By Bruce Berlet

You’ll have to excuse the Connecticut Whale if they feel a bit lost at the XL Center on Wednesday night.

Other than a handful of practices, the I-91 rival Springfield Falcons have been in the downtown Hartford arena as many times as the Whale in the last 26 days: Zero.

The Whale hasn’t played at their “real” home venue since a 3-2 loss to the Portland Pirates on Feb. 6. They had a “home” game on Feb. 19, but that was at Rentschler Field in East Hartford against the Providence Bruins in the Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl

The Whale lost 5-4 in a shootout on a memorable evening that drew an AHL-record crowd of 21,673 in frigid weather to watch a doubleheader that also included the Hartford Whalers legends playing a 4-4 tie with the Boston Bruins legends.

The Whale (28-24-2-6) will be in desperate need of a victory at the XL Center Wednesday night in the return of coach Ken Gernander, defenseman Michael Del Zotto and right wing Derek Couture; the XL Center debuts of center Francis Lemieux and right wing Alexandre Imbeault, signed to a second professional tryout contract on Monday; and the Whale debut of forward John Mitchell, acquired by the parent New York Rangers on Monday from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a seventh-round draft pick in 2012. And center Tim Kennedy, tied for second on the Whale in scoring (12 goals, 30 assists in 53 games), won’t be around after he and a third-round pick in the June NHL draft were traded to the Florida Panthers for veteran defenseman Bryan McCabe on Saturday.

Gernander missed his first two games as Hartford Wolf Pack/Whale coach in four seasons because of pain and swelling in his lower extremities and didn’t return from the team’s first visit to Charlotte, N.C., until Monday. He wasn’t at practice Tuesday but is expected to be back at the pregame skate Wednesday morning and behind the bench Wednesday night after assistants J.J. Daigneault and Pat Boller ran the team for five days.

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

“(Tuesday) was a goal-scoring practice, an offensive practice,” Daigneault said, alluding to the Whale scoring one power-play goal in 5-1 and 1-0 losses to the Charlotte Checkers on Thursday and Saturday nights. “The Checkers have a darn good team, and (goalie) Mike Murphy was their best player. But we can’t rely just on our power play. We need more offense five-on-five. We’ve gone through these funks before and have to be better.”

The 20-year-old Del Zotto, the Rangers’ No. 1 pick (12^th overall) in 2008, had seven assists in 10 games in two previous assignments to the Whale as he tries to rediscover the game that made him an All-NHL rookie selection last season when he led Rangers defensemen and was fourth on the team overall in scoring with nine goals and 28 assists in 80 games. He has two goals and nine assists in 47 games with the Rangers this season.

The 26-year-old Mitchell had two goals and one assist in 23 games with the Maple Leafs and one goal and four assists in 10 games with the Toronto Marlies this season. The Oakville, Ontario, native has 20 goals and 35 assists in 159 career games with the Maple Leafs, who selected him in the fifth round in 2003. The 6-foot-1, 204-pound Mitchell also has 42 goals and 67 assists in 215 AHL games with the St. John’s Maple Leafs/Marlies and played in Toronto with All-Star right wing Jeremy Williams, the Whale’s leading scorer (25 goals, 19 assists).

The 26-year-old Couture, who was playing with the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings, signed a PTO with the Whale on Tuesday. Originally signed to a PTO by the Wolf Pack on Oct. 31, 2009, Couture had 11 goals, nine assists and 104 penalty minutes in 67 games last season. He had eight goals, 11 assists and 76 PIM in 25 games this year with the Salmon Kings.

Lemieux, who shares the ECHL scoring lead with 28 goals and 45 assists in 56 games with the Florida Everblades, and linemate Imbeault, who is tied for the ECHL goal-scoring lead with 31 in 44 games, were scoreless in three games with the Whale. They returned to play one game with the Everblades on Sunday and then re-signed with the Whale.

The Whale is 2-1-1-1 against the Falcons (30-26-1-3) but won the last two meetings 5-2 and 5-1 in Springfield on Nov. 19 and Jan. 22. But the Whale had only the one goal against the Checkers and fell into a fourth-place tie with the Falcons, who had won three in a row and six of seven before a 5-4 loss at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Sunday. The Falcons have 19 games left, one fewer than the Whale and two fewer than the Worcester Sharks (27-21-3-8), who played the second-place Portland Pirates on Tuesday night after moving into the third and final guaranteed playoff spot in the Atlantic Division with a 5-2 victory over first-place Manchester on Sunday.

The Falcons’ balanced attack is led by right wing Tomas Kubalik (19, 21), who is second in the AHL in rookie scoring, and centers Trevor Smith (18, 21) and Ben Guite (12, 24). Left wing and former Wolf Pack captain Dane Byers had nine of his 12 goals and 16 of his 22 assists after being acquired from the New York Rangers for Chad Kolarik on Nov. 11, until he and defenseman Rostislav Klesla were traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Phoenix Coyotes on Monday for forward Scottie Upshall and defenseman Sami Lepisto. Byers was reunited with former Rangers assistant general manager Don Maloney, the Coyotes’ GM.

But another former Wolf Pack captain, forward Greg Moore, will make his Falcons debut after being dealt from the Philadelphia Flyers/Adirondack Phantoms with center Michael Chaput on Monday for center Tom Sestito, who had been on the Falcons’ No. 1 line with Byers and center Kyle Wilson. Moore had seven goals and 13 assists in 57 games with the Phantoms after not scoring in his first 32 games after being signed as a free agent in the offseason. The Falcons have been helped by the Blue Jackets reassigning two veterans, Wilson (11, 9 in 18 games), a two-time Calder Cup champion with Hershey, and defenseman Mike Commodore (two assists in 10 games), a Stanley Cup winner with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. Former Wolf Pack goalie David LeNeveu (16-13-2, 2.92 goals-against average, .898 save percentage, no shutouts) and Gustaf Wesslau (12-13-1, 3.07, .902, no shutouts) have split the goaltending.

In their first season as the Blue Jackets’ top affiliate, the Falcons are trying to reach the postseason for the first time since 2003 and end the longest playoff drought in AHL history. First-year coach Rob Riley’s team has reached as many as 30 victories for the first time since the 99-point season of 1997-98 and already has surpassed their win total for all but one of the previous seven seasons.

Kolarik has 16 goals and 13 assists in 34 games with the Whale but will miss his sixth game due to injury. The Whale also will continue to be without center Todd White, wing Chris McKelvie and defensemen Tomas Kundratek and Jyri Niemi, who are all out of action because of illness or injury.  And center Ryan Garlock was hurt in the loss to the Checkers on Saturday.

“We can’t look at who we don’t have,” Daigneault said. “We’re in the business of winning, and that’s what we have to do. This is a great opportunity for a lot of guys, and there will be a lot of ice time for different people. We might have lost some players, but we lost a lot earlier in the season because of injuries and call-ups. Regardless of who’s here, we still have to win.”

Whalers Sports and Entertainment is offering “Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl Appreciation Night” on Wednesday night. Ticket purchasers from the Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl on Feb. 19 can present their ticket stub at the XL Center box office to purchase a $19 or $12 ticket and receive a second of equal or lesser value free. The Whale also will add a coupon for 15 percent off Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl merchandise. The coupon is redeemable at the Whale Pro Shop, which is located at the Hartford Store at 45 Pratt Street in Hartford and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The coupon is good only for Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl merchandise.

“We would sincerely like to thank all of the fans who bought tickets for Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl as part of the 2011 Harvest-Properties.com Whalers Hockey Fest 2011,” Whalers Sports and Entertainment president and COO Howard Baldwin Jr. said. “Whale fans helped to set an AHL attendance record on February 19, braving the frigid elements in order to do so, and we are deeply grateful for all of their support of this historic event.”

Tickets for Wednesday night and all other Whale home games are available at the XL Center box office, through TicketMaster Charge-by-Phone at 1-800-745-3000 and online at www.ctwhale.com. Tickets start at $7 at the XL Center ticket office on game day. For information on Whale ticket packages, group sales and VIP packages, call 860-728-3366.

The official Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl video DVD is also available with highlights of the two Feb. 19 games and special behind-the-scenes features. Visit www.ctwhale.com to order. The video will be shipped when available.

After Wednesday night, the Whale is back on the road again with games at Springfield, Worcester and league-leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday to end a brutal stretch of 10 away games in 12 starts. They will finish their 14^th regular season with 10 of their last 16 games at home, starting March 11 against the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears.

KENNEDY GETS WISH

Kennedy requested a trade from the Rangers in December and finally got his wish as the Blueshirts acquired a veteran they hope provides leadership for a young defensive corps that consists of six Wolf Pack/Whale graduates and adds a spark to a sporadic power play.

Kennedy had 10 goals and 16 assists in 78 games with the Buffalo Sabres last season. But after winning an arbitration case in which he was to receive $1 million, the Sabres waived him and bought him out for $350,000, making him a free agent. It was an historic event, the first time a NHL team bought out a player’s contract reached in arbitration. Kennedy’s agent, Allain Roy, reportedly offered to accept $835,000 before arbitration, but the Sabres wanted to pay less, so they signed the center and bought him out.

On Aug. 30, the Rangers signed Kennedy to a one-year, $550,000 contract as a low-risk player to perhaps fill out the roster on Broadway. But he was outplayed in training camp by tryout wing Ruslan Fedotenko and rookie center Derek Stephan and sent to the Whale on Oct. 13. That added to an already bizarre odyssey for the 24-year-old, who finally got his trade wish 21/2 months later.

Kennedy was the Whale’s most gifted center, starting slowly but finishing with 12 goals and 30 assists in 53 games while being one of the team’s assistant captains. He was especially tough on his former team, the Pirates, for whom he was a member of the AHL All-Rookie Team in 2008-09. He had overtime winners in back-to-back games on Dec. 29 and 31 and then set up veteran defenseman Wade Redden for the first shorthanded overtime winner of his distinguished career, again in Portland on Feb. 21. In his Amerks’ debut Sunday, Kennedy had an assist in a 2-1 overtime victory over Syracuse.

Ironically, White, acquired by the Rangers on Aug. 2 for disgruntled forwards Donald Brashear and Patrick Rissmiller, beat out Kennedy for the final forward spot on the Rangers’ roster. But after getting only one goal and one assist in limited ice time in 18 games, White was placed on waivers and assigned to the Whale on Dec. 29. Since arriving in Hartford, he has sustained several injuries and has missed the last 12 games after getting three goals and two assists in nine games.

Coupled with Kris Newbury being on his fourth recall to the Rangers, the Whale was missing their top three centers Saturday night, plus Garlock got injured, not the ideal situation at the three-quarters pole in a frantic pursuit of a playoff berth. Meanwhile, five of the six teams they are battling against for a final spot – Worcester, Springfield, Charlotte, Binghamton and Norfolk – got at least one point that night. Those five, plus Providence, had added points the previous night, and Worcester, Norfolk and Binghamton added two more points Sunday.

The Whale got through the NHL trade deadline on Monday without any more losses, and added Mitchell, so here’s hoping they get Newbury back soon. And here’s hoping Tim Kennedy gets a legitimate shot at the NHL after being a solid player and citizen in Hartford. … The AHL’s Clear Day deadline, when all 30 teams must submit their 22-man lists, is Monday at 3 p.m. Only those players listed on a Clear Day roster are eligible to play in the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs unless emergency conditions arise as a result of recall, injury or suspension. Teams also can add signed junior players or players on amateur tryout contracts, but only after their respective junior or college seasons are complete. The Rangers did a paper transaction of sending Newbury, Zuccarello and defenseman Ryan McDonagh to the Whale so they would be eligible for the Whale’s Clear Day list.

O’SULLIVAN, KOZUN AND THIESSEN NAMED AHL’S BEST IN FEBUARY

Houston Aeros center Patrick O’Sullivan, Monarchs right wing Brandon Kozun and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goalie Brad Thiessen were named Reebok/AHL player, rookie and goaltender of the month for February.

O’Sullivan had nine goals and nine assists to keep the Aeros in the thick of the wild playoff race in the West Division. He had a hand in 46 percent of Houston’s 39 goals during the month and ranks second in the AHL in scoring (12 goals, 13 assists in 19 games) since being assigned to Houston by the parent Minnesota Wild on Jan. 14. Other nominees included Wilson, Bridgeport Sound Tigers left wing Justin DiBenedetto and former Wolf Pack forwards Corey Locke (Binghamton) and Nigel Dawes (Hamilton).

Kozun had eight goals and seven assists in 13 games, recording a point in nine of his last 10 games, including a 5-3 win over Springfield on Feb. 13 in which he scored the game-tying and game-winning goals in the third period. He’s now third among AHL rookies in goals (19) and points (38) in 56 games. Other nominees included Sound Tigers center David Ullstrom.

Thiessen was 8-2-0 with a 1.28 goals-against average, .943 save percentage and three shutouts in 12 appearances. After missing six games, plus the AHL All-Star Classic, because of injury, Thiessen returned to the Penguins on Feb. 7 with a 21-save shutout of Albany and was named the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week after stopping 99 of 102 shots in five games from Feb. 7 to 13. He ended up stopping 199 of 211 shots in February and leads the AHL with 26 wins. Other nominees included Murphy and the Whale’s Dov Grumet-Morris.

AMERICANS GOALIE NAMED AHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Americans goaltender Tyler Plante was named Reebok/AHL Player of the Week after going 4-0-1 with a 1.71 GAA, .945 save percentage and one shutout in five appearances. He lost his first shutout of the season in a 1-0 shootout loss to the Manitoba Moose after making 32 saves through 65 minutes.

A second-round pick by the Florida Panthers in 2005, the 23-year-old Plante has started 12 consecutive games for the Amerks and has an 8-3-1 record. The fourth-year pro from Milwaukee, Wis., is 13-10-2, 2.88, .917, and his 13 victories are already an AHL high.

The Whale nominated Grumet-Morris, and other nominees included three former Wolf Pack players, Dawes, defenseman Ethan Graham (Charlotte) and wing Jeff Taffe (Rockford).

NHL – FINALLY!!!!! – FOR DARIEN NATIVE JESSIMAN

Darien native Hugh Jessiman, the Rangers’ No. 1 pick (12^th overall) in 2003, is no longer the unwanted answer to a trivia question.

Jessiman became the 30^th and final first-round selection nearly eight years ago to play in a NHL game when the Florida Panthers called up the right wing from the Amerks on Sunday and he played 12 shifts for 9:03 in a 2-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils.

“It finally hit me,” Jessiman told reporters after the game. “It was almost the perfect day and would have been had we won. It was just a great experience. It was pretty intense.”

Jessiman’s problems started with a severe ankle injury that wiped out most of his junior year at Dartmouth and stunted his development.  Jessiman was chosen before such current NHL standouts as Zach Parise, Mike Richards, Ryan Kesler, Thomas Vanek, Ryan Suter, Dion Phaneuf, Dustin Brown, Brent Seabrook and Anaheim Mighty Ducks linemates Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.

Jessiman remained at Dartmouth for two more years before signing an entry-level contract in 2005 that included a $1 million signing bonus and playing that season with the Wolf Pack and ECHL’s Charlotte Checkers. He was subsequently traded by the Rangers, Predators and Blackhawks before finally getting a shot with the Panthers.

Good luck, Hugh, and congratulations for your perseverance.

TRADE OF FRANCIS, SAMUELSSON PICKED AS NO. 2 IN DEADLINE TRADE HISTORY

NHL.com’s Corry Masisak chose the Pittsburgh Penguins’ acquisition of future Hall of Famer Ron Francis, Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings for John Cullen, Zarley Zalapski and Jeff Parker from the Whalers on March 4, 1991 as the second most influential trade deadline deal to help a team win the Stanley Cup in the last 30 years. The Penguins were in fifth place in the Eastern Conference when they acquired the trio, but they went 9-3-2 to finish the second and erase a 12-point deficit to win a division title. They had to rally past New Jersey in seven games in the opening round but eventually claimed the Stanley Cup for the first time and then repeated in 1992.

“I had been in contract talks with Hartford,” Francis, now an assistant coach with the Carolina Hurricanes, told Masisak. “They said they wanted to sign me and we’ll get the deal done after the trade deadline, and they said, ‘We’re not going to trade you.’ Right before the trade deadline, they called me and said I was traded to Pittsburgh.

“I had spent my entire career with Hartford (after being the fourth overall pick in 1981), and then I get the call at like 9 p.m. on a Sunday night and I was on a flight at 8 o’clock Monday morning to Pittsburgh. It was a little crazy.”

Not as crazy as Whalers fans went after Eddie Johnston’s trade of the team captain and two of its toughest defensemen. Francis went on to have seven goals and 10 assists in the postseason, and Samuelsson made a controversial hit on Boston Bruins star right wing Cam Neely that changed the momentum of that series and led to the future Hall of Famer’s early retirement because of leg problems.

“We were sort of right in the middle of things (in the Eastern Conference),” Francis said, “but I remember Ulf and I talking after we’d played two or three games, and we both thought this team had a lot of pieces in place to possibly be a Cup champion and if we could stay healthy and get all the breaks you have to have.”

Francis became the Penguins’ No. 2 center behind future Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux, making them one of the most potent pivot combos in NHL history. And Samuelsson and Jennings added toughness to a defense that included future Hall of Famers Paul Coffey and Larry Murphy.

Francis had a tougher go of it the following season but excelled in the playoffs with eight goals and 19 assists as the Penguins lost future Hall of Famer Joey Mullen to a knee injury and Lemieux’s hand was broken by a slash.

“Guys sucked it up and got the job done,” Francis said, “and eventually Mario was able to come back and we accomplished what we wanted to do. It was a special group of guys.”

JERSEY AUCTION TO BENEFIT MARCH OF DIMES

March 12 could be a hat trick of pleasure and benefit for Whale fans.

They not only can watch their favorites at the XL Center in a key Atlantic Division game against Worcester, but they also can win players’ jerseys and help a great cause at the same time.

During the game, fans can bid on jerseys on display throughout the evening. Winners will be announced at the end of the game and invited on the ice to receive their jersey, meet the players and have photos taken. Proceeds will benefit the March of Dimes, which works to help develop stronger, healthier babies. The auction has raised nearly $20,000 in the first two years.

“The annual jersey auction has been a great event for our March of Dimes family and the hockey community,” said Deb Poudrier, executive director of the March of Dimes Greater Hartford Division. “The Whale organization has been an incredible supporter of the March of Dimes, not only with the jersey auction but as a March for Babies sponsor and team as well. They truly are a great community partner.”

The March of Dimes is the leading non-profit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. Visit www.marchofdimes.com or www.nacersano.org for the latest resources and information.

WHALE TO HONOR HOWE FAMILY ON MARCH 26

The Whale will host “Howe Family Night” at the XL Center on March 26 against the Sound Tigers. The No. 9 of “Mr. Hockey,” one of seven numbers in the XL Center rafters, will be lowered and then raised and re-retired as he and his sons, Mark and Marty, whom he played with for seven seasons in Houston and Hartford, look on. The matriarch of the family, Colleen Howe, who died in 2009, will be honored.

“That old (jersey) is a little worn,” Baldwin Jr. said. “I think we’ll have a big crowd. I love Ronnie Francis (the only Hall of Famer to play mostly with the Whalers), but Gordie is the one who put the team on the map. He needs to have the respect of the people coming out to see him, and it’ll be a great opportunity for it.”

Howe’s No. 9 is in the rafters with the Whalers’ No. 2 (Rick Ley), 5 (Ulf Samuelsson), 10 (Ron Francis), 11 (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.

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 in 1977. 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.

Fans who did not attend the Whale’s game against Providence at Rentschler Field in East Hartford because of the weather can redeem their tickets for one to “Howe Family Night” or another game of their choice. If fans want to redeem a ticket, they should contact Baldwin at hlb@whalerssports.com.