WOLF PACK/WHALE WEEKLY: October 11 – 17, 2010

The Wolf Pack/Whale launched into their 2010-11 season with a pair of home games this past week, and ended up with a split.  Head Coach Ken Gernander’s club handed the new Charlotte Checkers a 4-2 defeat Saturday at the XL Center, in the Checkers’ inaugural AHL game, but then fell by a 4-3 score to the Worcester Sharks in Atlantic Division action Sunday.  Twenty-year-old rookie Kelsey Tessier paced the club in scoring in the two games with 2-2-4, and a team-best +4, including a two-goal, one-assist performance in Sunday’s game.

This week:

The Wolf Pack/Whale hit the road for the first time, and also play their first three-games-in-three-days stretch of the season.  This Friday night, October 15 finds the Wolf Pack/Whale making its only visit of the season to Albany, to meet the new-look Devils in a 7:00 game.  Then it’s on to Bridgeport Saturday night, for the first GEICO Connecticut Cup game of the year against the Nutmeg-State rival Sound Tigers (7:00), and the Wolf Pack finish the weekend in Providence on Sunday, taking on their arch-adversaries the P-Bruins at 4:05

Friday, October 15 at Albany (Times Union Center), 7:00 PM

· Albany’s Times Union Center is now home to the New Jersey Devils’ top affiliate, the Albany Devils, after New Jersey’s top prospects skated in Lowell, MA the past four seasons.  The Albany River Rats, who called New York’s state capital home for the past 17 years, were moved to Charlotte to become the Checkers after last season.

· The Devils’ new AHL coach this season is Rick Kowalsky, after John MacLean, now head coach of the parent New Jersey club, led Lowell to a 39-31-4-6 record for 88 points, and a fourth-place finish in the Atlantic Division, last year.

· The Devils’ only action thus far this season was a 5-3 home loss Saturday to their close regional rivals, the Adirondack Red Wings.  David McIntyre was the top Albany contributor in that game, with two goals, and veteran forward Stephen Gionta had a goal and an assist.

· The Wolf Pack compiled a 5-3-0-0 record against Lowell last season.  In their only 2009-10 visit to Albany to play the River Rats, the Pack lost a 3-1 decision on January 9.  All-time in Albany, the Wolf Pack are 15(W)-5(L)-2(T)-1(OTL) in 23 visits.

· Radio – live with Bob Crawford in HD on WTIC’s 96.5 HD 2 and on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com and www.wtic.com.

Saturday, October 16 at Bridgeport (Bridgeport’s Arena at Harbor Yard), 7:00 p.m.

· This is the first of ten GEICO Connecticut Cup games on the year between the Wolf Pack and Sound Tigers.  The Pack won the last two games of last year’s season series, to win the GEICO Connecticut Cup with a 5-3-0-2 series record.

· The Sound Tigers split a pair of home games during the opening weekend, beating Worcester 5-4 in a shootout Saturday and falling by a 2-1 score to Manchester Sunday.  Last season Bridgeport edged out the Wolf Pack for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference by three points, going 38-32-4-6 for 86 points.

· Robin Figren has two goals in the first two games for Bridgeport, and Michael Haley and Matt Martin have registered a goal and an assist each.

· Radio – live with Bob Crawford in HD on WTIC’s 96.5 HD 2 and on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com and www.wtic.com.

Sunday, October 17 at Providence (Dunkin’ Donuts Center Providence), 7:00 p.m.

· This clash starts a ten-game season series between the Wolf Pack/Whale and the arch-rival Bruins.  The Pack compiled a 6-3-1-0 record in the series last year and was 2-3-0-0 in five visits to Providence.

· The P-Bruins gave up a total of 10 goals in their season-opening home-and-home series with Springfield but got a split out of it, with a 5-1 home loss on Friday night and a 6-5 road win Saturday.  Head Coach Rob Murray’s club is coming off of a 36-38-5-1 (78 pts.) season that saw it miss the playoffs by a margin of eight points, the first time in 12 years that the Bruins have failed to qualify for the postseason.

· Rookie centerman Maxime Sauve is tied for the AHL lead in goals, after netting a hat trick in Saturday’s Providence win.

· Radio – live with Bob Crawford in HD on WTIC’s 96.5 HD 2 and on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com and www.wtic.com.

Recent Transactions:

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Pack Tracks:

Individual tickets for Wolf Pack/Whale home games are on sale now at the XL Center Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations. Tickets may also be charged by phone at 1-800-745-3000 or online at www.hartfordwolfpack.com.

For information on Wolf Pack/Whale ticket packages, group sales and VIP packages, call (860) 728-3366

Once again this season, the Wolf Pack are partnering with WTIC Radio to air Wolf Pack hockey action.  All of the Wolf Pack’s regular-season and playoff games will air on 96.5 WTIC-FM’s HD 2 channel and will be streamed on-line at www.wtic.com. Select games will be carried live on the 50,000-watt AM powerhouse, WTIC NewsTalk 1080.

The AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack/Connecticut Whale is operated by Whalers Sports and Entertainment, a Hartford-based sports marketing and event firm founded by Howard Baldwin.  The team is the top player-development affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers.

Since 1972, the CT Lottery has generated more than $19.3 billion in sales and has transferred nearly $6.7 billion to the state’s General Fund.  Prizes have exceeded more than $11.1 billion.  Purchasers must be 18 years or older.  If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-346-6238.  For more information about the Connecticut Lottery Corporation, call (860) 713-2000, or visit the CT Lottery web site at ctlottery.org.

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