BABY RANGERS COME UP SHORT IN TRAVERSE FINAL

BY: Bruce Berlet

The New York Rangers prospects team felt it had a lot more to do and give Wednesday night after a lackluster effort during most of an overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in their robin-round finale Tuesday afternoon.

The Rangers didn’t consistently have the speed, grit and play making that they had shown in convincing wins over the St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars, and there would be no better time to atone for the unimpressive performance than against the Buffalo Sabres in the championship game of the prospects tournament in Traverse City, Michigan.

GAME FOUR – IT’S NOW A BEST OF THREE

  VERSUS   

(Hear all interviews below)

It’s now a best of three series starting Thursday night in Portland as a critical Game Four in Hartford goes to the Connecticut Whale who came out to right from the drop of the opening puck and dominated from start-to-finish beating the Portland Pirates 3-1 in front of 2,581 at the XL Center Tuesday night.

1ST RD: GAME ONE – ’57 MINUTES NOT ENOUGH!

    VERSUS   

Thursday night the Connecticut Whale returned to the playoffs after a one year absence, the first in the team’s history, only to have the first game turn into a microcosm of their entire 2010-2011 season. The Whale didn’t put out a full sixty-minute effort, couldn’t capitalize on their own chances, didn’t get consistent pressure in the offensive zone and penalties from a lack of discipline led to their dropping the first game of the Best-of-Seven series with the Portland Pirates 3-2 in front of 2,171 at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

WHALE WEEKLY: April 11-17, 2011

The Whale (40-32-2-6, 88 points) wrapped up a playoff spot this past week with a win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Friday, which will enable them to enter postseason play for the 13^th time in the 14-year history of the franchise. Connecticut also clinched their second straight GEICO Connecticut Cup in Friday’s action.  The GEICO Connecticut Cup is awarded to the winner of the season series between Connecticut and Bridgeport. The Whale fell to the Sound Tigers in Saturday’s rematch at the XL Center, 4-3, and were defeated again on Sunday by the Norfolk Admirals, 6-3, in their regular season finale.

PIRATES HARPOON THE GREAT WHALE

VERSUS    

There’s a popular old saying that goes, “Better Late Than Never.” However if you asked the Connecticut Whale players what they thought about that saying and how it played a part in their Saturday night demise, a stunning 3-2 loss on a goal with just 7.5 seconds remaining, they’d likely vote to unanimously change it to, “Better Never Than Late.”