New York, January 3, 2011 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that defenseman Ryan McDonagh has been recalled from the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL), while defenseman Michael Del Zotto has been assigned to Connecticut.

McDonagh, 21, has registered one goal and seven assists, along with 12 penalty minutes in 38 games with Connecticut this season. He ranks second among Whale defensemen in scoring with eight points, and is second with seven assists. McDonagh tallied five points (one goal, four assists) in an eight-game span from December 11 vs. Manchester to December 29 vs. Portland, ending the stretch with a three-game assist streak from December 21 at Manchester to December 29. He notched his first professional goal with a power play tally on December 11 vs. Manchester. McDonagh has posted a plus or even rating in 20 of his last 24 games, registering a plus-nine rating over the span. The former first round pick made his professional debut on October 9 vs. Charlotte, and registered his first career point with an assist on November 7 vs. Bridgeport.

Last season, the 6-1, 213-pounder established collegiate career-highs in games played (43), assists (14), points (18), and penalty minutes (73) while skating with the NCAA runner-up University of Wisconsin Badgers. He also ranked second on the team with a plus-22 rating. McDonagh registered an assist on the game-winning goal in the National Semifinal game vs. R.I.T. on April 8, 2010 to help Wisconsin advance to the National Championship game vs. Boston College. In three seasons with the Badgers, he registered 14 goals and 32 assists for 46 points, along with 174 penalty minutes in 119 career games.

The St. Paul, Minnesota native was originally Montreal’s first round choice, 12th overall, in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. He was acquired by the Rangers, along with forward Christopher Higgins and defenseman Pavel Valentenko, from Montreal in exchange for forwards Scott Gomez and Tom Pyatt, and defenseman Mike Busto on June 30, 2009.

Del Zotto, 20, has registered two goals and seven assists, along with 14 penalty minutes in 35 games this season. Five of his nine points have been recorded on the power play. He made his 100th career NHL appearance on November 19 at Colorado.

The Stouffville, Ontario native was originally the Rangers’ first round choice, 20th overall, in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

The Rangers’ practice schedule for tomorrow, January 4, is 11:00 a.m. at the MSG Training Center.

By Bruce Berlet

While growing up in the Boston area, pond hockey was something that Trinity College hockey coach Dave Cataruzolo always looked forward to doing.

No boards. No whistles. No systems. Just play.

While Trinity’s game against archrival Wesleyan, as part of the outdoor Harvest-Properties.com Whalers Hockey Fest 2011 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford in February, may not simulate that situation completely, it certainly brings back traditions and memories of hockey in its purest form that many players remember to this day.

“I spent a lot of time on outdoor rinks, but this is completely different,” Trinity senior defenseman Derek Sandberg of Montreal said. “It’s an actual league (New England Small College Athletic Conference) game with points at stake, but we have to go in with the same mentality, take it like any other game, and just go out and play hard and try to get a win.”

Sandberg’s defensive partner, Jake Gaffey, a senior co-captain from Northampton, N.H., sees similarities and differences to his childhood.

“We had some ponds that we played on as a kid, but playing on those ponds is a little different than playing on a rink (at Rentschler Field),” Gaffey said. “It’s going to be a first-time thing and a great, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And since it’s toward the end of the season, hopefully this game will have a lot of implications toward the playoffs. It usually comes down to the last game or two as far as making the playoffs and who gets home ice, so this game could be really important. And we never want to lose to Wesleyan.”

Todd Keats, a senior co-captain and defenseman from Northbrook, Ill., has second-generation memories of outdoor skating and is as excited about returning to his roots as he was of his beloved Chicago Blackhawks winning the Stanley Cup and seeing Game 2 of the finals against the Philadelphia Flyers.

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“There was a pond pretty close to our house, and my dad Wade used to tell me about playing on a pond as a kid and then going on to play at Curry College (in Milton, Mass.),” Keats said. “I played a little, but not much, and not in recent years, so this is going to be exciting.”

The Bantams and Cardinals will face off at Rentschler Field on Feb. 15 at 8:15 p.m. after the Trinity and Wesleyan women’s teams play at 4 p.m. The doubleheader is two of 30 games scheduled to be part of Whalers Hockey Fest 2011, which is being held by Whalers Sports and Entertainment, headed by chairman and CEO Howard Baldwin, the former president and managing general partner of the New England and Hartford Whalers.

Cataruzolo first heard of the possibility of the Bantams playing in the Hockey Fest from Dave Roberts, the general manager of the International Skating Center of Connecticut in Simsbury, during summer camps. Cataruzolo then talked with Wesleyan coach Chris Potter and each said he thought it would be wonderful to get involved.

Trinity and Wesleyan play twice a season in the NESCAC, and Cataruzolo moved his home game in December in Hartford to East Hartford without reservation.

“I just thought it made sense to move it to February,” Cataruzolo said. “I could not be more excited about the Hockey Fest and our chance as a college and program to be a part of it. Hockey in Connecticut has a rich history and tradition, and we are thankful for the support and vision of Mr. Baldwin to help reenergize that in our state and in the hockey community.

“Trinity and Wesleyan have a storied rivalry, and this game, at this venue, in this atmosphere will certainly enhance that. That being said, I predict the experience and memories for our players, coaches, parents and schools will be everlasting, regardless of the outcome. Despite the importance of the game in our league standing, I really want our players to enjoy the day and the entire experience of playing outside in the middle of February.”

That would be the continuation of a Trinity tradition that Cataruzolo has tried to nurture in his four seasons as Trinity coach after the retirement of legendary program founder John Dunham. Cataruzolo has helped guide the Bantams to 10 consecutive NESCAC Tournaments, two league titles, three trips to the NCAA Division III championship tournament and an NCAA Final Four in 2005. Three Trinity players have been named to the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Division III All-American Team in the last six years under Cataruzolo’s tutelage.

The Bantams returned most of their players from a team that finished second in NESCAC last season and then lost in the semifinals of the playoffs to eventual champion Middlebury. This season, they’re 2-4-0 overall and 1-3-0 in the NESCAC, while the Cardinal are also 2-4-1 and 1-3-0.

“It’ll be nice that NESCAC will be able to show our talents to a wide range of people,” Gaffey said. “It’s a chance for our league to get recognized because we do play in a very, very competitive division. It’s a chance to showcase the league and our two schools, so that’s pretty exciting.”

Trinity left wing Adam Houli, a senior co-captain from Howell, N.J., is enthused about playing outdoors, which is something he never got to do as a kid.

“It didn’t ever get cold enough and there weren’t many ponds around my house,” Houli said. “So for me, this is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It’s something that when you’re nine years old and you see it snowing outside, you want to do, and now you have the opportunity to do it. And it’s my senior year, so it’s very special and something I’ll never forget, so I’m very excited about that.”

Potter, who used to play in the former outdoor rink at the University of Connecticut, heard rumors that the Winter Fest was going to happen in the spring, so he spoke with UConn coach Bruce Marshall and Sacred Heart coach C.J. Marottolo, whose teams play Feb. 13 at 1 p.m.

“Everyone was trying to position themselves to get in on it,” Potter said. “Then once they announced it, I got in contact with Mark Willand (senior vice president of business operations of Whalers Sports and Entertainment) and said Trinity and I would love to play, that if there’s any possibility of that, let me know, and he got right back to me. Then we had to go through a process with our league to get the game changed, and that happened, so everything kind of came together.

“It’s just a great opportunity for our kids because it doesn’t happen all the time. It’s a good rivalry in the state, and I think they were trying to get Connecticut teams to take part in it. Now it’s a chance to get the alumni back and kind of build around it, and the same for Trinity. We’re going to try to have an alumni skate with the other alumni during the day. It’s tough because it’s a Tuesday, but we’re going to try to doll it up with a function for the Wesleyan and Trinity alumni so it’ll be a lot of fun.

“For the seniors who are graduating, it’s something in four or five years that they’ll definitely remember when they come back and talk about things.”

Then there’s the usual significance of the game in the NESCAC.

“It has a lot of meaning,” Potter said. “We don’t play a lot of games in our league (19), so every game is so valuable because if you have three or four slipups throughout the season, instead of being in the home playoff game, you’re in the bottom of the league trying to fight for a playoff spot. So it’s a really competitive league. Even though Middlebury won the league last season, I thought Bowdoin was hands-down the best team we played all season. A lot can fluctuate that last week, so this could be a huge game for either team.”

Tom Salah, a junior co-captain and center from Gloucester, Mass., agreed with his coach but preferred to look at the big picture for everyone involved.

“It’s a great experience that’s just going to add to my career and memories,” Salah said. “Eventually there comes the time when you have to hang up the skates, and this will be something that you can look back on and say you really had a good memory of.

“Even professional hockey players play their whole life and never get to do something like this, so it’s a great opportunity for young, 21-year-old kids to come out here and show their talents, kind of run with it and have an experience that not everyone gets to experience.”

Note: The Whalers Hockey Fest in the 38,000-seat Rentschler Field will include youth, high school, prep school and college games and the “Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl,” a Hartford Whalers-Boston Bruins alumni game with Hollywood celebrities/Connecticut Whale-Providence Bruins AHL game doubleheader Feb. 19 at 4 and 7 p.m.

There also will be “Whale Town” featuring exhibitors, games and the Whalers Mobile Hall of Fame. For ticket packages, visit the Whalers Pro Shop ticket page at www.ctwhale.com or call 860-728-3366. For club seats and suites, call 860-728-3366. Individual tickets are on sale, and the Hartford Wolf Pack/Connecticut Whale full season ticket holders will receive a voucher good for admission to the Feb. 19 activities. Whale season ticket holders and fans who purchase Hockey Fest all-access “Festival” tickets will be invited to a special Feb. 4 event featuring former Whalers and hockey legends in celebration of the 1986 NHL All-Star Game played in Hartford and will be able to skate free on Feb. 22.

More details for forthcoming. The entire schedule can be found at www.CTWhale.com, and there are a few open time slots available. For information, contact Jocelyne Cummings at jocelyne@whalerssports.com. Media inquiries should be directed to Mark Willand at Mark@whalerssports.com.

GORDIE ROBERTS TO PLAY FOR WHALERS ALUMNI TEAM

Former New England and Hartford Whalers defenseman Gordie Roberts has joined the roster of players for the Hartford Whalers vs. Boston Bruins legends game, joining former Whalers wings Jordy Douglas and Ray Neufeld.

Roberts, a native of Detroit, joined the New England Whalers from the WCHL’s Victoria Cougars as an 18-year-old for the 1975-76 World Hockey Association season and remained with the Whalers for the rest of their WHA tenure. In 311 WHA games, Roberts had 42 goals and 144 assists for 186 points, and those totals were good for fifth in franchise history (and second among defensemen) in assists and sixth (third among blueliners) in points. Roberts’ 502 career penalty minutes ranked third all-time in Whalers WHA history.

Roberts made the move to the NHL with the Hartford Whalers in 1979 and played the 1979-80 season and 27 games of the 1980-81 season a Whalers uniform before being traded to the Minnesota North Stars on Dec. 16, 1980. He finished with 10 goals and 39 assists in 107 games with the NHL Whalers and then spent eight seasons with Minnesota and later played with Philadelphia, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Boston, winning Stanley Cups with the Penguins in 1991 and 1992. Roberts finished his NHL career with 61 goals, 359 assists and 1,582 penalty minutes in 1,097 NHL games.

Douglas, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, joined the Whalers in 1978-79, their final season in the World Hockey Association when he had six goals and 10 assists in 51 games. Douglas and the Whalers joined the NHL the next season, and he stayed with the team until traded to the Minnesota North Stars on Oct. 1, 1982. He had 56 goals and 49 assists in 162 games with the Whalers and finished with 76 goals and 62 assists in 268 NHL games with Hartford, Minnesota and the Winnipeg Jets.

Neufeld, from Winkler, Manitoba, was the Whalers’ fourth-round pick in 1979 who spent nine seasons in the organization. In 331 games with the Whalers, Neufeld had 95 goals and 131 assists. He also played 15 games with the Bruins and 31/2 seasons with the Winnipeg Jets, finishing with 157 goals and 200 assists in 595 NHL games.

Tickets ($20 to $85) for the Legends Game and Whale-Bruins game can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or by calling the Whale at 860-728-3366. They also can be purchased online and printed immediately at Ticketmaster.com.

DISCOUNTED TICKETS FOR WHALE FANS

Whalers Sports and Entertainment, in association with the XL Center, is offering a discount for “Disney On Ice” shows this week to Whale fans. For discounted tickets, use the discount code WHALES and save $4. Discounted tickets start at $11 for shows Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at 4:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the XL Center box office, online at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000. For groups of 15 or more, contact the XL Center group sales office at 860-548-2000.

… Baldwin will be the guest speaker at the East Hartford Chamber of Commerce breakfast series sponsored by AT&T Connecticut on Jan. 11 at 8 a.m. at the Sheraton Hartford Hotel on East River Drive in East Hartford. Baldwin will speak about his efforts to revive the local hockey market in Hartford, the Hockey Fest and other economic development opportunities. “I am very excited to have a man of Howard Baldwin’s experience, energy and commitment to Connecticut and the Hartford area speaking at our Chamber event,” Chamber president Ron Pugliese said. “I invite anyone who has the desire to see the Hartford area grow and prosper economically to join us on January 11.”

… Howard Baldwin Jr., the new president and COO of WS&E, has a new Twitter account accessible to Whale fans at howardbaldwinjr.

… The Whale’s Jan. 21 game against Hamilton is be a special Family Value Night at which New Britain Rock Cats mascot Rocky will be on hand. There will be a giveaway, a table setup and autograph session, and the New Britain High School marching band will perform the national anthem and during the first intermission. Tickets in the lower level are $16 and include a soda and pizza slice or hot dog. Visit www.ctwhale.com.

… Former Wolf Pack defenseman Terry Virtue and Hartford Whalers wing Scott Young will be among the first six inductees into the Worcester Hockey Hall of Fame on Jan. 22 at the DCU Center in Worcester. It’s “Salute to the IceCats” Night, the franchise that preceded the Sharks in Worcester, and other inductees will be Kelly O’Leary, Eddie Bates, Larz Anderson and Marvin Degon Sr., father of former Wolf Pack defenseman Martin Degon.

… The eighth Tip-A-Player Dinner and Sports Carnival, presented by Aetna, will be Jan. 23 at the XL Center from 4-7 p.m. Tickets are $30 for adults and $20 for children, and proceeds benefit Gaylord Specialty Healthcare at Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford. For more information, contact Lori Leniart at 860-728-3366.

PHANTOMS GOALIE NAMED AHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Philadelphia Phantoms goalie Brian Stewart was named Reebok/AHL Player of the Week on Monday after going 3-0-0-0 with a 1.34 goals-against average and .949 save percentage (93 of 98 shots).

Stewart, a rookie from Burnaby, British Columbia, led the Phantoms to their first three-game winning streak of the season and is now 3-5-0 with a 3.22 GAA and .886 save percentage in nine games. He signed with the Philadelphia Flyers as a free agent on April 19 after four seasons at Northern Michigan University, where he went 18-17-4 as a senior last season.

Veteran defenseman Wade Redden was the Whale’s nominee after getting five assists in three games to increase his total to 23, which leads all league defensemen. He missed a 3-0 loss to the Atlantic Division-leading Manchester Monarchs on Sunday but hopes to return Wednesday night for a game at Worcester, the start of a four-game road trip.

Other nominees included Bridgeport Sound Tigers’ left wing Micheal Haley, former Wolf Pack right wing Matthew Ford (Lake Erie Monsters) and Manchester Monarchs goalie Martin Jones, who shut out the Whale on Sunday. … On-line fan voting for the AHL All-Star Classic Jan. 30-31 at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa., runs through midnight Sunday at theahl.com and facebook.com/theahl. Players receiving the most votes by position will earn berths in the starting lineups of the Eastern Conference and Western Conference teams. A committee of AHL coaches will select the remaining All-Stars, and all 30 clubs must be represented. By completing the official ballot, fans are entered to win a grand prize of a team-signed All-Star jersey. Ten more winners will receive an official All-Star Classic T-shirt. The Hall of Fame Class of 2011, to be inducted Jan. 30 at 11 a.m., is Mitch Lamoureux, Larry Wilson and the late Harry Pidhirny and Maurice Podoloff, who grew up in New Haven and graduated from Yale. AHL Hall of Famer Bruce Boudreau, former coach of the Hershey Bears and now coach of the Washington Capitals, will be the keynote speaker, and AHL graduate and 2008 Foster Hewitt Award winner Mike Emrick will be master of ceremonies

Hartford, CT …  Whalers Sports and Entertainment announced today that former New England and Hartford Whaler defenseman Gordie Roberts will join the roster of featured players for the Hartford Whalers legends vs. Boston Bruins legends game February 19, 2011 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford.

The legends game comprises part of the “Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl,” the featured event of the two-week outdoor Whalers Hockey Fest spectacular at Rentschler Field that will include numerous collegiate, high school, prep school and youth hockey games.  The legends game will face off at 4:00 PM on February 19 and will be followed by the outdoor AHL game between the Connecticut Whale and the Providence Bruins at 7:00 PM.

Roberts, a native of Detroit, joined the New England Whalers from the WCHL’s Victoria Cougars as an 18-year-old for the 1975-76 World Hockey Association season, and remained with the Whalers for the rest of their WHA tenure.  In 311 WHA games, Roberts scored 42 goals and added 144 assists for 186 points, and those totals were good for fifth in franchise history (and second among defensemen) in assists and sixth (third among blueliners) in points.  Also, Roberts’ 502 career penalty minutes ranked third all-time in Whaler WHA franchise annals.

Roberts made the move to the NHL with the Hartford Whalers in 1979 and played the 1979-80 season, and 27 games of the 1980-81 campaign, in a Whaler uniform before being traded to the Minnesota North Stars December 16, 1980.  Roberts’ NHL totals with the Whalers included 10 goals and 39 assists for 49 points, along with 170 PIM, in 107 games.

Roberts spent eight seasons with Minnesota, and would go on to further NHL action with Philadelphia, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Boston, and won a pair of Stanley Cups with the Penguins, in 1991 and 1992.  By the end of his final NHL season, 1993-94, which saw him play 59 games for the Bruins, Roberts had totaled 1,097 NHL games, with 61 goals, 359 assists, 420 points and 1,582 penalty minutes to his credit.

Tickets for the February 19 Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl, which include admission to both the AHL game and the legends game, are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices range from $20 to $85 and can be purchased online via Ticketmaster or by calling the Connecticut Whale at 860-728-3366.  Tickets purchased online can be printed immediately (via Ticketmaster).

By Bruce Berlet

HARTFORD, Conn. – The Connecticut Whale should have known they were in trouble when Brandon Kozun scored the first goal of the game Sunday at the XL Center.

After all, the Atlantic Division-leading Manchester Monarchs were 14-0-0-1 when they scored first, and the trend didn’t end on the second day of the New Year thanks largely to goalie Martin Jones.

Jones, an unrestricted free agent signed by the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 2, 2008, made 39 saves for his second shutout of the season as the Monarchs cooled off the AHL’s hottest team with a 3-0 victory before 4,367.

Former Yale forward David Meckler and Richard Clune helped set each other up in the third period, when the Monarchs (24-12-1-1) assured they would make amends for a 3-1 loss at Springfield on Saturday night that ended a season-high, six-game winning streak. The victory increased the Monarchs’ lead over the second-place Whale to seven points and handed goalie Chad Johnson (17 saves, 12-11-1-3) only his second non-shootout loss in 13 decisions (9-2-2).

The Whale’s 39 shots tied the fifth most stopped in 52 shutouts against in the franchise’s 14-year history as the Monarchs ended the Whale’s four-game winning streak. That capped a 12-1-0-2 run that had put the Whale six games above .500 for the first time this season and vaulted them from last place into second, two points ahead of Portland, which lost 3-2 to Worcester and has four games in hand.

The Whale (18-13-2-5) outshot the Monarchs 39-20, but it wasn’t enough to extend an 11-game unbeaten streak (9-0-0-2) against division teams and earn a point for a 16^th time in 17 games (12-1-0-3). The Whale also had been 12-1-0-2 since rebranded from the Hartford Wolf Pack to the Whale on Nov. 27, but now they’re 1-4-0-1 against the Monarchs this season.

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“They’ve been playing extremely well lately, and we knew that coming in,” said Jones (13-2-0-0, 1.60 goals-against average, tied for first in the AHL, and .948 save percentage, second in the league). “We weren’t entirely happy with our performance (Saturday) night, and that was a big bounce-back performance for us.

“Obviously we jumped into the lead in the first period, and they were getting more and more desperate as the game went on,” added Jones, who turns 21 in a week, has won six in a row and is 4-0 against the Whale this season. “We were outshot, but I don’t think we played poorly. We were controlled in our own zone, composed and stuck to our structure. A lot of those shots are saves that I should be making, so I thought we did a great job in our zone coverage-wise.

“I don’t think we had too many breakdowns where they got grade-A scoring chances. I felt good and was able to make a couple of saves I needed to make, and I thought my team did the rest defensively.”

Jones, though, was easily the game’s No. 1 star and the reason the Whale suffered their first regulation loss at home since their second of four shutout losses this season, 4-0 to Toronto on Nov. 9. Since then, they had been 8-0-0-1 at the XL Center after starting 2-6-2-0.

Whale left wing Brodie Dupont, playing after needing three stitches to close a cut near his right eye sustained in a 6-2 victory over Providence on Saturday night, has known of Jones’ talents since they played together with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League. Jones also backstopped Canada to a silver medal in the World Junior Championships last year when Team USA won the gold.

“At some point, you have to give credit where credit is due,” said Dupont, who scored the first goal Saturday before being injured with 3:20 left and had five shots Sunday along with Kris Newbury and Jeremy Williams and one less than Todd White. “After playing with him in juniors, I figured I’d be able to pick his old weak spots, but he challenged a lot more than he used to. I had a few opportunities that I would have liked to put away, but it didn’t happen for me or anybody.

“I think everybody got a little frustrated, but Jones played a great game. When you fire 39 shots at somebody and don’t score, the goalie has to be playing good. He put a door up and slammed it shut. We threw everything we had at him, and he played well. We just have to find a way to beat those goalies whether it’s rebounds or net-front presence or whatever it might take. But it was one of those nights that happen. You play an 80-game schedule, so you’re going to run into a hot goalie eventually.

“But we’re taking a lot of positives out of that game. It would have been nice to win because they were only five points up on us and we were closing the gap on them pretty good so it was kind of a four-point game for us. But we’re not quite at the halfway point, and they know we’re coming and we feel confident. We’re not going to let this set us back. We’re just going to keep moving forward and take the positives out of it.”

Dupont felt the Whale controlled a lot of the play, and the Monarchs scored the winner off a broken play on a power play that didn’t deflate the team. Ditto after the second goal, but the third was “the nail in the coffin.”

“But he knows where I’m coming from, so I’ll get him,” Dupont added with a smile “And you can put that in the paper, too.”

Whale coach Ken Gernander also conceded Jones was at the top of his game but wished his team hadn’t taken a few bad penalties and been better defensively, forechecking and physically as they had in their recent excellence.

“We did generate 39 shots and didn’t give up a world of opportunities, but there’s a pretty small difference between winning and losing,” Gernander said. “We had some real good chances where we didn’t make great shots. That’s not to take anything away from the goalie because he made some big saves, but I thought there were chances where we weren’t sharp as far as shooting.

“And I don’t think we had as many second and third opportunities as we needed, and (Jones) probably saw all of the shots, too. We need bodies net-front and tips and screens and those kinds of things. Goalies are good, and if they get to see (a shot), they a lot of times make the save. I sensed the guys getting frustrated, which is something we can be better at. For a long part of the night, it was a one-goal game, so if you get frustrated, it’s counterproductive a lot of times.”

Both sides, especially the Whale, had ample scoring chances in the first 40 minutes but converted only once. Dupont had a good rebound chance just after the opening faceoff, then the Monarchs’ Jordan Nolan hit the post off a left wing rush at 6:22.

After Johnson made good saves off Dwight King and Corey Elkins on Manchester’s first power play, the Monarchs took the lead for good when King passed across the crease to a wide-open Kozun, who one-timed a shot into an open net from the left circle at 8:48.

Jones made a stellar stop on Jeremy Williams’ left-circle shot with 7:37 left in the period during the Whale’s first power play. Jones then made three more strong saves in a 21/2-minute span, stopping White off a pass from Jason Williams, Evgeny Grachev’s partial breakaway off Tim Kennedy’s soft lead pass and Jason Williams’ breakaway off a White pass after Elkins’ turnover.

Johnson denied Thomas Hickey cruising down the slot shorthanded 1:21 into the second period, then 20 seconds later, Hickey put a shot off the crossbar, though Gernander agreed with replays that showed the shot went in and out of the net.

The Whale had three more good scoring bids in the final 8:06 of the period, but Jones denied Kelsey Tessier off right wing and Dupont on a 2-on-1 with Newbury sandwiched around White putting a shot off the side of the net off a 3-on-1.

The Whale nearly tied it shorthanded 3:24 into the third period, but referee Chris Cozzan ruled the net was dislodged before Dupont jammed in the puck off a 3-on-2.

Given that reprieve, the Monarchs took a 2-0 lead as Clune poked the puck to Meckler, who flipped a shot past Johnson at 6:05 for his team-leading 11^th goal. After Jones stopped a three-shot Whale flurry capped by Jeremy Williams’ excellent bid with 8:15 left, the Monarchs clinched the win as Meckler picked up his blocked shot and flipped a backhand, diagonal pass to a wide-open Clune, who redirected the puck high to Johnson’s stick side with 6:31 to go.

“The guys rebounded well,” said Monarchs coach Mark Morris, whose captain at Clarkson was White. “It was a textbook road win. Everybody contributed. There was good focus and execution throughout most of the game.”

WHALE NOTES

The Whale wore their new home white jerseys for the second time, and their new blue road jerseys will debut Friday night in Norfolk, Va., or Jan. 14 at Portland. The new jerseys are available for purchase at the XL Center or The Hartford Store, 45 Pratt Street in Hartford. Prices, including sales tax, are $289 (authentic), $125 (senior replica) and $99 (junior replica). … The Whale start a four-game road trip at Worcester on Wednesday night and don’t return to the XL Center until Jan. 15 against Providence, the start of a three-game homestand that also includes visits from league-leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (Jan. 16) and Hamilton (Jan. 21). … Former Wolf Pack captain Greg Moore scored with 3:54 left to give the Adirondack Phantoms a 2-1 victory over the Albany Devils on Saturday night. That gave Moore, a two-time 20-goal scorer and former All-Star with the Wolf Pack, a goal in four consecutive games after failing to score in his first 32 games. Moore was shut out in regulation Sunday, but he had the deciding shootout goal as the Admirals rallied from a two-goal deficit with less than eight minutes left for a 3-2 victory over the Rochester Americans. The Phantoms won their third game in as many nights and improved to 6-2-0- 0 in its last eight games after starting the season 4-23-2-0. … Defenseman Lee Baldwin, assigned from the Whale to the Greenville Road Warriors on Wednesday, scored his first ECHL goal in a 5-1 victory over the Wheeling Nailers on Sunday. Dov Grumet-Morris, who played two games with the Whale earlier this season, made 28 saves for his league-leading 15^th victory.

ISLANDERS TRADE ROLOSON; WHALE TO FACE DESJARDINS

The New York Islanders acquired defenseman Ty Wishart from the Tampa Bay Lightning for veteran goalie Dwayne Roloson late Saturday night and assigned him to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Wishart, 22, the San Jose Sharks’ first-round pick (16^th overall) in 2006, had four goals and 14 assists and was plus-13 in 31 games with the Norfolk Admirals, who host the Whale on Friday and Saturday night.

With Roloson in Tampa Bay, the Whale will face rookie goalie Cedrick Desjardins, who made 34 saves to win his second consecutive start Saturday night, 2-1 over the Rangers in overtime. Until Marian Gaborik scored with 46 seconds left in regulation, Mats Zuccarello, on a call-up from the Whale to replace former Wolf Pack wing Ryan Callahan (broken right hand), had the Rangers’ best scoring chance in the second period but fired a rebound of former Wolf Pack center Artem Anisimov’s shot from the right side that a diving Desjardins managed to stop with his pad. Gaborik’s late goal tied it, but former P-Bruins center Nate Thompson ended it just 19 seconds into overtime.

“I was just having fun finding every shot,” said Desjardins, recalled from Norfolk on Dec. 20. “I was in the zone.”

But Desjardins’ fun ended quickly when it was announced after the game that the Lightning had acquired the 41-year-old Roloson, sending Desjardins back to the AHL despite allowing only two goals in his first two NHL games. He had 27 saves in a 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night, but now it’ll be the Whale that he’ll be facing.

ZUCCARELLO WORKING TO STAY IN NEW YORK

After playing only 71/2 minutes in a 3-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Zuccarello asked the Rangers coaching staff to show him videos to assess his defensive play.

“I didn’t play much when we had a one-goal lead, and I told them, ‘I want to know what you’re not happy with and what I can do better,” Zuccarello told reporters before playing 12:33 in the loss to Tampa Bay.

Adjusting to smaller North American rinks, more physical play and the Rangers’ system didn’t come as quickly as Zuccarello hoped, though he did have 23 points in his last 21 games with the Whale after getting only two points in the first 12 games.

Zuccarello said the videos showed him he “can play closer to the boards, to be in position to pick up loose puck, just details like that. I want to get more playing time. To me, it’s important to help out there. You want to know the system, to adjust, so your linemates don’t get insecure with you out there.”

Zuccarello skated on left wing with Gaborik and Derek Stepan in the win over the Devils, but he was back on his more natural right wing Saturday night with the Russian tandem of Anisimov and Alex Frolov. Zuccarello was again at right wing Sunday with Stepan and former Wolf Pack forward Brandon Dubinsky, but none of the Rangers accomplished much of anything in a 3-0 loss to the Florida Panthers.

Rangers coach John Tortorella is making no long-term NHL commitment to Zuccarello, whom he has called intelligent and coachable, beyond the next few games.

“He’s improved, but I’m not sure where it all goes right now with him,” Tortorella said. “You can see his skill. Where I really like him is in tight, in close, situations where he can make a play and other people can’t. He has some vision, you can see his offensive instincts.

“Where it goes, as far as where he fits with the team, I’m not exactly sure, because we’re pretty banged up (with Callahan, Christensen and Derek Boogaard injured), and I want to play Gabby with Stepan and Dubi (Dubinsky). We’re going to allow him to play and then make our judgment: Does he stick with us or does he still need some work in the minors?”

Tortorella did say Zuccarello “certainly hasn’t hurt himself in the games that he’s played in. I only used him (7:36 in New Jersey) because we were brutal early on and I changed things around and kind of lost things in the rotation.

“A young guy’s gonna have to live through that when you’re struggling through a game. He’s going to play some more games here and we’ll see where he can help us, if he can, right now. I don’t want to get too far ahead or myself in this development in trying to force him.”

Former Wolf Pack defenseman Dan Girardi registered his 100^th career NHL point Saturday night when he assisted on Gaborik’s goal. Girardi has six points (one goal, five assists) in the last nine games and leads the team with 17 assists.

Until Sunday, the Rangers were 9-0-0 (4-0-0 at home, 5-0-0 on the road) in the second game of back-to-backs this season and had outscored the opposition 31-9. In the last two seasons, they are 18-3-2 in the backend of the back-to-back sets, 8-1-1 at Madison Square Garden and 10-2-1 on the road.

DISCOUNTED WHALE, ‘DISNEY ON ICE’ TICKETS AVAILABLE

The deadline for fans to give the gift of Whale hockey during the holiday season is Monday.

The Whale Hockey Pack of six dark green undated flex tickets and one Heritage Connecticut Whale hat is $122, a savings of $38. Six yellow undated flex tickets and one hat are $74, a savings of $14. Holiday packages are available at the Fan Center behind Section 101 in the XL Center, by calling 860-728-3366 or visiting www.ctwhale.com. … Whalers Sports and Entertainment, in association with the XL Center, is offering a discount for “Disney On Ice” shows this week to Whale fans. For discounted tickets, use the discount code WHALES and save $4. Discounted tickets start at $11 for shows Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at 4:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the XL Center box office, online at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000. For groups of 15 or more, contact the XL Center group sales office at 860-548-2000. … The Whale’s Jan. 21 game against Hamilton is be a special Family Value Night at which New Britain Rock Cats mascot Rocky will be on hand. There will be a giveaway, a table setup and autograph session, and the New Britain High School marching band will perform the national anthem and during the first intermission. Tickets in the lower level are $16 and include a soda and pizza slice or hot dog. Visit www.ctwhale.com. … The eighth Tip-A-Player Dinner and Sports Carnival, presented by Aetna, will be Jan. 23 at the XL Center from 4-7 p.m. Tickets are $30 for adults and $20 for children, and proceeds benefit Gaylord Specialty Healthcare at Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford. For more information, contact Lori Leniart at 860-728-3366.

ALL-STAR VOTING ENDS NEXT SUNDAY

On-line fan voting for the AHL All-Star Classic Jan. 30-31 at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa., runs through midnight next Sunday at theahl.com and facebook.com/theahl. Players receiving the most votes by position will earn berths in the starting lineups of the Eastern Conference and Western Conference teams. A committee of AHL coaches will select the remaining All-Stars, and all 30 clubs must be represented. By completing the official ballot, fans are entered to win a grand prize of a team-signed All-Star jersey. Ten more winners will receive an official All-Star Classic T-shirt.

Tickets for the AHL Hall of Fame induction and awards ceremony and post skills party during the All-Star Classic are on sale. The induction and awards ceremony will be at the Hershey Theater on Jan. 31 at 11 a.m. when the Hall of Fame Class of 2011 – the late Maurice Podoloff, who grew up in New Haven and graduated from Yale, and Harry Pidhirny, Mitch Lamoureux and Larry Wilson – will be enshrined. AHL Hall of Famer Bruce Boudreau, former coach of the Bears and now coach of the Washington Capitals, will be the keynote speaker, and AHL graduate and 2008 Foster Hewitt Award winner Mike Emrick will be master of ceremonies.

The post-skills party will be at the Hershey Lodge on Jan. 30 from 6 to 10 p.m. It will feature a tailgate theme while watching the NHL All-Star Game with a buffet-style menu of food and drinks. Ticket packages for the two events are $75 and can be purchased at the Giant Center box office or by calling 717-534-3911. Availability is limited, and there is a six-ticket limit per person.

Also, an exclusive All-Star Classic VIP package for $199 includes Club Section tickets, parking vouchers for the skills competition and All-Star Game, a meal voucher for the All-Star Game, tickets for the post-skills party and Hall of Fame induction and awards ceremony and a gift bag. Tickets for the skills competition Jan. 30 at 3 p.m. and the All-Star Game on Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. are nearly sold out. Contact the Giant Center box office for information.

Monarchs 3, Whale 0

Manchester    1 0 2 – 3
Connecticut    0 0 0 – 0

First period: 1. Man, Kozun 9 (King, Elkins), 8:48 (pp). Penalties: Garlock, Ct (cross-checking), 6:56; Cliché, Mch (boarding), 10:56; Hill, Mch (fighting), 13:49; DiDiomete, Ct (fighting), 13:49; Williams, Ct (interference), 16:29; Moller, Mch (hooking), 19:03.

Second period: No scoring. Penalties: Grachev, Ct (hooking), 1:21; Williams, Ct (tripping), 5:19; Teubert, Mch (interference), 10:17.

Third period: 2. Man, Meckler 11 (Clune), 6:05. 3. Man, Clune 5 (Meckler, Zeiler), 13:29. Penalties: Williams, Ct (boarding), 3:04; Teubert, Mch (fighting), 19:00; DiDiomete, Ct (fighting), 19:00.

Shots on goal: Manchester 10-6-4-20. Connecticut 13-10-16-39; Power-play opportunities: Manchester 1 of 5; Connecticut 0 of 3; Goalies: Manchester, Jones 13-2-0 (39 shots-39 saves). Connecticut, Johnson 12-12-3 (20-17); A: 4,367; Referee: Chris Cozzan; Linesmen: Brent Colby, Kevin Redding.