Hartford, CT, October 7, 2012 – Chris Kreider’s hat trick led the Connecticut Whale to a 4-3 victory over the Worcester Sharks Sunday afternoon at the Koeppel Community Center at Trinity College, in the Whale’s last of four AHL preseason games.

Kreider scored once in each of the three periods, and fellow New York Ranger first-round pick J.T. Miller also had a goal, as the Whale won its second straight game after dropping its first two preseason starts.  Scott Stajcer made 19 saves to get the win.  The Whale power play was 3/5.

James Sheppard had a goal and an assist for Worcester, Sebastian Stalberg and Marek Viedensky also scored and Travis Oleksuk had two assists.

The Whale jumped on top at 7:36 of the first period, with Kreider scoring an unassisted goal.  Kreider worked the puck away from Matt Pelech at the right point in the Whale zone and moved down left wing, eventually snapping a shot past Shark starting goaltender Alex Stalock (three goals-against on 21 shots).

Connecticut made it a 2-0 advantage on a power play at 17:20, as Sean Collins sent a slick feed to Miller in center ice and Miller used Pelech as a screen to beat Stalock from the left circle.

After the Sharks killed off a major penalty assessed to Curt Gogol for boarding at 17:41, Worcester would get on the scoreboard at 5:45 of the second period, in a delayed-penalty situation, as Stalberg slipped a shot from the right circle through Stajcer’s pads.

Connecticut got that goal back just 1:13 later at 7:20, with another power-play score.  With Matt Tennyson in the penalty box for tripping, Kreider headed down the right-wing side in the Worcester zone and tried to backhand a pass to Kris Newbury at the left post, only to have the puck hit a Shark defender and go into the net for a 3-1 Whale lead.

That lasted until the 15:05 mark, when Viedensky made it a one-goal game again for Worcester.  Covering the left point, Viedensky stopped a Whale clearing attempt and beat Stajcer to the glove side with a slap shot.

Kreider then notched the eventual game-winner, and Connecticut’s third power-play goal of the contest, at 5:57 of the third period, with Oleksuk off for high-sticking.  Kreider took a feed from Newbury and whipped a shot from the left circle past the short side of Harri Sateri (one goal-against on eight shots), who replaced Stalock in the Shark net to start the third.

Worcester closed to within one again at 16:56, when Sheppard scored on a Shark power play.  Stajcer made a pad save on a point shot by Danny Groulx, but the rebound deflected to the left circle, where Sheppard pounced on it and ripped it into the net before Stajcer could recover.

The Whale open their 2012-13 regular season this Friday, October 12 at the XL Center, with a 7:30 PM battle against their in-state rivals the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.  At that game, all fans can purchase tickets at the special price of $12 each, and that night will also kick off the Whale’s new Friday night $1 hot dogs and $2 beers promotion.

Tickets for that game, and 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.

To continue reading, please click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Worcester Sharks 3 at Connecticut Whale 4
Sunday, October 7, 2012 – Koeppel Community Sports Center

Worcester 0 2 1 – 3
Connecticut 2 1 1 – 4

1st Period-1, Connecticut, Kreider 2 7:36. 2, Connecticut, Miller 3 (Collins), 17:20 (PP). Penalties-Parlett Ct (closing hand on puck), 8:45; Niemi Ct (holding the stick), 13:26; Tam Wor (interference), 16:59; Gogol Wor (major – boarding, fighting, game misconduct), 17:41; Haley Ct (fighting), 17:41.

2nd Period-3, Worcester, Stalberg 1 (Oleksuk, Sheppard), 5:15. 4, Connecticut, Kreider 3 (Vernace), 7:20 (PP). 5, Worcester, Viedensky 1 15:05. Penalties-Tennyson Wor (tripping), 6:07.

3rd Period-6, Connecticut, Kreider 4 (Newbury), 5:57 (PP). 7, Worcester, Sheppard 1 (Groulx, Oleksuk), 16:56 (PP). Penalties-Oleksuk Wor (high-sticking), 4:11; Haley Ct (roughing), 6:31; Tarasov Wor (high-sticking), 9:26; Pyett Ct (interference), 11:58; Kreider Ct (hooking), 16:52; Hamilton Wor (holding), 18:03; Klassen Ct (roughing), 18:03; Pyett Ct (elbowing), 19:58.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 7-5-10-22. Connecticut 11-10-8-29.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 1 / 6; Connecticut 3 / 5.
Goalies-Worcester, Stalock 0-0-0 (21 shots-18 saves); Sateri 0-2-0 (8 shots-7 saves). Connecticut, Stajcer 2-0-0 (22 shots-19 saves).
Referees-Jean Hebert (43).
Linesmen-Jim Briggs (83), Marty Demers (79).

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

HARTFORD, October 7, 2012:  Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the team has agreed to terms with defenseman Matt Gilroy on an American Hockey League contract.

Gilroy, who was the 2008-09 Hobey Baker Award winner as a senior at Boston University, has skated in 194 NHL games during his three years as a pro, with the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators.  Last season, the 6-1, 201-pound North Bellmore, NY native played in 53 games with the Lightning, scoring two goals and adding 15 assists for 17 points and registering 16 penalty minutes, before being traded to the Senators February 27 in exchange for Brian Lee.  In 14 games with Ottawa, Gilroy tallied one goal and two assists for three points, while serving two minutes in penalties.  He also was scoreless in three postseason games with the Senators.

Prior to 2011-12, Gilroy, 28, spent his first two pro seasons with the Rangers, the Whale’s parent club, after signing as a free agent April 17, 2009.  In 127 games in a Ranger uniform, Gilroy notched seven goals and added 19 assists for 26 points, and posted 37 PIM.  In NHL action for his career, he has totaled 10 goals and 36 assists for 46 points, along with 55 penalty minutes, in 194 outings.

Gilroy’s only previous AHL action was a five-game conditioning stint with the then-Hartford Wolf Pack in December of 2009, in which he contributed four assists and served four PIM.

As a B.U. Terrier, Gilroy amassed 25 goals and 67 assists for 92 points in 160 games over four seasons, after making the team as a walk-on freshman in 2005-06.  He was a First-Team Hockey East All-Star for three consecutive years (2006-07 through 2008-09), the first-ever Boston University defenseman to accomplish that feat, and finished his college career having played in 146 consecutive games.  In his senior year of 2008-09, in addition to capturing the Hobey Baker Award, Gilroy helped lead the Terriers to an NCAA title as team captain.  He led all Hockey East defensemen in points that season, with 8-29-37 in 45 games, and finished third among all NCAA blueliners in point-scoring.

The Whale open their 2012-13 season this Friday, October 12 at the XL Center, with a 7:30 PM battle against their in-state rivals the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.  At that game, all fans can purchase tickets at the special price of $12 each, and that night will also kick off the Whale’s new Friday night $1 hot dogs and $2 beers promotion.

Tickets for that game, and 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.

Season tickets for the Whale’s 2012-13 AHL season are also available. For information on season seats, and all of the Whale’s many ticketing options, visit www.ctwhale.com, or call the CT Whale ticket office at (860) 548-2000 to talk with an account executive today.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Tarrytown, NY, October 6, 2012 – Chad Kolarik’s goal with 34.3 seconds left in the third period was the winner in the Connecticut Whale’s first preseason victory, a 3-1 decision over the Adirondack Phantoms Saturday at the MSG Training Center, the New York Rangers’ practice facility.

The Whale had been 0-2 previously in the preseason.

Kolarik, who missed the entire 2011-12 season due to a knee injury suffered during Ranger training camp at the MSG Training Center, banged his own rebound past Phantoms goaltender Scott Munroe for the deciding score, after a long heave from the left point by Sam Klassen.

Chris Kreider, making his first appearance of the preseason for the Whale, added an empty-net goal with 15.4 seconds on the clock

Jason Missiaen made 34 saves for the Whale in the win, and Connecticut also got a goal from Andrew Yogan.  Brayden Schenn scored the Phantoms’ only goal, and Munroe made 29 saves in the Adirondack net.

After a scoreless first period in which the Whale were outshot 8-2, they would allow another 18 shots in the second frame but would take their first lead of the preseason on Yogan’s goal at 6:13.

After a strong rush up ice by Kyle Jean, J.T. Miller jammed the puck to the front of the net, and Yogan poked it out of a crowd and past Munroe.

The Phantoms tied it, though, at 13:08 on a power play.  Schenn, who spent all but seven games of last season with Philadelphia, and Sean Couturier, who was in the NHL all year, hooked up on the tally, as Couturier found Schenn in the slot with a pass out of the right-wing corner, and Schenn beat Missiaen with a shot into the top shelf.

Neither goaltender yielded after that until Kolarik’s late tally, with Munroe stopping Miller on a penalty-shot attempt at 12:25 of the third, after Miller had been dragged down on a shorthanded opportunity.

In addition to Kreider, the 2009 Ranger first-round pick, joining the Whale lineup, Kris Newbury, recovered from an injury that had cost him nearly a week of training camp, made his first appearance in Whale preseason action Saturday.

The Whale finish the preseason on Sunday, as they host the Worcester Sharks at the Koeppel Community Sports Center on the campus of Trinity College.  That game faces off at 2:00 PM, and is a benefit for the Ryan Gordon/Connecticut Whale Community Scholars Fund, with donations accepted at the door in lieu of an admission charge.  The fund memorializes young fan Ryan Gordon, who passed away in 2006 and asked that a portion of the monies set aside for his college education be donated to the Connecticut Whale Community Foundation.  The Koeppel Community Sports Center is located at 175 New Britain Ave. in Hartford.

The Whale open their 2012-13 season Friday, October 12 at the XL Center, with a 7:30 PM battle against their in-state rivals the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.  At that game, all fans can purchase tickets at the special price of $12 each, and that night will also kick off the Whale’s new Friday night $1 hot dogs and $2 beers promotion.

Tickets for that game, and 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.

To continue reading, please click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Adirondack Phantoms 1 at Connecticut Whale 3
Saturday, October 6, 2012 – MSG Training Center

Adirondack 0 1 0 – 1
Connecticut 0 1 2 – 3

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Rinaldo Adk (boarding), 3:28; Newbury Ct (hooking), 8:52; Parlett Ct (roughing), 15:52; Grant Ct (cross-checking), 19:03.

2nd Period-1, Connecticut, Yogan 1 (Miller, Jean), 6:13. 2, Adirondack, Schenn 1 (Couturier, Gustafsson), 13:08 (PP). Penalties-Bourdon Adk (holding), 9:31; Zolnierczyk Adk (slashing), 9:31; Kreider Ct (holding the stick), 11:03; Parlett Ct (high-sticking), 11:59; Zolnierczyk Adk (roughing), 14:07; Piche Ct (roughing), 14:07; Bourdson Adk (hooking), 19:27.

3rd Period-3, Connecticut, Kolarik 1 (Klassen, Vernace), 19:25. 4, Connecticut, Kreider 1 (Segal, Niemi), 19:44 (EN). Penalties-Jean Ct (high-sticking), 2:16; Piche Ct (hooking), 4:38; McGinn Adk (slashing), 5:04; Parlett Ct (tripping), 12:45; Ford Adk (holding), 13:25.

Shots on Goal-Adirondack 8-18-9-35. Connecticut 2-13-17-32.
Power Play Opportunities-Adirondack 1 / 5; Connecticut 0 / 4.
Goalies-Adirondack, Munroe 0-1-0 (31 shots-29 saves). Connecticut, Missiaen 1-2-0 (35 shots-34 saves).
A-0
Referees-Ryan Fraser (14).
Linesmen-Kevin Redding (16), Paul Simeon (66).