HAWK’S VIEW – MOSES ARRIVES IN THE LAND WITH PROMISE

BY: Bob Crawford, Voice of the CT Whale

Among the three most recent additions to the Whale roster, two, forward Andrew Yogan and defenseman Peter Ceresnak, were both Ranger draft picks and had been on the organization’s radar screen for at least a year.  The other, winger Steve Moses, though, was somewhat of an unknown commodity when he joined the Whale last week.

Early reviews are quite positive, however, for Moses, a Leominster, MA native who suited up for his first two pro games this past Saturday against Providence and Sunday at Bridgeport, after finishing a four-year career at the University of New Hampshire.

REDEMPTION

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(I feel like I need to apologize to the readers of Howlings. I haven’t written my normal stories for the games on Friday and last night. This is as some of you may or may not know, started as a hobby for me but has progressed to the point where it has become a non-paying — and actually I pay quite a bit of money for all of it — part-time job. Well the job that does pay me, my employment agency Crossroads Consulting, has had an explosion of business the past three days and frankly it was difficult to find the time to even get to the games at all. I am also having incredible computer problems that are messing up both “jobs” so I haven’t had the time to dedicate to this as I should. So for that I apologize. We’ll get it right again this coming week…once again, I apologize.)

BY: Bruce Berlet

After being shut out by the Springfield Falcons at home for the first time in 15 seasons on Saturday night, Connecticut Whale coach Ken Gernander almost completely shuffled his deck Sunday afternoon.

Gernander changed all four lines, two of the three defensive pairings and started Cam Talbot in goal for the first time in 11 games since Feb. 19.

CLASH OF THE TITANS

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It doesn’t get more exciting than that!

The Connecticut Whale came from behind three separate times capped by Kris Newbury’s goal off a fluke bounce with 4.9 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime and then after a thrilling extended period went three-for-three in the shootout defeating their franchise and intra-state rivals, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in front of a crowd of 3,245 at the XL Center Friday night.

The win also pulled the Whale within one point the Sound Tigers for first place in the division.

NOT ONE FOR THE HIGHLIGHT REEL

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“Coverage mistakes and lack of urgency on the back-check cost us two goals,” Whale head coach Ken Gernander told Brian Ring after the Connecticut Whale wasted a lead entering the third period for the seventh time this season and lost on the road at the Cumberland County Civic Center to the Portland Pirates 3-2 Friday night.

“We turned down some shot opportunities,”Gernander went on to add. “We’re better offensively when we’re straightforward, getting pucks to the net.”

WHALE SINK PIRATES SHIP

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BY: Bruce Berlet

Special teams often are the difference at all levels of hockey these days, and the Connecticut Whale proved that again Friday night against the Portland Pirates.

Andre Deveaux and Brendan Bell scored the game’s first two goals with the man advantage, then the Whale got three tallies from secondary sources in a 5-1 victory before 4,722 at the XL Center.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO CRUSH A MONARCHY?

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The Connecticut Whale struck three times in a span of just 1:31 in the second period and then rode solid goaltending by Chad Johnson to win their fifth straight game 4-1 at the Verizon Wireless Center in Manchester over the Monarchs Saturday night.

In the second period, newcomer Casey Wellman and Jonathan Audy- Marchessault  set each other up for goals just nine seconds apart at 12:01 and 12:10 respectively and Kris Newbury scored on the power play 1:22 later to break the game open for the visiting Whale. The two goals by Wellman and Audy-Marchessault were just one second off the team record that came against the former Albany River Rats on January 5, 2002. Both goals in the record eight seconds came off the stick of then Hartford Wolf Pack centerman Benoit Dusablon.

STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED: BUT NOT TOO MANY

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There is something about the entire New York Rangers organization in 2011-2012…they just seem to dialed in to winning…even when they’re losing.

In New York, the Rangers are tops in the Eastern Conference and are three points behind the President’s Trophy leading Detroit Red Wings. The Rangers have four games in hand.

In Greenville of the ECHL, the Road Warriors are fifth overall in their conference and just five points out of the top spot in their conference and are 6-3-0-1 in their last ten games.

NOW THAT’S MORE LIKE IT

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Amazing what the changing of the calendar and some personnel changes can do for a team. After the Connecticut Whale spent the month of January making up for being so good from mid-November to mid-December by not winning a game, the team has found their footing again and won their third straight 3-1 over the visiting Syracuse Crunch Tuesday night.

“It wasn’t a great start. Fortunately we picked it up toward the end there and got some big goals on special teams that helped and we were able to get our two points tonight,” Said a much more relaxed Whale head coach Ken Gernander. (Chad Johnson) was real strong again in net (Tuesday) and made some big saves.”

SPOTLIGHT: MID-SEASON REPORT

BY: Bruce Berlet

After being among the AHL’s elite for most of the season, the Connecticut Whale looks to smooth their first speed bump as the midpoint of the season arrives Friday night in Norfolk, Va.

The Whale’s four-game winless streak (0-2-1-1) is their longest of the franchise’s 15^th season, but they still have a five-point lead over Albany in the Northeast Division despite the loss of their two leading scorers, center John Mitchell and rookie left wing Carl Hagelin, to the parent New York Rangers and injuries to veteran defenseman Wade Redden and skilled wing Mats Zuccarello, named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team last week after playing in only 18 games.

“For the most part, we played some pretty good hockey until last week,” said veteran center Kris Newbury, now the Whale’s leading scorer (15 goals, 21 assists) despite missing five games while on recall to the Rangers and four games because of a suspension. “Our special teams have been good (power play is tied for third at 21.6 percent, the penalty killing is 14^th at 83 percent), which always gives you a good chance to win, we’re getting lots of production from our defensemen and scorers are scoring and grinders are grinding.

FALCON CREST

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The Springfield Falcons scored twice in two separate bursts including one late before winning in a shootout over a forward-depleted Connecticut Whale at the XL Center Saturday night 5-4.

Kris Newbury, Jonathan Audy-Marchessault, Andreas Thuresson and Jordan Owens were unsuccessful in their shootout attempts. Only Brendan Bell managed to score for the Whale while Brent Regner tied the shootout in the Falcon’s fourth attempt and Matt Culvert made a tremendous move that beat Chad Johnson (10-6-4, 26 saves) clinching the win.