JUST NOT ENOUGH 

VERSUS

Goaltender Mike Murphy stopped all 28 Connecticut Whale shots on goal and Matthew Pistilli scored the first goal of the game for the second consecutive game meting with the Checkers and that was enough to give Charlotte a 1-0 win at the Time Warner Cable Arena in front of a vocal 12,933 in attendance Saturday night. The win by the Checkers gave them a sweep of the two game series in Charlotte.

Pistilli’s power play goal came early in the second period. The Whale had almost  killed off their extended man-disadvantage, but rookie Zac Dalpe put a shot on goal that Dov Grumet-Morris (21 saves, 4-3-1) denied, but the Whale starter but left a rebound in front of the net. Ex-Wolf Pack defenseman Ethan Graham swept in on the right side of the crease to put a second shot on goal. That shot was also rejected by Grumet-M0rris. However, the rebound of that one went over to the left side where it found a wide-open Pistilli after Bickel left his position to try and get to Graham. Pistilli wasted no time immediately firing it into the top right corner of the net. Grumet-Morris made a valiant effort to get to that side but had no chance on the game’s only tally.

The Whale were a dramatically different team then they were before arriving to Charlotte on Wednesday night.

Head Coach Ken Gernander missed his second straight game and remains hospitalized with an undisclosed lower body issue that was causing him swelling and a great deal of pain. That left Assistant Coaches J.J. Daigneault and Pat Boller to run the team.

Connecticut was without three of their top four point scorers.

Jeremy Williams, the Whale’s lone AHL All-Star representative, and the team’s top point earner and goal scorer (25g, 19a, 44pts) may have played, but he was held off the score sheet for the third straight game and for the eighth time in the last ten games.

The Whale was also was dealing with the absence of their second leading point earner, Tim Kennedy (12g, 30a, 42pts) who, along with a third round pick in the upcoming NHL draft, were shipped earlier in the day to the Florida Panthers by the New York Rangers in a trade for veteran defenseman Bryan McCabe. Due to CBA waiver rules, Kennedy will still remain in the minor leagues. He will immediately join Florida’s American League affiliate, the Rochester Americans.

Kris Newbury (9g, 33a, 42pts), third in scoring remains on recall with the New York Rangers even after clearing waivers at noon Saturday.

Also missing form the Whale’s lineup is their fourth leading point earner, Chad Kolarik who will likely miss another week or two with a hamstring issue.

Without the offensive firepower up front, even though Gernander would likely have said that it was an opportunity for someone else to rise up and fill the gap, that never materialized.

Thursday night the team had no life or anything approaching an effort until the third period when the game was long out-of-reach. Saturday, the physicality carried over, but so did the lack of any kind of sustained offensive thrust.

The tone was set very early on when Devin DiDIomete, the AHL’s leader in fighting majors, added to his stat when he was attacked right off the bat by Nicholas Blanchard at exactly 1:00.

4:11 later, Stu Bickel dropped the gloves and beat the pulp out of Zack Fitzgerald after  the Checker defenseman plowed into Lee Baldwin late and leveling him.

The Whale kept taking the game to their hosts and outshot them 14-2 in the period. The two shots allowed were the fewest allowed in a period this season. They allowed three twice, The first to Binghamton in the second period on October 22nd, also ironically a 1-0 loss, and then again to Manchester in the third period on November 17th in a 4-3 loss.

With 23 seconds left in the period, Devin DiDiomete swung behind the Checker’s net from the left side and put a hit on Fitzgerald, knocking the defenseman to the ice surface. Brett Bellemore immediately jumped to his defenseman’s aide and dropped the gloves with DiDiomete.

Referee Jeff Smith felt strongly about DiDiomete’s hit saw and threw the book at the Whale, and one time ECHL Checker. He gave DiDIomete five minutes for the fight with Bellemore, a five minute major for a check to Fitzgerald’s head and a game misconduct for intent to injure. The only problem with Smith’s call was that it appeared, on the replay anyway, to be a good hard hit. The penalty at the end of the first was the instrument that led to Pistilli’s game winner in the second.

DiDiomete’s ejection left the Whale who were already shorthanded up front with Kennedy’s departure, now down two forwards.That problem would only get exacerbated in the third period when Ryan Garlock would leave the game with a right leg injury and needed help getting to the Whale locker room.

Pistilli’s fifth goal of the season in the second frame highlighted a sub-par effort by the Whale who were outshot 16-8 by a team that was playing their seventh game in nine days and had just driven 5 1/2 hours back from a brutal game in Norfolk against the Admirals the night before.

The Whale pressed hard in the final frame but still could only muster 6 shots on goal. The best chance to get one past Murphy came with just 6:14 to go when both Brodie Dupont and Williams were there to put the puck into the net in front of Murphy after the Checker netminder left a rebound of a blistering Pavel Valentenko point shot  in front of the crease. Murphy recovered to keep it out of the net.

The Whale will return to Connecticut on a Sunday flight where they will be rejoined by defenseman Michael Del Zotto, who was sent back to the Whale with Steve Eminger playing well enough to remain the seventh defenseman and the arrival of McCabe.

The Whale will need to find some more help up front for Wednesday’s rivalry game with the Springfield Falcons who jumped ahead of the Whale with their 4-1 win over Portland. The Falcons have now won three straight. Worcester picked up a point on the Whale and trail by just one point and have two games in hand. Norfolk, who the Whale are also chasing for the final two playoff spots picked up a point in their 3-2 shootout loss to the W/B Scranton Penguins.

Bob Crawford, who was joined by Kolarik for the play-by-play in the radio booth, once again to pulls the double-duty of calling the game and writing the CTWhale.com recap. Jack Horan has the story on the Checkers at CharlotteObserver.com.

Here is the Charlotte tale of the game:

CHECKERS BLANK WHALE IN FRONT OF RECORD CROWD
Murphy earns second shutout in a week with 1-0 win

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Mike Murphy recorded his second shutout of the week as the Charlotte Checkers defeated the Connecticut Whale, 1-0, in front of a record crowd of 12,933 on Saturday evening.

With the win, the Checkers improved to 4-1-0-2 on a current seven-game span which consisted of six different cities in nine nights and more than 2,700 miles of traveling.

Murphy continued his play as one of the league’s hottest goalies turning away all 28 Connecticut shots. The two-time Ontario Hockey League Goaltender of the Year is now 8-0-1, including two shutouts, in his last nine games.

Matthew Pistilli scored the game-winning goal for Charlotte, converting a rebound during an early second-period power play.

Connecticut netminder Dov Grumet-Morris did his best to match his counterpart, stopping all but one of Charlotte’s 22 shots, but the Whale offense couldn’t find an answer for Murphy.

Tempers flared throughout a scoreless first period. Nicolas Blanchard scrapped with AHL penalty minute leader Devin DiDiomete in the opening minute of the game while Zack FitzGerald and Brett Bellemore also dropped the gloves for Charlotte in the first.

The Checkers broke the scoreless tie at 4:10 of the second period on Pistilli’s power-play tally. Ethan Graham threw a puck on net from the low slot, forced a rebound and Pistilli buried it on his second attempt.

Murphy made several key saves toward the end of the period, including a diving shoulder stop and an impressive stab with his glove on a 2-on-1.

With just over a minute remaining in the third period, Connecticut pulled Grumet-Morris for an extra attacker, but couldn’t find the equalizer as the Checkers held on for a 1-0 victory.

Charlotte (33-20-2-6) will embark on a three-game road trip beginning on Friday, Mar. 4 when they take on the Providence Bruins. The Checkers will return home on Tuesday, Mar. 8 against the Binghamton Senators. For ticket information, call 704-342-4423 or visit www.gocheckers.com.

For every ‘like’ the Checkers get on their Facebook page between now and Apr. 1, the team will donate $2 to Zach Bennett and his family, who plan to move to Charlotte for better medical care. Visit www.gocheckers.com for more information.

NOTES:

The crowd of 12,933 sets a single-game attendance record for the Checkers…The Checkers are 15-4-0-2 in the second half of back-to-back game…Ethan Graham has five assists on a career-high four game point streak… Matthew Pistilli has four goals in his last six games…Charlotte is now 12-6-0-1 against Atlantic Division foes this season…Mike Murphy has two shutouts in his last four games and is 17-2-1 in his last 20 starts.

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

STANDINGS:

(Standings via theahl.com)

NOTES:

* In Gernander’s absence, J.J. Daigneault acted as head coach with Pat Boller assisting.

* Mike Murphy has won eight of his last nine starts.

* With Kris Newbury in New York, and Tim Kennedy traded, Dale Weise was made an Assistant Captain.

* Kennedy will join another ex-Whale/Wolf-Pack player in Rochester as Hugh Jessiman is playing there.

Here is the release on Del Zotto’s return to Hartford:

RANGERS RETURN MICHAEL Del ZOTTO TO WHALE

*           *           *           *

Has Seven Points in Ten AHL Games

HARTFORD, February 26, 2011:  New York Rangers president and general manager Glen Sather announced today that the Rangers have returned defenseman Michael Del Zotto to the AHL’s Connecticut Whale.

In 47 games with the Rangers this season, Del Zotto has scored two goals and added nine assists for 11 points, while serving 20 minutes in penalties.  In ten AHL games earlier in the year with the Whale, the second-year pro chipped in seven assists, and was Even with eight penalty minutes.

The Whale’s next action is this Wednesday, March 2, as they return to the XL Center to host the Springfield Falcons in a 7:00 PM game.  There will be a “Whale Bowl Appreciation Night” promotion for that game, as Whale Bowl ticket purchasers who present their Whale Bowl ticket stub at the XL Center ticket office can purchase one $19 or $12 ticket for the March 2 game, and receive a second of equal or lesser value free.  On top of that, the Whale will add a coupon for 15% off all Whale Bowl merchandise.  The coupon is redeemable at the Whale Pro Shop, which is located in the Hartford Store at 45 Pratt St. in downtown Hartford and is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 AM to 4:30 PM.  The coupon is good only for Whale Bowl merchandise.

Tickets for all 2010-11 Whale home games are available now at the XL Center box 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.

LINES:

Dupont – Tessier – Weise
Soryal – Garlock – DiDiomete
Grachev – Lemieux – Williams
Eizenman – Imbeault

Redden – Nightingale
Valentenko – Parlett
Baldwin – Bickel

Grumet-Morris
Johnson

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

SCRATCHES:

Chad Kolarik – Hamstring, 1-2 Weeks

Tomas Kundratek – Flu, Day-to-Day

Jyri Niemi – Separated Shoulder – Four – Six Weeks

Chris McKelvie – Foot Surgery, Season

Todd White – Concussion – Undetermined

Head Coach Ken Gernander – Lower body pain – Day-to-Day

Michael Del Zotto – Healthy Scratch – Will meet the team in Hartford

THREE STARS:

1. CHA – M. Murphy
2. CHA – M. Pistilli
3. CHA – E. Graham

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:
Jeff Smith (49)

Linesmen:
Mike Sheehan (90)
Alex Stagnone (7)

NEXT GAME:

After seven of eight on the road and a 3-5 record during it, the Whale return to the XL Center Wednesday night for a showdown with Dane Byers and the Springfield Falcons. The puck drops at 7pm with Bob Crawford and the pregame a half an hour before game time.

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 0 at Charlotte Checkers 1 – Status: Final
Saturday, February 26, 2011 – Time Warner Cable Arena

Connecticut 0 0 0 – 0
Charlotte 0 1 0 – 1

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-DiDiomete Ct (fighting), 1:00; Blanchard Cha (fighting), 1:00; Bickel Ct (roughing, fighting), 5:11; FitzGerald Cha (fighting), 5:11; DiDiomete Ct (fighting, major – checking to the head, game misconduct – checking to the head, game misconduct – third major), 19:37; Bellemore Cha (roughing, fighting), 19:37.

2nd Period-1, Charlotte, Pistilli 5 (Graham, Dalpe), 4:10 (PP). Penalties-Dupont Ct (fighting), 7:29; Herauf Cha (fighting), 7:29; Redden Ct (hooking), 8:01; Boychuk Cha (interference), 8:35; Boychuk Cha (slashing), 15:10; Weise Ct (roughing), 16:04; Dalpe Cha (roughing), 16:04.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Redden Ct (high-sticking), 7:54.

Shots on Goal-Connecticut 14-8-6-28. Charlotte 2-16-4-22.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 0 / 2; Charlotte 1 / 5.
Goalies-Connecticut, Grumet-Morris 4-3-1 (22 shots-21 saves). Charlotte, Murphy 19-9-3 (28 shots-28 saves).
A-12,933
Referees-Jeff Smith (49).
Linesmen-Mike Sheehan (90), Alex Stagnone (7).