Wolf Pack/Whale Weekly, November 22-28

WOLF PACK/WHALE WEEKLY: November 22-28, 2010

The Wolf Pack (6-11-2-2, 16 pts.) split four road games this past week, as they passed the quarter-pole of their season.  A school-day morning outing in Manchester on Wednesday saw the Pack end up on the short end of a 4-3 score, but the club rebounded after that to post back-to-back wins Friday in Springfield (5-2) and Saturday at Binghamton (3-2 in overtime).  That Saturday victory was the Wolf Pack’s first overtime triumph in five tries, and their first win of the year in a game they trailed after two periods.  A third-period Pack comeback fell short in Hershey Sunday, as the two-time defending Calder Cup-champion Bears held off the Wolf Pack, 4-3.  Pack leading scorer Jeremy Williams (11-8-19 in 21 GP) bagged the overtime game-winner in Saturday’s game and totaled three goals and two assists for five points in the four games on the week.

This week:

The franchise plays its last of 1,177 games (playoff and regular-season) as the Hartford Wolf Pack Friday night, a GEICO Connecticut Cup trip to Bridgeport to battle the Sound Tigers at 7:00 PM.  Then, this Saturday night, November 27, the team takes the ice for the first time as the Connecticut Whale, hosting the Sound Tigers at the XL Center in the second half of a home-and-home.  Faceoff is 7:00, and the night is presented by Xfinity, with the first 3,000 fans receiving a green Whale t-shirt.  The Whale is also on home ice Sunday, taking on Head Coach John Paddock and his Adirondack Phantoms in a 5:00 PM game.

Friday, November 26 at Bridgeport (Bridgeport’s Arena at Harbor Yard), 7:00 PM

· This is the franchise’s last game as the Hartford Wolf Pack.  Going into it, the all-time Wolf Pack record is 571(W)-346(L)-66(T)-49(OTL)-29(SOL) in 1,061 regular-season games (the club is 57-58 in 115 all-time playoff games).

· The Wolf Pack have won two of the first three games of this year’s GEICO Connecticut Cup series, and the two teams have split two games in Bridgeport, a 2-1 Pack victory October 16 and a 4-1 Sound Tiger triumph November 7.

· Bridgeport has a new head coach, Pat Bingham, since the last meeting between the Pack and Sound Tigers.  Bingham replaced Jack Capuano behind the Bridgeport bench last Monday, when Capuano was promoted to the head job with the parent New York Islanders.

· The Sound Tigers improved their record under Bingham to 2-2-0-0 Sunday, with a 3-0 shutout at home of first-place Portland.  Overall Bridgeport is 8-11-0-0 for 16 points, tied with the Wolf Pack for sixth place in the Atlantic Division.

· Rookie goaltender Kevin Poulin rang up his first career pro shutout in Sunday’s win over Portland, making 29 saves.  Poulin had 28 stops in the Sound Tigers’ only win over the Wolf Pack thus far this year, a 4-1 victory November 6 in Bridgeport, and carries a 5-2-0 record, 2.28 goals-against average and 92.8% save percentage through seven appearances.

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

Saturday, November 27 vs. Bridgeport at the XL Center, 7:00 PM

· The team will take the ice for the first time officially re-branded as the Connecticut Whale for this game, featuring brand-new jerseys and colors.

· The night is presented by Xfinity, and the first 3,000 fans through the doors will receive a green Whale t-shirt.

· There will be a group of Hartford/New England Whalers alumni signing autographs for fans in the XL Center atrium from 5:30-6:45.  Among the ex-Whalers committed to attend are: Russ Anderson, Norm Barnes, Yvon Corriveau, Gerry McDonald and Garry Swain.

· The only previous visit by the Sound Tigers to the XL Center this season saw the Wolf Pack break out for their biggest offensive output of the year, as they scored a 7-1 victory over Bridgeport November 7.

· Mats Zuccarello had his first North American pro multiple-goal game with a hat trick, and added an assist, for the Wolf Pack in that 7-1 win vs. the Sound Tigers November 7.

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

Sunday, November 28 vs. Adirondack at the XL Center, 5:00 PM

· The Phantoms, top affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, are led into battle by Head Coach John Paddock, who piloted the Wolf Pack to the Calder Cup in 2000 and is a member of the AHL Hall of Fame.  Paddock took over the Phantoms’ reins from Greg Gilbert November 8.

· Fans are encouraged to bring their skates to this game, as there will a postgame skate on the XL Center ice.

· This is the first of four games on the year between the Whale and Phantoms.  The Wolf Pack went 1-1-0-0 last season against Adirondack, in that franchise’s first season in Glens Falls, with a 3-2 road loss October 23 and a 3-2 shootout win at home March 26.

· The Phantoms trail the field in the East Division, standing eight points behind Syracuse and Albany with a record of 3-14-2-0 for 8 points.

· Adirondack’s parent club, the Philadelphia Flyers, Sunday traded forwards David Laliberte, who was second on the Phantoms’ club in points with 3-6-9 in 19 games, and Patrick Maroon, who was Adirondack’s co-leading goal-scorer with 5-3-8 in nine games, to Anaheim.  Coming to the Flyers’ organization in the deal were defenseman Danny Syvret, who had 1-1-2 in six NHL games with the Ducks and four assists in eight games with Syracuse, and rookie forward Rob Bordson, who has registered 1-2-3 in 15 game with Syracuse.

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

Recent Transactions:

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Pack Tracks:

Individual tickets for Whale home games are on sale now at the XL Center ticket office and all Ticketmaster locations. Tickets may also be charged by phone at 1-800-745-3000 or online at www.CTwhale.com.  Tickets start at $7 each at the XL Center ticket office on game day.

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

Once again this season, the Wolf Pack/Whale are partnering with WTIC Radio to air Wolf Pack/Whale hockey action.  All of the Wolf Pack/Whale’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.

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