WHALE WEEKLY: March 21-27, 2011 

The Whale (36-26-2-6, 80 pts.) improved to a season-best ten games over .500 by sweeping last week’s action with a perfect three-game slate.  The Whale defeated the Manchester Monarchs, 1-0, on the road Friday night, before returning to the XL Center for a pair of weekend games with Providence and Springfield. Connecticut defeated the Bruins in an epic eight-round shootout Saturday for a 4-3 victory, before finishing their week with a rousing 3-1 win over the Falcons on Sunday afternoon. Dov Grumet-Morris earned two wins on the weekend, including his first Whale shutout on Friday, with Kris Newbury netting the only goal of the game. Francis Lemieux recorded the shootout-winning goal Saturday, and Dale Weise also contributed a game-winning tally in Sunday’s triumph over Springfield.

This week:

The Whale take to the ice four times over the next week, as they play the remaining three matches of a five-game homestand before heading to Providence for March’s final road contest. Connecticut will be in action at the XL Center Wednesday night, as they face the Springfield Falcons for the second time in four days (7:00 PM faceoff), Friday, when they take on the Charlotte Checkers (7:00), and Saturday, when the Whale hosts the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (7:00) in GEICO Connecticut Cup action on “Howe Family Night”. The Whale will end the month’s busy slate on Sunday, when they visit the Providence Bruins at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center (4:05 PM faceoff).

Wednesday, March 23 vs. Springfield at the XL Center, 7:00 PM

· The Whale meet the Falcons for the second time in four days in this tilt, after the Whale’s 3-1 defeat of Springfield Sunday at the XL Center.

· The Whale have taken the last five meetings with the Falcons dating back to Nov. 13 and are 4-1-1-1 in total in the season series, 2-0-1-1 at home.

· Springfield’s loss to the Whale on Sunday ran their winless streak to eleven straight games, an 0-10-1-0 drought since their last victory February 27.  The Falcons’ record currently stands at 30-36-2-3 for 65 points, putting them in sixth place in the Atlantic Division, three points behind fifth-place Providence and 14 points out of a playoff spot.

· Ben Guite scored Springfield’s only goal in Sunday’s defeat, a game that saw the Falcons outshoot the Whale, 23-18. The 18 shots were a season low for Connecticut.

· Rookie forward Tomas Kubalik assisted on Guite’s goal, and is currently in a tie for fourth among league rookie scorers with 45 points this season (21-24-45).

· The Falcons’ offense as a whole has been shut out twice in its last five games, totaling just four goals over that span.

· 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, March 25 vs. Charlotte at the XL Center, 7:00 PM

· This is “Faith and Family Night” at the XL Center, featuring special performances in the XL Center atrium by the band Scarlet Fade, both before and after the game.

· Also, 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.

· Friday’s game against the Checkers will be the fourth and final meeting of the season between the Eastern Conference foes.

· After falling to the Whale on the opening night of the season, 4-2 on October 9, the Checkers defeated Connecticut twice in North Carolina in February, posting 5-1 and 1-0 victories.

· Zac Dalpe, the AHL’s third-leading rookie scorer with 46 points on the season (19-27-46), has gathered four points (1-3-4) against the Whale in just two games.

· Goaltender Mike Murphy has notched both wins in net against Connecticut, allowing just four goals in three appearances against the Whale, including one shutout.

· The Checkers have lost back-to-back road games against Syracuse and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, but will look to rebound when they host the Adirondack Phantoms Tuesday.  Overall Charlotte is 38-25-2-6 for 84 points and third in the East Division.

· 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, March 26 vs. Bridgeport at the XL Center, 7:00 PM

· This is “Howe Family Night” at the XL Center, honoring the great Gordie Howe, his sons, Marty and Mark, and late wife, Colleen.

· During the team’s pregame warm-up skate, the Whale players will wear special 1978-vintage #9 “Gordie Howe” New England Whaler white home jerseys.

· Fans can meet Gordie Howe prior to the game, and get a personalized autographed book and photo, by purchasing a copy of the colorful 185-page book “Howe #9”. The book sells for $70 and he will begin signing copies at 5:30 PM in the XL Center atrium.  Also, 2,000 fans will receive a free commemorative 36-page Gordie Howe tribute program, loaded with full color photos and stories.

· A new banner saluting the Howes, “hockey’s first family,” will be raised to the XL Center rafters prior to faceoff.

· Bridgeport heads into Hartford on Saturday for the eighth of ten meetings this season in GEICO Connecticut Cup action. The Whale holds a 5-1-0-1 record against the Sound Tigers on the year, including wins in each of the last three head-to-head matches.

· The teams have not played since a 3-2 Whale win over Bridgeport back on Feb. 4 at the XL Center.

· Rhett Rakhshani, Bridgeport’s leading scorer and the league’s second-leading rookie scorer (17-34-51), has tallied five points in six games versus the Whale this season.

· The Sound Tigers have gained at least a point in the standings in five-straight games, tied for their longest such stretch of the season, although they have only won two of those games (2-0-1-2).

· Bridgeport has gone beyond regulation in three of their last five games, losing in overtime to the Binghamton Senators, 4-3, in their last action on Sunday.  The Sound Tigers currently bring up the rear in the Atlantic Division with a 23-36-4-7 record for 57 points.

· The Whale and the Sound Tigers will end their season-series with a home-and-home set on April 8 and 9.

· 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, March 27 at Providence (Dunkin’ Donuts Center Providence), 4:05 PM

· The Bruins host the Whale Sunday in the ninth meeting of the season between the Atlantic Division archrivals. The Whale carries a 5-2-0-1 advantage over the Bruins into Sunday’s contest and has won all three of its previous visits to Rhode Island.

· The Whale defeated Providence in their last meeting on Saturday, downing the Bruins in a shootout, 4-3, at the XL Center.

· Maxime Sauve has tallied six points in action against the Whale, recording five goals and an assist in six games versus Connecticut.

· The Bruins have dropped two straight decisions and lost four-out-of-five games overall (1-3-0-1), allowing 20 goals over their last five tilts.

· Jamie Arniel scored twice for Providence in Sunday’s 5-3 defeat against the Atlantic Division-leading Portland Pirates.

· 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:

Lee Baldwin – reassigned by the New York Rangers from the Whale to Greenville (ECHL) March 16.

Whale Tales:

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 Tuesday 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.

Season tickets for the 2011-12 Whale season are available now, with a special early bird discount.  Call (860) 728-3366 for information on that, as well as all Whale ticket packages, group sales and VIP packages.

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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