RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
VERSUS With under five minutes to go in the game Friday night and the Connecticut Whale trailing 0-2, some of the 5,862 fans at the XL Center began filing out of the building…wonder how they feel now after the home team scored two goals in 1:13 to tie…
FROM THE CREASE with Bruce Berlet
By Bruce Berlet With the gala “Howe Family Night” rapidly approaching Saturday night, Connecticut hockey fans again owe a major dose of gratitude to the Big Bad Boston Bruins for “The First Family of Hockey” returning to Connecticut. The uppity Bruins…
FROM THE CREASE with Bruce Berlet
By Bruce Berlet Connecticut Whale rookie goalie Cam Talbot paid defenseman Pavel Valentenko quite the compliment Sunday. “He blocks shots so well it’s like having three goalies,” Talbot said after watching Valentenko doing plenty of just such dirty work…
FROM THE CREASE with Bruce Berlet
By Bruce Berlet As the pressure mounts as the playoffs approach, players and teams can buckle or get stronger late in games. The latter has been the Connecticut Whale’s MO the past few weeks. Despite still having five players injured and two on recall to…
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…
IT WASN’T PRETTY; THAT’S FOR SURE!
VERSUS “That was what we call in hockey, ‘a greasy win,’” Connecticut Whale Assistant Coach J.J. Daigneault said his team gutted one out and defeated the Springfield Falcons 3-1 Sunday afternoon in front of 4, 985 at the XL Center. “But we’ll take it,”…
NEW-BURIES ONE
VERSUS (Due to internet failure and computer problems, we were unable to write a report on this game. Bruce Berlet has the story.) By Bruce Berlet MANCHESTER, N.H. – After three one-goal losses at the Verizon Wireless Center this season, the last in a…
FROM THE CREASE with Bruce Berlet
By Bruce Berlet If the Connecticut Whale survives another wild playoff chase better than a year ago, they can look back to a 9-2 drubbing in Toronto on Feb. 9 as the turning point of the season. After tying franchise records for most goals allowed and…
FROM THE CREASE with Bruce Berlet
By Bruce Berlet Their similarities are almost eerie. Both grew up learning to skate and play hockey in Ontario, Canada. Both played for winning teams in Triple-A and the Ontario Hockey League. Both played for three OHL teams and stayed with the same…
PLAYER SAFETY FIRST
As you are most certain to have heard by now, the news coming out of Florida, where the NHL’s 30 General Managers are meeting to discuss a number of key issues, not the least of which are head shots and player safety, has been all good.