The Whale is on a 6-0-0-2 roll, and has won a season-high four straight games, after sweeping a pair of home outings this past weekend. The Whale thumped the first-place Manchester Monarchs, 5-1, on Saturday night at the XL Center, and then gutted out a 4-3 win over the Adirondack Phantoms on Sunday. The two triumphs moved the Whale over .500, to 12-11-2-4 for 30 points, and into sole possession of fourth place in the Atlantic Division. Linemates Mats Zuccarello (2-2-4) and Kris Newbury (1-3-4) paced the offense in the two games, with four points apiece, and Newbury has strung together a team season-high six-game point and assist streak (2-9-11).
This week:
The Whale completes a home-and-home series with Adirondack this Wednesday, December 15 at the Glens Falls Civic Center (7:00 PM faceoff), before returning home Friday night for a Guida’s Family Value Night battle with Worcester. Then, after a rare Saturday night off, the Whale are in Syracuse Sunday for a 3:00 game against the Crunch.
Wednesday, December 15 at Adirondack (Glens Falls Civic Center), 7:00 PM
· After their 4-3 win over the Phantoms Sunday in Hartford, the Whale are 2-0-0-0 in the season series vs. Adirondack. This is their first of two trips on the year to Glens Falls, where they lost their only visit last season, 3-2 on October 23.
· The Phantoms snapped a franchise-record ten-game winless streak with a 5-2 victory at Syracuse on Friday, but back-to-back losses vs. Portland (2-1 on Saturday) and the Whale dropped Adirondack’s record to 4-22-2-0 for 10 points. Former Calder Cup-winning Wolf Pack coach John Paddock’s club stands 12 points behind the seventh-place Syracuse Crunch in the East Division.
· Defensemen Danny Syvret and Marc-Andre Bourdon, and rookie forward Luke Pither, scored Phantom goals in Hartford on Sunday, and Ben Holmstrom had two assists. Pither’s goal was his third in the last four games.
· 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.
Friday, December 17 vs. Worcester at the XL Center, 7:00 PM
· The Whale’s last home game before the Christmas holiday, this is a Guida’s Family Value Night. Family Value packages start as low as $48 and include three tickets, three hot dogs or pizza slices, three sodas and a Wolf Pack souvenir. Guida’s Family Value Night packs are available at the XL Center box office and on-line to www.hartfordwolfpack.com.
· The first 1,000 fans into this game will receive a free poster of Wolf Pack forward Brodie Dupont.
· Fans can meet Santa in the XL Center atrium from 6:00-7:00 PM prior to the game, during which time Christmas carolers will also be entertaining in the atrium area.
· The third-place Sharks (15-8-1-4, 35 pts.) enter the week five points ahead of the Whale in the Atlantic Division. Worcester is 5-1-0-1 in its last seven games and 8-3-0-2 in its last 13.
· This is the fourth meeting of the year between the Sharks and Whale. Connecticut’s record in the season series thus far is 1-1-0-1, and 1-1-0-0 at home.
· Worcester leading scorer, and former NHL 50-goal man, Jonathan Cheechoo is up to a tie for sixth in the AHL in points, with 11-19-30 in 28 games. He has goals in back-to-back games (2-2-4) and four of his last six (4-6-10).
· 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, December 19 at Syracuse (Onondaga County War Memorial at Oncenter), 3:00 PM
· This is the second of two meetings on the year between the Whale and Crunch, who are the top affiliate of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. In the first game, October 23 in Hartford, Syracuse trailed 1-0 going into the final 30 seconds of regulation, but tied the game on a goal by Kyle Palmieri at 19:36 and won it on a Josh Green tally 45 seconds into overtime.
· The Whale are 7(W)-3(L)-2(T)-1(OTL) in 13 all-time meetings with the Crunch and 3(W)-2(L)-1(T) all-time in Syracuse.
· Syracuse is currently tied with Albany for sixth place in the East Division, with a record of 9-14-1-3 for 22 points. First-year coach Mark Holick’s club is 3-10-0-1 in its last 14 games.
· Former Bridgeport Sound Tiger Trevor Smith leads the Crunch in points and assists, with 5-12-17 in 26 games.
· 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.
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Whale Tales:
Give the gift of Whale hockey this holiday season, with a Whale Holiday Pack, the perfect stocking stuffer for any hockey fan. A package of six dark green-section undated flex tickets, plus a heritage Connecticut Whale hat, is just $122, a savings of $38. And a yellow-section package of six undated flex tickets and a hat is only $74, a $14 savings. Holiday Packs are available at the Fan Center behind section 101 at Whale home games, or by calling the Whale at 860-728-3366.
The merchandise stands at the XL Center are carrying a full selection of Whale items, including hats, t-shirts, hoodies, jackets, pucks, mini-sticks and even plush toy whales. Whale merchandise is also available at the Whale Pro Shop in the Hartford Holiday Store, which is located at 45 Pratt St. in downtown Hartford and is open 10 AM to 4 PM Monday through Saturday, and two hours before every home game. Fans preferring to shop on the web can check out the Whale selection on-line at www.ctwhaleshop.com.
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 Whale are partnering with WTIC Radio to air Whale hockey action. All of the 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 next scheduled broadcast on WTIC NewsTalk 1080 is Saturday, January 29, when the Whale host the Portland Pirates at 7:00 PM.
The AHL’s 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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