POPP – HOWE – HANGSLEBEN FEB. 4TH

WHALE WELCOME SPECIAL GUESTS TO FEBRUARY 4 HOME GAME IN EXCLUSIVE SEASON TICKET/FESTIVAL TICKET HOLDER EVENT

*           *           *           *

Occasion Marks the 25^th Anniversary of the 1986 NHL All-Star Game in Hartford

HARTFORD, CT – Whalers Sports & Entertainment announced today that former Hartford Whalers and 1986 NHL All Stars Mark Howe and Brian Propp, and ex-Whaler Alan Hangsleben, will be appearing at the Connecticut Whale’s home game Friday, February 4 at the XL Center, a GEICO Connecticut Cup matchup with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

The three former pro stars will be conducting a private, exclusive “meet and greet” reception with Whale season ticket-holders, and “Outdoor Harvest-Properties.com Whalers Hockey Fest 2011” festival ticket-purchasers, before the game, from 4:30-6:30 PM at the XL Center.  (Invited guests will be contacted late this week and will need to RSVP for the event.)

Propp, Howe and Hangsleben will then drop a ceremonial first puck before the 7:00 faceoff between the Whale and Sound Tigers.  Hangsleben will also be signing autographs in the XL Center atrium during the second intermission, alongside selected Whale players.

February 4 marks the 25^th anniversary of the 1986 NHL All-Star Game, which was played at the Hartford Civic Center and saw the Wales Conference defeat the Campbell Conference, 4-3 in overtime.  Propp and Howe, who were then with the Philadelphia Flyers, both played for the victorious Wales Conference in that game, and Propp scored the Wales’ first goal, which tied the game at one at 17:56 of the second period.

Howe, the son of all-time great, and fellow former Whaler, Gordie Howe, played 929 NHL games, and another 426 in the WHA, in a 22-year pro career that spanned from the 1973-74 season through 1994-95.  Playing both forward and defense, Howe was a three-time First-Team NHL All-Star selection and the 1986 game was one of four NHL All-Star games in which he participated.  His NHL totals were 197 goals and 545 assists for 742 points, along with 455 penalty minutes, in 929 games with the Whalers, Philadelphia and Detroit.

In the WHA, after winning an AVCO Cup with the Houston Aeros in 1975, Howe, along with Gordie and brother Marty, joined the New England Whalers for the 1977-78 season.  Mark Howe remained with the Whalers for their final two seasons in the WHA, and the franchise’s first three NHL campaigns, before being traded to the Flyers in August of 1982.  In 213 career NHL games with Hartford, Howe amassed 51 goals and 147 assists for 198 points and had 92 penalty minutes.  In 147 total WHA games with the Whalers, he scored 72 goals and added 126 assists for 198 points and served 64 minutes in penalties.

Propp finished off a 15-year NHL career with 65 games in a Hartford Whaler uniform in 1993-94, scoring 12 goals and adding 17 assists for 29 points, and totaling 44 penalty minutes.  Prior to that the 1979 Flyer first-round pick (14^th overall) spent 11 full seasons, and part of a 12^th, in the City of Brotherly Love, and also saw time with the Boston Bruins and Minnesota North Stars.  A native of Lanigan, Saskatchewan, Propp skated in a career total of 1,016 NHL matches, scoring 425 goals and adding 578 assists for 1003 points and serving 830 PIM.  The 1986 All-Star Game was one of five career All-Star game appearances for Propp, who also went to the Stanley Cup Finals five times (1980, 1985 and 1987 with Philadelphia, 1990 with Boston and 1991 with Minnesota) during his 15 NHL years.

Hangsleben, a defenseman born in Warroad, Minnesota, broke into pro hockey in 1974-75 after three years at the University of North Dakota, and suited up for 26 WHA games with the Whalers that season.  He would stay with the Whalers for the remainder of their WHA existence, logging 334 games-played, the sixth-most in franchise history, and registering 36 goals and 73 assists for 109 points, along with 437 PIM.  Hangsleben made the transition to the NHL with the Whalers in 1979-80 and played 37 games with Hartford that season, before being traded to the Washington Capitals in January of 1980.

Hangsleben’s NHL career would continue through the 1981-82 season and include a stint with the Los Angeles Kings in addition to his time with Washington.  All told, Hangsleben suited up for 185 career NHL contests, scoring 21 goals and adding 48 assists for 69 points and totaling 396 penalty minutes.

RSVPs will be sent via the CT Whale ticket office soon.

Tickets for the February 4 game, and all 2010-11 Whale home games, are available now at the XL Center ticket office, through Ticketmaster Charge-by-Phone at 1-800-745-3000 and on-line 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.

The AHL’s CT 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.