By Bruce Berlet
HARTFORD, Conn. – New year, new uniforms, same result.
The Connecticut Whale continued to play like it was 2010 in their new white jerseys as Evgeny Grachev had first three-point game as a pro in a 6-2 victory over the Providence Bruins before 5,416 at the XL Center Saturday.
Several chats with coach Ken Gernander and increased playing time via the added responsibility of penalty killing the last four games has helped get the 6-foot-4, 222-pound Grachev more involved.
“I’ve been getting some ice time, and that helped me stay in the game more,” said Grachev, whose fifth goal of the season was his first game-winner. “When we got penalties (before), I had to sit for awhile, but now I’m staying on the ice more and getting going and it has helped me a lot. I’m more comfortable the more I play.”
Grachev, who has played all three forward positions but has been used at wing lately, said his talks with Gernander made him realize he has to be more physical. It’s also something that was emphasized after Grachev played his first six NHL games with the parent New York Rangers in late October and early November.
To continue reading, click the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
“There was a tough stretch when I wasn’t scoring for awhile,” said Grachev, who had one goal in nine games this season and 38 games back to last season before being called up on Oct. 28 “It was very frustrating, but then I scored a few goals and that helped me to get out of the dump. (Rangers coach John Tortorella) told me to keep working on using my size to protect the puck and be physical again.
“(Being with the Rangers) gave me another understanding how badly I want to play up there and maybe made me work harder to get myself there.”
Gernander called it one of Grachev’s better games in which he was rewarded for it so “we have to hope he keeps trending in that direction and that becomes the standard now.”
“We’re always trying to have guys finishing checks, and it’s not just being physically intimidating,” Gernander said. “A lot of times it’s a strategic play to separate the puck carrier from the puck and to maintain defensive position on him. That’s something we encourage all the time.
“I’m not asking people to be rock ’em, sock ’em, through the glass all the time, but everybody on our team has to finish hits. I don’t care who they are. Like I said, it’s a strategic play, not just physical intimidation. And more guys than not, it actually enhances their play. When guys are finishing hits, they’re a lot more physically and emotionally engaged. There are some guys who bring the grit and make you really pay the price, but sometimes you’re on them to be a little better positionally.”
Gernander also liked the way the defense moved the puck, even after losing veteran Wade Redden to a tweak in his side midway through the second period after assisting on power-play goals by Grachev and Jeremy Williams. Redden is questionable for a home game Sunday at 3 p.m. against the Atlantic Division-leading Manchester Monarchs (23-12-1-1), whose 3-1 loss to the Springfield Falcons ended a season-high, six-game winning streak.
“The defense was very good transitioning the puck,” Gernander said. “We didn’t spend a lot of time in our end. It was just defenseman-to-defenseman or a quick-up (pass), and the less time you spend in your end the better.”
The Whale (18-12-2-5) has won four in a row and is on a 12-1-0-2 run that has put them six games above .500 for the first time this season. The month-long surge has vaulted them from the into second place in the Atlantic Division, two points ahead of idle Portland (18-10-4-1), which has four games in hand, and five points behind the first-place Monarchs. The Whale is 9-0-0-2 in their last 11 division games and has a standings point in 15 of their last 16 games (12-1-0-3) and 17 of their last 19 (14-2-0-3).
“We’re playing well right now, and it seems like we have quite a bit of depth, which is always a bonus, in probably every position,” Gernander said. “There are a lot of elements, and everybody is playing pretty well.
The Bruins (13-17-2-1) are last in the Atlantic Division and 4-11-0-0 in their last 15 games but had been 9-4-1-0 on the road, where they are playing five in a row. They had the better of the play the opening 10 minutes, but the Whale took a lead it never relinquished 3:15 into the game when Brodie Dupont skated through the neutral zone, made a give-and-go play with Kris Newbury into the right circle and beat Matt Dalton (33 saves) to the far stick side.
The Bruins had an 8-3 shot advantage until the first power play for the Whale, who had 12 of the next 13 shots in the ensuing 10:48 in building a 4-1 lead.
After Dalton made a brilliant right pad save on Dupont’s redirect of Chad Kolarik’s pass from the right corner, the Whale converted their first power play thanks to a subtle play by Devin DiDiomete. Stu Bickel’s clear-in pass fluttered into open space in the high slot, where DiDiomete tipped the puck to Tim Kennedy, whose quick finish with 3:52 left in the period was his third goal in as many games.
Just 1:11 later, the Bruins scored on their only shot in the Whale surge as Andrew Bodnarchuk shoveled the puck along the right boards to the point to Lane MacDermid, whose 55-foot screen shot beat Cameron Talbot (24 saves) high to the glove side, just the second time the Whale goalie allowed a goal to the Bruins in 147:19. MacDermid is the son of former Hartford Whalers right wing Paul MacDermid, co-owner of the Owen Sound junior team in the Ontario Hockey League.
But as the Whale has done a lot lately, they sloughed off the goal and regained a two-goal lead on a power play as Grachev converted Redden’s rebound off Kolarik’s pass from behind the net with 1:14 left in the period.
Dalton made a sprawling save to rob Justin Soryal 3:22 into the second period, but it didn’t deter the Whale as Williams one-timed Grachev’s pass past a screened Dalton for his team-leading 19th goal and the Whale’s second on the power play at 4:05.
Talbot made a nifty right pad save on Jeremy Reich cruising down the slot at 5:22, then Dalton made bang-bang stops on Williams and Todd White, playing his second game since clearing waivers and being sent down by the Rangers on Wednesday.
Talbot kept the Whale in command when he stopped a wide-open Juraj Simek’s shot from the left circle off a Bickel turnover with 2:55 left in the period. Then during the Bruins’ fourth power play early in the third period, Talbot denied Jordan LaVallee-Smotherman in the slot at 22 seconds and Joe Colborne’s rebound at 1:37.
With fans chanting “Let’s Go Whale” and “We Want Tacos,” they got their wish. Dalton made a brilliant save off DiDiomete, set up in the slot by Ryan Garlock, at 5:52. But undeterred, DiDiomete forced former Yale defenseman Ryan Donald to turn over the puck behind the net, then Garlock found Soryal alone in front for a 5-1 lead at 6:15. The fifth goal enabled the fans to cash in their ticket stub for a taco at a Moe’s Southwest Grill.
DiDiomete’s strong forecheck and subsequent pass and finish by the fourth line epitomized the Whale’s effort the last few weeks.
“I think the whole team had a pretty strong game, and it’s great when Kenny gives (the fourth line) the opportunity to play,” said DiDiomete, who had his first multiple-point game as a pro. “It’s nice to chip in and help the team the way we did. Everyone knows I’m willing to fight to stick up for guys, but I’ve wanted to work on playing and getting pucks out on the wall and making sure I’m finishing all my checks. I’ve been working a lot on that in practice with Kenny and (assistant Pat Boller), and it’s always nice to know the coach is on your side and they’re there to help you be a better player.
“But the better thing is the team is still playing a team game and we’re winning. We’re playing an awesome game right now, and everyone is doing what they have to do to be successful. The scorers are scoring, the guys that set up the scorers are setting up the scorers, the fighters are fighting, our checkers are finishing checks and our defensive players are playing good defensive hockey. We’re playing a great team game, and our record in our last 15 games shows that. We’re one of the hottest teams, if not the hottest team, in the league.”
The Whale continued to press after Soryal’s goal, but Dalton stopped Kolarik’s semi-breakaway at 9:12 and Grachev’s close-in bid 34 seconds later.
The Bruins then got to 5-2 when Jordan Caron scored on a power play with 5:35 left after having two excellent bids stopped by Talbot. That gave the Bruins one more goal on Talbot than they had on 68 shots in the teams’ first two meetings.
Simek then got a double minor for bloodying Dupont with a high stick, and the Whale quickly converted as White deftly redirected Williams’ pass into the open side of the net with 3:12 left for his second goal in as many games with the Whale.
“I think he went to lift my stick and missed,” said Dupont, who needed three stitches to close a cut on his right eyelid. “It hit (next to) my eye pretty hard, so it was pretty scary.”
But the Bruins hardly scared the Whale after the first 131/2 minutes, when they had an 8-3 shot advantage but finished up being outshot 39-26.
“I don’t think I own Providence,” said Talbot, who is 3-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average and .968 save percentage (92-for-95) and one of his two shutouts against the Bruins. “Every game, we’ve jumped out to a pretty good lead, and it’s a lot easier for a goalie to be little more relaxed when you’ve got guys putting the puck in the net early for you. And it’s a lot easier when you’ve got (defensemen) Pavel Valentenko, Jared Nightingale and Ryan McDonagh going down blocking shots. I think they might have stopped more shots than I did. I think (Valentenko) blocked 10 in the third period, and they cleared away some bad rebounds that I left. It was a great team effort by everyone.”
The Whale was a bit sluggish at the start after a three-hour bus ride home from Maine following a 5-4 overtime victory over the Portland Pirates and some New Year’s Eve celebrating. But after scoring on their first power play, it was all downhill.
“Maybe it took us five minutes or so to get into it,” Talbot said, “but once we did, we never really looked back. Once we got that power-play goal, it turned things around.”
Gernander said Dupont and Redden would be evaluated before Sunday’s game, which he hopes resembles the latest strong effort.
“The better the team plays, the better individuals look,” Gernander said. “I thought it was a pretty complete game, and consequently some individuals looked really good and seemed to stand out. But I thought it was a pretty strong game by everybody.”
Whether it was green or white jerseys.
NEW JERSEYS WORN AND AVAILABLE
The Whale weren’t unanimously in favor of changing to the new jerseys after being 11-1-0-3 since rebranded from the Hartford Wolf Pack to the Whale on Nov. 27. In fact, when asked what the difference had been the last five weeks, Grachev smiled and said, “It might be the day we changed the name.” He then got serious, adding, “But we won a few games and you get used to it. You have a different mindset. You get out there and know you’re going to win, so you do your best. We have a great group of guys who I think can go all the way. We have experienced defensemen and forwards, a lot of guys with NHL experience and two great goaltenders, so I don’t think we should be surprising anyone that we’ve been hot. I think we have a good team, and it has been fun.” The Whale was 9-1-0-3 in December after going 3-5-2-2 in October and 5-6-0-1 in November. 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 scratched defenseman Jyri Niemi and forward Jason Williams, who signed a professional tryout contract Monday and had a goal and an assist in his Whale debut Friday night, a 5-4 overtime victory over the Portland Pirates. The Bruins scratched defenseman Yury Alexandrov and veteran forwards Brian McGrattan and Wyatt Smith, who signed with RC Ingolstadt in the German Elite League on Thursday. Smith joined former Wolf Pack defenseman Bryce Lampman, who signed the previous week, replacing former Wolf Pack defenseman Marvin Degon, who had his contract bought out. Donald made his Bruins debut after being called up from Reading of the ECHL and was paired with Jeff Penner. … Before embarking on a four-game road trip starting Wednesday night in Worcester, the Whale hosts the Monarchs. They are 1-3-0-1 against the Monarchs, who are 14-0-0-1 when they score first. But the Whale’s one victory was a 5-1 romp in the Monarchs’ last visit to the XL Center on Dec. 11. Centre Andrei Loktionov leads a balanced Manchester attack with six goals and 21 assists and has points in all six games of the winning streak. He’s followed by defenseman Viatcheslav Voynov (6, 21), left wing Bud Holloway (10, 15), center Corey Elkins (9, 21) and center Oscar Moller (9, 16), who had two goals and an assist as the Monarchs rallied from a 4-0 deficit to beat the Whale 5-4 in a shootout on Dec. 19. Moller tied a franchise points record in a game with a goal and four assists in a 7-3 victory over Providence on Friday night, giving him eight points since returning from the parent Los Angeles Kings. He was shut out by the Falcons on Saturday night. It’s a Guida’s Family Value Day in which fans can get three tickets, sodas, pizza slices or hot dogs and a souvenir for $48. Fans are encouraged to bring their skates as there will be a free postgame skate, sponsored by Stone Academy. After Sunday, the Whale doesn’t play at 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). …Wing Mats Zuccarello, recalled from the Whale by the Rangers last week for the second time in his rookie season in North America, is now on an all-European line with Russians Alex Frolov and former Wolf Pack center Artem Anisimov. Wing Dale Weise, recalled after a 2-1 overtime victory over Portland on Wednesday night, will begin his second NHL stint Saturday night in Tampa Bay alongside captain/center and Trumbull native Chris Drury and Sean Avery.
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 will 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 will benefit Gaylord Specialty Healthcare. For more information, contact Lori Lenihart at 860-728-3366.
FORMER WOLF PACK PLAYERS MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS
In Friday night action with Wolf Pack ties, former captain Greg Moore has emphatically ended the longest scoring drought of his career. After not scoring in the first 32 games this year, Moore extended his goal-scoring streak to three games in the Adirondack Phantoms’ 3-2 shootout victory over the Falcons. Former wing Alexandre Giroux scored three goals to lead Oklahoma City to a 4-1 victory over the San Antonio Rampage, ending the Barons’ six-game winless streak. Giroux’s first hat trick of the season moved him into a tie with Bruce Cline for 12th place all-time with 321 career AHL goals. Wing P.A. Parenteau scored on a power play on a one-timer from the left circle off a pass from John Tavares with 1:03 left in overtime to give the visiting New York Islanders a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. It was the second straight winner for Parenteau, who scored the decisive shootout goal for a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins Wednesday night, when the Islanders ended Sidney Crosby’s 25-game scoring streak.
“It’s a great way to start the new year,” Parenteau told reporters after the Islanders had beaten the NHL’s top two teams to close out 2010 and make it five wins in six starts, the lone loss being a 7-2 thrashing at the hands of the Rangers on Monday night.
Bridgeport Sound Tigers wing Jesse Joensuu, who replaced former Wolf Pack enforcer Trevor Gillies in the Islanders lineup, scored on a tip of a Milan Jurcina shot late in the second period.
It was an upbeat ending to an otherwise forgettable 2010 for the Islanders, winners of four consecutive Stanley Cups in the early 1980s but losers of 14 straight games and 20 of 21 earlier this year, leading to the firing of coach Scott Gordon and elevation of Sound Tigers coach Jack Capuano.
Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., is the second-oldest building in the NHL to Madison Square Garden, which is undergoing a three-year renovation.
“This team desperately needs a new building,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said on Oct. 11 while watching an Islanders-Rangers game at Nassau Coliseum. “The lease will expire at some point and the team will not stay in the building. (Owner) Charles Wang has spent eight years and probably close to $20 million in pursuit of a new building without success. It really is up to Nassau County and the Town of Hempstead to take the lead on this if there’s going to be anything that happens to make sure the team has a home in Nassau County.”
Whale 6, Bruins 2
Providence 1 0 1 – 2
Connecticut 3 1 2 – 6
First period: 1. Conn, Dupont 5 (Newbury), 3:15. 2. Conn, Kennedy 7 (DiDiomete, Bickel), 16:08. 3. Prov, MacDermid 2 (Bodnarchuk), 17:19. 4. Conn, Grachev 5 (Redden, Kolarik), 18:46 (pp). Penalties: Roussel, Pro (roughing), 2:59; DiDiomete, Ct (roughing), 2:59; Bickel, Ct (slashing), 5:44; Soryal, Ct (roughing), 11:38; LaVallee-Smotherman, Pro (hooking), 13:17; MacDermid, Pro (cross-checking), 17:23.
Second period: 5. Conn, Williams 19 (Grachev, Redden), 4:05 (pp). Penalties: Bodnarchuk, Pro (hooking), 3:24; Simek, Pro (slashing), 7:14; Kennedy, Ct (roughing), 7:14; Sauve, Pro (tripping), 8:45; Bickel, Ct (interference), 12:26.
Third period: 6. Conn, Soryal 3 (Garlock, DiDiomete), 6:15. 7. Prov, Caron 1 (Hamill, Penner), 14:22 (pp). 8. Conn, White 2 (Williams, Grachev), 16:48 (pp). Penalties: Kennedy, Ct (high-sticking), 0:53; Penner, Pro (hooking), 2:46; Hamill, Pro (cross-checking), 7:47; Bickel, Ct (cross-checking), 7:47; Kolarik, Ct (roughing), 13:27; Kolarik, Ct (unsportsmanlike conduct), 14:22; Simek, Pro (double minor-high-sticking), 16:40; DiDiomete, Ct (delay of game), 19:15.
Shots on goal: Providence 9-5-12-26. Connecticut 10-14-15-39; Power-play opportunities: Providence 1 of 7; Connecticut 3 of 7; Goalies: Providence, Dalton 0-2-0 (39 shots-33 saves). Connecticut, Talbot 6-2-2 (26-24); A: 5,416; Referees: Ian Croft, Jean Hebert; Linesmen-Luke Galvin, Paul Simeon.
