireless Arena

Connecticut 0 0 1 – 1
Manchester 0 0 0 – 0

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Muzzin Mch (roughing), 3:58; Mitchell Ct (roughing), 17:13; Muzzin Mch (roughing), 17:13; Kolomatis Mch (hooking), 18:29.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Zeiler Mch (tripping), 3:45; Soryal Ct (roughing), 7:56; Elkins Mch (tripping), 10:27.

3rd Period-1, Connecticut, Newbury 15 (Dupont, Weise), 2:47. Penalties-Bickel Ct (fighting), 7:05; Johnson Mch (fighting), 7:05.

Shots on Goal-Connecticut 10-16-7-33. Manchester 9-8-8-25.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 0 / 4; Manchester 0 / 1.
Goalies-Connecticut, Grumet-Morris 8-3-1 (25 shots-25 saves). Manchester, Zatkoff 18-13-5 (33 shots-32 saves).
A-7,490
Referees-Ghislain Hebert (49).
Linesmen-Landon Bathe (80), Joe Andrews (32).