Category Archives: Hockey

Bring Back the Whale

For myself as a fan of the Hartford Whalers there was no worse experience as a sports fan than having your team ripped from you and relocated by a carpet bagger and a commissioner who reminds me of Count Chocula. I though I had experienced sports lows but I was wrong. The Red Sox World Series losses in 1975 and 1986, the near miss in 1978, the Patriots getting crushed by the Bears 46-10 and the Game 7 OT playoff loss at Montreal were probably the low lights of 100’s of losses suffered by my teams over the years. Then the Whalers packed up and moved.

I refuse to rehash ancient history because well it makes my blood boil thinking about what Ponytail Pete did and what the crooked governor failed to do. What I want to do is look forward if Winnipeg can get the Jets back why can’t Hartford get the Whalers?

There’s a lot of work that needs to be done too much for just one person or even a small group. As Whalers fans, hockey fans that long for the return of the Whalers and Brass Bonanza we need to band together and each try to do something and pitch in and help along the way.

There are a lot of obstacles in the way, let’s be honest it’s truly an uphill battle. First off, I am of the belief the Commissioner Bettman does not want the NHL in Hartford. So we need to change the commissioner. This guy wore out his welcome two lockouts ago and he needs to go, and go now. Maybe he can get a ride with Bud Selig to where ever he is going off to. We need a commissioner who loves the sport, loves the fans and is a fan at heart of one of the most exciting games played. I’m not sure who that is but there are people way more knowledgeable than I am who do.

Second there needs to be a new arena built but it’s a catch-22 situation because who wants to build an arena without a team? Enter the University of Connecticut who is now playing Division I big boy NCAA hockey and using the XL Center, the Whalers former home as their Hockey East home. Granted they tarp off seats and have cut the attendance maximum to around 7,500 but still look at the attendance figures so far. In addition the national champion UConn basketball teams play a portion of their schedule at the XL Center every year and have so for quite a long time. There has recently been a call for UConn to play more of its games there but better facilities are needed. Granted there have been upgrades to the arena and locker rooms but it’s still a 40-year old facility.

I believe with the help and voice of the University, it’s athletic boosters and former student-athletes, the Hartford corporate community, local businesses and state and local government leaders something can be done to rectify the arena situation. People need to work together, the public and the private entities should share a common goal of not only building an arena and bringing the NHL back to Hartford but to help the community prosper and be vibrant.

A new arena creates jobs and pushes money into a community. It just wouldn’t be UConn athletics and the Whalers, the NCAA will use the arena for tournaments, and there will be concerts, the circus and other events. A new arena will put a shine on Hartford once again and be able to work hand in hand with the Convention Center nearby.

Then the third issue is actually getting a team through either NHL expansion or relocation. As a fan who lost their team I’d rather see the new Whalers come in through expansion I am not sure how I would feel about taking someone else team from them after ours was taken from us.

In order to get this done it needs to bigger than the current grass roots efforts, there needs to be more done than the booster club bringing in former players for an event or alumni game. Or 60 fans going to see the Islanders play, newspaper articles that don’t tell us anything more than what we already know and government leadership that says they want a team back in the city but don’t really do much to try to make it happen. I am not minimizing these efforts but let’s face it, the longer we go without a true effort to bring the Whalers back to Hartford the farther we are from it ever getting a chance to happen.

We need voices, powerful voices of people who carry weight in government, the private sector, the media and the NHL. We need former Whalers players, former professional players who were developed in Connecticut youth hockey programs, a former owner who can possibly provide guidance and NHL and corporate connections coupled with a serious prospective owner to come help us fight and show everyone Hartford and the region want this. We need the carriers of the Whalers torch to step forward, people who will bring instant credibility to the effort. Men such as Dennis House, Gerry Brooks and Jeff Jacobs can help be this collective voice of the fan. They are now but the voice needs the help of the jilted fan to be more powerful, forceful. When someone asks how badly we want our team back there should be a loud resounding roar of a Lion King not a meow of a young kitten.

It starts with grass roots and there is a small grass roots effort there but I am afraid it has just not been enough. It needs to bigger, louder and to some extent pissed off about being jerked around. If we as Whalers fans refuse to stand up and be heard no one else will do it for us. Do something, anything. Be heard. Be loud; be proud for the Whalers sake.

Winnipeg did it. Why not us?

Pucky’s Revenge

In a recently concluded Divisional Final of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, two of the most dreaded former opponents of the Hartford Whalers matched up.  It was the Montreal Canadiens, who had a habit of breaking Whalers fans hearts in the playoffs and the Boston Bruins, the team that never respected the Whalers and always seemed to have their number.

PuckyIn this recent series The Canadiens defeated the Bruins in seven games winning the final 3-1 at TD Garden in Boston.  Granted, the new Garden and the Bell Centre are beautiful buildings but neither are the true houses of horror that Hartford experienced during its NHL years at the Boston Garden and the Montreal Forum.

But something stood out to me. The series winning goal was scored by a Canadiens player who was born in, gasp, Connecticut.  That’s right, Max Pacioretty is a native of New Canaan CT.  He most likely grew up a Rangers fan but because of all the great work the New England/Hartford Whalers did over the years with growing youth hockey in Connecticut, Pacioretty is one of ten current NHL players who can call Connecticut home.  Included among them are Stanley Cup champions, Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles) and Ben Smith (Chicago).

As a former Whalers fan it was great to see a Connecticut kid put the dagger in the Bruins, even if he was wearing a Canadiens sweater.  I like to think of it as Pucky’s Revenge.

Below is a list of the ten current NHL players from Connecticut it comes courtesy of Hockey Reference.

Along with those players, it made me wonder how many former Whalers are actually working in the NHL.  With help from Whalers Hockey I was able to compile this list.  There are 46 former Whalers Alumni working in the NHL and many more in hockey in the Olympics, college, juniors, high school, youth ranks and overseas.

Executives (13)

  • Brendan Shanahan President Toronto
  • Ron Francis GM Carolina
  • Ken Holland GM Detroit
  • Don Maloney GM Arizona
  • Marc Bergevin GM Montreal
  • Mike Vellucci Asst GM Carolina
  • Pat Verbeek Asst GM Tampa Bay
  • Paul Fenton Asst GM Nashville
  • Norm Maciver Asst GM Chicago
  • Sean Burke Asst GM/Goalie Coach Arizona
  • Dave Babych Vancouver Director Player Personnel
  • Larry Pleau Senior Advisor St Louis
  • Brent Peterson Advisor Nashville

Scouting/Player Development (19)

  • Mark Howe Director Pro Scouting Detroit
  • Nelson Emerson Director Player Development/Asst Coach LA Kings
  • Glen Wesley Player Development Carolina
  • Randy Cunneyworth Player Development Buffalo
  • Mike Antonovich Scout St. Louis
  • Rick Meagher Scout St. Louis
  • Michel Picard Scout St. Louis
  • Shane Churla Scout Montreal
  • Mark Grieg Scout Philadelphia
  • Chris Pronger Scout Philadelphia
  • Robert Kron Scout Carolina
  • Greg Malone Scout Tampa Bay
  • Glen Merkosky Scout Detroit
  • Bryan Marchment Scout San Jose
  • Geoff Sanderson Scout NY Islanders
  • Jim Sandlak Scout Anaheim
  • Al Tuer Scout Florida
  • Tom Webster Scout Calgary
  • Eric Weinrich Scout Buffalo

Coaching (13)

  • Joel Quenneville Head Coach Chicago
  • Dave Tippett Head Coach Arizona
  • Todd Richards Head Coach Columbus
  • Ulf Samuelsson Asst Coach NY Rangers
  • Doug Houda Asst Coach Boston
  • Doug Jarvis Asst Coach Boston
  • Jack McIlhargehy Asst Coach Philadelphia
  • James Patrick Asst Coach Dallas
  • Mark Reeds Asst Coach Ottawa
  • Brad Shaw Asst Coach St Louis
  • John Stevens Asst Coach LA Kings
  • Steve Weeks Goalie Coach Chicago
  • Jeff Reese Goalie Coach Philadelphia

Other (1)

  • Nick Fotiu Public Relations NY Rangers

Goaltender Jason Missiaen Reassigned to Greenville

HARTFORD, January 15, 2014:  Hartford Wolf Pack general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the parent New York Rangers have reassigned goaltender Jason Missiaen from the Wolf Pack to its ECHL affiliate, the Greenville Road Warriors.

Hartford Wolf PackMissiaen, a third-year pro, has appeared in 14 games this year for the Wolf Pack and has compiled a record of 2-11-1, with a 3.83 goals-against average and an 88.8% save percentage.  He was signed as a free agent by the Rangers March 24, 2011, from the Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

The Wolf Pack’s next action is this Friday night, January 17, as they travel to Glens Falls, NY to meet the Adirondack Phantoms.  Faceoff is 7:00 PM, and all the action can be heard live on Fox Sports Radio 1410, and on-line at www.foxsportsradio1410.com and iHeartRadio.  Video streaming is available at www.ahllive.com.

The Wolf Pack’s next home game is Friday, January 24, a 7:00 PM contest against the Springfield Falcons.  All Wolf Pack Friday-night home games feature $1 hot dogs and $2 beers through the start of the second period, presented by Marc’s Appliance Warehouse, located at 75 Prospect Ave., Hartford, CT.

Tickets for all Wolf Pack 2013-14 home games are on sale now at the Public Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499.  Wolf Pack tickets start as low as $12 for youth 12 years old or younger.  To speak with a representative about season or group tickets, call (855) 762-6451.

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Springfield Falcons 3, Connecticut Whale 2

By Wil Goldsholl

Hartford, CT, February 2, 2013 – In the eighth round of battle between the Connecticut Whale and the Springfield Falcons, the team from north of the border emerged victorious. Before a crowd of 13,239, the second-largest XL Center crowd in franchise history, Springfield took down Connecticut 3-2 on Saturday, and gained a 5-3-0-0 edge in the “I-91” series for the 2012-2013 season. Goals from Brandon Mashinter and J.T. Miller in the third could not overcome the Springfield scores from earlier in the game.

CT WhaleConnecticut jumped out to an early shot advantage when Cody Goloubef was penalized for hooking at 2:02 of the first period. Connecticut saw their fair share of chances after the power play ended.

Shortly thereafter, Springfield goaltender Curtis McElhinney, who leads the league with six shutouts, got tied up with teammate Greg Amadio as Mashinter got dumped in front when the puck came to him.

Springfield opened scoring at 8:09, when Dylan Prout and Goloubef broke the puck out. Tomas Kubalik streaked down the left wing and jammed the puck towards Whale netminder Cam Talbot’s stick side. The puck took a favorable roll and found its way to the top corner of the net, earning Kubalik his 12th goal of the year.

The physicality that had been developing early hit a breaking point near the midway mark of the period, with Dylan McIlrath and Tim Spencer dropping the gloves following some chippiness in the corner.

Wade MacLeod took a roughing penalty for Springfield at 11:28 and Connecticut’s power play, which was zero for three on the night, was completely stalled, earning no shots.

After Connecticut killed a Micheal Haley slashing minor with just under five to play in the first, Christian Thomas showed off some puckhandling on the circle and made his way cross-crease, only to be buried by Will Weber behind the net. Jason Wilson came in to drop the gloves with Weber with 1:27 on the clock. Head coach Ken Gernander said afterwards, “I like the way we played tonight… the way guys stuck up for one another among lots of other positives.” Wilson was called for roughing on the play in addition to his and Weber’s fighting majors.

Before the first expired, Nick Drazenovic, who earned Second-Star honors, catalyzed a flurry of chances that Talbot turned away, and Michael Chaput got his stick in Haley’s face with 28.8 on the clock. Four on four play would roll over in to the second, with Springfield leading 1-0.

After the short four on four and an abbreviated Whale power play, Amadio got involved with Andrew Carroll, taking exception to a scrum resulting from a big McElhinney stop on Kelsey Tessier.

Talbot stopped MacLeod on a big try from the slot, and McElhinney came up with yet another quality save in reply when Kris Newbury made a beauty of a cross-ice feed to Tessier.

Segal got called for high-sticking at 11:50, and Prout drew a hooking call on Collins 76 seconds later. With a five on three opportunity, Nick Holden went inside out with Goloubef at the point and Goloubef took a shot that Talbot seemed to lose in traffic. At 13:29, the Falcons had a 2-0 lead on Goloubef’s fourth goal of the season. The teams would exchange a few more chances before the second intermission, but both goaltenders held their ground.

Christian Thomas went to the box for high-sticking on MacLeod at 4:11 to start the third, and Drazenovic wasted no time earning his season’s 15th. Getting assists from captain Ryan Craig and MacLeod, the Prince George, BC native Drazenovic finished near the crease.

Haley and Prout dropped the gloves not long after the score for the fourth bout of the night, and the huge XL Center crowd was on its feet.

Connecticut’s offense picked up in the third, coming close on a scrum in front of the Springfield goal when McElhinney got spun around with his back out to the play.

Springfield held off the Whale for a few more minutes, until Tessier slung a long breakout pass to Mashinter. Mashinter came flying into the slot and pulled the trigger, beating the Colorado College product McElhinney over the glove hand. The Whale got on the board at 9:50, as Mashinter continues his streak of strong offensive production on home ice since joining the team. “We battled pretty hard tonight, kept those guys to the outside,” said Mashinter after the game. “We were definitely feeding off the crowd, it’s nice to see a good turnout.”

The Whale earned still more chances as time went by. After applying some steady zone pressure, Miller capitalized when Segal dug the puck out from behind the net. With a blind backhand feed, Segal connected with Miller for his eighth at 11:23; Kyle Jean was awarded the secondary assist. Miller reflected the sentiments of his teammates and coaches, saying, “We played well, battled. We just couldn’t score. We came together in the third and if we play like that the rest of the year we’ll win a lot more hockey games.”

Logan Pyett turned the puck over to Drazenovic in the slot and Talbot came up with two timely stops at the 7:30 mark, and McElhinney again answered with a big right-leg save when Thomas took a try from the circle.

Trailing by two, Blake Parlett nailed the crossbar with five minutes to play, and had another chance in the slot with three and a half on the clock.

Talbot left the ice with one minute left, allowing Segal to join Newbury, Miller and Tessier on the offense. Mike Vernace put in a great hustle for icing with 9.2 on the clock to earn the Whale another offensive-zone draw, and Parlett did the same with 2.7 seconds left. Thomas cranked a shot off the final draw but could not manage the tying goal.

Talbot stopped 30 of 33 Springfield tries, while McElhinney picked up his 19th win turning away 33 of 35.

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http://youtube.com/watch?v=KsaCcy-9bXY?rel=0

Springfield Falcons 3 at Connecticut Whale 2

Saturday, February 2, 2013 – XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum

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

1st Period-1, Springfield, Kubalik 12 (Goloubef, Prout), 8:09. Penalties-Goloubef Spr (hooking), 2:02; Spencer Spr (fighting), 10:43; McIlrath Ct (fighting), 10:43; MacLeod Spr (roughing), 11:28; Haley Ct (slashing), 15:18; Weber Spr (fighting), 18:33; Wilson Ct (roughing, fighting), 18:33; Chaput Spr (high-sticking), 19:31.

2nd Period-2, Springfield, Goloubef 4 (Holden, Drazenovic), 13:29 (PP). Penalties-Amadio Spr (fighting), 2:03; Carroll Ct (fighting), 2:03; Segal Ct (high-sticking), 11:50; Collins Ct (holding), 13:06.

3rd Period-3, Springfield, Drazenovic 15 (Craig, MacLeod), 4:32 (PP). 4, Connecticut, Mashinter 5 (Tessier, Parlett), 9:50. 5, Connecticut, Miller 8 (Segal, Jean), 11:23. Penalties-Thomas Ct (high-sticking), 4:11; Prout Spr (fighting), 4:53; Haley Ct (fighting), 4:53.

Shots on Goal-Springfield 13-10-10-33. Connecticut 9-12-14-35.
Power Play Opportunities-Springfield 2 / 5; Connecticut 0 / 3.
Goalies-Springfield, McElhinney 19-7-2 (35 shots-33 saves). Connecticut, Talbot 15-19-0 (33 shots-30 saves).
A-13,239
Referees-T.J. Luxmore (49), Terry Koharski (10).
Linesmen-Marty Demers (79), Luke Galvin (2).

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Springfield Falcons 4, Connecticut Whale 2

Springfield, MA, January 18, 2013 – Kris Newbury scored on the first shift of the game for the Connecticut Whale Friday night at the MassMutual Center, and again with 34 seconds left in the third, but the Springfield Falcons scored four goals in between for a 4-2 victory.

CT Whale“I thought we had a good start, scoring on the first shift obviously helps, but we had a little letdown and they were able to capitalize,” Newbury said.  “They’ve got skilled forwards that can put the puck in the net.  So we’ve just got to tighten it up.”

Nick Drazenovic and former Whale Tim Erixon had a goal and an assist each for the Falcons, and Allen York made 24 saves.  Mike Vernace assisted on both of Newbury’s goals for the Whale.

Newbury scored on a partial breakaway at the 49-second mark, on the game’s first shot.

Vernace sent a perfect lead pass through center ice to Newbury, who got a step on the Springfield defense and fired a shot past York high to the stick side.

Erixon got that goal back less than four minutes later, though, at 4:07.  Whale defender Logan Pyett tripped and fell, allowing Erixon to get to the net down the left side, and Erixon’s shot went off Connecticut netminder Cam Talbot (24 saves) and over the goal line.

The goal was Erixon’s fifth of the year, and four of them have come against the Whale.

Drazenovic then gave the Falcons their first lead at 9:57.  Breaking into the Whale zone on a two-on-one, the left-handed-shooting Drazenovic snapped a shot from the right-wing circle and got it past the catching glove of Talbot.

Springfield then got two more in the second period, the first coming at 8:34 off the stick of Ryan Craig.  A snapshot by Erixon from the left point hit Craig and dropped down into the slot, and Craig was able to fight off Vernace and slip the puck past Talbot.

A Tomas Kubalik power-play goal at 18:35 made it 4-1, as Kubalik deflected in a shot by Nick Holden from the middle of the blue line.  That came with only five seconds remaining in a roughing penalty to Jason Wilson, who was playing his first career AHL game for the Whale.

The Whale outshot Springfield 11-8 in the third period, but were not able to cut the Falcons’ lead until the 19:26 mark, when Newbury tipped Vernace’s left-point shot through York to make it 4-2.

Connecticut then pulled Talbot for an extra attacker after winning the center-ice faceoff, but could not get any closer.

The Whale continue a stretch of six straight road games Saturday night, when they head to Portland for a 7:00 PM matchup with the Pirates.  All of the action of that game can be heard live on “The Rock” 106.9 WCCC and on-line at www.ctwhale.com.  Video streaming is available at www.ahllive.com

The Whale’s next home game is Wednesday, January 23, a 7:00 game against the Adirondack Phantoms.  For that and all Whale home games, tickets start as low as $10 each ($12 each when tickets are purchased on the day of the game), at the Public Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, through TicketMaster Charge-by-Phone at 1-800-745-3000 and on-line at www.ticketmaster.com.

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Connecticut Whale 2 at Springfield Falcons 4
Friday, January 18, 2013 – MassMutual Center

Connecticut 1 0 1 – 2
Springfield 2 2 0 – 4

1st Period-1, Connecticut, Newbury 13 (Vernace, Collins), 0:49. 2, Springfield, Erixon 5 (Drazenovic, Audy-Marchessault), 4:07. 3, Springfield, Drazenovic 11 (Collins, Weber), 9:57. Penalties-No Penalties

2nd Period-4, Springfield, Craig 12 (Erixon, Chaput), 8:34. 5, Springfield, Kubalik 10 (Holden, Chaput), 18:35 (PP). Penalties-Tessier Ct (holding), 3:54; Wilson Ct (roughing, fighting), 16:40; Smith Spr (fighting), 16:40.

3rd Period-6, Connecticut, Newbury 14 (Kolarik, Parlett), 19:26. Penalties-Weber Spr (holding), 8:37; Newbury Ct (hooking), 13:43.

Shots on Goal-Connecticut 9-6-11-26. Springfield 10-10-8-28.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 0 / 1; Springfield 1 / 3.
Goalies-Connecticut, Talbot 13-17-0 (28 shots-24 saves). Springfield, York 4-3-0 (26 shots-24 saves).
A-3,888
Referees-Jean Hebert (43), Trevor Hanson (47).
Linesmen-Glen Cooke (6), Kevin Redding (16).

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Springfield Falcons 5, Connecticut Whale 0

By Wil Goldsholl

Hartford, CT, December 2, 2012 – A winless weekend for the Connecticut Whale finished Sunday with a 5-0 loss to the Springfield Falcons at the XL Center, as the Falcons handed the New York Rangers’ affiliate their third loss in three nights.

CT WhaleThe rival Falcons, still at the top of the Northeast Division, picked up win number 12 with the victory. Connecticut fell to 9-9-2-0

Springfield backstop Curtis McElhinney stopped 34 shots in his fifth shutout of the year. He leads the league in that category and remains top five in the AHL in goals against average. Jason Missiaen saved 23 of 28 in his sixth appearance.

Springfield drew first blood, after shutting down a 2-on-1 opportunity, when Cam Atkinson pulled a wrister that was initially stopped by Jason Missiaen, but Atkinson converted on the rebound. The goal was Atkinson’s eighth of the year, assisted by Jonathan Audy-Marchessault.  Just two and a half minutes in, Springfield had a 5-0 shot advantage.

Connecticut would turn the offense around, at least for the time being, when Patrick Cullity was called for cross-checking. Connecticut produced eight shots during the man-advantage.

Matt Gilroy was sent off for hooking behind Missiaen’s net with 9:06 to play. Audy-Marchessault connected with Ryan Johansen on a brilliant goal-line give-and-go to take a 2-0 edge. With the score, Johansen picked up his seventh goal.

Despite outshooting Springfield 13-7 in the first period, the Whale would take a 3-0 deficit in to the first break. John Moore’s slapper from the left point found Matt Calvert in front, and the Manitoba product redirected the puck beautifully with just under four minutes to play.

McElhinney came up with big time saves on Mike Vernace and Tommy Grant before the first expired.

Grant came as close as to scoring as anyone in a white jersey would when he clanged one off the crossbar, but two minutes later Sean Collins put Springfield up 4-0 just before the midway mark of regulation. The play raised some eyebrows as the puck nearly escaped the zone seconds prior to the well-placed wrister.

Micheal Haley looked to put some life in to the Connecticut bench by scrapping with Dalton Smith, but he was also called for roughing and Springfield had yet another power play chance.

Things got chippy late in the second, and the two squads amassed 24 penalty minutes during the period.

In a relatively uneventful third period, Haley squared up with Tomas Kubalik with 10:17 to play, and captain Ryan Craig netted his 12th of the season to close out scoring.

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Springfield Falcons 5 at Connecticut Whale 0
Sunday, December 2, 2012 – XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Springfield 3 1 1 – 5
Connecticut 0 0 0 – 0

1st Period-1, Springfield, Atkinson 10 (Audy-Marchessault), 2:23. 2, Springfield, Johansen 7 (Audy-Marchessault, Erixon), 12:16 (PP). 3, Springfield, Calvert 6 (Moore), 16:02. Penalties-Cullity Spr (cross-checking), 3:43; Gilroy Ct (hooking), 10:54; Newbury Ct (hooking), 18:53.

2nd Period-4, Springfield, Collins 5 9:46. Penalties-Erixon Spr (interference), 10:06; Smith Spr (fighting), 12:49; Haley Ct (roughing, fighting), 12:49; Tessier Ct (unsportsmanlike conduct), 17:03; Vernace Ct (roughing), 17:03; Newbury Ct (interference), 19:03; Calvert Spr (roughing), 19:15; Parlett Ct (roughing), 19:15.

3rd Period-5, Springfield, Craig 5 (Atkinson, Drazenovic), 14:09 (PP). Penalties-Kubalik Spr (fighting), 9:43; Haley Ct (fighting), 9:43; Gilroy Ct (cross-checking), 13:52.

Shots on Goal-Springfield 7-14-7-28. Connecticut 13-10-11-34.
Power Play Opportunities-Springfield 2 / 7; Connecticut 0 / 2.
Goalies-Springfield, McElhinney 11-2-2 (34 shots-34 saves). Connecticut, Missiaen 2-3-0 (28 shots-23 saves).
A-2,091
Referees-Chris Brown (86).
Linesmen-Derek Wahl (46), Luke Galvin (2).

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Springfield Falcons 10, Connecticut Whale 2

By Wil Goldsholl

Hartford, CT, November 4, 2012 – The Springfield Falcons defeated the Connecticut Whale at the XL Center in Hartford Sunday night. The Falcons dominated scoring, winning by a final count of 10-2.

CT WhaleFormer Whale players Tim Erixon (goal and three assists, +6) and Jonathan Audy-Marchessault (goal and two assists, +4) combined for seven points and a +10 for Springfield in the game, and Nick Drazenovic and Ryan Johansen had two goals apiece for the Falcons.

The Falcons got busy in the offensive zone early and demonstrated why they only have one regulation loss on the season. Several minutes of sustained pressure led to a second chance goal by Erixon, his first of the year, assisted by Tomas Kubalik and Audy-Marchessault at 3:54.

Erixon returned the favor to Audy-Marchessault when he fed a break-in pass that allowed for a cross crease chance and Audy-Marchessault’s fourth goal of the 2012-2013 season at 11:53.

Just 23 seconds later Erixon picked up his third point feeding Nick Drazenovic from the left half-boards to the backdoor.

After falling to a 3-0 deficit, Coach Ken Gernander would relieve goaltender Cam Talbot for the night. The premature departure came just two days after his win-stealing performance in Albany.

Micheal Haley and Dalton Smith dropped the gloves with 6 minutes left in the first to stir things up and Smith would leave the ice for repairs after the bout.

Through the first 20 minutes, Springfield held a 3-0 lead despite the shot count being nearly even. And while the shot clock would be even throughout the game, the scoreboard would tell a different story. 

Johansen added another goal for Springfield 3:56 into the second, increasing his line’s goal production to four on the night.

Following a Too Many Men minor against Springfield, Tomas Kubalik came out of the box, picked up a loose puck and snapped a shot five-hole on replacement goaltender Jason Missiaen, whose luck between the pipes was no better than Talbot’s.

The Whale saw a few quality chances against Curtis McElhinney but the Falcon goaltender was in command at his end.

“There has to be a willingness to take pucks wide… not a cross-ice flip where we don’t have support, [Springfield] generally get[s] a favorable bounce and either wheel it up the boards or use the net for protection,” Gernander said of the offensive strategy. 

Tommy Grant was able to slip one past McElhinney in the closing minutes of the period but the deficit still stood at five goals during the second break.

Matt Gilroy fired in a wrister in the early going of the third to make it a 6-2 game, but the Falcons replied by scoring four more goals over the next 16 minutes, as Andrew Joudrey, Cam Atkinson, Michael Chaput and Drazenovic connected to close out the game.

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Springfield Falcons 10 at Connecticut Whale 2
Sunday, November 4, 2012 – XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Springfield 3 3 4 – 10
Connecticut 0 1 1 – 2

1st Period-1, Springfield, Erixon 1 (Kubalik, Audy-Marchessault), 3:54. 2, Springfield, Audy-Marchessault 4 (Erixon, Prout), 11:53. 3, Springfield, Drazenovic 3 (Erixon, Prout), 12:16. Penalties-Audy-Marchessault Spr (hooking), 7:25; Smith Spr (fighting), 13:54; Haley Ct (fighting), 13:54; Prout Spr (tripping), 15:47.

2nd Period-4, Springfield, Johansen 4 (Holden), 3:56. 5, Springfield, Kubalik 3 (Calvert), 9:32. 6, Springfield, Johansen 5 (Audy-Marchessault), 16:23. 7, Connecticut, Grant 4 (Haley, Thomas), 16:47. Penalties-served by Kubalik Spr (bench minor – too many men), 7:26; Drazenovic Spr (hooking), 20:00.

3rd Period-8, Connecticut, Gilroy 3 (Newbury, Kreider), 1:40 (PP). 9, Springfield, Joudrey 2 (Craig, Holden), 6:48. 10, Springfield, Atkinson 4 (Calvert, Erixon), 8:47. 11, Springfield, Chaput 2 (Goloubef), 9:50. 12, Springfield, Drazenovic 4 (Holden, Collins), 18:24 (PP). Penalties-Haley Ct (charging), 10:08; Kreider Ct (holding), 17:01.

Shots on Goal-Springfield 13-7-13-33. Connecticut 12-10-7-29.
Power Play Opportunities-Springfield 1 / 2; Connecticut 1 / 4.
Goalies-Springfield, McElhinney 6-1-1 (29 shots-27 saves). Connecticut, Talbot 3-1-0 (11 shots-8 saves); Missiaen 1-2-0 (22 shots-15 saves).
A-2,221
Referees-Terry Koharski (10).
Linesmen-Mike Baker (11), Paul Simeon (66).

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