A WHALE OF A PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

WHALE TO MEET PORTLAND IN FIRST-ROUND CALDER CUP PLAYOFF SERIES

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Best-of-seven Battle starts Thursday Night in Portland

HARTFORD, CT. – Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today the schedule for the team’s first-round Calder Cup playoff battle with the Portland Pirates.

The Whale, who will finish third in the AHL’s Atlantic Division, will tangle with Head Coach Kevin Dineen’s division-champion Pirates in a best-of-seven series, which will begin this Thursday night, April 14 in Portland.

Games One and Two will be at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland this Thursday, April 14 and Saturday, April 16, with faceoff at 7:00 PM both nights.  The series then shifts to Hartford’s XL Center for Games Three and Four, which are scheduled for next Sunday, April 17 at 6:00 PM and Tuesday, April 19 at 7:00.  If a Game Five is necessary, it will be in Portland on Thursday, April 21 at 7:00, a possible Game Six would be Saturday, April 23 at the XL Center at 7:00, and if the series goes the full seven games, the decider would be Monday, April 25 in Portland, with faceoff at 7:00.

Connecticut Whale vs. Portland Pirates, Atlantic Division Semi-finals (best of seven):

Tickets for the Whale’s first two home games in the series (Games “A” and “B”) will go on sale tomorrow, Sunday, April 10, at 10:00 AM at www.ticketmaster.com and through Ticketmaster Charge-by-Phone at 1-800-745-3000.

Playoff ticket packages are also available that include tickets to all 16 possible home playoff games, plus rollover options and incentives for next year’s season tickets.  To speak to a Whale account executive about a playoff ticket package, call (860) 728-3366.  More information is available at www.ctwhale.com.

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.

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