By Wil Goldsholl

Hartford, CT, February 5, 2013 – On a night where Connecticut and the parent-team New York Rangers made some personnel swaps, the Devils bested both clubs Tuesday; the Whale suffered a loss at the hands of Albany, 4-3 in a shootout, while the Rangers fell to New Jersey, 3-1.

Brandon Mashinter was boomeranged to New York; he left for the Big Apple with J.T. Miller, and returned to Hartford with Benn Ferriero two days later without seeing any NHL ice time.

The first shot of Tuesday’s game got Albany on the board, when Brandon Burlon got the puck to Matt Anderson at the point. After two quick steps to the middle, Anderson wound and fired the puck over the stick side shoulder of starting goaltender Jason Missiaen for Anderson’s eighth of the year. The goal went under review, but would ultimately stand for a 1-0 Devils lead 27 seconds into the matchup.

Missiaen would make a glove save on Chad Wiseman shortly thereafter, but when Kyle Jean sat for holding at 4:40, Burlon catalyzed another scoring play. Burlon fed Anderson at the left hash mark. Anderson’s one-touch pass hit Phil DeSimone right in the slot, and DeSimone had no problem closing on his fourth of the year. Five minutes and seventeen seconds in to the contest, Missiaen was pulled for Cam Talbot in relief.

The Whale’s chances were few and far between in the first; they managed to get just four pucks on Keith Kinkaid’s goal. The teams exchanged penalties several times before the first intermission, but Albany would take their 2-0 advantage into the locker room, as well as a 14-4 edge in the shot column. Continuing with his mantra of the season, head coach Ken Gernander spoke about another incomplete game, “That’s inexcusable.  Players with character play for 60 minutes.”

In the second, the game slowed down. Connecticut still only managed six shots in the second, but did hold the Devils to just seven tries of their own. At the end of the scoreless period, Brandon Segal drew blood with a high stick at the buzzer, giving Albany four minutes of power-play time to start the third.

With only 10 shots on the board through two, it still took the Whale seven and a half minutes to get a shot in the third. At that exact moment, Cam Janssen and Andrew Carroll dropped the gloves for the first bout of the game.

A minute and a half after that, at 8:58, Corbin McPherson gave Albany a 3-0 edge. Anderson was on the wall and found Steve Zalewski at the goal line. The feed to the front deflected off of Anderson, and McPherson was there in the slot for his first of the year at 8:58.

The Whale finally got on the board 20 seconds later; Micheal Haley found Logan Pyett at the point. The drive from the blueline was caught under Kinkaid, but with Palmieri and Newbury in front, the Ontario-born Newbury jabbed a stick in to the crease to poke it home.

Talbot, who was more active in puckhandling than usual in the game, took a delay of game for clearing the puck over the glass at 10:16. He did, however, manage to clear the puck on his own once during the kill.

Jason Wilson fought Alexander Urbom with 7:13 left after running him over behind Kinkaid’s net, and 59 seconds later Mike Vernace cut the deficit to just one. Kinkaid was behind the net, when Andrew Yogan clipped him and slung the loose puck around to Segal. Segal found Vernace alone in front for his fourth of the year, adding another goal to a little home scoring tear for the Whale blueliner.

Newbury manhandled his opponent after a draw with 3:38 to play, earning a cross-checking penalty, and while the timing was bad, it would lead to a Kelsey Tessier shorthander. Tessier stripped the puck in Connecticut’s defensive end and broke down the right wing to beat Kinkaid with a wrister at 3:21 that tied the game at three apiece. Tessier spoke of the goal and the game afterwards, “It was a PK… They kinda went to Segal and it opened up so I took the wrist shot. It’s good we got that one point but we need those two points right now, we have some teams to catch up to right now… We gotta blame ourselves that we’re not in the playoffs.”

The teams swapped chances yet again as Albany turned up the power play pressure and the Whale generated some additional shorthanded opportunities, but regulation would expire in a tie.

In the overtime period, Connecticut and Albany managed just a shot each, and a shootout commenced with Kinkaid shutting down Mashinter on a forehand to backhand move. Keith Kinkaid was perfect in the shootout, while Wiseman and Matt Anderson scored against Talbot to take the shootout, 2-0.

Kinkaid picked up his 15^th win in the 4-3 victory, making 20 saves, while Talbot stopped 25 of 26 after coming in for Missiaen, who stopped seven of nine.

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Albany Devils 4 (SO) at Connecticut Whale 3
Tuesday, February 5, 2013 – XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Albany 2 0 1 0 – 4
Connecticut 0 0 3 0 – 3

1st Period-1, Albany, Anderson 8 (Burlon, Whitney), 0:27. 2, Albany, DeSimone 4 (Anderson, Burlon), 5:17 (PP). Penalties-Jean Ct (holding), 4:40; Yogan Ct (tripping), 8:49; Parse Alb (interference), 9:09; Pyett Ct (slashing), 13:24.

2nd Period- No Scoring. Penalties-DeSimone Alb (slashing), 14:02; Thomas Ct (hooking), 16:54; Segal Ct (double minor – high-sticking), 20:00.

3rd Period-3, Albany, McPherson 1 (Zalewski, Anderson), 8:58. 4, Connecticut, Newbury 16 (Pyett, Haley), 9:18. 5, Connecticut, Vernace 4 (Segal), 13:46. 6, Connecticut, Tessier 9 16:39 (SH). Penalties-Janssen Alb (fighting), 7:37; Carroll Ct (fighting), 7:37; Talbot Ct (delay of game), 10:16; Urbom Alb (fighting), 12:47; Wilson Ct (fighting), 12:47; Newbury Ct (cross-checking), 16:22.

OT Period- No Scoring. Penalties-No Penalties

Shootout – Albany 2 (Sislo NG, Wiseman G, Anderson G), Connecticut 0 (Mashinter NG, Palmieri NG, Newbury NG, Segal NG).
Shots on Goal-Albany 14-7-13-1-1-36. Connecticut 4-6-12-1-0-23.
Power Play Opportunities-Albany 1 / 8; Connecticut 0 / 2.
Goalies-Albany, Kinkaid 15-9-4 (23 shots-20 saves). Connecticut, Missiaen 5-4-1 (9 shots-7 saves); Talbot 15-19-1 (26 shots-25 saves).
A-1,887
Referees-Terry Koharski (10), Ryan Murphy (5).
Linesmen-Glen Cooke (6), Kevin Redding (16).

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NEW YORK, February 5, 2013 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has assigned forward Brandon Mashinter to the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Mashinter, 24, was acquired by the Rangers from San Jose on January 16, in exchange for forward Tommy Grant and a conditional pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. He returns to Connecticut, where he has registered seven points (three goals, four assists) and 14 penalty minutes in eight games following his trade. He posted a four-game point streak from January 20 at Providence to January 26 against Springfield, tallying two goals and four assists over the span. Mashinter has recorded five goals and seven assists for 12 points, along with 58 penalty minutes in 38 total games with Connecticut and Worcester this season.

The Bradford, Ontario native has skated in 244 career AHL games over four seasons with Connecticut and Worcester, registering 57 goals and 58 assists for 115 points, along with 338 penalty minutes. At the time of his trade, he ranked fourth on Worcester’s all-time goals list and seventh on the team’s all-time points list. Mashinter has also skated in 13 career NHL contests with the San Jose Sharks, making his NHL debut on December 29, 2010, at Minnesota. He was originally signed by San Jose as an undrafted free agent on March 3, 2009.

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NEW YORK, February 4, 2013 –New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has recalled forwards J.T. Miller and Brandon Mashinter from the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL), while forward Benn Ferriero has been assigned to Connecticut.

Miller, 19, has tallied three points (one goal, two assists) in the last two games with Connecticut, including a two-assist performance on February 1 against Bridgeport. He has registered eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points, along with 27 penalty minutes in 37 games with the Whale this season. Miller represented the Eastern Conference in the AHL All-Star Game on January 28. He is currently tied for sixth on Connecticut in goals and points, and ranks seventh in assists. Miller also ranks second among Whale rookies in assists and points, and is tied for second in rookie goals. He began the season with a three-game assist streak, and recorded four points (one goal, three assists) in the opening five games of the season. Miller registered seven points (three goals, four assists) in a seven-game span from December 1 against Syracuse to December 14 against Albany.

Miller made his professional debut on April 21, 2012, in Game 2 of Connecticut’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series against Bridgeport. He tallied his first professional point with an assist on May 2, 2012, at Norfolk, and finished the 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs with one assist in eight postseason contests.

The East Palestine, Ohio native represented the United States at the 2013 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship, leading the team with seven assists and finishing tied for the team lead with nine points to capture the Gold Medal. Miller was originally selected as the Rangers’ first round choice, 15^th overall, in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Mashinter, 24, was acquired by the Rangers from San Jose in exchange for forward Tommy Grant and a conditional pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft on January 16. He has registered seven points (three goals, four assists) and 14 penalty minutes in eight games with Connecticut, including a four-game point streak from January 20 at Providence to January 26 against Springfield (two goals, four assists). Mashinter has recorded five goals and seven assists for 12 points, along with 58 penalty minutes in 38 total games with Connecticut and Worcester this season.

The Bradford, Ontario native has skated in 244 career AHL games over four seasons with Connecticut and Worcester, registering 57 goals and 58 assists for 115 points, along with 338 penalty minutes. At the time of his trade, he ranked fourth on Worcester’s all-time goals list and seventh on the team’s all-time points list. Mashinter has also skated in 13 career NHL contests with the San Jose Sharks, making his NHL debut on December 29, 2010, at Minnesota. He was originally signed by San Jose as an undrafted free agent on March 3, 2009.

Ferriero, 25, tallied one assist in four games with the Rangers following his recall on January 25. He made his Rangers debut on January 26 against Toronto, and recorded his first point as a Blueshirt with an assist in the next game on January 29 against Philadelphia. Ferriero returns to Connecticut where he has registered one assist in one game, after tallying an assist while making his Whale debut in a 4-1 win on January 25 against Manchester.

The Rangers acquired Ferriero from Pittsburgh in exchange for forward Chad Kolarik on January 24. Prior to the trade, Ferriero registered four goals and 14 assists for 18 points, along with 14 penalty minutes in 34 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL). He ranked third on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in assists, was tied for fifth on the team in points and ranked second in shots on goal (97) at the time of the trade.

The Boston, Massachusetts native was originally selected by the Phoenix Coyotes as a seventh round choice (196^th overall) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He signed as a free agent with the San Jose Sharks on August 23, 2009.

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