By Bruce Berlet
HARTFORD, Conn. – The Connecticut Whale should have known they were in trouble when Brandon Kozun scored the first goal of the game Sunday at the XL Center.
After all, the Atlantic Division-leading Manchester Monarchs were 14-0-0-1 when they scored first, and the trend didn’t end on the second day of the New Year thanks largely to goalie Martin Jones.
Jones, an unrestricted free agent signed by the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 2, 2008, made 39 saves for his second shutout of the season as the Monarchs cooled off the AHL’s hottest team with a 3-0 victory before 4,367.
Former Yale forward David Meckler and Richard Clune helped set each other up in the third period, when the Monarchs (24-12-1-1) assured they would make amends for a 3-1 loss at Springfield on Saturday night that ended a season-high, six-game winning streak. The victory increased the Monarchs’ lead over the second-place Whale to seven points and handed goalie Chad Johnson (17 saves, 12-11-1-3) only his second non-shootout loss in 13 decisions (9-2-2).
The Whale’s 39 shots tied the fifth most stopped in 52 shutouts against in the franchise’s 14-year history as the Monarchs ended the Whale’s four-game winning streak. That capped a 12-1-0-2 run that had put the Whale six games above .500 for the first time this season and vaulted them from last place into second, two points ahead of Portland, which lost 3-2 to Worcester and has four games in hand.
The Whale (18-13-2-5) outshot the Monarchs 39-20, but it wasn’t enough to extend an 11-game unbeaten streak (9-0-0-2) against division teams and earn a point for a 16th time in 17 games (12-1-0-3). The Whale also had been 12-1-0-2 since rebranded from the Hartford Wolf Pack to the Whale on Nov. 27, but now they’re 1-4-0-1 against the Monarchs this season.
To continue reading, click on the read more button below.
“They’ve been playing extremely well lately, and we knew that coming in,” said Jones (13-2-0-0, 1.60 goals-against average, tied for first in the AHL, and .948 save percentage, second in the league). “We weren’t entirely happy with our performance (Saturday) night, and that was a big bounce-back performance for us.
“Obviously we jumped into the lead in the first period, and they were getting more and more desperate as the game went on,” added Jones, who turns 21 in a week, has won six in a row and is 4-0 against the Whale this season. “We were outshot, but I don’t think we played poorly. We were controlled in our own zone, composed and stuck to our structure. A lot of those shots are saves that I should be making, so I thought we did a great job in our zone coverage-wise.
“I don’t think we had too many breakdowns where they got grade-A scoring chances. I felt good and was able to make a couple of saves I needed to make, and I thought my team did the rest defensively.”
Jones, though, was easily the game’s No. 1 star and the reason the Whale suffered their first regulation loss at home since their second of four shutout losses this season, 4-0 to Toronto on Nov. 9. Since then, they had been 8-0-0-1 at the XL Center after starting 2-6-2-0.
Whale left wing Brodie Dupont, playing after needing three stitches to close a cut near his right eye sustained in a 6-2 victory over Providence on Saturday night, has known of Jones’ talents since they played together with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League. Jones also backstopped Canada to a silver medal in the World Junior Championships last year when Team USA won the gold.
“At some point, you have to give credit where credit is due,” said Dupont, who scored the first goal Saturday before being injured with 3:20 left and had five shots Sunday along with Kris Newbury and Jeremy Williams and one less than Todd White. “After playing with him in juniors, I figured I’d be able to pick his old weak spots, but he challenged a lot more than he used to. I had a few opportunities that I would have liked to put away, but it didn’t happen for me or anybody.
“I think everybody got a little frustrated, but Jones played a great game. When you fire 39 shots at somebody and don’t score, the goalie has to be playing good. He put a door up and slammed it shut. We threw everything we had at him, and he played well. We just have to find a way to beat those goalies whether it’s rebounds or net-front presence or whatever it might take. But it was one of those nights that happen. You play an 80-game schedule, so you’re going to run into a hot goalie eventually.
“But we’re taking a lot of positives out of that game. It would have been nice to win because they were only five points up on us and we were closing the gap on them pretty good so it was kind of a four-point game for us. But we’re not quite at the halfway point, and they know we’re coming and we feel confident. We’re not going to let this set us back. We’re just going to keep moving forward and take the positives out of it.”
Dupont felt the Whale controlled a lot of the play, and the Monarchs scored the winner off a broken play on a power play that didn’t deflate the team. Ditto after the second goal, but the third was “the nail in the coffin.”
“But he knows where I’m coming from, so I’ll get him,” Dupont added with a smile “And you can put that in the paper, too.”
Whale coach Ken Gernander also conceded Jones was at the top of his game but wished his team hadn’t taken a few bad penalties and been better defensively, forechecking and physically as they had in their recent excellence.
“We did generate 39 shots and didn’t give up a world of opportunities, but there’s a pretty small difference between winning and losing,” Gernander said. “We had some real good chances where we didn’t make great shots. That’s not to take anything away from the goalie because he made some big saves, but I thought there were chances where we weren’t sharp as far as shooting.
“And I don’t think we had as many second and third opportunities as we needed, and (Jones) probably saw all of the shots, too. We need bodies net-front and tips and screens and those kinds of things. Goalies are good, and if they get to see (a shot), they a lot of times make the save. I sensed the guys getting frustrated, which is something we can be better at. For a long part of the night, it was a one-goal game, so if you get frustrated, it’s counterproductive a lot of times.”
Both sides, especially the Whale, had ample scoring chances in the first 40 minutes but converted only once. Dupont had a good rebound chance just after the opening faceoff, then the Monarchs’ Jordan Nolan hit the post off a left wing rush at 6:22.
After Johnson made good saves off Dwight King and Corey Elkins on Manchester’s first power play, the Monarchs took the lead for good when King passed across the crease to a wide-open Kozun, who one-timed a shot into an open net from the left circle at 8:48.
Jones made a stellar stop on Jeremy Williams’ left-circle shot with 7:37 left in the period during the Whale’s first power play. Jones then made three more strong saves in a 21/2-minute span, stopping White off a pass from Jason Williams, Evgeny Grachev’s partial breakaway off Tim Kennedy’s soft lead pass and Jason Williams’ breakaway off a White pass after Elkins’ turnover.
Johnson denied Thomas Hickey cruising down the slot shorthanded 1:21 into the second period, then 20 seconds later, Hickey put a shot off the crossbar, though Gernander agreed with replays that showed the shot went in and out of the net.
The Whale had three more good scoring bids in the final 8:06 of the period, but Jones denied Kelsey Tessier off right wing and Dupont on a 2-on-1 with Newbury sandwiched around White putting a shot off the side of the net off a 3-on-1.
The Whale nearly tied it shorthanded 3:24 into the third period, but referee Chris Cozzan ruled the net was dislodged before Dupont jammed in the puck off a 3-on-2.
Given that reprieve, the Monarchs took a 2-0 lead as Clune poked the puck to Meckler, who flipped a shot past Johnson at 6:05 for his team-leading 11th goal. After Jones stopped a three-shot Whale flurry capped by Jeremy Williams’ excellent bid with 8:15 left, the Monarchs clinched the win as Meckler picked up his blocked shot and flipped a backhand, diagonal pass to a wide-open Clune, who redirected the puck high to Johnson’s stick side with 6:31 to go.
“The guys rebounded well,” said Monarchs coach Mark Morris, whose captain at Clarkson was White. “It was a textbook road win. Everybody contributed. There was good focus and execution throughout most of the game.”
WHALE NOTES
The Whale wore their new home white jerseys for the second time, and their new blue road jerseys will debut Friday night in Norfolk, Va., or Jan. 14 at Portland. The new jerseys are available for purchase at the XL Center or The Hartford Store, 45 Pratt Street in Hartford. Prices, including sales tax, are $289 (authentic), $125 (senior replica) and $99 (junior replica). … The Whale start a four-game road trip at Worcester on Wednesday night and don’t return to the XL Center until Jan. 15 against Providence, the start of a three-game homestand that also includes visits from league-leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (Jan. 16) and Hamilton (Jan. 21). … Former Wolf Pack captain Greg Moore scored with 3:54 left to give the Adirondack Phantoms a 2-1 victory over the Albany Devils on Saturday night. That gave Moore, a two-time 20-goal scorer and former All-Star with the Wolf Pack, a goal in four consecutive games after failing to score in his first 32 games. Moore was shut out in regulation Sunday, but he had the deciding shootout goal as the Admirals rallied from a two-goal deficit with less than eight minutes left for a 3-2 victory over the Rochester Americans. The Phantoms won their third game in as many nights and improved to 6-2-0- 0 in its last eight games after starting the season 4-23-2-0. … Defenseman Lee Baldwin, assigned from the Whale to the Greenville Road Warriors on Wednesday, scored his first ECHL goal in a 5-1 victory over the Wheeling Nailers on Sunday. Dov Grumet-Morris, who played two games with the Whale earlier this season, made 28 saves for his league-leading 15th victory.
ISLANDERS TRADE ROLOSON; WHALE TO FACE DESJARDINS
The New York Islanders acquired defenseman Ty Wishart from the Tampa Bay Lightning for veteran goalie Dwayne Roloson late Saturday night and assigned him to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Wishart, 22, the San Jose Sharks’ first-round pick (16th overall) in 2006, had four goals and 14 assists and was plus-13 in 31 games with the Norfolk Admirals, who host the Whale on Friday and Saturday night.
With Roloson in Tampa Bay, the Whale will face rookie goalie Cedrick Desjardins, who made 34 saves to win his second consecutive start Saturday night, 2-1 over the Rangers in overtime. Until Marian Gaborik scored with 46 seconds left in regulation, Mats Zuccarello, on a call-up from the Whale to replace former Wolf Pack wing Ryan Callahan (broken right hand), had the Rangers’ best scoring chance in the second period but fired a rebound of former Wolf Pack center Artem Anisimov’s shot from the right side that a diving Desjardins managed to stop with his pad. Gaborik’s late goal tied it, but former P-Bruins center Nate Thompson ended it just 19 seconds into overtime.
“I was just having fun finding every shot,” said Desjardins, recalled from Norfolk on Dec. 20. “I was in the zone.”
But Desjardins’ fun ended quickly when it was announced after the game that the Lightning had acquired the 41-year-old Roloson, sending Desjardins back to the AHL despite allowing only two goals in his first two NHL games. He had 27 saves in a 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night, but now it’ll be the Whale that he’ll be facing.
ZUCCARELLO WORKING TO STAY IN NEW YORK
After playing only 71/2 minutes in a 3-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Zuccarello asked the Rangers coaching staff to show him videos to assess his defensive play.
“I didn’t play much when we had a one-goal lead, and I told them, ‘I want to know what you’re not happy with and what I can do better,” Zuccarello told reporters before playing 12:33 in the loss to Tampa Bay.
Adjusting to smaller North American rinks, more physical play and the Rangers’ system didn’t come as quickly as Zuccarello hoped, though he did have 23 points in his last 21 games with the Whale after getting only two points in the first 12 games.
Zuccarello said the videos showed him he “can play closer to the boards, to be in position to pick up loose puck, just details like that. I want to get more playing time. To me, it’s important to help out there. You want to know the system, to adjust, so your linemates don’t get insecure with you out there.”
Zuccarello skated on left wing with Gaborik and Derek Stepan in the win over the Devils, but he was back on his more natural right wing Saturday night with the Russian tandem of Anisimov and Alex Frolov. Zuccarello was again at right wing Sunday with Stepan and former Wolf Pack forward Brandon Dubinsky, but none of the Rangers accomplished much of anything in a 3-0 loss to the Florida Panthers.
Rangers coach John Tortorella is making no long-term NHL commitment to Zuccarello, whom he has called intelligent and coachable, beyond the next few games.
“He’s improved, but I’m not sure where it all goes right now with him,” Tortorella said. “You can see his skill. Where I really like him is in tight, in close, situations where he can make a play and other people can’t. He has some vision, you can see his offensive instincts.
“Where it goes, as far as where he fits with the team, I’m not exactly sure, because we’re pretty banged up (with Callahan, Christensen and Derek Boogaard injured), and I want to play Gabby with Stepan and Dubi (Dubinsky). We’re going to allow him to play and then make our judgment: Does he stick with us or does he still need some work in the minors?”
Tortorella did say Zuccarello “certainly hasn’t hurt himself in the games that he’s played in. I only used him (7:36 in New Jersey) because we were brutal early on and I changed things around and kind of lost things in the rotation.
“A young guy’s gonna have to live through that when you’re struggling through a game. He’s going to play some more games here and we’ll see where he can help us, if he can, right now. I don’t want to get too far ahead or myself in this development in trying to force him.”
Former Wolf Pack defenseman Dan Girardi registered his 100th career NHL point Saturday night when he assisted on Gaborik’s goal. Girardi has six points (one goal, five assists) in the last nine games and leads the team with 17 assists.
Until Sunday, the Rangers were 9-0-0 (4-0-0 at home, 5-0-0 on the road) in the second game of back-to-backs this season and had outscored the opposition 31-9. In the last two seasons, they are 18-3-2 in the backend of the back-to-back sets, 8-1-1 at Madison Square Garden and 10-2-1 on the road.
DISCOUNTED WHALE, ‘DISNEY ON ICE’ TICKETS AVAILABLE
The deadline for fans to give the gift of Whale hockey during the holiday season is Monday.
The Whale Hockey Pack of six dark green undated flex tickets and one Heritage Connecticut Whale hat is $122, a savings of $38. Six yellow undated flex tickets and one hat are $74, a savings of $14. Holiday packages are available at the Fan Center behind Section 101 in the XL Center, by calling 860-728-3366 or visiting www.ctwhale.com. … Whalers Sports and Entertainment, in association with the XL Center, is offering a discount for “Disney On Ice” shows this week to Whale fans. For discounted tickets, use the discount code WHALES and save $4. Discounted tickets start at $11 for shows Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at 4:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the XL Center box office, online at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000. For groups of 15 or more, contact the XL Center group sales office at 860-548-2000. … The Whale’s Jan. 21 game against Hamilton is be a special Family Value Night at which New Britain Rock Cats mascot Rocky will be on hand. There will be a giveaway, a table setup and autograph session, and the New Britain High School marching band will perform the national anthem and during the first intermission. Tickets in the lower level are $16 and include a soda and pizza slice or hot dog. Visit www.ctwhale.com. … The eighth Tip-A-Player Dinner and Sports Carnival, presented by Aetna, will be Jan. 23 at the XL Center from 4-7 p.m. Tickets are $30 for adults and $20 for children, and proceeds benefit Gaylord Specialty Healthcare at Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford. For more information, contact Lori Leniart at 860-728-3366.
ALL-STAR VOTING ENDS NEXT SUNDAY
On-line fan voting for the AHL All-Star Classic Jan. 30-31 at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa., runs through midnight next Sunday at theahl.com and facebook.com/theahl. Players receiving the most votes by position will earn berths in the starting lineups of the Eastern Conference and Western Conference teams. A committee of AHL coaches will select the remaining All-Stars, and all 30 clubs must be represented. By completing the official ballot, fans are entered to win a grand prize of a team-signed All-Star jersey. Ten more winners will receive an official All-Star Classic T-shirt.
Tickets for the AHL Hall of Fame induction and awards ceremony and post skills party during the All-Star Classic are on sale. The induction and awards ceremony will be at the Hershey Theater on Jan. 31 at 11 a.m. when the Hall of Fame Class of 2011 – the late Maurice Podoloff, who grew up in New Haven and graduated from Yale, and Harry Pidhirny, Mitch Lamoureux and Larry Wilson – will be enshrined. AHL Hall of Famer Bruce Boudreau, former coach of the Bears and now coach of the Washington Capitals, will be the keynote speaker, and AHL graduate and 2008 Foster Hewitt Award winner Mike Emrick will be master of ceremonies.
The post-skills party will be at the Hershey Lodge on Jan. 30 from 6 to 10 p.m. It will feature a tailgate theme while watching the NHL All-Star Game with a buffet-style menu of food and drinks. Ticket packages for the two events are $75 and can be purchased at the Giant Center box office or by calling 717-534-3911. Availability is limited, and there is a six-ticket limit per person.
Also, an exclusive All-Star Classic VIP package for $199 includes Club Section tickets, parking vouchers for the skills competition and All-Star Game, a meal voucher for the All-Star Game, tickets for the post-skills party and Hall of Fame induction and awards ceremony and a gift bag. Tickets for the skills competition Jan. 30 at 3 p.m. and the All-Star Game on Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. are nearly sold out. Contact the Giant Center box office for information.
Monarchs 3, Whale 0
Manchester 1 0 2 – 3
Connecticut 0 0 0 – 0
First period: 1. Man, Kozun 9 (King, Elkins), 8:48 (pp). Penalties: Garlock, Ct (cross-checking), 6:56; Cliché, Mch (boarding), 10:56; Hill, Mch (fighting), 13:49; DiDiomete, Ct (fighting), 13:49; Williams, Ct (interference), 16:29; Moller, Mch (hooking), 19:03.
Second period: No scoring. Penalties: Grachev, Ct (hooking), 1:21; Williams, Ct (tripping), 5:19; Teubert, Mch (interference), 10:17.
Third period: 2. Man, Meckler 11 (Clune), 6:05. 3. Man, Clune 5 (Meckler, Zeiler), 13:29. Penalties: Williams, Ct (boarding), 3:04; Teubert, Mch (fighting), 19:00; DiDiomete, Ct (fighting), 19:00.
Shots on goal: Manchester 10-6-4-20. Connecticut 13-10-16-39; Power-play opportunities: Manchester 1 of 5; Connecticut 0 of 3; Goalies: Manchester, Jones 13-2-0 (39 shots-39 saves). Connecticut, Johnson 12-12-3 (20-17); A: 4,367; Referee: Chris Cozzan; Linesmen: Brent Colby, Kevin Redding.
