WHALE TAKE SPRING FROM FIELD OF FALCONS 

VERSUS

There was a book written in 1964 called “The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds.” Now some 47 years later, if Connecticut Whale head coach Ken Gernander were to write his version of it about this season, it would be entitled, “The Effect of a X-Rays on Manning-an-AHL Team.”

Friday night Gernander had to deal with six of his best and core players gone due to call-up due to injuries with the New York Rangers. The result; a very poor showing against the Hamilton Bulldogs and adding a 7-3 defeat to the ledger.

Entering Saturday night’s battle with the Springfield Falcons, the question was, “How would the team respond?” Would they compete or was this the beginning of the end?

Gernander’s team answered those questions with a resounding rebound performance with one of their gutsiest efforts of the season.

Evgeny Grachev had his first professional hat-trick while the team also got a pair of tallies from Devin DiDiomete, also a career first. The Whale also got two helpers each from Jeremy Williams and Tim Kennedy in a 5-1 win Saturday night in front of 6,232 at the MassMutual Center.

But perhaps the biggest rebound performance of the night came from between the pipes as Chad Johnson (35 saves, 14-14-3),  who had been simply dreadful the night before allowing 3 goals on 6 shots, came back with a huge effort to lift his team to victory.

“Things like (Friday) night happens, there are going to be games like that, and I can’t worry about, just come out and battle and help the team win games, which is what I wanted to do tonight,” Johnson, named the game’s Third Star said. “I just played like (Friday night’s) game didn’t happen and played for today.

“I didn’t worry about what I did positive or negative from the previous day. It’s worrying about preparing for the next game, and that’s kind of what my focus was tonight. It’s important to get that first save. (Friday) night a guy came down, shot through some traffic and beat me, and they kind of had momentum off that. We knew we had to have a good first period, and that definitely meant me having good period, too, and making saves when I had to. There were some bouncing pucks, but you just have to follow through and be smooth and crisp. We got the two points, which is most important.”

DiDiomete recognized how strong a game that Johnson had. “He was definitely our best player. He played really well. We needed him, and he was there for us.”

Grachev was also happy for his teammate and goaltender, “Good for Chad. He really came back after a tough night. He’s a pro and knows how to handle stuff.”

Beyond the score and effort on the ice was the fact that six of the team’s top players that started the season here are now up in the NHL and the team has continued to battle through it.

“Anytime guys get called up or there are injuries, I’ll have an increased role on the team, and it’s nice that (Gernander) trusts me to put me on the ice in situations like that (at the end),” DiDiomete said. “It’s good to be contributing after (Friday) night obviously was not a good game for us. He kind of blew up a little bit in the first period, but tonight we bounced back really well.”

“Everyone recognized who had the tough nights (Friday) night, and the good thing to see was the guys in the room and on the bench acknowledge one another for their ability to come back or the desire to improve upon (Friday) night, which are good signs from team perspective,” Gernander said. “I thought there were a lot of good bounce back efforts by a number of people, starting with Chad, who made the big stops early and again in the third when it was 3-1.

“I didn’t show them any film, just addressed one or two individual plays that had a recurring theme. Chad made some good saves, the defense broke up some really good opportunities with plays net-front and active sticks, and I don’t think we allowed as many opportunities via special teams, turnovers, little things like that. Everything was better tonight. And the message is no different (Saturday night) than (Friday) night. There are opportunities for guys for an increase in responsibility and role. The onus is on the guys to take advantage of it.”

After the game the call-up situation for Gernander worsened as both defenseman Dan Girardi and forward Brandon Prust were added to the list of walking wounded in New York prompting the recall of Grachev and Del Zotto.

“It’s exciting to get called up (again).” Grachev said just after being informed by assistant coach J.J. Daigneault that he was recalled. “The last few weeks here, I’ve played better and scored some goals.”

“I’m feeling really good and I think the biggest thing is playing so many minutes and being put in every situation, playing penalty kill, 5-on-5, 5-on-4, 4-on-4, and every situation I’ve been playing in. I think that is the best way to get your confidence back is playing all all situations and just feeling comfortable in every aspect of the game.” Michael Del Zotto said in assessing where he was at since being sent down from the Rangers after an NHL All-Rookie team performance last season to recapture some of that magic.

“The biggest thing since the day I got here was taking it one-day-at-a-time and keep (working) at getting back to where I used to be  and my confidence has been building every single day and I just want to keep it going. It was a bit different at first, and obviously it’s never happened, but I think being down here has been the best thing for me.”

Springfield came out right from the drop of the puck looking to push a team that might be on shaky ground after such a bad game the night before and it was Johnson, back on his game, that kept them in it.

Maksim Mayorov had a magnificent scoring chance just 1:35 into the contest that Johnson denied. The Falcons kept coming and each time Johnson was there to close the door on them.

At 11:38, Ben Guite had a big opportunity with Johnson down on his right but the Whale netminder recovered in time to get back to the left to stop the wraparound try by the 10-year pro.

At 13:57, after the Whale had already killed off 2 Springfield power plays, Mayorov went off for an interference call. It took just 13 seconds for the Whale power play to make him and his teammates pay for it.

Del Zotto on the point fed Kennedy. The Whale center then found Grachev all alone in the left circle. Grachev unloaded a bear of a shot that flew over the glove of Falcon starter Gustaf Wesslau (18 saves, 6-9-1).

29 seconds later at 14:39, Grachev struck again for his second when he took another Kennedy pass on the right side this time. Grachev followed in his own shot and Wesslau couldn’t handle it and dropped the puck in the crease. Grachev, still moving from right-to-left, saw the loose puck and popped it into the back of the net.

The period ended with a 10-7 shots advantage for the home team, but the more important stat saw the Whale posting a 2-0 lead.

At 10:48 of the second period, DiDIomete ended an 11-game goalless streak with his first of the season when he charged the net and picked up a rebound of newcomer Bretton Cameron’s shot on the left side of the crease and buried it for his fourth of the season.

The only Springfield tally came unassisted at 13:36 when Kyle Wilson, who along with ex-Wolf Pack captain Dane Byers had very strong games, picked up a loose puck and bolted up the left wing. Wilson got ahead of Jared Nightingale and then past Wade Redden and scored his first goal of the season in his first game since being sent down to the American League by the parent Columbus Blue Jackets the night before on a nifty wraparound that surprised Johnson.

Despite only putting four shots on goal in the period, the Whale entered the third frame up 3-1.

In the third, Springfield came out hard and just 14 seconds in, Stu Bickel took a tripping call. On the ensuing power play, Johnson was outstanding stopping two excellent chances in front by Wilson, who just seemed to be the total sum of the Falcons offense all night long.

At 6:10 came a very frightening moment for Whale fans as Trevor Frischmon was given a goaltender interference penalty when he steam rolled over Johnson. The Whale netminder grabbed his head and laid on the ice for quite a while. Trainer Damien Hess went out to check on the Whale netminder who stayed in the game.

When Del Zotto took a Tripping call putting the Whale shorthanded for the fifth time, Johnson was tall in net and rose to the occasion making superb stops on Byers and Wilson. Johnson also made a heck of a stop on Tom Sestito with just 5:32 to go.

With just 1:45 remaining, Wesslau was pulled for an extra attacker. 32 seconds later, DiDIomete made a nice spinning move at the left half boards to get the puck free and fire it into the empty net with just 1:13 to go.

Grachev would get his hat trick goal with just 49.6 left when his shot from the left circle ripped right through the 5-hole of Wesslau for his 12th of the season.

“The hat trick was nice, but I want to thank my teammates who shared the moment with me and for sure my linemates (Kennedy and All-Star Jeremy Williams),”

Now it will be up to Gernander to make due with the tools he has against a surging Providence Bruins team Tuesday night at the XL Center.

Grachev summed it up best “Good teams find a way to come back after a tough night, and we did it tonight.”

Bruce Berlet’s unabridged story can be found here on Howlings.

Jason Remillard has an terrific interview and profile of the new owner of the Falcons. Find that story at MassLive.com

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

VIDEO:

SOUNDS OF THE GAME:

Ken Gernander: 

Evgeny Grachev: 

Michael Del Zotto: 

NOTES:

* Grachev has potted 11 of his 12 goals and five of his six assists since being sent down from the Rangers on Nov. 8.

* Don’t forget to check out the live streaming of construction for the outdoor rink at Rentscheler Field. Follow the link to watch the broadcast which starts up again on Monday right here at Howlings.

* For Gernander at least there is some good news. Dale Weise has been returned to the Whale with Grachev and Del Zotto going the other way.

* Charles Pompea is the new owner of the Springfield Falcons and he was in attendance for the first time.

LINES:

Grachev – Kennedy – Jeremy Williams
Soryal – Jason Williams – Tessier
DiDiomete – Garlock – Cameron
McKelvie – Eizenman – Niemi

Del Zotto – Bickel
Redden – Nightingale
Valentenko – Kundratek

Johnson
Pelletier

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

SCRATCHES:

Cam Talbot – Ankle Sprain, Day-to-Day
Todd White – Undisclosed Injury, Day-to-Day

Chris Chappell – Healthy Scratch

THREE STARS:

1. CT – E. Grachev
2. SPR – K. Wilson
3. CT – C. Johnson

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:
Geno Binda (22)

Linesmen:
Chris Low (88)
Frank Murphy (29

NEXT GAME:

The Whale have their Tip-A-Player event on Sunday (it’s a blast if you’ve never been to one). The team next takes to the ice on Tuesday as Providence comes calling to the XL Center. Bob Crawford has the pregame a half an hour before the puck drops at 7:00pm.

To watch the game live, you can purchased it for $6.99 at AHL-live.

For Ticket information for all home games, call (860) 548-2000.

Too far away or can’t make it? Listen live at WTIC.com or from your cell phone or computer visit www.twitter.com/howlingstoday for complete live in-game coverage of all games both home and away.

SCORE-SHEET:

Connecticut Whale 5 at Springfield Falcons 1 – Status: Final
Saturday, January 22, 2011 – MassMutual Center

Connecticut 2 1 2 – 5
Springfield 0 1 0 – 1

1st Period-1, Connecticut, Grachev 10 (Kennedy, Del Zotto), 14:10 (PP). 2, Connecticut, Grachev 11 (Williams, Kennedy), 14:39. Penalties-Bickel Ct (interference), 8:28; Kundratek Ct (hooking), 11:38; Mayorov Spr (goaltender interference), 13:57.

2nd Period-3, Connecticut, DiDiomete 4 (Cameron, Garlock), 10:48. 4, Springfield, Wilson 1   13:36. Penalties-Soryal Ct (holding), 6:36.

3rd Period-5, Connecticut, DiDiomete 5   18:47 (EN). 6, Connecticut, Grachev 12 (Williams), 19:10. Penalties-Bickel Ct (tripping), 0:14; Frischmon Spr (goaltender interference), 6:10; Del Zotto Ct (tripping), 8:03; Regner Spr (tripping), 19:29.

Shots on Goal-Connecticut 7-4-12-23. Springfield 10-7-19-36.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 1 / 3; Springfield 0 / 5.
Goalies-Connecticut, Johnson 14-14-3 (36 shots-35 saves). Springfield, Wesslau 6-9-1 (22 shots-18 saves).
A-6,232
Referees-Geno Binda (22).
Linesmen-Chris Low (88), Frank Murphy (29).