DESPERATE PIRATES FILET WHALE

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BY: Bruce Berlet

The Portland Pirates, involved in a wild, multi-team chase for the final Eastern Conference playoff spots, parlayed goals from four different players and 29 saves from Peter Mannino into a 4-1 victory Friday over the Whale at the XL Center.

“If there was a loose-puck race, more times than not, they came up with it,” Whale head coach Ken Gernander said. “I thought we had some poor decisions where we turned pucks over and paid the price. A couple of times we go to check, they move the puck and we don’t maintain our defensive position and allow them to get the rebound.”

The victory moved the Pirates (30-28-3-4) into a tie for 10^th place with Worcester and Albany with 67 points, one behind Syracuse and Springfield, which each won Friday night and share the eighth and final playoff berth. Meanwhile, the Whale (33-22-5-5) saw their lead in the Northeast Division sliced to three points over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, who lost 3-2 in a shootout at Springfield. The Whale had been 14-5-1-0 in their previous 20 games and were an AHL-best 19-6-2-4 at home, including the three wins over the Pirates.

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.

I’D BE SITTING IN THE BACK OF THE BUS

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Connecticut Whale head coach Ken Gernander does not handle losing well and it is almost a certainty that he was beside himself on Monday afternoon at the Cumberland County Civic Center after his Whale amassed a three goal lead over the Portland Pirates through the first 36:12 only to give it all back over the final 24:48 before eventually succumbing to the home team 5-4 in overtime on Nathan Oystrick’s second goal of the game.

Over the first period and a half, the Whale built a 3-0 lead on two goals by from Kelsey Tessier and the fourth goal in as many games from the AHL’s Reebok Player of the Week, Kris Newbury.

WHALE COMEBACK IN 3RD, SINK PIRATES IN OT

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Say what you want about this 2011-2012 edition of the Connecticut Whale, but when you watch them you certainly get your money’s worth.

On a night when the team handed out, “Never Throw In The Towel” rally towels to the 3,482 at the XL Center, the New York Rangers top affiliate rallied for the second consecutive game scoring two goals in the third period to tie and then won in overtime. The Whale beat the visiting Portland Pirates Wednesday night by the same 3-2 score they beat the Providence Bruins with Sunday afternoon with both game winners coming off of tremendous shots from Brendan Bell.

This team is certainly not boring, that’s for sure.