WHALE WEEKLY: January 31 – February 6, 2011 

The Whale (22-20-2-5, 51 pts.) suffered close losses in three Atlantic-Division home games last week, falling to the Providence Bruins, Manchester Monarchs and Portland Pirates. The Whale dropped a 4-2 decision to the Bruins on Tuesday night, before falling 4-2 to the Atlantic Division-leading Monarchs Friday. Saturday, the Whale were defeated by the Portland Pirates in a 3-2 contest. Attendance for that game was 10,872, the second-largest crowd of the season and the franchise’s third-biggest since April 6, 2002.  Dale Weise was the Whale’s top offensive performer in the week’s action, scoring three goals and adding an assist.

This week:

The Whale enjoy the AHL All-Star break before facing the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Friday (7:00 PM faceoff) in a GEICO Connecticut Cup game at the XL Center, and playing a home-and-home set with Kevin Dineen’s Portland Pirates starting Saturday in Portland (7:00). Connecticut will finish off the weekend with their second tilt with the Pirates on Sunday afternoon at the XL Center (3:00).

Monday, January 31 – The 2011 AHL All-Star Game, at Giant Center in Hershey, PA, 7:00 PM

Jeremy Williams is representing the Whale on the Eastern Conference squad in the 2011 AHL All-Star Classic Presented by Capital BlueCross, which concludes Monday night with the 2011 AHL All-Star Game at Giant Center in Hershey, PA (7:00 PM faceoff).  Complete broadcast information is available at www.theahl.com.  Williams helped lead the East to a 19-7 win Sunday over the Western Conference in the 2011 Reese’s AHL All-Star Skills Competition.  Williams shone in the Reese’s Accuracy Shooting event, in which he was the only player to hit all four targets, doing so in eight attempts.

Friday, February 4 vs. Bridgeport at the XL Center, 7:00 PM

· This game is sponsored by XFINITY of Comcast.

· Friday marks the 25^th anniversary of the NHL All-Star Game being played in Hartford, and 1986 All-Stars Mark Howe and Brian Propp, along with former Whaler Alan Hangsleben, will hold a private, “meet and greet” reception with Whale season ticket holders and outdoor Harvest-Properties.com Whalers Hockey Fest 2011 festival ticket purchasers before the game (4:30-6:30 p.m.), and then drop the ceremonial first puck. Hangsleben also will sign autographs in the XL Center atrium during the second intermission with selected Whale players.

· There will be a giveaway at this game of 3,000 Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl commemorative pucks.

· Being a Friday night, 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 Whale souvenir. Guida’s Family Value Night packs are available at the XL Center ticket office and on-line at www.CTwhale.com.

· The Sound Tigers (19-23-3-3, 44 pts.) have lost four straight games in regulation and have dropped 12 of their last 13 games overall (1-9-2-1), to drop into last place in the Atlantic Division.

· Friday’s contest will be the seventh of the season in GEICO Connecticut Cup action, and the Whale have taken four of the previous six meetings on the year (4-1-0-1).

· Rookie Rhett Rakhshani has gathered three goals and two assists in five games against the Whale this season, and is tied for first in scoring among AHL freshmen with 34 points (10-24-34).

· Bridgeport was edged by Manchester, 3-2, in their first-half finale on Jan. 29.

· 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, February 5 at Portland (Cumberland County Civic Center), 7:00 PM

· The Pirates (29-14-4-1, 63 pts.) have won five of their last six games (5-1-0-0) to move within one point of the Manchester Monarchs for the lead in the Atlantic Division standings.

· This will be the fifth meeting of the season between the Whale and the Pirates.  Each time has triumphed twice thus far, with Connecticut winning their two games in overtime.

· Defenseman Nick Crawford has paced the Pirates in scoring against the Whale with four points (1-3-4), while Derek Whitmore has scored three times, including the winner in Saturday’s 3-2 victory over the Whale with 7.5 seconds remaining in regulation.

· Right Wing Mark Mancari leads the league in goals with 27, and sits third in points with 53 (27-26-53).

· The Pirates own the second-best home record in the league at 17-3-3-1, a .792 winning percentage.

· 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, February 6 vs. Portland at the XL Center, 3:00 PM

· This game is sponsored by XFINITY of Comcast.

· There will be a giveaway of 2,000 Whale headbands, courtesy of XFINITY of Comcast.

· Portland owns a road record of 12-11-1-0 so far this season, good for a .521 winning percentage at visiting arenas.

· Marc-Andre Gragnani is tied for third in points among defensemen with 32 (8-24-32) and has eight points in his last four games (1-7-8).

· The Pirates have scored more goals (166) than any other team in the league besides the Charlotte Checkers (168).

· Goaltender David Leggio, who had 36 saves in Saturday’s victory over the Whale, has won four consecutive decisions and has allowed only two goals on 59 shots in two wins vs. the Whale.

· 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:

Michael Del Zotto – Returned to the Whale by the New York Rangers January 25 and recalled again January 30.

Evgeny Grachev – Returned to the Whale by the New York Rangers January 25 and recalled again January 30.

Kris Newbury – Returned to the Whale by the New York Rangers January 25 and recalled again January 30.

Chad Kolarik – Returned to the Whale by the New York Rangers January 25.

Brodie Dupont – Returned to the Whale by the New York Rangers January 25.

Tyler Donati – Returned by the Whale to Elmira (ECHL) January 27.

Chris Chappell – Reassigned by the New York Rangers from the Whale to Greenville (ECHL) January 27.

Bretton Cameron – Released by the Whale from Professional Tryout (PTO) Agreement January 27.

Whale Tales:

Individual game tickets for the February 19, 2011 outdoor AHL game between the Whale and the Providence Bruins are on sale now at www.ticketmaster.com.  Tickets for the AHL game, which begins at 7:00 PM at Rentschler Field, also include the Hartford Whalers legends vs. Boston Bruins legends game at 4:00 PM that day.  The two games comprise the February 19 “Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl”, the featured event of the two-week outdoor Harvest-Properties.com Whalers Hockey Fest spectacular that will feature numerous collegiate, high school, prep school and youth hockey games.   Additional teams and events are still being added to the schedule, which can be found at www.ctwhale.com.  Ticket prices range from $20 to $85 and tickets can be purchased on-line via Ticketmaster, at the Bushnell box office from Monday through Friday, 12 noon-5:00 PM., or by calling the Connecticut Whale at 860-728-3366.  Tickets purchased on-line can be printed immediately (via Ticketmaster).

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

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, 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.

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 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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