FROM THE CREASE with Bruce Berlet
By Bruce Berlet CROMWELL, Conn. – The blood between the Hartford Wolf Pack/Connecticut Whale and Worcester Sharks has been worse than the Hatfields and McCoys, and it only got worse on Monday. Whale wing Mats Zuccarello, second on the team in goals (13)…
FROM THE CREASE with Bruce Berlet
By Bruce Berlet When Chad Kolarik was asked how the Connecticut Whale had been able to make such a dramatic turnaround the past month, you could almost hear the surfer sounds of America’s band, the Beach Boys, reverberating through the XL Center. “Catch…
WHALE WEEKLY: December 13-19, 2010
The Whale is on a 6-0-0-2 roll, and has won a season-high four straight games, after sweeping a pair of home outings this past weekend. The Whale thumped the first-place Manchester Monarchs, 5-1, on Saturday night at the XL Center, and then gutted out a…
FROM THE CREASE with Bruce Berlet
By Bruce Berlet When an athlete says his parents are his idols because of the strong faith they show every day, you know you have a special person. Connecticut Whale defenseman Jared Nightingale is just such an individual. While Nightingale is one of the…
FROM THE CREASE with Bruce Berlet
By Bruce Berlet CROMWELL – Winning has a way of curing a lot of ills, as the Connecticut Whale has discovered the past three weeks. After a 1-9-2-1 slide led to the worst start in the franchise’s 14-year history (4-10-2-2), the Whale is on a 6-1-0-2 run…
NOW THAT’S HOCKEY
VERSUS Hartford, CT – The Connecticut Whale came into Saturday night’s contest with the visiting Worcester Sharks looking to build off a strong win in Providence the night before. Boy did they ever, as 5,060 witnessed one of the grittiest and most…
A NEW ERA BEGINS
VERSUS HARTFORD, Conn. – What a difference a day makes? Well that and an XL Center filled with 13,089 fans. A better than expected, pardon the pun, “packed” house and a very exciting victory over an interstate opponent, started off Howard Baldwin’s…
FROM THE CREASE with Bruce Berlet
By Bruce Berlet Wise veteran defenseman Wade Redden put the Wolf Pack’s plight of one-goal losses this season into perfect perspective. “We have to find a way to win these games,” Redden said after a 4-3 loss to the Manchester Monarchs on Wednesday. The…
FROM THE CREASE with Bruce Berlet
By Bruce Berlet Chad Kolarik was chilling out around 4 p.m. Thursday when he got a phone call from Columbus Blue Jackets assistant general manager Chris McFarland. To his stunning surprise, the right wing on the Springfield Falcons’ No. 1 line learned he…
FROM THE CREASE with Bruce Berlet
By Bruce Berlet Wolf Pack coach Ken Gernander has never been averse to shuffling lines to try to shake up his troops, but he has changed them more this year than his socks. And that’s something considering the Wolf Pack usually don’t play more than four…