Portland, ME, February 5, 2011 – Despite trailing for much of the game, the Connecticut Whale pulled out a 4-3 win over the Portland Pirates Saturday night at the Cumberland County Civic Center, making a power-play goal by Kris Newbury at 2:40 of the third period stand up as the game-winner.

The Whale were down 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 before prevailing for their second straight post-All-Star break victory, after they went into the break with three straight losses.  A line of Chad Kolarik, Tim Kennedy and Evgeny Grachev combined for six points, including a pair of Kolarik goals, and Jason Williams had a goal and an assist.  Dov Grumet-Morris made 22 saves to get his first Whale win, in just his second start in a Connecticut uniform.

Dennis McCauley had a goal and an assist for Portland, which also got goals from Mark Mancari and Justin Bowers.

Mancari, the AHL’s leading goal-scorer, gave Portland the game’s first lead with his 28^th goal of the season at 9:12 of the first period, with Portland shorthanded.  A pass by Newbury went off of Jeremy Williams’ skate at the middle of the Portland blue line right to Mancari, and he had a breakaway all the way in and beat Grumet-Morris with a low shot.  The goal was Mancari’s 10^th in his last eight games and 14^th in his last 15.

After that shorthanded score, only the second given up by the Whale in 51 games on the season, Connecticut very nearly got a shorthander in its first man-down situation, but a shot off left wing by Kolarik that beat Jhonas Enroth’s catching glove went off the crossbar at 16:15.

Following that relatively quiet first frame, the two teams would combine for five goals in the second period, the first three in a span of only 2:25.

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Jason Williams scored his fourth goal in 15 games with the Whale at 5:22, just one second after a Whale power-play ended.  Williams and Brodie Dupont (two assists) were both screening Enroth, and Williams deflected in a shot from the right point by Tomas Kundratek.

Portland restored the lead just 1:29 later at 6:51, on the first of two goals in the period by a line of Justin Bowers, McCauley and Igor Gongalsky.  Bowers put Portland up 2-1 on a goal from the left-wing side of the goalmouth, after McCauley centered the puck past Whale defenseman Jared Nightingale.

Kolarik scored the first of his two goals to tie it back up only 56 seconds after that, at 7:47.  Kolarik buried a second rebound from between the hash marks, after Enroth (25 saves) stopped shots by both Kennedy and Grachev.

The Pirates jumped back on top at 12:37 on the ninth of the year by McCauley, who connected on a shot from the right side of the slot.  Nick Crawford started the play by stickhandling down from his left point position and working his way up the slot.

Once again the Whale fought back though, and the Kennedy line would click a second time with 1:20 left in the period.  It was Kolarik finishing the play again, this time on a pass from left to right across the slot by Grachev.  Kolarik had Crawford in his way, but was able to flip the puck past Enroth before he could slide far enough to his left.

After that late goal in the second, Newbury would strike for his seventh of the season, and second in as many games, just 2:40 into the third, with Marc-Andre Gragnani in the box for slashing.  Jason Williams and Dupont exchanged the puck on the right-wing side and found Newbury open along the goal line.  The left-handed-shooting Newbury was able to get enough of a shooting angle to rip the puck off of Enroth’s pads and into the net.

That goal gave the Whale its first lead of the game and, as it would turn out, would be enough for the victory.

The Whale have now won two of their three visits on the year to Portland, and the Pirates came into the game with the best home winning percentage in the AHL (.792), at 17-3-3-1.  Fourth-place Connecticut improved to 24-20-2-5 for 55 points on the season and remained one point behind third-place Worcester in the Atlantic Division, after the Sharks shut out Providence at home, 2-0.

The Whale and Pirates have a rematch Sunday at 3 p.m. at the XL Center in Hartford. There will be 2,000 Whale headbands given away compliments of XFINITY of Comcast. It’s the Whale’s last game at the XL Center until March 2, when they face Springfield. Then the Whale won’t be home again until March 11 against the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears, meaning after Sunday, they play 10 of their next 12 games on the road, including their only trips to Toronto, Hamilton, Ontario, and Charlotte, N.C. But they do play 10 of their last 16 games at the XL Center.

HARVEST-PROPERTIES HOCKEY FEST 2011 STARTS THIS WEEK

The historic “Harvest-Properties.com Whalers Hockey Fest 2011” is scheduled to begin Friday at Rentschler Field in East Hartford with a game between the girls teams from Hotchkiss School (Lakeville) and Cushing Academy (Ashburnham, Mass.) at 4 p.m., the opener of a tripleheader.

The featured attraction of the event that runs through Feb. 23 is the Harvest-Properties.com “Whale Bowl” on Feb. 19 in which the Hartford Whalers legends play the Boston Bruins legends at 4 p.m., followed by the Whale and Providence Bruins at 7 p.m. Celebrities also will participate in the legends game, which will follow a game between Army and AIC at 1 p.m. In case of bad weather, the Whale-Bruins game will be played Feb. 20.

Hall of Fame defensemen Brian Leetch, a Cheshire native, and Brad Park headline the Bruins legends team. Other commitments are Enfield native Craig Janney, former captain Rick Middleton, who played 12 seasons in Boston and with the Rangers, Reggie Lemelin, Ken Hodge, Don Marcotte, Rick Smith, Bob Sweeney, Lyndon Byers, Cleon Daskalakis, Jay Miller, Bob Miller (no relation) and Ken “The Rat” Linseman, who was a member of the Whalers for a few moments as he passed through in a multi-player trade with Philadelphia and Edmonton that included Mark Howe leaving Hartford for the Flyers. Derek Sanderson will coach the Bruins team.

Commitments for the Whalers team are WHA Hall of Famer Andre Lacroix, John McKenzie, whose No. 19 is retired in the XL Center rafters, Blaine Stoughton, Pat Verbeek, John Anderson, Garry Swain, Bob Crawford, Chris Kotsopoulos, Jim Dorey, Jordy Douglas, Ray Neufeld, Gordie Roberts, Darren Turcotte, Nelson Emerson, Mark Janssens, Bill Bennett, Jeff Brubaker, Fred O’Donnell, Terry Yake, Scott Daniels and the Babych brothers, Dave and Wayne. Emile “The Cat” Francis, a coach and general manager with the Rangers and Whalers, will be back behind the bench again, and Norm Barnes and former captain Russ Anderson will be assistant coaches.

Celebrities scheduled to play with one of the legends teams include Michael Keaton, Alan Thicke and David E. Kelley, son of New England and Hartford Whalers coach and general manager Jack Kelley and the writer of the 1999 hit film “Mystery, Alaska,” which was produced by Whalers Sports and Entertainment president and CEO Howard Baldwin and his wife, Karen. “Mystery, Alaska” cast members slated to appear are Michael Buie, Scott Richard Grimes, Jason Gray-Stanford and Cameron Bancroft, along with Neal McDonough, Kevin Zegers, Bobby Farrelly, David Henrie and the Hanson brothers – Steve, Jeff and Dave –  who were the comedic linchpins of the classic movie “Slap Shot.”

Tickets ($20 to $85) for the doubleheader can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com and the Bushnell box office in Hartford on Monday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m. or by calling the Whale at 860-728-3366. They also can be purchased online and printed immediately at Ticketmaster.com.

The official charity of the Harvest-Properties.com Whalers Hockey Fest 2011 is “Sam’s Race for a Place,” a fund-raising effort spearheaded by West Hartford resident Samantha Udolf that benefits the Ronald McDonald House. Since Udolf, a successful competitive skier, founded Sam’s Race for a Place in June of 2008, it has generated donations of more than $43,500.

The Ronald McDonald House is a non-profit charity operating since 1991 that helps hundreds of families and children enjoy the comforts of home while they await treatment at area medical facilities. Udolf became familiar with Ronald McDonald House and its good works while volunteering there, and she conceived Sam’s Race for a Place after learning it is independently-funded and depends on grass-roots campaigns for nearly all of its support.

For more information about Sam’s Race for a Place, visit www.samsraceforaplace.com. Donations also can be made through that web address. Besides the games, the Hockey Fest will include “Whale Town” featuring exhibitors, games and the Whalers Mobile Hall of Fame.

Connecticut Whale 4 at Portland Pirates 3
Saturday, February 5, 2011 – Cumberland County Civic Center

Connecticut 0 3 1 – 4
Portland       1 2 0 – 3

1st Period-1, Portland, Mancari 28   9:12 (SH). Penalties-McCauley Por (hooking), 7:18; Redden Ct (tripping), 14:37.

2nd Period-2, Connecticut, Williams 4 (Dupont, Kundratek), 5:22. 3, Portland, Bowers 3 (McCauley, Ellis), 6:51. 4, Connecticut, Kolarik 18 (Grachev, Kennedy), 7:47. 5, Portland, McCauley 9 (Crawford, Gongalsky), 12:37. 6, Connecticut, Kolarik 19 (Grachev, Kennedy), 18:40. Penalties-Conboy Por (interference), 3:21; Redden Ct (interference), 10:03; O’Hanley Por (tripping), 13:33.

3rd Period-7, Connecticut, Newbury 7 (Dupont, Williams), 2:40 (PP). Penalties-Gragnani Por (slashing), 1:51; Williams Ct (interference), 14:22.

Shots on Goal-Connecticut 8-14-7-29. Portland 5-12-8-25.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 1 / 4; Portland 0 / 3.
Goalies-Connecticut, Grumet-Morris 1-1-0 (25 shots-22 saves). Portland, Enroth 16-14-1 (29 shots-25 saves).
A-5,709
Referees-Francis Charron (46).
Linesmen-Landon Bathe (80), Joe Ross (92).

By Bruce Berlet

HARTFORD, Conn. – Friday marked the 25^th anniversary of the 1986 NHL All-Star Game at the then Hartford Civic Center and the end of the 2011 AHL All-Star break for the struggling intrastate rival Connecticut Whale and Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

While Game 50 for the Whale and Game 49 for the Sound Tigers likely won’t make any All-Star reels, it proved plenty exciting for the 6,023 at the XL Center, including ’86 All-Stars and former Hartford Whalers Mark Howe and Brian Propp, along with former Whalers fan favorite Alan Hangsleben.

And Whale goalie Chad Johnson gave an All-Star performance, especially in the first period, and AHL All-Star Jeremy Williams, rookie Jyri Niemi and veteran Kris Newbury scored as Johnson and the Whale ended three-game losing streaks with a 3-2 victory.

Johnson’s 28-save effort came a day after he spent a half-hour after practice chatting and watching video with New York Rangers goaltenders coach Benoit Allaire. They reviewed a few clips of Johnson’s first NHL win last season against the Colorado Avalanche and focused on keeping things simple.

“I told him I just haven’t felt the same,” said Johnson, who had a 21-save, 4-0 victory over the Sound Tigers in their previous meeting Dec. 26. “For me, it’s all about my posture and my stance. We looked at things and just tried to keep it simple. I admit I haven’t really been consistent this season throughout games, so it has been tough. We just talked about little things and simplifying my game, just beat the pass, that’s the big thing. He was just reinforcing the basics and his philosophy and what can make us successful.”

Johnson was especially successful in the opening 10 minutes, which the Sound Tigers dominated while holding the Whale to only one shot. But that was a goal at 3:22 by Jeremy Williams, who took a centering pass from behind the net from Brodie Dupont and lifted a shot under the crossbar, much as he did in helping the Eastern Conference beat the Western Conference 11-10 in the AHL All-Star Game on Monday night. It was Williams’ 23^rd goal and 41^st point, both team highs.

The rest of the period belonged to Johnson, who made point-blank saves off Justin DiBenedetto at 6:14, Olivier Labelle at 9:38 and Brady Leisenring at 10:01.

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“Bennie had said be aware of where the players are, and my success was being aware of where guys were when they got in the slot,” Johnson said. “I was in good position, pushed into it and was square to the puck earlier than usual. Guys did a good job communicating after I talked to the defensive corps with (assistant coach) J.J. (Daigneault). We wanted to make sure we had communications, and if could see pucks and playing the puck behind the net, and I think that helped a lot. We had a lot more communications and I was seeing a lot more pucks, so like J.J. said, if I see it, I stop it. Now having consistency is going to be the biggest thing for me.”

Newbury, reassigned to the Whale on Thursday after two solid stints with the Rangers spanning eight games, scored the winner off Wade Redden’s rebound with 8:40 left in the second period. Newbury had several other good scoring chances while having to play a more offensive role than in New York, where he was on a checking line and helped kill penalties and take face-offs.

“We’ve been struggling, but tonight we put it together for 45-50 minutes,” said Newbury, who will have played seven games in 10 days by the end of a home-and-home with the Portland Pirates on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. “There are definitely some things to work on when we have a couple days off next week to get some better practice habits and try to clean up our end a little better before we start on the offense.

“Chad played well and kept us in the game. Even when they got a late one (by Wes O’Neill with 6:56 left), he was able to shut the door for us. It’s good to see, but some a forward’s standpoint, and I think I can talk for most of the defense, we have to be better in our end.”

It was a much-needed victory for the Whale (23-20-2-5), who had lost the first three games of a homestand, as well as four straight and six of seven at home after eight consecutive wins at the XL Center. The victory got the Whale even at home (12-12-2-1) and kept them within one point of third-place Worcester, which beat Atlantic Division-leading Manchester 4-3 in a shootout. But the Whale, now 5-1-0-1 in the GEICO Connecticut Cup against the Sound Tigers, remained only three points ahead of Providence, which beat Springfield, 2-1.

Meanwhile, the Sound Tigers (19-24-3-3) lost their fifth in a row and are 1-10-2-1 in 2011 while falling into the division cellar.

After Williams gave the Whale the early lead, Johnson robbed DiBenedetto at 5:45. But moments later during the Sound Tigers’ first power play, DiBenedetto converted his own rebound 22 seconds later off a deflected shot from the right point by former Wolf Pack defenseman Dylan Reese, reassigned earlier in the day by the parent New York Islanders.

Moments later, a diving Koskinen robbed Evgeny Grachev, whose skate caught the goalie in the face, dazing him. Chad Kolarik picked up the rebound and sent it to the left point to Tomas Kundratek, who passed to the right point to Jyri Niemi for a 50-foot shot into an open net at 7:02 for his first pro goal.

“I thought the referee was going to whistle the play dead,” Koskinen said. “I thought I felt OK, but the next time I saw the puck, it was in the net.”

When asked if he thought a monkey had been lifted off his back, Niemi smiled and said, “Oh, yeah, it’s like a gorilla.” Niemi, a third-round pick of the Islanders in 2008 acquired by the Rangers for a sixth-round pick on May 25, 2010, had the commemorative puck in his locker room after being presented it by Kundratek.

“The guys told me that I would have been fined if I didn’t score,” Niemi said, smiling again. “When Tomas got the puck, I looked down and the goalie was falling down, so I thought I’d take my time and score. Tomas saw me wide open, so it was a good play by him.

“It has never taken me this long to score, maybe 12 games in my last year of juniors (with Saskatoon of the Western Hockey League). In juniors, I used to score a lot, so it’s a big relief to get the one out of the way here.”

Would he being texting his family and friends in his native Finland?

“They can look it up on the Internet,” Niemi said with one final smile.

The Whale got the winner when Redden picked off a Jesse Joensuu clearing attempt along the left boards and fired a shot that Newbury converted with a backhanded rebound at 11:20 after outmuscling All-Star defenseman Mark Wotton in front.

“We haven’t scored a plethora of goals lately, so those are the kind of goals that we need more of,” Whale coach Ken Gernander said. “We need him to get into those dirty areas either to get second or third attempts net-front or just occupy people in front or create some traffic.”

Johnson kept it a two-goal game with another brilliant stop, this time on All-Star captain Mark Wotton’s wide-open rebound bid from 10 feet in front with 2:48 left in the period.

Koskinen kept the Sound Tigers in the game when he made a right-toe save on Kolarik with three seconds left in the period. Then moments after the Whale killed a Sound Tigers power play, Kolarik blocked a pass in his own and took off on a breakaway but missed the net at 3:10.

At 6:33, Koskinen slid across to rob Niemi breaking in alone off a pass from Newbury, causing the rookie defenseman to shake his head in disbelief. Then Johnson came out to deny DiBenedetto cruising in off right wing with 8:34 left.

But Johnson couldn’t hold off the charging Sound Tigers forever as O’Neill got inside Whale defenseman Jared Nightingale and knocked in Leisenring’s rebound with 6:56 left.

The Sound Tigers pulled Koskinen for a sixth attacker with 1:32 left, but the Whale allowed only one shot on Johnson.

“I thought some guys were pretty sloppy in areas, and part of it was both teams were coming back from the (All-Star) break,” Gernander said. “We could have made better plays with the puck at times, and there were some breakdowns never should have occurred, and both goalies made some good saves, but Johnson was good.

“I’d like to see everybody hitting on all cylinders, and I don’t think our game is where it was before we had the rash of injuries and call-ups. So we have to continue to push until we squeeze out our A game on a consistent basis.”

WHALE SWITCHES GOALIES; NEWBURY, NIEMI RETURN; WEISE OUT

The Whale signed goalie Dov Grumet-Morris to another professional tryout contract and released goalie Pier-Olivier Pelletier from his PTO. Grumet-Morris, a sixth-year pro out of Harvard, played in two games with the Whale in November, going 0-1-0 with a 1.32 goals-against average and .935 save percentage in 91 minutes. He returns from the Whale’s ECHL affiliate, the Greenville Road Warriors, for whom he was 15-8-1, 2.32 GAA, .922 save percentage in 24 games. He was tied for the ECHL lead in shutouts (three) and was second in GAA and fourth in save percentage.

Pelletier, signed Jan. 19 from Laredo of the Central Hockey League, played 54 minutes in his AHL debut Jan. 21, stopping 18 of 22 shots, including a penalty shot, in a 7-3 loss to Hamilton. The Whale needs a second goalie because Cam Talbot missed his sixth game with a high ankle sprain sustained in a 6-3 victory over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Jan. 16. The Whale also scratched wing Dale Weise (undisclosed injury), center Todd White (concussion) and wing Chris McKelvie (foot surgery). Oren Eizenman replaced Weise and was on a line with Ryan Garlock and Justin Soryal. The Sound Tigers scratched leading scorer and All-Star Rhett Rakhshani, Tony Romano, Andy Hilbert, Jason Pitton and Jeremy Yablonski.

Meanwhile, Newbury, the Whale’s second-leading scorer (five goals, 31 assists) despite missing six games during two stints with the parent New York Rangers, and Niemi returned to the lineup. Newbury, reassigned after getting one assist and 35 penalty minutes in eight games with the Rangers, was on a line with Jeremy Williams and Dupont.

But Newbury wasn’t forgotten in New York.

“I like what Newbury brought,” coach John Tortorella said before the Rangers lost 3-2 to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night despite goals from former Wolf Pack wing Ryan Callahan, his second in two games after missing six weeks and 19 games with a broken hand, and Vinny Prospal, playing his first game of the season after two knee surgeries. “He will fight, he’s abrasive. He’s a guy we could call up (again). The staff loves him because of his jam.”

Newbury was flattered but had more immediate things on his mind.

“It always gives you more confidence when a coach like that has good things to say for you,” Newbury said. “But at the same time, I have a different role down here, and I have to play to that to help to help this team win hockey games. It’s a thrill that he’s talking like that about me, but at the end of the day, I want to work hard down to help this team win and hopefully get back up there.”

… Whale mascot Pucky made a triumphant return to the strains of “Rocky” after being tackled and punched by an intoxicated fan during Saturday night’s game against Portland. Pucky entered the ice in a wheelchair, then leaped up, slid head-first across the ice and stood up and pumped his arms as the crowd roared.

Meanwhile, Kevin O’Connell, a 28-year-old from East Hartford, was banned from the XL Center for life for attacking Frank Berrian. O’Connell told police that he attacked Pucky over a bet. He was arrested and charged with one count of second-degree breach of peace. Fortunately, no one was injured on Boy Scouts Night, though several youngsters witnessed the incident.

WHALE HAS HOME-AND-HOME SET WITH PIRATES

The Whale play a home-and-home set with Portland Saturday at 7 p.m. in Maine and at 3 p.m. at the XL Center on Super Bowl Sunday. They have split four games, with both Whale victories coming on overtime goals on Dec. 29 and 31 by Tim Kennedy, a member of the AHL all-rookie team in 2008 while with the Pirates. The Pirates (29-14-4-1), who were idle Friday night, have won five of their last six games and are two points behind Manchester.

The Pirates evened the season series with the Whale last Saturday on Derek Whitmore’s power-play goal with 7.5 seconds left, his third of the season against the Whale. David Leggio had 36 saves for his fourth consecutive victory and has allowed only two goals in two wins against the Whale. Wing Mark Mancari, the AHL Player of the Month for January, leads the league in goals (27) and is third in points (53), and the Pirates have the AHL’s second-best home record (17-3-3-1, .792 percent). There will be 2,000 Whale headbands given away at Sunday’s matchup sponsored by XFINITY of Comcast.

Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m., the Grand Rink at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods will host a skate with former Whalers Alan Hangsleben, Doug Roberts and Garry Swain, former Bruins Bob Miller and Tom Songin and Whale mascot Pucky. Fees are $10 for adults with a $5 skate rental, and $6 for children with a $2 skate rental. Hot beverages and photo opportunities are included, as well as the chance to win tickets to the “Whale Bowl,” the featured attraction of the “Harvest-Properties.com Whalers Hockey Fest 2011” on Feb. 11-23 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford. The “Whale Bowl” pits the Hartford Whalers legends against the Boston Bruins legends at 4 p.m., followed by the Whale Providence at 7 p.m. In case of bad weather, the Whale-Bruins game will be played Feb. 20.

NUMBERS BEAR OUT THOUGHTS

This writer gave major kudos to the NHL for its innovative All-Star Player Fantasy Draft in which Eric Staal of the hometown Carolina Hurricanes and Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit helped make it the most interesting All-Star Game in all of pro sports.

The numbers substantiate those thoughts as NHL All-Star weekend earned significant increases in viewership in the United States and Canada, a 42 percent increase in sponsorship revenue over the last All-Star Game in the U.S., an all-time record for video starts on nhl.com and the best retail performance for a U.S.-based All-Star Game in seven years.

Other than that, it wasn’t a very good weekend.

The city of Raleigh, N.C., and the surrounding area stood out for three days as fans tailgated, flocked downtown and more than 31,000 people attended the NHL Fan Fair. On Sunday, a sold-out RBC Center watched as Team Lidstrom rallied from an early three-goal deficit to beat Team Staal, 11-10.

“By all measures, this was one of the NHL’s most successful All-Star weekends ever with fans and our corporate partners embracing the event in a big way,” NHL COO John Collins said. “Our hosts in Raleigh did a tremendous job and it was gratifying to see the entire community energized around hockey. Our new innovation, the Player Fantasy Draft, was a huge hit. The Skills Challenge and the All-Star Game saw substantial viewership and digital increases. Without a doubt, All-Star Weekend remains one of the league’s most important platforms to celebrate hockey in the host community, promote our best players to a global audience and to provide a pathway for our corporate partners to invest in the sport.”

This success continues the league’s momentum created in part by its big events. The recent Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic between the Penguins and Washington Capitals was the most-watched U.S. NHL regular-season game in the last 36 years and generated a 20 percent increase in sponsorship revenue. The NHL’s big event strategy is driving significant growth and, as announced last week, the league is on pace to set an all-time revenue record for the fifth consecutive year.

The next major event is Feb. 20, when the 2011 Tim Horton’s NHL Heritage Classic, an outdoor game between the Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens. It’s also “Hockey Day in America,” a celebration of the roots of hockey, which includes NBC providing regional coverage of a slate of games.

Highlights of All-Star Weekend included the most watched All-Star game in VERSUS history, averaging nearly 1.5 million viewers, a 36 percent increase over the 2009 All-Star Game. The SuperSkills averaged 1.18 million viewers, the most watched such competition on cable since 2003 and a 35 percent increase over 2009 (875,000).

The debut of the NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft on Friday night was also a success as the telecast averaged 624,000 viewers, up 107 percent from the 2010-11 NHL regular-season average on VERSUS (302,000 viewers). The All-Star Game and SuperSkills were record-setters on CBC. The All-Star Game drew an average of 2.389 million viewers, the highest for an All-Star Game on Hockey Night in Canada and a 56 percent increase over 2009 (1.527 million). The previous best was 1.67 million for the 1999 All-Star Game, which is as far back as records have been kept.

The SuperSkills also was a record-setter, drawing an audience of 2.446 million viewers and peaking at more than three million. The average audience was 78 percent higher than the previous high, 1.371 million, that tuned in to the last SuperSkills in Montreal in 2009. TSN’s coverage of the All-Star Player Fantasy Draft averaged 1.5 million viewers for its 90-minute primetime broadcast and won the night on Canadian television in all key demographics.

Here’s what a few others had to say:

“With the sports world raving about the innovative player draft at the NHL All-Star Game, the focus now shifts to other sports that have gotten heat over outdated and uninteresting formats.” – CBSSports.com

“Officially the most exciting All-Star format in professional sports.” – Yahoo Sports

“A brilliant innovation.” – Yahoo Sports on the player draft

“There were many good things about the event in Raleigh. Even for the most cynical media types, it was hard not to feel a good deal of affection for the new innovation.” – ESPN.com

Case closed!!!!

WHALE 3, SOUND TIGERS 2

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

First period: 1. Conn, Williams 23 (Dupont, Garlock), 3:22. Penalty: Klementyev, Bri (holding), 18:19.

Second period: 2. Bri, DiBenedetto 10 (Reese, Hisey), 6:07 (pp). 3. Conn, Niemi 1 (Kundratek, Kolarik), 7:02. 4. Conn, Newbury 6 (Redden), 11:20. Penalties: DiDiomete, Ct (roughing), 5:59; Bickel, Ct (hooking), 7:28.

Third period: 5. Bridgeport, O’Neill 4 (Leisenring, Klementyev), 13:04. Penalty: Williams, Ct (tripping), 1:01.

Shots on goal: Bridgeport 10-10-10-30. Connecticut 6-15-8-29; Power-play opportunities: Bridgeport 1 of 3; Connecticut 0 of 1; Goalies: Bridgeport, Koskinen 5-15-0 (29 shots-26 saves). Connecticut, Johnson 15-17-3 (30-28); A: 6,023; Referee: Chris Brown; Linesmen: David Spannaus, Luke Galvin.

By Bruce Berlet

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. – Jim Hartnett called it his “Unlucky Number 7” project.

But a Herculean effort of countless hours of overtime and dedication the past three snow-filled weeks have kept the historic “Harvest-Properties.com Whalers Hockey Fest 2011” close to on schedule.

“This has been the toughest weather project I’ve ever encountered,” construction manager Jim Hartnett of EIS Rinks said Friday at Rentschler Field. “I had floated in four days for possible delays, and we’ve lost seven (of the first 18) days to weather as far as our production schedule, including snow removal (from the ice surface). I’ve done seven of these projects and had never lost a day to the end of the floated-in schedule.

“We’ve always been able to maintain a (finished) schedule, so this is Unlucky Number 7,” Hartnett added with a smile. “But the weather is the weather. We’re shooting for Feb. 11 for skating, but we’ll open it up as soon as it’s safe and skate-worthy.”

With any luck – and some cooperation from Mother Nature for a change – Harnett and his crew will be able to have the rink ready for opening day next Saturday. Two “break-in-the-ice” days have been wiped out, but Hartnett is confident that without further delays, the Cushing Academy and Hotchkiss girls teams will face off on time at 4 p.m.

There are six games or groups scheduled to use the rink next Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to midnight, then Feb. 13 is “UConn Day” starting with an alumni game at 9 a.m. After an alumni family skate, the UConn men will play Sacred Heart at 1 p.m., followed by the UConn women against Providence at 4 p.m. The day will conclude with the Junior A Wolf Pack playing the Springfield Pics at 7 p.m., and a cthockeyleague.com game at 10 p.m. If games are postponed, they can be moved to the backend of the schedule.

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Hartnett’s crew, which began the building the rink Jan. 17, hopes to finish putting up the dasher boards by Saturday afternoon and then start 21/2 days of ice-making on Sunday. Then there’s installation of the plexi-glass and cosmetic carpentry work such as building ramps, player and scorers benches and penalty boxes.

As Hartnett surveyed his hard-working crew and spoke near the rink covering the Rentschler Field grass that’s the home to UConn football, about 75 people from “Teen Challenge Connecticut” based in New Haven, “Teen Challenge Albany (N.Y.)” and “Teen Challenge New York” began the massive task of removing the record of more than four feet of snow that fell on the area in January from the 38,000-seat facility.

Ray Bohn, supervisor of Team Challenge Connecticut, was among 40 people from the local non-profit group removing snow to raise money for the organization. Bohn said the group had previously done snow removal, but nothing close to as extensive as this.

“We’ve done multiple projects like this, but not shoveled out stadiums,” Bohn said.

Kansas-based Kingdome has supervisors overseeing the three snow removal groups, who are expected to need four days to clear out Rentschler Field.

Howard Baldwin, Jr., president and COO of Whalers Sports and Entertainment, which is funding the Hockey Fest, said it is costing $72,000 to remove the snow from the stadium seats and $32,000 from the parking lots, including one runway. That’s more than $80,000 over the $20,000 budgeted in the $300,000 project.

“Getting the snow out of the stadium is a huge job, and an expensive one,” Baldwin said. “But we are glad to turn this into a positive for the community. The three groups doing the work are three very worthy organizations, and we are grateful to be able to direct this snow-removal expense to help them with fund-raising objectives.”

More than 30 youth, high school, prep school, college, alumni and pro games are scheduled from Feb. 11 to 23, with the feature attraction being the Harvest-Properties.com “Whale Bowl” on Feb. 19. It’s a doubleheader starting with the Hartford Whalers legends against the Boston Bruins legends at 4 p.m., followed by the second AHL outdoor game in history between the Connecticut Whale and Providence Bruins at 7 p.m. Celebrities will play for the alumni teams, and if the Whale-Bruins game is postponed, it will be played Feb. 20.

The legends-AHL games will be preceded by the Army-AIC game at 1 p.m., and Baldwin said about 18,500 tickets have been sold for the tripleheader. The crowd of 21,508 at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse last year was an AHL record that Whalers Sports and Entertainment officials hope to shatter.

“We need another 12,000 (people),” WSE chairman and CEO Howard Baldwin said. “Our measure of success is 30,000 or more.”

The younger Baldwin said he might have Hartnett’s crew put “Go Whale” into the snow surrounding the ice surface.

“We’re pumped up and excited,” Baldwin Jr. said. “We’re a little upset about the snow, but weather is not something we can control. We just hope we get a huge turnout for the 19^th.”

Hall of Fame defensemen Brian Leetch, a Cheshire native, and Brad Park headline the Bruins legends team. Other Bruins commitments are Enfield native Craig Janney, former captain Rick Middleton, who played 12 seasons in Beantown and two with the Rangers, Reggie Lemelin, Ken Hodge, Don Marcotte, Rick Smith, Bob Sweeney, Lyndon Byers, Cleon Daskalakis, Jay Miller, Bob Miller (no relation) and Ken “The Rat” Linseman, who was a member of the Whalers for a few moments as he passed through in a multi-player trade with Philadelphia and Edmonton that included Mark Howe leaving Hartford for the Flyers. Derek Sanderson will coach the Bruins team.

Commitments for the Whalers team are WHA Hall of Famer Andre Lacroix, John McKenzie, whose No. 19 is retired in the XL Center rafters, Blaine Stoughton, Pat Verbeek, John Anderson, Garry Swain, Bob Crawford, Chris Kotsopoulos, Jim Dorey, Jordy Douglas, Ray Neufeld, Gordie Roberts, Darren Turcotte, Nelson Emerson, Mark Janssens, Bill Bennett, Jeff Brubaker, Fred O’Donnell, Terry Yake, Scott Daniels and the Babych brothers, Dave and Wayne. Emile “The Cat” Francis, a coach and general manager with the Rangers and Whalers, will be back behind the bench again, and Norm Barnes and former captain Russ Anderson will be assistant coaches.

Celebrities scheduled to play with one of the legends teams include Michael Keaton, Alan Thicke and David E. Kelley, son of New England and Hartford Whalers coach and general manager Jack Kelley and the writer of the 1999 hit film “Mystery, Alaska,” which was produced by Howard Baldwin and his wife, Karen. “Mystery, Alaska” cast members slated to appear are Michael Buie, Scott Richard Grimes, Jason Gray-Stanford and Cameron Bancroft, along with Neal McDonough, Kevin Zegers, Bobby Farrelly, David Henrie and the Hanson brothers – Steve, Jeff and Dave –  who were the comedic linchpins of the classic movie “Slap Shot.”

Tickets ($20 to $85) for the doubleheader can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com and the Bushnell box office in Hartford on Monday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m. or by calling the Whale at 860-728-3366. They also can be purchased online and printed immediately at Ticketmaster.com.

The official charity of the Hockey Fest is “Sam’s Race for a Place,” a fund-raising effort spearheaded by West Hartford resident Samantha Udolf that benefits the Ronald McDonald House. Since Udolf, a successful competitive skier, founded Sam’s Race for a Place in June of 2008, it has generated donations of more than $43,500.

The Ronald McDonald House is a non-profit charity operating since 1991 that helps hundreds of families and children enjoy the comforts of home while they await treatment at area medical facilities. Udolf became familiar with Ronald McDonald House and its good works while volunteering there, and she conceived Sam’s Race for a Place after learning it is independently-funded and depends on grass-roots campaigns for nearly all of its support.

For more information about Sam’s Race for a Place, visit www.samsraceforaplace.com. Donations also can be made through that web address.

Besides the games, the Hockey Fest will include “Whale Town” featuring exhibitors, games and the Whalers Mobile Hall of Fame.

Photo credits: Bettina Hansen – Hartford Courant (No. 5, No. 7)

HARTFORD, February 4, 2011: Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the Whale has signed goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris to a Professional Tryout (PTO) agreement and has released netminder Pier-Olivier Pelletier from his PTO.

This will be the second stint of the year with the Whale/Hartford Wolf Pack for Grumet-Morris, a sixth-year pro out of Harvard University. The 6-2, 205-pound Evanston, IL native played two games, totaling 91 minutes, with the Wolf Pack earlier this season and was 0-1-0, with two goals-against on 31 shots (a 1.32 goals-against average and a 93.5% save percentage). Grumet-Morris comes to the Whale from its ECHL affiliate, the Greenville Road Warriors, for whom he was 15-8-1 in 24 appearances, with a 2.32 GAA, a 92.2% save percentage and three shutouts. Grumet-Morris was tied for the ECHL lead in shutouts, ranked second in the league in GAA and fourth in save percentage.

In addition to his two games with the Wolf Pack, Grumet-Morris, who was a fifth-round pick (161st overall) by Philadelphia in the 2002 NHL Draft, has AHL experience with San Antonio, Portland, Hamilton, Manitoba and Milwaukee, with career totals of 29 games-played, an 8-13-5 record, 2.55 GAA, 91.5% save percentage and one shutout.

Pelletier, signed by the Whale January 19 from the Laredo Bucks of the Central Hockey League, played 54 minutes of one game, his AHL debut, with the Whale. That was a 7-3 loss to the Hamilton Bulldogs January 21, in which Pelletier stopped 18 of the 22 shots he faced, including a penalty shot save. In 21 games with Laredo this season, Pelletier is 6-9-4, with a 3.33 GAA, an 89.5% save percentage and one shutout.

The Whale return from the AHL All-Star break tonight, with a home game at the XL Center vs. their GEICO Connecticut Cup rivals the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Faceoff is 7:00, and the game is sponsored by XFINITY of Comcast. Tonight marks the 25th anniversary of the NHL All-Star Game being played in Hartford, and 1986 All-Stars Mark Howe and Brian Propp, along with former Whaler Alan Hangsleben, will hold a private, “meet and greet” reception with Whale season ticket holders and outdoor Harvest-Properties.com Whalers Hockey Fest 2011 festival ticket purchasers before the game (4:30-6:30 p.m.), and then drop the ceremonial first puck. Hangsleben also will sign autographs in the XL Center atrium during the second intermission with selected Whale players.

Also, there will be a giveaway at the game of 3,000 Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl commemorative pucks, and being a Friday night, it’s Guida’s Family Value Night. Family Value packages start as low as $48 and include three tickets, three hot dogs or pizza slices, three sodas and a Whale souvenir. Guida’s Family Value Night packs are available at the XL Center ticket office and on-line at www.CTwhale.com.

Tickets for all 2010-11 Whale home games are available now at the XL Center ticket 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.

By Bruce Berlet

CROMWELL, Conn. – Jeremy Williams’ first All-Star appearance this week provided several memorable moments, not the least of which was playing center for an extended period for the first time since learning to skate on the rink on his family farm in Glenavon, Saskatchewan, pop. 600.

“It was kind of odd,” said Williams, the Connecticut Whale right wing who played between Kyle Palmieri of the Syracuse Crunch and Eric Tangradi of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. “We were joking around before the game that we were a dump-and-chase kind of energy line, which was fun. In our defensive zone, we had good stick work and eventually became the first line and got to start the second period.

“But I think they got mistaken with me playing center because sometimes when (Kris Newbury) and I play, I play low. But we had so many right wingers we had to move somebody, but that was OK. It was a good experience, especially having it be an honor because there are so many guys on the Whale who could have gone. It’s something that you want to share with your teammates.”

Williams shared All-Star Classic weekend with his fiancée and her parents, who drove to Hershey, Pa., from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Williams promptly won a trophy in the accuracy shooting contest when he was the only competitor to hit all four targets in the corners of the net within eight shots.

“I was surprised because 4-for-8 usually wouldn’t win an accuracy shooting,” Williams said. “When I finished, I said, ‘No way I’m winning,’ but I guess the targets were smaller. They certainly got smaller every time you missed one, but it was nice to win.”

In a post-victory, on-ice television interview, Williams mentioned Newbury, a teammate now for a seventh consecutive season. Williams joked Newbury, a good passer who was reassigned to the Whale on Thursday from the parent New York Rangers, would take credit for all of Williams’ goals. Williams leads the Whale in goals (22) and points (40), though Newbury was the team’s leading scorer (35 points) when he was first called up by the Rangers.

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“I gave him more of a compliment than I should have,” Williams said with a smile. “It was between a compliment and a jab, but (Newbury) thought it was a funny. He sent me a message that said, ‘Thanks for pumping my tires on TV.’ ”

Williams said the skills competition was an especially good experience because the glass was down between the blue lines, allowing fans easy access to the players.

“It was really good for the fans who were hanging over (the boards) so you could sign autographs,” he said. “And obviously Hershey has a great fan base, and it was packed every night. Obviously the Hershey players got more cheers, but they were welcoming all the other players, aside from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton players. They got some boos, but it was all in fun.”

Former Whale wing Alexandre Giroux of the Oklahoma City Barons (Western Conference) and Bridgeport Sound Tigers defenseman Mark Wotton (Eastern Conference) were captains and among the “outsiders” to receive especially loud receptions after playing several seasons with the Bears.

Williams also won’t ever forget Western Conference forward Linus Klasen’s highlight reel moment in the breakaway relay as the Milwaukee Admirals’ top scorer (20 goals, 19 assists) skated left inside the blue line, completed a 360-degree spin with the puck and beat Manchester Monarchs goalie Martin Jones between the legs.

“I saw it made the Top 10 somewhere, but I’m not sure if it was on ESPN, too,” Williams said.

In the All-Star Game the next night, Williams demonstrated his accuracy again, firing a close-in shot just under the crossbar to help the Eastern Conference rally for an 11-10 victory, only the third time in history that both teams reached double digits in goals. He also had the primary assist on the first of two goals by the Penguins’ Robert Bortuzzo.

“We had a little incentive to win the game and got a little prize,” said Williams, who wouldn’t divulge his “bonus”. “The losers got nothing, went away empty handed.”

Williams and the rest of the Whale players resumed practice Thursday at Champions Skating Center after a players-only optional skate Wednesday at Trinity College in Hartford. Coach Ken Gernander said he hadn’t left his team with any special message after Derek Whitmore’s power-play goal with 7.5 seconds left gave the Portland Pirates a 3-2 victory Saturday night, the Whale’s third consecutive loss on a four-game homestand that ends Friday night at the XL Center against the Sound Tigers.

How about any message heading into the final 31 games of the regular season?

“No, we were just getting ready for tomorrow’s game,” Gernander said. “We wanted to get them out there sweating, getting pucks moving, get everything back in order. It wasn’t a maintenance day as much as it was getting them as close to game-ready as we could.”

After being down as many 10 players because of injuries and recalls, the Whale are now missing only forward Mats Zuccarello and defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Michael Del Zotto, who are with the Rangers, and injured goalie Cameron Talbot (high ankle sprain), center Todd White (concussion) and wing Chris McKelvie (foot surgery), who was hurt while on recall from Greenville of the ECHL.

Newbury, the Whale’s second-leading scorer (five goals, 31 assists) despite missing six games while in New York, was reassigned as Vinny Prospal made his season debut against the New Jersey Devils after missing the Rangers’ first 51 games following knee surgeries in the offseason and October. Newbury had one assist in eight games with the Rangers and helped on face-offs and killing penalties. Wing Ruslan Fedotenko, already out with a shoulder injury, underwent an appendectomy Wednesday morning and will miss another 3-to-4 weeks instead of returning in two. Center Erik Christensen is due back next week.

The Whale (22-20-2-5) concludes a four-game homestand against another struggling team, the Sound Tigers (19-23-3-3). The last-second loss to the Pirates was the Whale’s third in a row overall, and fourth straight and sixth in seven starts at home after eight consecutive wins at the XL Center. It dropped the Whale into fourth place in the Atlantic Division, one point behind Worcester, which beat Providence 3-2, and they are only three points ahead of the Providence Bruins, who have two games in hand.

The Whale is 11-12-2-1 at home and 11-8-0-4 on the road but 4-1-0-1 in the GEICO Connecticut Cup against the Sound Tigers, capped by Chad Johnson’s 22-save shutout in a 4-0 victory at Bridgeport on Dec. 26. Behind Williams and Newbury in scoring are wing Chad Kolarik (17, 16) and center Tim Kennedy (9, 24).

The Sound Tigers arrive at the XL Center on a four-game losing streak that ended the worst calendar month in franchise history (1-9-2-1) and dropped them into the division cellar. Like the Whale, the Sound Tigers have had to battle through countless call-ups, including on Monday, when goalie Kevin Poulin and defensemen Ty Wishart and former Wolf Pack Dylan Reese were recalled by the parent New York Islanders. Poulin was the No. 3 star on Tuesday night after making 25 saves in a 4-1 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers as Kyle Okposo scored his first two goals in six games since returning from a shoulder injury that sidelined him until mid-January, and former Wolf Pack wing P.A. Parenteau had one goal and one assist.

Poulin and Reese returned to the Islanders after spending two games with the Sound Tigers during the NHL All-Star break. Reese had a goal in a 3-2 loss at Worcester last Friday, when Poulin made 45 saves. The Sound Tigers’ leading scorer is right wing Rhett Rakhshani, who has three of his 10 goals and two of his 24 assists against the Whale, is tied for first in rookie scoring and had a goal and three assists in the All-Star Game. Center Rob Hisey (7, 18) is second in scoring, and center David Ullstrom (6, 17) tied for third with Wishart (4, 19). Left wing Micheal Haley (12, 10) leads the team in goals. Rookie Mikko Koskinen (5-14-0, 3.67 goals-against average, .882 save percentage) has played the most games in goal for the Sound Tigers.

After the Sound Tigers game, the Whale will play a home-and-home set with Portland, Saturday at 7 p.m. in Maine and at 3 p.m. at the XL Center on Super Bowl Sunday. They have split their first four games, with both Whale wins coming on overtime goals, on Dec. 29 and 31, by Kennedy, a member of the AHL all-rookie team in 2008 while with the Pirates. The Pirates (29-14-4-1) have won five of six games to move within a point of Atlantic Division-leading Manchester.

The Pirates evened the season series with the Whale on Whitmore’s late goal, his third of the season against the Whale. David Leggio had 36 saves for his fourth consecutive victory and has allowed only two goals in two wins against the Whale. Wing Mark Mancari leads the league in goals (27) and is third in points (53). The Pirates have the AHL’s second-best home record (17-3-3-1, .792 percent). Marc-Andre Gragnani is tied for third in points among defensemen with 32 (eight goals, 24 goals) and has eight points in his last four games (one goal, seven assists). There will be 2,000 Whale headbands handed out at Sunday’s game sponsored by XFINITY of Comcast.

GOALIE FIGHT GETS ATTENTION OF WHALE PLAYERS

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Brent Johnson’s one-punch knockdown of Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro with 16 seconds left in a 3-0 victory Wednesday night was topic of discussion in the Whale locker room Thursday.

“Nice left, eh!” backup goalie Pier-Olivier Pelletier said with a smile.

Yes, one left is all it took for the 6-foot-3, 196-pound Johnson to deck the 6-1, 200-pound DiPietro, who precipitated the fracas when he roamed out of his net (a common occurrence) to nudge Penguins’ agitator Matt Cooke as he skated near the crease. After DiPietro and Cooke went to the ice, Cooke was accosted by two Islanders, setting off a fight that eventually included the goalies. Fortunately for DiPietro, Johnson didn’t let go the right hand he had cocked as DiPietro lay on his back on the ice. Both were ejected, and All-Star Marc-Andre Fleury came in to finish off the shutout.

The fight was the lead item on nhl.com for much of Thursday, along with some classic fights involving goalies that often became the main event. The all-time classic was on Nov. 11, 2006, between the Bruins’ Byron Defoe and Washington Capitals’ Olaf Kolzig after Dafoe was the best man in Kolzig’s wedding earlier in the month. Despite the scrap, Dafoe returned the honor years later. Kolzig was the Eastern Conference honorary captain in the All-Star Game.

The DiPietro-Johnson fight elicited memories of five years ago for Pelletier when he fought Ilya Ejov of the St. John’s (Newfoundland) Fog Devils while playing with Drummondville in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

“It was on YouTube, but for some reason it’s not there anymore,” Pelletier said. “It was at the end of the game, and they were an expansion team that built a really, really tough team. We were winning 8-2, and they had a power play but the coach sent out all his tough guys. We were shorthanded, so I grabbed a player, and (Ejov) smashed his stick and said, ‘Let’s go, let’s go.’

“The (home) crowd was going crazy, so we just squared off. I was actually going to beat him because as we were going toward each other I had loosened my arm under my jersey so I had a free right hand. I was firing, and then the ref came in. When I was in juniors, I always had (a playful) scrap at the end of practice, so this was kind of fun.”

Chad Johnson said he saw Brent (no relation) Johnson’s quick KO but has never got in a fight. The closest he came was in juniors and at the end of the second period of the Whale’s 7-1 rout of the Sound Tigers on Nov. 7 when Nathan Lawson motioned toward Johnson as if he wanted to go.

“Obviously goalies don’t fight very often, so it’s a unique situation that’s pretty exciting for the fans,” Chad said. “You could see DiPietro kind of bump the guy (Cooke), and then skate towards the pile in corner. Then Brent Johnson, being the ole wily veteran that he is, took it into his own hands and went down there and chased him.

“Obviously DiPietro got caught a little off-guard, and Brent has long arms and definitely caught him on the jaw. When a guy goes down, it’s a dangerous situation. You could kind of see Johnson let up.”

HOWE, PROPP AND HANGSLEBEN VISITING

Former Hartford Whalers and 1986 NHL All-Stars Mark Howe and Brian Propp, and ex-Whaler Alan Hangsleben, will be at the XL Center on Friday night, when 3,000 fans will receive “Harvest-Propertries.com Whale Bowl” pucks. The trio will hold a private, “meet and greet” reception with Whale season ticket holders and “Harvest-Properties.com Whalers Hockey Fest 2011” festival ticket purchasers before the game (4:30-6:30 p.m.) and then drop the ceremonial first puck. Hangsleben also will sign autographs in the XL Center atrium during the second intermission with selected Whale players.

Friday is the 25^th anniversary of the 1986 NHL All-Star Game at the Hartford Civic Center. Howe and Propp were with the Philadelphia Flyers and played on the Wales Conference team that beat the Campbell Conference 4-3 in overtime. Propp, who finished his 15-year NHL career with the Whalers, scored the first Wales goal. It was one of four All-Star appearances for Howe, the son of hockey legend Gordie Howe who was at the XL Center last Friday night scouting for the Detroit Red Wings, a job he has held since retiring from the NHL and Red Wings in 1995.

Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m., the Grand Rink at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods will host a skate with Hangsleben and former Whalers Doug Roberts and Garry Swain, former Bruins Bob Miller and Tom Songin and Whale mascot Pucky. Fees are $10 for adults with a $5 skate rental, and $6 for children with a $2 skate rental. Hot beverages and photo opportunities are included, as well as the chance to win tickets to the Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl.

RENTSCHLER SNOW REMOVAL STARTS FRIDAY

The massive undertaking of removing snow from the seating areas at Rentschler Field in East Hartford in advance of the Feb. 11-23 Hockey Fest begins Friday. Volunteers from non-profit groups “Teen Challenge Connecticut,” “Teen Challenge Albany (N.Y.)” and “Teen Challenge New York” have been organized to do the snow removal as a fund-raiser for their organizations and will receive a fee for doing it.

Hall of Fame defensemen Brian Leetch, a Cheshire native, and Brad Park headline the Bruins legends team that will play the Whalers legends. Other Bruins commitments are Enfield native Craig Janney, former captain Rick Middleton, who played 12 seasons in Beantown and two with the Rangers, Reggie Lemelin, Ken Hodge, Don Marcotte, Rick Smith, Bob Sweeney, Lyndon Byers, Cleon Daskalakis, Jay Miller, Bob Miller (no relation) and Ken “The Rat” Linseman, who was a member of the Whalers for a few moments as he passed through in a multi-player trade with Philadelphia and Edmonton that included Mark Howe leaving Hartford for the Flyers. Derek Sanderson will coach the Bruins team.

Commitments for the Whalers team are WHA Hall of Famer Andre Lacroix, John McKenzie, whose No. 19 is retired in the XL Center rafters, Blaine Stoughton, Pat Verbeek, John Anderson, Garry Swain, Bob Crawford, Chris Kotsopoulos, Jim Dorey, Jordy Douglas, Ray Neufeld, Gordie Roberts, Darren Turcotte, Nelson Emerson, Mark Janssens, Bill Bennett, Jeff Brubaker, Fred O’Donnell, Terry Yake, Scott Daniels and the Babych brothers, Dave and Wayne. Emile “The Cat” Francis, a coach and general manager with the Rangers and Whalers, will be back behind the bench again, and Norm Barnes and former captain Russ Anderson will be assistant coaches.

Celebrities scheduled to play with one of the legends teams include Michael Keaton, Alan Thicke and David E. Kelley, son of New England and Hartford Whalers coach and general manager Jack Kelley and the writer of the 1999 hit film “Mystery, Alaska,” which was produced by Whalers Sports and Entertainment president and CEO Howard Baldwin and his wife, Karen. “Mystery, Alaska” cast members slated to appear are Michael Buie, Scott Richard Grimes, Jason Gray-Stanford and Cameron Bancroft, along with Neal McDonough, Kevin Zegers, Bobby Farrelly, David Henrie and the Hanson brothers – Steve, Jeff and Dave –  who were the comedic linchpins of the classic movie “Slap Shot.”

Tickets ($20 to $85) for the doubleheader can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com and the Bushnell box office in Hartford on Monday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m. or by calling the Whale at 860-728-3366. They also can be purchased online and printed immediately at Ticketmaster.com.

The official charity of the Hockey Fest is “Sam’s Race for a Place,” a fund-raising effort spearheaded by West Hartford resident Samantha Udolf that benefits the Ronald McDonald House. Since Udolf, a successful competitive skier, founded Sam’s Race for a Place in June of 2008, it has generated donations of more than $43,500.

The Ronald McDonald House is a non-profit charity operating since 1991 that helps hundreds of families and children enjoy the comforts of home while they await treatment at area medical facilities. Udolf became familiar with Ronald McDonald House and its good works while volunteering there, and she conceived Sam’s Race for a Place after learning it is independently-funded and depends on grass-roots campaigns for nearly all of its support.

For more information about Sam’s Race for a Place, visit www.samsraceforaplace.com. Donations also can be made through that web address.

Besides the games, the outdoor Harvest-Properties.com Whalers Hockey Fest 2011 will include “Whale Town” featuring exhibitors, games and the Whalers Mobile Hall of Fame.

FOUR RECEIVE WEEKLY, MONTHLY AHL HONORS

Milwaukee Admirals center Blake Geoffrion was named Reebok/AHL Player of the Week after getting three goals and three assists in two wins for the West Division leaders. He had his biggest night as a pro last Friday night with two goals and three assists in an 8-1 victory over Peoria.

Geoffrion, who turned 23 on Thursday, is in his rookie season after four years at the University of Wisconsin, where he won the Hobey Baker Award as the top collegiate player in the nation as a senior in 2009-10. That’s also when he and Rangers center Derek Stepan and defenseman Ryan McDonagh led the Badgers to the NCAA title game, which they lost 5-0 to Boston College and Rangers top prospect Chris Kreider. Geoffrion, who has eight goals and 17 assists in his first 35 pro games, is the grandson of former AHL coach and Hockey Hall of Famer Bernie Geoffrion and the son of former AHL forward Dan Geoffrion.

… Mancari, Oklahoma City’s Teemu Hartikainen and Lake Erie’s John Grahame were named Reebok/AHL player, rookie and goaltender of the month for January.

In 15 games, Mancari had 13 goals, eight assists and was plus-10. He was held scoreless in the first and last games of the month but had a 13-game scoring streak in between, tying the longest run in the league this season. He had three consecutive three-point games Jan. 21-23 and became the first AHL player in nearly two years to notch back-to-back hat tricks on Jan. 22-23 against Providence and Worcester.

The Whale nominee was Grachev, who had nine goals and three assists in 11 games, including his first hat trick as a pro Jan. 22 against Springfield. Other nominees included former Wolf Pack center Corey Locke (Binghamton) and left wing Nigel Dawes (Chicago) and Sound Tigers left wing Justin DiBenedetto.

Hartikainen had four goals and 10 assists and was plus-8 in 15 games after starting the month with 18 points and being minus-9 in 35 games.  Other nominees included Ullstrom and Syracuse Crunch center Nick Bonino, a native of Unionville who attended Farmington High and Avon Old Farms.

Grahame, a 14-year veteran, was 10-3-0 with a 1.85 goals-against average, .925 save percentage and one shutout in 13 games as the Monsters climbed from seventh place to third in the North Division. He was the first goalie since John Curry in March, 2008 to win 10 games in a month, starting with a 30-save shutout of division-leading Hamilton on New Year’s Day. Winner of the Calder Cup with Providence in 1999 and the Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in 2003, Grahame has appeared in 203 AHL games and 196 NHL games.

Other nominees included Talbot, who was 3-1-0-0 before being injured Jan. 16, and the Sound Tigers’ Joel Martin.

Photo credit: Bettina Hansen – Hartford Courant

New York, February 3, 2011 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that forward Kris Newbury has been assigned to the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Newbury, 28, has registered one assist and 35 penalty minutes in eight games with the Rangers this season.  He made his Rangers debut at Montreal on January 15, and recorded his first point as a Blueshirt with the primary assist on the game-tying goal in a 3-2 shootout win at Atlanta on January 22. He returns to Connecticut where he has registered five goals and 31 assists for 36 points, along with 91 penalty minutes in 43 games this season.  He is tied for sixth in the AHL in assists, and leads the Whale in assists, ranks second in points and fourth in penalty minutes.  Newbury has registered a team-high, 10 multi-point performances this season, including two separate streaks of three games with multiple points – November 13 vs. Springfield to November 19 at Springfield (six assists), and December 3 at Providence to December 11 vs. Manchester (one goal, six assists).  The 5-11, 213-pounder established a career-high with an eight-game assist streak from November 28 vs. Adirondack to December 17 vs. Worcester, recording three goals and 12 assists over the span.

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

Photo credit: Getty Images

By Brittany Burke

Whalers alumnus Scott “Chief” Daniels isn’t returning to Hartford this month as just an alum, waiting to take on his former rivals, the Boston Bruins in the Harvest-Properties.com “Whale Bowl”. He is traveling to Hartford to be a player, coach and fan.

“I’ve always been a Whaler, ever since I was a kid who was drafted into the organization,” said Daniels. “I still live in Springfield, and to me being a Whaler drafted as a Whaler was everything and anything I ever wanted in life, and now to actually get a call and come back and play a game of this magnitude just kind of makes me feel humble.”

With a daughter playing outdoors at Rentschler Field on Feb. 12 and his junior hockey team taking on the Hartford Junior Wolf Pack, Daniels gets to experience the outdoor Harvest-Properties.com Whalers Hockey Fest 2011 event from on the ice, behind the bench and from the stands.

“Her school is going to play the Choate Prep school, so it will be a good event for me to be on the other side (as a fan), be on the ice, and our junior hockey team, the Springfield Pics, are going play the Hartford Wolf Pack so I’ll be on the bench too at one point,” said Daniels. “I’ll ask the Zamboni driver if I could take a couple turns, then it’ll be a complete cycle. I’ll be an expert outdoorsman after that.”

Daniels was drafted by the Hartford Whalers in 1989 out of the WHL and divided his time between Hartford and Springfield, where he remains to this day.

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Twelve years after his retirement in 1999, the Saskatchewan native is returning to the first home he had in the NHL, for the Whale Bowl and Hockey Fest.

The return to Hartford is more than just a game for Daniels, it is a time where he can reconnect with old teammates and revisit the city that gave him his start.

“You kind of lose contact a little bit, but for me to go back and play with Mark Janssens is probably like a top ten event because we played junior hockey back in Canada…so we knew each other before we had come up through the pro ranks and we played against each other in pros and we played with each other with the Whalers,” said Daniels. “We were linemates, and now to come back after it’s all said and done we’ll probably pick up right where we left off ten, eleven years ago.”

Daniels didn’t truly get his hockey career started until he was ten years old. After a bad experience on skates when he was seven, Daniels swore off the game of hockey, until his father encouraged him to give it one last try. With a new pair of skates on his feet, Daniels fell in love with the game he once abandoned and never looked back.

In a nation where hockey reigns supreme, there was no escaping the game. Once he found his passion in hockey it encompassed his life. Not only did the Chief play, but his parents played, his two brothers played and his sister played. The family played in the driveway, in the house and on the ice.

That love carried through, and in 1989 he was drafted and brought into the Whalers’ organization. His first NHL game was against the Boston Bruins in the old Garden, making it fitting that he would make his Whalers comeback facing the black and gold, this time on his home ice.

After a glimpse of the NHL against the likes of Ray Bourque, Daniels was returned to Springfield, where he continued to hone his game for the next couple of seasons.

“For me, being that I played in Springfield I knew the area very well so I knew the people, I knew the management and I knew the off-ice staff because I had been with the organization for years,” recalls Daniels.

“But you know, you go into Hartford rink for the first time and it’s just like an unreal thing because you don’t expect it and just the people the atmosphere the fans are pretty well die-hardish so they knew you coming off, they knew of your stats, they knew what you did in the minors, so it was like just taking another step and playing against the greatest players on earth, and the organization was absolutely wonderful to all us guys.”

Now as the Whalers alumni come together again to take the ice against long-time rivals, it is the chance for the players and fans to reminisce about the glory days in Hartford. It is not just a game, it is history.

For players like Daniels, it is not something that will be taken lightly. Despite the fun atmosphere that surrounds an outdoor game, one cannot forget the history of the two organizations playing or the fact that despite being known as alumni, the men on the ice remain to this day proud athletes.

“It’s gonna be fun but as a professional athlete you never want to lose and you never want to be outdone,” says Daniels, “so I think there’s some pride in there that will come out as with any other sport when you’re playing against athletes at a top level… It’s still a classic matchup of the Whalers and the Bruins, no matter what the age is there’s still a little bit of pride in there.”

The Whalers and Bruins legends will take the ice for the Whale Bowl on Feb. 19 at 4 p.m. prior to the CT Whale AHL game against the Providence Bruins.

Photo credit: Whalershockey.com

By Bruce Berlet

Ron Francis. Kevin Dineen. … Kevin Dineen. Ron Francis.

Trying to select the best player in Hartford hockey history always comes down to the two most iconic figures since the New England Whalers arrived in town from Boston in 1974.

Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull, the best right wing and left wing in NHL history, are the most famous and legendary members of the All-Hartford Hockey History roster, but Francis/Dineen or Dineen/Francis has to be No. 1 and 1A in terms of contributions to the franchise.

But even Dineen would admit his former linemate, fellow captain and man with whom he had his No. 11 retired with No. 10 and the No. 5 of close friend Ulf Samuelsson on that memorable and emotional Jan. 6, 2006 night at the XL Center, should get the nod if for no other reason than he’s the only former Whaler to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

“It’s hard for me to define a highlight or a moment in my career,” Dineen once said. “Just Ronnie himself is at the top of the list.”

Still, Dineen was/always will be the John Wayne of Hartford hockey, the man of action and exploding synapses to this day as coach of the Portland Pirates. Dineen’s fireball demeanor was best demonstrated when he burst down left/off wing and around future Hall of Fame defenseman Larry Robinson and beat future Hall of Fame goalie Patrick Roy in overtime of Game 4 in the 1986 playoffs against Montreal. The Canadiens would win the Adams Division finals in seven games and then capture the Stanley Cup, but Dineen’s dash will live forever in Hartford hockey lore.

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But a close second to Dineen is former Hartford Wolf Pack All-Star Ryan Callahan, who fittingly is also a right wing, an alternate captain of the New York Rangers and the leading candidate to replace Trumbull native Chris Drury as the person wearing the C on Broadway. Callahan was a fourth-round pick in 2004 (Dineen a third-rounder in 1982), and both earned their way into the hearts of Hartford fans and reached pro hockey’s highest level thanks largely to grit, guts and perseverance.

Callahan is still a poor boy’s Dineen, but that’s no knock on Callahan, who joined Dineen as a United States Olympian in February, when the Americans won a silver medal. Dineen is one of only six players in NHL history to score at least 300 goals (355) and have at least 2,000 penalty minutes (2,229), demonstrating his full range of skills, dedication and determination. But nearly as remarkable is that when he retired in 2002, Dineen was among the top 60 all-time in games played (1,188). He was 5 feet, 190 pounds but played as if 6-3, 225. And he kept a non-stop, breakneck pace despite suffering from Crohn’s disease (chronic inflammation of the digestive tract), for which he has been a national spokesman for years.

The Pirates usually display their coach’s traits, and Rangers coach John Tortorella didn’t mince words about his feeling for Callahan before he returned from a 19-game absence on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who were without their two top guns, Sidney Crosby (concussion) and Evgeni Malkin (sinus infection). Callahan, the Rangers’ de facto captain when Drury missed 31 of the team’s first 32 games, had been out since Dec. 5 with a broken hand sustained when he blocked a shot by Penguins All-Star defenseman Kris Letang. But the resilient Rangers more than stayed afloat with a 10-7-0 record during Callahan’s absence.

Still, Tortorella gushes when he talks about No. 24.

“Cally does everything for us,” Tortorella told the New York media. “He’s one of our leaders. I give our team a lot of credit because when we lost him is when I most worried about where the team was going to go. I give our guys a lot of credit for hanging in there and finding a way. Cally is that important, so it’s good to have him back in the (locker) room first of all and then on the ice. I hope the whole team runs off (Callahan) because that’s the way we have to play.”

Callahan obviously enjoyed wearing a uniform rather than a suit in the stands as he skated on a line with rookie center Derek Stepan and call-up Mats Zuccarello. Callahan was the Rangers’ leading scorer (10 goals, 13 assists in 32 games) when he was injured and returned for a key game against the Penguins, who started the night five points ahead of the sixth-place Rangers.

“Yeah, it went real fast,” Callahan said sarcastically when asked about agonizing “bag skates” under the watchful eye of assistant coach Mike Sullivan, a former coach of the Providence Bruins. “I have full strength, it’s 100 percent. It’s an exciting game to be coming back for.”

Earlier this season, Callahan said doing the little things are his major focus and objective.

“I try to be good on the puck, be really good on the forecheck, take the body and do what I can,” said Callahan, who was among the league leaders in blocked shots when injured. “Obviously, I want to chip in with the goals when I can, too, but when that’s not going well, you definitely have to concentrate on the other things, and when you do that, you start to get bounces toward the net and start getting more chances. … I try to go out there and lead by example, finishing checks and blocking shots. If guys are jumping on board with it, that’s great. And I think everyone has bought into the system we’re trying to do – hard on the forecheck, sacrificing ourselves for the team.”

Tortorella points to a game in Boston in November that epitomizes Callahan.

“You watch him block shots, you see the things he does on the wall, everything about him,” Tortorella said. “I like the way he stepped up in the locker room in between periods when we taking all those penalties. It’s the most I’ve heard him say in the locker room since I’ve been with him. So I think he’s embracing being a leader on this club, too. It’s good stuff.”

The Rangers needed the All-Star Game break more than any NHL team after spending most of the season trying to field a team thanks to the extended injury losses of Callahan, Drury, Marian Gaborik, Vinny Prospal, Alex Frolov, Erik Christensen, Ruslan Fedotenko, Derek Boogaard and former Wolf Pack wing Brandon Dubinsky, who was activated from injured reserve Tuesday. Callahan, Dubinsky and former Wolf Pack defenseman Dan Girardi returned to the lineup Tuesday night, and Prospal is expected to make his season debut Thursday night at home against the New Jersey Devils. Christensen and Fedotenko hope to return in mid-February, while Frolov and Boogaard are expected to miss the remainder of the season.

The Rangers had 24 players, one over the NHL limit, on the ice for practice Monday after Whale defenseman Michael Del Zotto and forwards Kris Newbury and Evgeny Grachev were called up Sunday during the AHL All-Star break. The multitude of injuries have given Whale players an unprecedented shot with the Rangers, who reached 200 man-games lost to injury Tuesday night, compared to 78 games all of last season. As many as eight Whale players have been in New York on recall, with four in the lineup Tuesday night: forwards Zuccarello and Newbury and defensemen Del Zotto and Ryan McDonagh, as Grachev was returned to the Whale after Dubinsky was deemed healthy to go. Dubinsky started on a line with Gaborik and former Wolf Pack center Artem Anisimov, while Newbury was paired with Drury and Sean Avery.

Del Zotto, who switched places with McDonagh on Jan. 3, was paired with Matt Gilroy, who ironically had been assigned to the Wolf Pack last season to try to revive his game and had four assists in five games. Del Zotto replaced Steve Eminger, meaning for the first time in history, all six Rangers defensemen had played in Hartford. The other pairings were Girardi with All-Star Marc Staal and McDonagh with Michael Sauer.

After reports from Rangers assistant general manager/assistant coach/Whale GM Jim Schoenfeld, Tortorella continued to laud the players on the Hartford-New York shuttle.

“Del Zotto played well the last couple of games (in Hartford) and did some decent things as far as puck movement on the power play, so we’ve got to make a decision there,” Tortorella said. “Grachev has really played much better (seven goals and one assist in last six games with the Whale), but it hasn’t transformed here yet. But Schoney watched two games during the (NHL) break and felt Grachev and Newbury were the guys (to call up). I like Newbury’s grit and hopefully he can take a face-off or two. Grachev has scored some goals and played hard (in Hartford) and is going through the process. The next step for him is to protect pucks (in New York) as we’ve asked him to do (in Hartford) but also try to create some offense. (Dale) Weise played well, too, but we can’t take everybody.”

All-Star wing Jeremy Williams and wings Chad Kolarik and Brodie Dupont also have been call-ups, and Tortorella said he believes the numerous injuries and recalls will be beneficial to the organization in the long run.

As an aside, goalie Henrik Lundqvist, the No. 1 reason the Rangers have been able to weather the injury storm, made history Sunday when he saved the first penalty shot in All-Star history, making a pad stop on Matt Duchene of the Colorado Avalanche. But Lundqvist took the loss after allowing three goals, though the winner turned out to be an empty-netter by Dallas Stars forward Loui Eriksson, his fourth point of the game. Eric Staal, captain of Team Staal and the hometown Carolina Hurricanes, scored with 33.6 seconds left to make it the third All-Star Game in which both teams hit double digits in goals.

WHALE HOMESTAND ENDS FRIDAY NIGHT

The Whale (22-20-2-5) and the rest of the AHL are off until Thursday, and then they end a four-game homestand Friday night at 7 against another struggling team, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (19-23-3-3). A last-second, 3-2 loss to the Portland Pirates on Saturday night was the Whale’s third in a row overall and fourth straight and sixth in seven starts at home after eight consecutive wins at the XL Center. It dropped the Whale into fourth place, one point behind Worcester, which beat Providence 3-2, and they are only three points ahead of the Bruins, who have two games in hand. The Whale is 11-12-2-1 at home and 11-8-0-4 on the road but 4-1-0-1 in the GEICO Connecticut Cup against the Sound Tigers, capped by Chad Johnson’s 22-save shutout in a 4-0 victory at Bridgeport on Dec. 26. Williams leads the team in goals (22) and points (40), followed by Newbury (5, 31), Kolarik (17, 16) and center Tim Kennedy (9, 24). Williams was the Whale’s lone representative in the AHL All-Star Game on Monday night, when he scored on his only shot and had an assist as the Eastern Conference beat the Western Conference, 11-10.

The Sound Tigers arrive at the XL Center on a four-game losing streak that ended the worst calendar month in franchise history (1-9-2-1) and dropped them into the division cellar. Like the Whale, the Sound Tigers have had to battle through countless call-ups, including on Monday, when goalie Kevin Poulin and defensemen Ty Wishart and former Wolf Pack Dylan Reese were recalled by the parent New York Islanders. Poulin and Reese returned to the Islanders after spending two games with the Sound Tigers during the NHL All-Star break. Reese had a goal in a 3-2 loss at Worcester on Friday, when Poulin made 45 saves. The Sound Tigers’ leading scorer is right wing Rhett Rakhshani, who has three of his 10 goals and two of his 24 assists against the Whale and is tied for first in AHL rookie scoring. Center Rob Hisey (7, 18) is second in scoring, and center David Ullstrom (6, 17) is tied for third with Wishart (4, 19). Left wing Micheal Haley (12, 10) leads the team in goals. Rookie Mikko Koskinen (5-14-0, 3.67 goals-against average, .882 save percentage) has played the most games in goal for the Sound Tigers.

After the Sound Tigers game, the Whale will play a home-and-home set with Portland, Saturday at 7 p.m. in Maine and Sunday at 3 p.m. at the XL Center. The teams have split their first four games, with both Whale victories coming on overtime goals by former Pirates center Tim Kennedy, on Dec. 29 and 31. The Pirates (29-14-4-1) have won five of their last six games to move within a point of Atlantic Division-leading Manchester.

HOWE, PROPP AND HANGSLEBEN VISITING

Former Hartford Whalers and 1986 NHL All-Stars Mark Howe and Brian Propp, and ex-Whaler Alan Hangsleben, will be at the XL Center on Friday night. They will hold a private, “meet and greet” reception with Whale season ticket holders and “Harvest-Properties.com Whalers Hockey Fest 2011” festival ticket purchasers before the game (4:30-6:30 p.m.) and then drop the ceremonial first puck. Hangsleben also will sign autographs in the XL Center atrium during the second intermission with selected Whale players.

Friday is the 25^th anniversary of the 1986 NHL All-Star Game at the Hartford Civic Center. Howe and Propp were with the Philadelphia Flyers and played on the Wales Conference team that beat the Campbell Conference 4-3 in overtime. Propp, who finished his 15-year NHL career with the Whalers, scored the first Wales goal. It was one of four All-Star appearances for Howe, the son of hockey legend Gordie Howe who was at the XL Center on Friday night scouting for the Detroit Red Wings, a job he has held since retiring from the Red Wings in 1995.

Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m., the Grand Rink at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods will host a skate with Hangsleben and former Whalers Doug Roberts and Garry Swain, former Bruins Bob Miller and Tom Songin and Whale mascot Pucky. Fees are $10 for adults with a $5 skate rental, and $6 for children with a $2 skate rental. Hot beverages and photo opportunities are included, as well as the chance to win tickets to the “Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl” on Feb. 19.

WHALERS AND BRUINS LEGENDS FACE OFF FEB. 19

Hall of Fame defensemen Brian Leetch, a Cheshire native, and Brad Park headline the Boston Bruins legends team that will play the Hartford Whalers legends on Feb. 19 at 4 p.m. in the opener of the doubleheader that’s part of the “Harvest-Properties.com Whalers Hockey Fest” on Feb. 11-23 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford. The Whale and Providence Bruins will play at 7 p.m., and in case of bad weather, that game will be played Feb. 20 at the XL Center.

Other commitments for the Bruins team are Enfield native Craig Janney, former captain Rick Middleton, who played 12 seasons in Beantown and two with the Rangers, Reggie Lemelin, Ken Hodge, Don Marcotte, Rick Smith, Bob Sweeney, Lyndon Byers, Cleon Daskalakis, Jay Miller, Bob Miller (no relation) and Ken “The Rat” Linseman, who was a member of the Whalers for a few moments as he passed through in a multi-player trade with Philadelphia and Edmonton that included Mark Howe leaving Hartford for the Flyers. Derek Sanderson will coach the Bruins team.

Commitments for the Whalers team are WHA Hall of Famer Andre Lacroix, John McKenzie, whose No. 19 is retired in the XL Center rafters, Blaine Stoughton, Pat Verbeek, John Anderson, Garry Swain, Bob Crawford, Chris Kotsopoulos, Jim Dorey, Jordy Douglas, Ray Neufeld, Gordie Roberts, Darren Turcotte, Nelson Emerson, Mark Janssens, Bill Bennett, Jeff Brubaker, Fred O’Donnell, Terry Yake, Scott Daniels and the Babych brothers, Dave and Wayne. Emile “The Cat” Francis, a coach and general manager with the Rangers and Whalers, will be back behind the bench again, and Norm Barnes and former captain Russ Anderson will be assistant coaches.

Celebrities scheduled to play with one of the legends teams include Michael Keaton, Alan Thicke and David E. Kelley, son of New England and Hartford Whalers coach and general manager Jack Kelley and the writer of the 1999 hit film “Mystery, Alaska,” which was produced by Whalers Sports and Entertainment president and CEO Howard Baldwin and his wife, Karen. “Mystery, Alaska” cast members slated to appear are Michael Buie, Scott Richard Grimes, Jason Gray-Stanford and Cameron Bancroft, along with Neal McDonough, Kevin Zegers, Bobby Farrelly, David Henrie and the Hanson brothers – Steve, Jeff and Dave –  who were the comedic linchpins of the classic movie “Slap Shot.”

Tickets ($20 to $85) for the doubleheader can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com and the Bushnell box office in Hartford on Monday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m. or by calling the Whale at 860-728-3366. They also can be purchased online and printed immediately at Ticketmaster.com.

Photo credit: Hartford Courant, Getty Images

HARTFORD, February 1, 2011:  Whalers Sports and Entertainment president and COO Howard Baldwin, Jr. today issued the following statement on the incident at Saturday’s Connecticut Whale game in which Pucky, the Whale’s mascot, was attacked:

“We are extremely thankful that our beloved mascot was not injured, nor were any fans or game staff, as a result of this regrettable action by one individual of a great crowd of nearly 12,000 fans.  We are also very grateful to the terrific XL Center arena staff, and the Hartford Police, for their swift and appropriate action in apprehending the offending party and barring that individual from future XL Center events.  While we are confident that this was an isolated incident, we will continue to work diligently with our XL Center partners to ensure that the safety of our fans and staff is never compromised during a Whale game.”

New York, February 1, 2011 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that forward Evgeny Grachev has been assigned to the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Grachev, 20, has skated in eight games with the Rangers this season, making his NHL debut vs. Carolina on October 29.  He returns to Connecticut where he has registered 13 goals and six assists for 19 points, along with 12 penalty minutes and a plus-eight rating in 42 games this season.  He registered one goal in a 4-2 loss vs. Manchester on Friday, marking his fourth consecutive AHL game with a goal (seven goals) and fifth straight game with a point (seven goals, one assist) dating back to January 15 vs. Providence.  He is tied for second on the team in goals, while his plus-eight rating leads all team forwards and ranks second on the Whale.  He is also tied for fifth on the team with three power play goals.  Grachev registered his first professional hat trick in a 5-1 win at Springfield on January 22.

The Khabarovsk, Russia native was originally the Rangers’ third round selection, 75th overall, in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

Photo credit: Getty Images