By Brian Ring

Worcester, MA, October 29, 2011 – The Connecticut Whale defeated the Worcester Sharks, 3-2  in a shootout, Saturday night at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA. Sean Avery provided the shootout winner for Connecticut, who won their fifth straight game. The Whale has earned at least a point in the standings in eight straight contests (6-0-0-2).

The first two periods of game saw no scoring by either team, but a back-and-forth third period would give way to an exciting overtime and shootout.

“They got a big power-play goal to take the lead and then we answered back with one of our own,” said Whale head coach Ken Gernander. “We had pretty good success in the shootout to get the extra point.”

The first period saw little offense, with the Whale outshooting the Sharks by a 9-4 margin. Connecticut was afforded a pair of power-plays within the first half of the frame, but they could not capitalize against Worcester goaltender Tyson Sexsmith (27 saves). The Sharks had one power-play in the period on an Avery unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, but the Whale defense did not allow many chances on netminder Chad Johnson (26 saves).

Neither team would score in the second either, despite Connecticut piling up 22 shots through two periods to Worcester’s ten. Sexsmith continued to get quite a bit of action at his end of the ice, but his efforts managed to keep both teams scoreless entering what would be a wild third period.

Andreas Thuresson put the Whale on the board first at 5:01 of the third, wristing a shot past a screened Sexsmith from the top of the left circle. Thuresson’s third goal of the season came unassisted.

The Sharks tied it 12:40 into the period, as a broken-up pass turned into a chance for Cam McIntyre, who managed to put the puck past Johnson. Tommy Wingels and Brandon Mashinter both assisted on the equalizer.

Worcester took a temporary 2-1 lead just moments later on the power-play, with Stu Bickel off for cross-checking. Matt Irwin’s third goal of the season beat Johnson from the left point high to his glove side for the Sharks’ first lead of the night.

It was short-lived, as Andre Deveaux scored his fourth goal of the year, on the power-play, to knot the game up for Connecticut. Deveaux planted himself in front of Sexsmith, fighting off the Worcester defense to put a loose puck past the Sharks’ goaltender. Brendan Bell and Wade Redden assisted on Deveaux’s goal, for Bell it was his fourth helper in four games in a Whale uniform.

Neither team could find the back of the net the rest of the way and overtime proved scoreless, so the two teams headed to the shootout to break their 2-2 tie.

The shootout was tied at two goals each after five rounds, with Mats Zuccarello and Thuresson both scoring for the Whale. Wingels tied it for the Sharks in a do-or-die situation, forcing Avery to make his shootout debut for Connecticut. Avery’s nifty move gave the Whale a lead, and Johnson’s subsequent stop on Mashinter gave Connecticut the 3-2 win.

“Early on in the season we came out to good starts and didn’t sustain it, allowed teams to come back on us. As of late, we’ve had a little bit more killer instinct and been able to close games out,” said Gernander. “Tonight, we had a pretty good opportunity to close the game out, we gave them the lead late in the game, but with a good power-play goal we got ourselves back into the game, and like I said, get the extra point.”

The Whale will be back in action Wednesday morning, when they take on the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard in a special school-day game (11:00 AM). Connecticut will finally return home on Friday, when the Whale hosts the brand-new affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets, the St. John’s IceCaps (7:00).

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

Connecticut Whale 3 (SO) at Worcester Sharks 2
Saturday, October 29, 2011 – DCU Center

Connecticut 0 0 2 0 – 3
Worcester 0 0 2 0 – 2

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Acolatse Wor (holding), 4:52; Connolly Wor (interference), 8:14; McKelvie Ct (unsportsmanlike conduct), 13:07.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-McCarthy Wor (hooking), 0:23; Moore Wor (boarding), 7:02; Avery Ct (slashing), 8:48.

3rd Period-1, Connecticut, Thuresson 3 (Tessier), 5:01. 2, Worcester, MacIntyre 1 (Wingels, Mashinter), 12:40. 3, Worcester, Irwin 3 (Sullivan, Connolly), 14:21 (PP). 4, Connecticut, Deveaux 4 (Bell, Redden), 15:21 (PP). Penalties-Tanski Ct (fighting), 5:41; Moon Wor (fighting), 5:41; Mashinter Wor (goaltender interference), 8:20; Bickel Ct (cross-checking), 12:34; Acolatse Wor (cross-checking), 15:03.

OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Nightingale Ct (hooking), 0:55.

Shootout – Connecticut 3 (Zuccarello G, Thuresson G, Mitchell NG, Audy-Marchessault NG, Bell NG, Avery G), Worcester 2 (Connolly NG, Reid NG, Guite G, Acolatse NG, Wingels G, Mashinter NG).
Shots on Goal-Connecticut 9-13-7-0-1-30. Worcester 4-6-18-2-0-30.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 1 / 6; Worcester 1 / 4.
Goalies-Connecticut, Johnson 3-0-2 (30 shots-28 saves). Worcester, Sexsmith 2-0-2 (29 shots-27 saves).
A-2,639
Referees-Chris Brown (86).
Linesmen-Brian MacDonald (72), Bob Paquette (18).

By Brian Ring

Glens Falls, NY, October 28, 2011 – The Connecticut Whale defeated the Adirondack Phantoms, 4-2, Friday night at the Glens Falls Civic Center. The win was the fourth straight for the Whale, who moved into first place in the Northeast Division with their triumph over the Phantoms.

The Whale took the first lead of the game while shorthanded, after Carl Hagelin was flagged for slashing at 12:45 of the first period. Kelsey Tessier and Jordan Owens broke into the Phantoms’ zone on a two-on-one, with Tessier sliding the puck to Owens, who had a wide open net against Adirondack goaltender Michael Leighton (27 saves). Brendan Bell earned the secondary assist on the goal, his second point in three games with the Whale.

The Phantoms tied the game up just 28 seconds later on the Hagelin power-play, when Eric Wellwood wired a shot past Connecticut goaltender Cam Talbot (27 saves). Tom Sestito registered an assist on the goal in his first game against the Whale this season, as did Leighton.

Connecticut had caught a break earlier in the period, when an apparent Phantoms goal was waved off. Talbot had attempted to cover a loose puck with his blocker, but appeared to push it over the goal line accidently. It was deemed, however, that the official had already blown the whistle.

John Mitchell gave the Whale a 2-1 lead just 46 seconds into the second period, firing a laser of a shot past Leighton. Mitchell entered the offensive end on a three-on-one with Hagelin and Jared Nightingale, but opted to take the shot. Mats Zuccarello assisted on the goal in his first game after sustaining an injury in last Saturday’s game in Springfield.

Owens extended the Connecticut lead to 3-1 at 16:26 of the second period, when he blistered a shot past Leighton from the Phantoms’ blue line for his second goal of the night and the eventual game-winner. Scott Tanski and Pavel Valentenko assisted on the goal.  For Tanski it was his first pro point and for Valentenko, his first point of the season after missing the first two weeks to injury.

The Phantoms closed the Whale lead to 3-2 on a goal from Harry Zolnierczyk scored with just 1:49 remaining in the third with the Whale’s Mitchell in the box. Denis Hamel and Jason Akeson assisted on the score, but Adirondack could not muster the equalizer.

Sean Avery marked his Whale season debut with an empty-net goal with just 32 seconds left in the third period to seal a 4-2 Connecticut victory. Jonathan Audy-Marchessault and Bell assisted on the goal.

The first-place Whale will return to action Saturday night, when they head to Worcester to take on the Sharks at the DCU Center (7:05, “The Rock” 106.9 WCCC-FM). Connecticut will meet the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in a special school-day start time on Wednesday (11:00 AM) at the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard before finally returning home on Fri., Nov. 4, when the Whale will host the brand-new St. John’s IceCaps (7:00).

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

Connecticut Whale 4 at Adirondack Phantoms 2
Friday, October 28, 2011 – Glens Falls Civic Center

Connecticut 1 2 1 – 4
Adirondack 1 0 1 – 2

1st Period-1, Connecticut, Owens 1 (Tessier, Bell), 13:09 (SH). 2, Adirondack, Wellwood 4 (Sestito, Leighton), 13:37 (PP). Penalties-Bourdon Adk (slashing), 8:49; Hagelin Ct (slashing), 12:45; Mitchell Ct (tripping), 14:03; Grant Ct (delay of game), 17:10.

2nd Period-3, Connecticut, Mitchell 2 (Zuccarello), 0:46. 4, Connecticut, Owens 2 (Valentenko, Tanski), 16:26. Penalties-Lauridsen Adk (cross-checking), 7:40; Mitchell Ct (roughing), 9:01; Marshall Adk (roughing), 9:01; Valentenko Ct (boarding), 10:20.

3rd Period-5, Adirondack, Zolnierczyk 4 (Hamel, Akeson), 18:11 (PP). 6, Connecticut, Avery 1 (Audy-Marchessault, Bell), 19:27 (EN). Penalties-Deveaux Ct (double minor – high-sticking), 9:26; Mitchell Ct (cross-checking), 16:35; Avery Ct (fighting), 19:27; Bourdon Adk (fighting), 19:27.

Shots on Goal-Connecticut 9-12-10-31. Adirondack 8-11-10-29.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 0 / 2; Adirondack 2 / 7.
Goalies-Connecticut, Talbot 2-1-0 (29 shots-27 saves). Adirondack, Leighton 4-1-0 (30 shots-27 saves).
A-2,910
Referees-Chris Ciamaga (24).
Linesmen-Robert St. Lawrence (10), Mike Emanatian (69).

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