HARTFORD, Conn. – There were no John Wayne heroics or SportsCenter Top 10-worthy plays for the Connecticut Whale Saturday night at the XL Center.

Instead, “Howe Family Night” resembled Fight Night as the Whale and Bridgeport Sound Tigers engaged in five rounds of fisticuffs, all in the first 28 minutes.

After a solid start that helped produce an early lead, the Whale took a series of bad penalties that led to three Sound Tigers power-play goals in a 5-1 victory before 9,276 who celebrated the appearance of “Mr. Hockey” and his two hockey-playing sons, Mark and Marty.

The Sound Tigers (25-36-4-7) wiped out their early deficit on power-play goals by David Ullstrom and Jeremy Colliton 70 seconds apart midway through the first period as they extended their points streak to seven games (4-0-1-2) after a 3-22-2-3 slide to start 2011 that dropped them into the Atlantic Division cellar with the AHL’s worst record. They also won 5-1 Friday night at division-leading Portland.

Meanwhile, the Whale (38-27-2-6) had a five-game winning streak ended, though they got some unexpected help from the Springfield Falcons, who beat the host Worcester Sharks 7-2 to end a 0-11-1-0 slide since Feb. 27. The Whale, who had won 10 of 12 games, remained six points ahead of the Sharks (33-28-4-8) in the battle for the third and final guaranteed playoff berth in the Atlantic Division.

But the Whale fell one point behind Binghamton (39-27-3-4), which beat visiting Providence 4-1 and is fifth in the East Division in the fight for a possible crossover playoff berth. The crossover rule says the top four teams in the East Division and the top three in the Atlantic Division qualify for the playoffs, and the conference’s eighth and final spot will go to whichever has more points between the East’s fifth-place team and the Atlantic’s fourth-place club.

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

Things started well for the Whale when Derek Couture scored on a rebound at 6:57 after Jeremy Colliton’s clearing attempt went off Blake Parlett and Kelsey Tessier. The Whale nearly made it 2-0 on Brodie Dupont’s one-timer at 8:12, but Devin DiDiomete, back after missing two games with an injury, then turned the tide for the Sound Tigers when he received a five-minute major for boarding on Phil Ginand at 9:04. That led to the game’s first fight between the Whale’s Justin Soryal and Tigers’ Benn Olson, with DiDiomete getting an extra minor for roughing and being benched.

“One of the few things that we addressed in the meeting before the game is they have a good power play and don’t want to give them unnecessary opportunities,” said Whale head coach Ken Gernander.  “I tried to commend for the games we beat Charlotte and Manchester where we had one penalty kill in each of them. So it was most certainly addressed, and for the most part I thought the penalties were pretty selfish. They had no bearing on the play.

“It’s a fickle game, and you can’t take shortcuts, can’t cheat in any aspect of the game and think you’re going to get away with it for extended period of time. So if you can’t be disciplined, you’re going to take penalties against a good power play and put yourself behind the eight-ball.”

The Whale lost Couture at 7:43 of the second period when he was injured in a fight with Art Bidlevskii, so they played short for more than 32 minutes.

What irked Gernander most is he was even considering finding other players after the Whale climbed back into playoff position with more disciplined play.

“Why look to all these external players when we were playing well here,” Gernander said. “The fact of the matter is we made decisions that took us out of the game. We would use other guys if they were available, but I don’t think we have to go and search and grasp at straws to find enough players to win games. There are enough players here to win games, but you have to play our style of hockey, be disciplined and outwork your opponent. A lot of it is the guys’ hands as far as how they respond tomorrow (at Providence).

“We won five in a row, but you obviously have to get your message across because if it doesn’t work in the regular season, it won’t work in the playoffs either. And with Worcester losing and Binghamton winning, it’s a big two points lost. But we’re not looking for outside help. We should be able to take matters into our own hands, play our best hockey and take control of our destiny, but not the way we played tonight.”

The Sound Tigers took advantage of the Whale’s early penalties to score the two quick goals for a lead they never relinquished. On a 4-on-3 power play, Ullstrom took a pass from Mark Katic in the left corner, maneuvered around Pavel Valentenko and beat Cam Talbot to the glove side at 10:27. Then on a 5-on-3 man advantage, Ullstrom got the puck in front to a wide-open Jeremy Colliton for a quick finish at 11:37.

Soryal and Olson had their personal Round 2 with 1:38 left in the period, and then Kris Newbury scored a takedown on former Hartford Wolf Pack defenseman Dylan Reese during their fight with 57 seconds to go.

The Sound Tigers made it 3-1 at 4:55 of the second period as Joe Pereira passed to the left corner to Rob Hisey, who maneuvered around Valentenko and Tessier and slipped the puck past Talbot.

After Couture’s battle with Bidlevskii, the Whale’s Jared Nightingale fought Brian Day at 8:05. The Whale then had an opportunity to get back in the game when Valentenko was bloodied when high-sticked by Tony Romano at 12:58. But Jeremy Williams took a holding penalty at 13:20 and Grachev a hooking penalty a minute later.

The Whale’s Tomas Kundratek thought he scored with 3:06 left, but referee Chris Brown ruled the puck didn’t cross the goal line. After Talbot stopped Romano’s partial breakaway with 2:51 to go, the Sound Tigers made it 4-1 as Colliton whiffed on Hisey’s pass from the right corner, but the puck went to Aaron Ness, who beat Talbot to the glove side with 16.3 seconds left.

It went to 5-1 at 6:26 of the third period as Day passed to Hisey, who got position on Nightingale and beat Talbot high to the glove side.

The teams then played out the final 131/2 minutes, with Hisey firing high and wide on his bid for a hat trick off a 2-on-1 with 28 seconds left. The Whale fell to 5-2-0-1 in the GEICO Connecticut Cup against their intrastate rival, who were 3-for-8 on the power play.

“It just felt like we didn’t have a whole lot of jump, and then we took some penalties that maybe we shouldn’t have taken,” Newbury said. “So we put ourselves behind the eight-ball early, ran out of gas and didn’t have anything left.

“I thought our emotion level before the game was really good, but they played us pretty good in the first period. They didn’t give us a lot of room in the offensive zone to make plays so give them some credit. But we know we can be a lot better, so that’s the good news coming out of the game. We just have to find a way to be more disciplined and stay more focused in the game. The good thing is we can put it behind us real quick and get after it again tomorrow afternoon.”

HOWE FAMILY NIGHT MEMORABLE

“Howe Family Night” brought plenty of memories for the fans and legendary Hall of Famer Gordie Howe and his two hockey-playing sons, Mark and Marty. The three were honored with their wife/mother Colleen, who handled their contracts and other business affairs for decades before she died in 2009.

“No family will ever do what the Howe family did,” said Whalers Sports and Entertainment chairman and CEO Howard Baldwin, who was instrumental in bringing the Howes to Hartford while Whalers owner and managing general partner. “I want everyone to look to the ice and realize that you’re seeing the greatest hockey player in history and his two sons.”

The No. 9 of “Mr. Hockey,” one of seven numbers in the XL Center rafters, was refurbished, and a new banner saluting the Howes with their numbers – 9, 5 for Mark and 18 for Marty – and Colleen’s name alongside a Whalers logo was raised. Whale players wore special 1978 vintage No. 9 Gordie Howe New England Whales home jerseys in warm-ups, and 10 of them were auctioned after being signed by Gordie. There also was a live auction, and a two-minute video tribute to the Howes during a first-intermission ceremony.

“This is such an honor for the family, especially having my mom included,” Marty Howe said. “I don’t think many people had any idea all she did for the family. I take care of Gordie’s affairs, and I have no idea how she did everything that she did – and I have a computer.”

Mark, a longtime scout for the Detroit Red Wings, said his dad, who turns 83 on Thursday, perks up every time he gets into public, including Saturday night.

“He was tired this afternoon and took a nap,” Mark said, “but as soon as he got here he was like a kid again.”

Before the game, fans could meet Gordie and get a personalized autographed book and photo by purchasing a copy of the colorful 185-page book “9. Nine. A Salute to Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe.” Also, 2,000 fans received a free commemorative 36-page Gordie Howe tribute program full of color photos and stories.

The Howes played together for the first time with the Houston Aeros in 1973 before coming to Hartford and signing with the World Hockey Association’s New England Whalers. Howe ended his legendary 32-year career in the Whalers’ first NHL season (1979-80), when he had 15 goals and 26 assists and was named a NHL All-Star for the 23^rd time while helping the Whalers make the playoffs at 52 years old. His No. 9 is in the rafters with the Whalers’ No. 2 (Rick Ley), 5 (Ulf Samuelsson), 10 (Ron Francis), 11 (Kevin Dineen) and 19 (John McKenzie). Gernander’s No. 12 is the only number to be retired in the 14-year history of the AHL team.

MITCHELL MISSES FIRST GAME WITH WHALE

Center John Mitchell, who won a key faceoff to help the Whale rally to beat the Charlotte Checkers on Friday night, missed his first game in 13 since being acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 28 for a seventh-round pick in 2012.

Mitchell, who had five goals and six assists in 12 games, was replaced by DiDiomete and Francis Lemieux took Mitchell’s spot between Grachev and Williams. Ryan Garlock moved into Lemieux’s spot between Couture and Tessier.

The Whale also scratched forwards Chad Kolarik, Chris McKelvie and Todd White and defensemen Michael Del Zotto and Jyri Niemi, who is expected to return Sunday after missing 15 games with an injury. The Sound Tigers scratched defensemen Dustin Kohn, Anton Klementyev and captain Mark Wotton and forwards Justin DiBenedetto, Tomas Marcinko, Jeremy Yablonski and Andy Hilbert. … The Whale signed forward Tommy Grant to an amateur tryout agreement. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound native of North Vancouver, B.C., just completed four years at the University of Alaska-Anchorage, where he led the Seawolves in goals (16) and points (32) this season. Grant, 22, had 45 goals and 45 assists in 134 career games.

WHALE HITS THE ROAD SUNDAY

The Sound Tigers game was the end of the Whale’s second five-game home stand of the season in which they had four wins after being 14-14-2-2 in their first 32 games at the XL Center. The Whale play back-to-back games at Providence on Sunday afternoon and Friday night, visit Springfield on Saturday night and then return home next Sunday to face Portland, coached by Dineen, on First Tee of Connecticut Day. Level 200 tickets will be $12, with the First Tee of Connecticut receiving $5 from each ticket sold. To purchase tickets and help local youngsters interested in improving their golf game and life skills, contact Nick Criscuolo at 860-728-3366 or ncriscuolo@whalerssports.com.

The Whale is 5-2-0-1 against the Bruins (32-34-3-3), who are led by All-Star center Jamie Arniel (20 goals, 24 assists), center Zach Hamill (8, 32), right wing Kirk MacDonald (13, 21) and centers Trent Whitfield (16, 13) and Maxime Sauve (19, 14), who has had a pair of two-goal games against the Whale, plus a winning shootout goal. Rugged left wing Lane MacDermid, son of former Whalers right wing Paul MacDermid, has six goals, 10 assists and 146 penalty minutes. Since being acquired from the Minnesota Wild for Jeff Penner and Mikko Lehtonen on Feb. 28, Anton Khudobin is 6-2-2 with a 2.39 goals-against average, .912 save percentage and two shutouts. Rookie Michael Hutchinson is 10-10-1, 3.33, .898 with one shutout.

The Whale end their 14^th regular season with a game at Bridgeport on April 8, followed by home games against the Sound Tigers and Norfolk Admirals on April 9 and 10. The Calder Cup playoffs begin the following week, and the Whale are in position to return to postseason play after missing for the only time in franchise history last year by three points. … South Windsor native and Houston Aeros captain Jon DiSalvatore added to his career-high total with two goals in a 4-1 victory over the visiting Oklahoma City on Friday night. Former Hartford Wolf Pack wing Alexandre Giroux scored his 30th goal of the season – the seventh straight season he has reached that milestone – on a power play 3:34 into the game. But DiSalvatore responded with a man advantage only 1:10 later and added his second goal of the game and 25^th of the season in the third period. … Syracuse Crunch rookie center Nick Bonino of Avon had one goal and two assists in a 6-2 victory over Albany. … Former Wolf Pack center Jeff Taffe scored his team-high 25^th goal at 1:46 of overtime to give the Rockford IceHogs a 4-3 win over visiting Hamilton.

SOUND TIGERS 5, WHALE 1

Bridgeport         2 2 1 — 5
Connecticut       1 0 1 –  1

First period: 1. Conn, Couture 3 (Tessier, Parlett), 6:57. 2. Brd, Ullstrom 15 (Katic, Rakhshani), 10:27 (pp). 3, Brd, Colliton 15 (Ullstrom, Katic), 11:37 (pp). Penalties: Neigum, Bri (roughing), 9:04; Olson, Bri (fighting), 9:04; Svendsen, Bri (roughing), 9:04; DiDiomete, Ct (roughing, major-boarding), 9:04; Soryal, Ct (fighting), 9:04; Dupont, Ct (unsportsmanlike conduct), 9:14; Williams, Ct (high-sticking), 10:27; Rakhshani, Bri (cross-checking), 15:46; Olson, Bri (fighting), 18:22; Soryal, Ct (fighting), 18:22; Reese, Bri (fighting), 19:03; Dupont, Ct (slashing), 19:03; Newbury, Ct (fighting), 19:03.

Second period: 4. Brd, Hisey 13 (Pereira), 4:55. 5. Brd, Ness 1 (Colliton, Hisey), 19:43 (pp). Penalties: Bidlevskii, Bri (fighting), 7:43; Couture, Ct (fighting), 7:43; Day, Bri (fighting), 8:05; Nightingale, Ct (roughing, fighting), 8:05; Romano, Bri (double minor-high-sticking), 12:58; Williams, Ct (holding), 13:20; Grachev, Ct (hooking), 14:20; Williams, Ct (cross-checking), 18:29.

Third period: 6. Bri, Hisey 14 (Day), 6:26. Penalties: None.

Shots on goal: Bridgeport 11-14-7-32. Connecticut 7-10-5-22; Power-play opportunities: Bridgeport 3 of 8; Connecticut 0 of 3; Goalies: Bridgeport, Lawson 5-4-4 (22 shots-21 saves). Connecticut, Talbot 11-6-2 (32-27); A: 9,276; Referee: Chris Brown; Linesmen: Robert St. Lawrence, David Spannaus.

HARTFORD, March 26, 2011:  Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the team has signed forward Tommy Grant to an Amateur Tryout (ATO) agreement.

Grant, a 6-2, 195-pound native of North Vancouver, B.C., comes to the Whale after four seasons at the University of Alaska-Anchorage (WCHA).  Grant, 24, led the Seawolves in points and goals this year, with 16-16-32 in 37 games, and his 57 penalty minutes were the second-most on the team.  Five of Grant’s 16 goals were game-winners, which was good for a tie for fourth in the WCHA in that category.

In 134 career games with Alaska-Anchorage, Grant struck for 45 goals and 45 assists for 90 points and served 179 minutes in penalties.

The Whale return to action tonight at the XL Center, hosting the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in GEICO Connecticut Cup action at 7:00.  Tonight is “Howe Family Night”, as the Whale honor the great Gordie Howe, his sons Mark and Marty and late wife Colleen.

The entire Howe clan will be saluted for their contributions to hockey in the Hartford market, as Gordie, Mark and Marty will be on the ice for a first-intermission ceremony, during which a banner honoring entire Howe family will be raised to the XL Center rafters.  Before the game, starting at 5:30 PM in the XL Center atrium, Gordie Howe will be signing copies of the colorful, 185-page book “Howe #9”, which can be purchased for $70.  Also, 2,000 fans will receive a free commemorative 36-page Gordie Howe tribute program, loaded with full color photos and stories.

The Whale players will wear special 1978-vintage “#9 Gordie Howe” New England Whaler white home jerseys during their pre-game warmup skate.  Ten of those jerseys, which are all autographed by Gordie Howe, will be up for bids during the game.  That will be via silent auction through the start of the second intermission and then in a live auction, among the highest silent-auction bidders, in the second intermission.

Tickets for all 2010-11 Whale home games are available now at the XL Center box office, through Ticketmaster Charge-by-Phone at 1-800-745-3000 and on-line at www.ctwhale.com.  Tickets start at $7 each at the XL Center ticket office on game day.

For information on Whale ticket packages, group sales and VIP packages, call (860) 728-3366.

By Bruce Berlet

HARTFORD, Conn. – The Connecticut Whale had been living on the edge the past few weeks, needing strong finishes to compensate for sluggish starts while winning nine of 11 games, four when trailing after two periods.

The Whale erased the unwanted slow-start trend Friday night and then pulled a Harry Houdini to beat the Charlotte Checkers 3-2 on Evgeny Grachev’s first shootout goal in the fifth and final round before 5,862 at the XL Center.

Veteran Justin Pogge, subbing for injured Mike Murphy, appeared on the way to his first shutout of the season before critical faceoff wins by former Toronto Marlies teammates Kris Newbury and John Mitchell led to long-range goals by defensemen Pavel Valentenko and Stu Bickel 73 seconds apart in the final 2:21 of regulation.

Then after Dov Grumet-Morris (29 saves) made SportsCenter-worthy stops on Nick Dodge, former Hartford Wolf Pack defenseman Bryan Rodney and Zac Dalpe in the final 52 seconds of overtime, Mitchell and Grachev scored in the skills competition as the Whale (38-26-2-6) improved to 8-21-0-2 when trailing after the second period, with three of those wins coming in the last four games.

“We tried to stay positive and not get frustrated,” Grachev said. “We had our chances in the first two periods but had some bad bounces and missed nets. But we knew if we kept doing the right thing – working down low, putting pucks to the net and drive the net – good things would happen. Finally our defensemen got hot with two strikes from the blue line, and it’s so good to make such a big comeback against such a good team. To win in the shootout is a good win for us and now we have to keep rolling.”

Murphy had excelled as the Checkers beat the Whale 5-1 and 1-0 in Charlotte on Feb. 24 and 26, and Pogge continued to frustrate the Whale until Newbury won a faceoff from Jacob Micflikier to Blake Parlett, who passed to his right to Valentenko for a one-timer that beat Pogge high to the glove side with 2:21 left to end a scoring drought against the Checkers of 123:45.

“I’m always trying to shoot like that, but sometimes I’m wide,” Valentenko said. “I switched sides (with Parlett) and shot 80 percent. I’m looking to be quicker with my shot, but I was concentrating more on hitting the net. It finally worked.”

After Grumet-Morris was pulled for a sixth attacker, Mitchell won a faceoff from Jon Matsumoto to Wade Redden, who again passed right to Bickel for a one-timer that again beat Pogge high to the glove side with 1:08 to go.

“All game that lane was open for us, and I just tried to get tight into Reds so I could get off the one-timer,” Bickel said. “I just looked at the lane where I could get the puck thought to the net. We knew what we wanted to do off the draw, and it worked out. When you’re not scoring a ton, you look at where you’re shooting and maybe try to change things up, but from the point, you’re mostly looking for the lane to get it through. If you see a corner, you’re obviously going to shoot there, but you’re not so much trying to pick a corner as you are trying to the puck through on net.”

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

Williams said the Whale followed the script needed against the 6-foot-3 Pogge.

“He’s a really good goalie who could have been in the NHL when he was younger, but when he got the opportunity (with the Toronto Maple Leafs), he unfortunately didn’t have much of a team in front of him,” Williams said. “He’s big, so the only way you’re going to score on him is if he can’t see the puck.”

Grachev, who was unable to convert on a 2-on-1 with 19 seconds left in overtime, gave the Whale the improbable victory, their fifth in a row and a six-point lead over Worcester, a 4-2 loser to Providence, in the battle for the third and final guaranteed playoff berth in the Atlantic Division. They also remained one point in front of Binghamton (38-27-3-4), a 3-0 winner over Wilkes-Barre Scranton and fifth in the East Division in the fight for a possible crossover playoff berth. The crossover rule says the top four teams in the East Division and the top three in the Atlantic Division qualify for the playoffs, and the conference’s eighth and final spot will go to whichever has more points between the East’s fifth-place team and the Atlantic’s fourth-place club.

“(Pogge) is a big guy, and I was looking between the pad and blocker,” Grachev said. “I haven’t been getting a lot of opportunities (in shootouts), but maybe I’ll get more now.”

When asked about fellow Russian Valentenko’s goal, Grachev smiled and said, “He’s got a bomb. If it’s not going in, he’s going to hurt somebody or break somebody’s stick. The set play we had didn’t work for us this year. Maybe we didn’t try it enough. Maybe we didn’t get those clean draws. But Newber and Mitchell won draws, and we got two good goals.”

Grumet-Morris extended his AHL career-high winning streak to seven games as the Whale finished 2-2 against the first-year Checkers (39-25-3-6), their former ECHL affiliate.

“They played a great game and trapped very well,” Grumet-Morris said. “Until 2:21 was left, we had only one goal in nearly three games, which tells you how good their goaltending and defensive scheme is. Obviously our defensemen came up big after our centers won their two big draws, and then we deserved to win the shootout.”

Grumet-Morris tried to downplay his excellence at the end of regulation and in the shootout.

“Some goalie coaches say if you’re stretching like that you’re out of position, but I’ll take the saves, I guess,” he said. “But I’m just very happy that we were able to come through in the shootout. That’s what really impressed me. I thought Pogge did really good in the shootout but just got unlucky. He had a great game and deserved to win just as much as me.

“Certainly we were excited to win. It was a big point, and to get the second point in the shootout was really big. I know it’s a cliché, but those points are important right now. We were as excited about winning the game as we were about getting those points, and our playoffs hopes ride on that.”

Bickel gave Grumet-Morris props when he said, “He’s a good goalie and exciting to watch because he battles. And you really appreciate that from your teammates. It gets you fired up and your adrenaline going.”

The Whale finally had a good first period, outshooting the Checkers 12-5, which were four more shots than they had in the opening 20 minutes of the previous two games combined. But they again ran into another hot Checkers goalie, as Pogge made good blocker saves on Dale Weise during the Whale’s first power play and Williams and a good glove save on Mitchell.

The Whale also failed on two power plays, including a 5-on-3 for 40 seconds. With Brad Herauf in the penalty box for boarding, Nicolas Blanchard was called for goaltender interference, though it was Redden who was nudged into Dov Grumet-Morris and sent the goalie sprawling. Trainer Damien Hess came out to attend to Grumet-Morris, who needed several minutes to clear his head and continue. He also made good stops off Matthew Pistilli at 2:16 and Micflikier with 7:49 left in the period.

Grumet-Morris denied Cedric McNicoll from 30 feet in the slot at 3:08 of the second period, but the Checkers took the lead 22 seconds later. Herauf took the puck from Redden along the right boards, skated into the circle, used defenseman Jared Nightingale as a partial screen and beat Grumet-Morris to the far stick side for his third goal of the season.

Pogge then made a good chest stop on Derek Couture from 25 feet in the slot at 7:20 and denied Grachev from the left circle at 9:38. Three minutes later, Bickel dove and poked the puck from McNicoll on his breakaway bid.

Pogge stopped Mitchell’s backhander from in front with 4:29 left in the period, but the Checkers took a 2-0 lead when Zach FitzGerald cleared the puck from behind his net along the right-wing boards, where it was missed by Dalpe and Valentenko. Zack Boychuk took advantage, grabbed the puck in the neutral zone, broke down the right wing and fired a shot from the top of the circle that hit off Grumet-Morris’ stick and trickled through his legs and into the net with 25 seconds left for Boychuk’s 20^th goal.

The Checkers nearly made it 3-0 at 2:34 of the third period, but Chris Terry hit the post. Then at 6:23, the Checkers broke in 2-on-1, with Grumet-Morris making a strong stop on Terry before Matsumoto had a goal disallowed for kicking the rebound into the net.

Pogge made another big save off Kris Newbury at 6:23, and on the counter attack, Grumet-Morris sprawled to deny Boychuk on a 2-on-1.

Then came the magical end to regulation, Grumet-Morris’ brilliance in overtime and the clutch shots by Mitchell and Grachev in the shootout.

“It’s a critical time of year with two big points every night,” Whale coach Ken Gernander said. “They play a good, sound defensive game and wait for their offensive opportunities and are pretty good at capitalizing because they have some pretty skilled forwards. We certainly feel fortunate because they’re a very strong defensive team, but it came down to two pretty good point shots.”

WHALE SCRATCH SAME SIXSOME

The Whale again scratched defensemen Michael Del Zotto and Jyri Niemi and forwards Chad Kolarik, Devin DiDiomete, Chris McKelvie and Todd White, who is likely out for the remainder of the season after sustaining a concussion in a seemingly harmless collision with teammate Brodie Dupont in a 4-2 loss to Manchester on Feb. 28. White was playing in only his second game after returning from another injury that had sidelined him for four games. He missed his 24^th consecutive game Friday night and has played in only nine games since clearing waivers and being assigned by the parent New York Rangers on Dec. 29. He has three goals and two assists with the Whale after getting one goal and one assist in 18 games with the Rangers, who acquired White from the Atlanta Thrashers on Aug. 2 for disgruntled forwards Donald Brashear and Patrick Rissmiller. … The Checkers scratched forwards Jared Staal, Mike McKenzie and Oskar Osala, former Hartford Wolf Pack defenseman Ethan Graham and goalie Mike Murphy, who starred in the Checkers’ 5-1 and 1-0 wins over the Whale in Charlotte on Feb. 24 and 26. Staal is the younger brother of the three Staals in the NHL – Marc with the Rangers, Jordan with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Eric with the Carolina Hurricanes, the Checkers’ parent club. All three were first-round picks. … Former Wolf Pack defensemen Bobby Sanguinetti, the Rangers’ first-round pick (21^st overall) in 2006, and AHL All-Star and captain Bryan Rodney were one of the Checkers’ defensive pairings. It was Sanguinetti’s first game in Hartford since he was traded to Carolina on draft day 2010. … The Checkers started a weekend that had them playing the Whale, Portland and Norfolk, which were 12-0-1-1 in their last 14 games combined. … Two former Wolf Pack wings who are among the AHL’s goal-scoring leaders are back in the league. Nigel Dawes, No. 1 with 33 goals in only 55 games because of several recalls to the Atlanta Thrashers and Montreal Canadiens, was reassigned to the Hamilton Bulldogs by the Canadiens. The Edmonton Oilers demoted Alexandre Giroux, tied for fourth in goals with 29, to the Oklahoma City Barons.

WHALE HONORS HOWE FAMILY ON SATURDAY NIGHT

“Howe Family Night” arrives Saturday night as the Whale honors legendary Gordie Howe, sons Mark and Marty and his wife, Colleen, who died in 2009. Before a game against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, fans can meet Gordie and get a personalized autographed book and photo by purchasing a copy of the colorful 185-page book “9. Nine. A Salute to Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe.” The book sells for $70, and he will sign copies starting at 5:30 p.m. in the XL Center atrium. The first 2,000 fans will receive a free commemorative 36-page Gordie Howe tribute program full of color photos and stories, and there will be a video tribute to the Howes during a first-intermission ceremony.  A refurbished banner honoring the No. 9 of “Mr. Hockey,” one of seven numbers in the XL Center rafters, will be spotlighted as he and his sons, whom he played with for seven seasons in Houston and Hartford, look on. Colleen also will be honored as a new banner saluting the Howes will be raised.

In warm-ups, Whale players will wear special 1978 vintage No. 9 Gordie Howe New England Whalers white home jerseys, and 10 of them will be auctioned off. Bids, which start at $170 per sweater, can be made in the atrium from shortly after the puck drops through the start of the second intermission, and there will then be a live auction in the second intermission. The sweaters are hand-signed by Gordie Howe and come with a certificate of authenticity also signed by Gordie.

The Howes played together for the first time with the Houston Aeros in 1973 before coming to Hartford and signing with the World Hockey Association’s New England Whalers. Howe ended his legendary 32-year career in the Whalers’ first NHL season (1979-80), when he had 15 goals and 26 assists and was named a NHL All-Star for the 23^rd time while helping the Whalers make the playoffs at 52 years old. His No. 9 is in the rafters with the Whalers’ No. 2 (Rick Ley), 5 (Ulf Samuelsson), 10 (Ron Francis), 11 (Kevin Dineen) and 19 (John McKenzie). Gernander’s No. 12 is the only number to be retired in the 14-year history of the AHL team.

Mark Howe was at the XL Center on Friday night scouting for the Detroit Red Wings after being on Long Island on Thursday night as the Atlanta Thrashers beat the New York Islanders 2-1. On his way to Hartford on Friday, he made a pit stop in Bridgeport and watched Minnesota-Duluth beat Union 2-0 in the NCAA regional semifinals at Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard. Minnesota-Duluth plays in the final Saturday night against top-seeded Yale, which beat Air Force 2-1 in overtime.

The Whale is 5-1-0-1 against the Sound Tigers (24-36-4-7) and won the last three meetings. The Sound Tigers are on a six-game points streak (3-0-1-2) after a 3-22-2-3 slide to start 2011 that dropped them into the Atlantic Division cellar with the AHL’s worst record. Right wing Rhett Rakhshani (20, 34) is the Sound Tigers’ leading scorer and second among AHL rookies, followed by centers Rob Hisey (11, 26) and rookie David Ullstrom (14, 21). Rakhshani had a hat trick in a 5-1 victory at Atlantic Division-leading Portland on Friday night. The Sound Tigers have used an AHL-high seven goalies, and Mikko Koskinen (7-19-3, 3.69, .883) and Nathan Lawson (4-4-4, 3.02, .913) are now in Bridgeport.

The Sound Tigers game is the end of the Whale’s second five-game homestand of the season. They play back-to-back games at Providence on Sunday afternoon and Friday night, visit the Springfield Falcons next Saturday night and then return home April 3 to face Portland, coached by former Hartford Whalers standout right wing and captain Kevin Dineen, on First Tee of Connecticut Day. Level 200 tickets will be $12, with the First Tee of Connecticut receiving $5 from each ticket sold. To purchase tickets and help local youngsters interested in improving their golf game and life skills, contact Nick Criscuolo at 860-728-3366 or ncriscuolo@whalerssports.com.

The Whale end their 14^th regular season with a game at Bridgeport on April 8, followed by home games against the Sound Tigers and Norfolk Admirals on April 9 and 10. The Calder Cup playoffs begin the following week, and the Whale hope to return to postseason play after missing for the only time in franchise history last year by three points.

QUICK DOES IT AGAIN

Hamden native Jonathan Quick is proving to be quite the stalwart in shootouts. He improved to 9-for-9 this season on Thursday night, stopping four of five shots in the skills competition as the Los Angeles Kings beat the rival San Jose Sharks 4-3 before a raucous sellout crowd of 18,118 at the Staples Center.

Kings captain Dustin Brown, a former standout with the Manchester Monarchs, scored twice in regulation and beat Antti Niemi in the fifth round as the Kings won back-to-back shootouts and moved into a tie for fifth place with Nashville in the wacky Western Conference with 90 points. The Sharks, who had their four-game winning streak snapped, pulled even with Detroit for second in the West with 95 points, though the Wings own the tiebreaker because they’ve played one fewer game.

The Sharks got to overtime when a wide-open Patrick Marleau scored a sixth-attacker goal with 4.1 seconds left. That was 1:38 after the Kings thought they had won on Brown’s power-play goal. Marleau also tied the score at 2-2 with 3:32 left when his wrist shot from just inside the left circle dipped under Quick’s glove.

“They sneak a point out of it, and I think we outplayed them for a majority of the game and we played a solid game as a team,” Quick said. “At the end of the day, we got two points and you can’t complain about that.”

The Kings were playing their first game without top-line wing Justin Williams, who sustained a dislocated shoulder in a 2-1 shootout victory over Calgary on Monday. Oscar Moller, recalled from Manchester, took his place and assisted on Willie Mitchell’s goal. … Former Wolf Pack wing Lauri Korpikoski, who has a career-high 18 goals, sustained an upper-body injury in the second period of the Phoenix Coyotes’ 3-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night. Ilya Bryzgalov had 29 saves, and former Rangers defensemen Michal Rozsival and Derek Morris scored as the Coyotes remained three points ahead of the Kings and Nashville. It was Rozsival’s third goal in 27 games since being acquired from the Rangers for Wojtek Wolski on Jan. 10. Bryzgalov, who is 7-2-0 with a 1.88 goals-against average in his last nine starts against Columbus, recorded his seventh shutout of the season and 21st as a Coyote to tie Nikolai Khabibulin’s franchise record. Former Wolf Pack forward Ryan Hollweg was called up Friday to replace Korpikoski.

WHALE 3, CHECKERS 2 (SO)

Charlotte        0  2  0  0  0 — 2
Connecticut   0  0  2   0  1 — 3

First period: No scoring. Penalties: Herauf, Char, boarding, 6:42; Blanchard, Char, goaltender interference, 8:02.

Second period: 1. Char, Herauf 3, 3:30; 2. Char, Boychuk 20, 19:35. Penalty: Williams, Hart, tripping, 13:13.

Third period: 3. Conn, Valentenko 3 (Parlett, Newbury), 18:39; 4. Conn, Bickel 2 (Redden, Mitchell), 18:52. Penalties: None.

Overtime: No scoring. Penalties: None.

Shootout: Connecticut 2 (Mitchell G, Williams NG, Newbury NG, Weise NG, Grachev G. Charlotte 1 (Dalpe G, McNicoll NG, Terry NG, Micflikier NG, Matsumoto NG).

Shots on goal: Charlotte 5-10-11-5-0–31. Connecticut 12-15-8-1-1-37. Power-play opportunities: Charlotte 0 of 1. Connecticut 0 of 2. Goaltenders: Charlotte, Justin Pogge, 18-17-3 (36 shots-34 saves). Connecticut, Dov Grumet-Morris, 11-3-1 (31-29). A: ????; Referee: Chris Cozzan; Linesmen: Derek Wahl, Kevin Redding.