Manchester, NH, December 21, 2012 – Kris Newbury scored two goals and added an assist, Marek Hrivik had a goal and an assist, and Cam Talbot made 39 saves, as the Connecticut Whale defeated the Manchester Monarchs by a score of 5-2 Friday night at Verizon Wireless Arena.
The Whale also got two assists from Steven Delisle, his first career AHL points after joining the team earlier in the week from Greenville of the ECHL, and two helpers from Chad Kolarik. Marc-Andre Cliché scored both Manchester goals.
The Whale won despite being outshot 41-29 in the game.
The Whale, who had absorbed a 9-2 pounding from the Monarchs less than two weeks before, December 8 in Manchester, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Hrivik and Newbury.
Hrivik opened the scoring with his third of the season at 7:54, set up by a Newbury centering pass out of the left-wing corner. The Monarchs left Hrivik alone in front of the goal, and he waited for Manchester starting goaltender Martin Jones to commit before flipping the puck past him on the stick side. Delisle, playing his first game in a Whale uniform, started the play by dumping the puck into the corner and picked up the other assist.
Newbury scored on a power play at 12:40 for a 2-0 lead, getting his ninth of the year. Kolarik tipped the puck to Newbury at the right side of the slot and Newbury’s slap shot overpowered Jones, trickling over the goal line just before Hrivik got to it.
The Whale were outshot 15-8 in the first, but Talbot stopped all 15 shots in the Whale goal.
The Monarchs would have a 20-13 shots advantage in the second period, but the Whale nursed their 2-0 lead until the 13:18 mark, before Cliché scored twice in 46 seconds to tie it quickly for Manchester.
Cliché’s first goal came on a power play at 13:18, on a deflection of a Jake Muzzin shot from the top of the left circle, after Andrei Loktionov won a faceoff. Cliché then scored off a rush at 14:04, after Stefan Legein centered the puck off left wing. Talbot stopped Cliché’s initial try, but Cliché got two more whacks at the puck and poked it in on the second one.
The Whale then regained the lead with just 24 seconds left in the period, when Kelsey Tessier scored off of a Ryan Bourque feed. Bourque carried the puck into the offensive zone on right wing and spun back, before playing the puck in front to Tessier, whose high shot cleanly beat Jones.
Chris Kreider increased the margin to two goals at 4:46 of the third period, scoring his fifth goal of the season. Kyle Jean carried the puck across the slot before handing the puck to Kreider at the top of the right circle, and Kreider’s snapshot found the net behind Jones (19 saves), who was then lifted from the game in favor of Peter Mannino, who would go on to stop all five shots that he faced.
Newbury created the final margin with an empty-net goal with 45.8 seconds remaining, his team-leading 10th goal on the year.
The win stopped a two-game Whale losing streak and improved Connecticut’s record to 12-13-2-0 for 26 points.
The Whale return to the XL Center Saturday night for their last game before the Christmas holiday, a 7:00 PM date with the Providence Bruins. That is “Military Appreciation Night”, with a jersey auction in the second intermission to benefit the VFW of Connecticut, and that game also features the Whale’s annual “Teddy Bear Toss”. Fans are encouraged to bring new, unwrapped soft toys to the game and, when the Whale scores its first goal, heave them on to the ice to be donated to the children of Newtown, CT. Also, teddy bears will be for sale in the XL Center atrium, with a portion of the proceeds benefitting St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
Tickets for all Whale regular season home games at the XL Center are on sale now 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 5 at Manchester Monarchs 2
Friday, December 21, 2012 – Verizon Wireless Arena
Connecticut 2 1 2 – 5
Manchester 0 2 0 – 2
1st Period-1, Connecticut, Hrivik 3 (Newbury, Delisle), 7:54. 2, Connecticut, Newbury 9 (Kolarik, Gilroy), 12:40 (PP). Penalties-Newbury Ct (fighting), 0:15; Clune Mch (fighting), 0:15; Pyett Ct (hooking), 2:41; Legein Mch (holding), 11:43; Haley Ct (fighting), 19:45; Deslauriers Mch (fighting), 19:45.
2nd Period-3, Manchester, Cliche 4 (Muzzin, Loktionov), 13:18 (PP). 4, Manchester, Cliche 5 (Legein, Clune), 14:04. 5, Connecticut, Tessier 3 (Bourque, Delisle), 19:36. Penalties-Delisle Ct (unsportsmanlike conduct), 0:14; Clune Mch (unsportsmanlike conduct), 0:14; Kreider Ct (hooking), 1:19; Segal Ct (tripping), 7:31; Delisle Ct (interference), 13:06.
3rd Period-6, Connecticut, Kreider 5 (Jean, Parlett), 4:46. 7, Connecticut, Newbury 10 (Kolarik, Hrivik), 19:14 (EN). Penalties-Pearson Mch (high-sticking), 5:09; Bodnarchuk Mch (delay of game), 5:17; Jean Ct (tripping), 9:59.
Shots on Goal-Connecticut 8-13-8-29. Manchester 15-20-6-41.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 1 / 3; Manchester 1 / 5.
Goalies-Connecticut, Talbot 10-10-0 (41 shots-39 saves). Manchester, Jones 7-12-2 (23 shots-19 saves); Mannino 5-2-0 (5 shots-5 saves).
A-3,906
Referees-Ryan Hersey (8).
Linesmen-Jeremy Lovett (78), Bill McGoldrick (94).
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