WHALE WEEKLY: October 24-30, 2011 

BY: Bob Crawford, voice of the CT Whale

The Whale swept the season’s first stretch of three games in three nights this past weekend, defeating the Manchester Monarchs, 5-0, on Friday before a home-and-home set with the Springfield Falcons. Connecticut rallied to defeat the Falcons in their first meeting of the season, 2-1, Saturday in Springfield. The two teams met again Sunday at the XL Center, where the Whale handled their opponent with a 4-1 victory. Jonathan Audy-Marchessault put together his best weekend as a pro, netting two goals and two assists in the last two games, including his first AHL score. Connecticut’s three straight victories tied them with the Adirondack Phantoms with ten points at the top of the AHL’s Northeast Division.

This week:

The Whale will take to the road in both of this weekend’s games, starting with a trip to Glens Falls, NY on Friday to take on the Adirondack Phantoms for the second time this season (7:00). Connecticut will then visit another heated rival in the Worcester Sharks, whom they will face Saturday for the first time this season at the DCU Center (7:05).

Friday, October 28 @ Adirondack Phantoms (Glens Falls Civic Center), 7:00 p.m.

· The Whale face the Phantoms for the second time this season on Friday in a Northeast Division contest.

· Connecticut took on the Phantoms in Glens Falls in the season opener on October 8, a game in which  they fell by a 6-3 margin, despite a hat trick from the currently recalled Kris Newbury.

· Phantoms leading scorer Denis Hamel (6-3-9 in 7 GP) had three points (1-2-3) in Adirondack’s win over the Whale.

· The Phantoms took two out of three games this weekend to keep pace with the Whale, defeating Portland on the road Friday before falling to Albany on Saturday. Adirondack completed their weekend with a 3-1 win over the Rochester Americans on Sunday.

· Radio – CT Whale “Rockin’ Hockey” live with Bob Crawford on “The Rock”, 106.9 WCCC-FM, and on-line at www.ctwhale.com.

Saturday, October 29 @ Worcester Sharks (DCU Center), 7:05 p.m.

· The Whale are set to take on the Sharks Saturday night for the first of four meetings this season.

· The Sharks have yet to lose in regulation, posting a 3-0-0-1 record to date.  Those four games, however, are the fewest played by any team in the AHL.

· Rookie Mike Connolly has registered eight points in his four games (4-4-8), and is tied for third amongst league freshmen in scoring.

· The Sharks split a pair of games this weekend but earned three points, falling in a shootout to the Providence Bruins on Saturday before beating Manchester on Sunday.

· Radio – CT Whale “Rockin’ Hockey” live with Bob Crawford on “The Rock”, 106.9 WCCC-FM, and on-line at www.ctwhale.com.

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Whale Tales:

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The AHL’s Connecticut Whale is operated by Whalers Sports and Entertainment, a Hartford-based sports marketing and event firm founded by Howard Baldwin and Howard Baldwin, Jr..  The team is the top player-development affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers.

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