FROM THE CREASE with BRUCE BERLET

BY: Bruce Berlet

Mission accomplished for New York Rangers president and general manager Glen Sather.

Sather entered the offseason hoping to keep his core of marquee players intact for at least several years, and that goal was finalized Wednesday when former Hartford Wolf Pack right wing Ryan Callahan signed a three-year, $12.825 contract, averting an arbitration hearing in Toronto on Thursday. He will receive $4 million the first two years and $4.825 million the final year.

It seemed a fair price for both parties after Callahan was the Rangers’ second-leading scorer last season to former Wolf Pack linemate Brandon Dubinsky with career highs in goals (23), assists (25) and points (48) despite missing 22 of 82 games because of injuries. Callahan also continued to be one of the NHL’s leading penalty killers and shot blockers, which led to a broken hand and ankle, the second coming in an April 4 game and ending his season. And consider this: The Rangers were 14-3-1 when he scored and 24-7-1 when he had a point.

JASON WILLIAMS SIGNS WITH DALLAS

One of two things set up the release of Jason Williams from his Professional Try-Out (PTO) contract Friday night.

ONE LESS WILLIAMS

WHALE RELEASE JASON WILLIAMS FROM PTO

* * * *

Eleventh-year Pro had Nine Points in 17 Games

HARTFORD, CT: Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the Whale has released forward Jason Williams from his Professional Tryout (PTO) agreement.

PATHETIC

VERSUS 

What words can possibly be written without sounding unnecessarily vicious and yet accurately describe what happened on the ice after the Connecticut Whale and were so embarrassingly bad Wednesday morning as the Toronto Marlies destroyed them 9-2 on the road in their second school-day special game of the season?

WHALE OF A COMEBACK

VERSUS   

Kris Newbury scored on a power play early in the third period and the Connecticut Whale held on for an important 4-3 road win against the second place Portland Pirates in front of 5,709 at the Cumberland County Civic Center Saturday night.

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.”

WHALE HARPOONED BY BULLDOGS

VERSUS  

For Connecticut Whale Ken Gernander this could not have been a fun last couple of weeks. First the parent New York Rangers took the heart and soul out of his surging team when they recalled six of his best players and then the Hamilton Bulldogs came into Hartford and gutted the rest on the ice  crushing the remaining roster 7-3 in front of 6,018 at the XL Center Saturday night.

FROLOV DOWN…WHO’S UP?

Larry Brooks has stated the following on his Twitter account, “Indication is that (Alex) Frolov is going to be out for a while with knee. Another recall will be necessary.”

SLOPPY SECONDS…GAMES THAT IS!

VERSUS

They don’t award style points in hockey and even if they did, the Connecticut Whale wouldn’t have been awarded any in their 3-2 overtime win against the Norfolk Admirals at The Scope Saturday night.

No, this one was not pretty…not by a longshot…but the game winner certainly was.

JUST LIKE THAT

VERSUS

Connecticut Whale head coach Ken Gernander, along with just about every coach from Pee-Wee on up, preaches to his players about playing the full 60 minutes. In Gernander’s case he’s been saying it in Hartford back to when he was on the ice as a player himself.

The Whale played reasonably well for 58:52 in their second of their four game road trip. But they broke down all over the ice during that other 1:08 and it cost them two standings points as they surrendered three-goals over that span and lost 5-2 in front of 4,891 at The Scope  in Norfolk to the Admirals on Friday night.