Sports stats



Whale Fall in Shootout

December 1, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Connecticut Whale News Release


WORCESTER, Mass. - Two Worcester Sharks trends remained intact Wednesday night, and the Connecticut Whale ended up with the first loss in their three-game tenure.

Dan DaSilva, who set up the Sharks' only goal in regulation, scored in the sixth round of a shootout, giving Worcester a 2-1 victory over the Whale before a crowd of 2,171 at the DCU Center.

DaSilva beat Chad Johnson low to the stick side in the first sudden-death round after defenseman Tomas Kundratek, who had the Whale's only goal in regulation, scored in the fourth round to match the Sharks' first attempt by Jonathon Cheechoo, a former 50-goal scorer in the NHL.

The Whale (8-11-2-4), who had success after changing the lines in the third period for the second straight game, got to overtime when Kris Newbury passed from behind the net into the slot looking for Mats Zuccarello, whose stick was lifted, allowing Kundratek to step into a 50-foot shot that beat Alex Stalock high to the glove side with 4:20 left.

Newbury nearly won it with a deflection of a Ryan Garlock shot with 1:28 left in regulation, then Johnson (19 saves) stopped Sean Sullivan's partial breakaway 1:12 into overtime.

But the Sharks (11-7-1-3) won their first shootout in four tries to improve to 9-0-0-0 when they score first and lead going into the third period. Meanwhile, the Whale (8-11-2-4) failed in their bid to win three in a row for the first time this season, losing a fourth shootout in five tries and second of three in the last four games.

No Whale player was talking to himself more after the game than Chad Kolarik, who had three glorious chances shorthanded. He hit the post on a breakaway with 1:18 left in the first period and then was denied on a rush down left wing and an ensuing rebound bid that popped in the air and stayed out with 7:48 left in regulation.

"It was ridiculous," said Kolarik, who had five goals and three assists in eight games since being acquired for Dane Byers on Nov. 11. "The goals were going in the last eight games but then nothing tonight. But I thought we played a good game, but we were a little snake-bitten."

The Whale extended their points streak to four games (2-0-0-2) and are 4-1-0-2 since a 1-9-2-1 slide. They moved one point ahead of Providence, into a tie for fifth with Bridgeport and within one point of Springfield in the tightly-bunched Atlantic Division. But all those teams have several games in hand on the Whale, which is now 1-10-0-2 when trailing after two periods.

"I thought we were a little stubborn offensively," Whale coach Ken Gernander said. "Instead of chipping pucks deep and working to recover them, we were trying to make one-on-one, stick-handling moves and force passes. We had some chances but had only 23 shots. We had some good forechecking pressures and possession, but we just didn't get enough shots to the net. I would have liked to see a little more desperation."

Gernander said it was another mutual agreement with assistant J.J. Daigneault to mix up the lines, and while it helped get the Whale one point, two points would have been preferred. But Stalock (22 saves) stopped five of six shootout shots after being only 3-for-7 in his only other one-on-one competition this season.

The first period was a feeling-out process with few scoring chances, and the Sharks took advantage of one of the rare odd-man rushes in the game for a fortuitous 1-0 lead.

After Stalock stopped Tim Kennedy's shot from 20 feet in the slot off a 2-on-1 at 4:55 and Johnson denied Steven Zalewski in front at 6:45, the Sharks took the lead on a fluky goal by Kevin Henderson on a 3-on-1. Whale defenseman Pavel Valentenko got caught up ice and Kennedy was late getting back after being hit in the face, allowing Henderson to take a pass from DaSilva, break down right wing and fire a shot from the circle that hit Johnson's arm, popped into the air and fell over the goal line at 11:36.

"That's the way it's been going for me this year," said Johnson (6-10-1, 2.55 goals-against average, .904 save percentage), who had been 3-0-1-0 in his last four starts but is now 1-3 in shootouts despite stopping 18 of 23 shots. "Funny bounces here and there every game, like tonight. I got a good piece of (Henderson's shot) but never saw where it went until it was few inches from the goal line. I swung around, but it was too late."

Stalock kept the Sharks in front the rest of the period with a sprawling save on Devin DiDiomete off a Newbury setup at 13:23 and a reflex stop on Zuccarello alone at the right post with 53 seconds left.

Johnson kept it a one-goal game with the Sharks on a power play early in the second period when he flicked out his right pad to deny Cheechoo, an 11th-year pro who scored 56 goals for the San Jose Sharks in the 2003-04 season. The Whale nearly tied it shorthanded at 1:18, but Kolarik's shot on a breakaway hit the right post.

Both teams took a defensive posture for most of the rest of the period until the Sharks got their second power play, and Johnson made bang-bang saves on Cheechoo and T.J. Trevelyan's rebound with 3:22 left.

The Sharks got the only two power plays of the third period, but the Whale got the only three shots, notably on the first man advantage when Kolarik raced down left wing and fired a shot that Stalock stopped. The rebound popped into the air, but Kolarik couldn't quite poke in the rebound with 7:48 left.

The Whale finally solved Stalock on Kundratek's goal and then nearly won it shorthanded with 1:28 left, but Stalock stopped Newbury's deflection off a Ryan Garlock shot.

In overtime, Johnson stopped Sean Sullivan's partial breakaway at 1:12 and then the Whale killed off the final 68 seconds after Wade Redden was called for hooking Andrew Desjardins.

The Whale didn't allow a shot on Johnson, finishing 5-for-5 on the penalty kill, but 1-for-6 in the shootout proved decisive.

"It was a strange game because neither team really looked like they were going after it that hard," Johnson said. "Everyone was kind of sitting back, so it was hard to get any momentum. I thought we played a good road game, but it just wasn't quite good enough."

WEISE SIDELINED AGAIN

Whale right wing Dale Weise was sidelined again by an injury sustained in a 3-0 victory over Adirondack on Sunday.

Weise participated in warm-ups but was unable to play. He had two goals and two assists in six games after returning from a 15-game injury absence. Weise was replaced by Kelsey Tessier, who played alongside Garlock and Justin Soryal. The Whale also scratched Lee Baldwin, Jyri Niemi and Chris McKelvie. The Sharks scratched injured Frazer McLaren, Tony Lucia and Cameron MacIntyre. ... This was one of about 300 AHL games to have two referees, Terry Koharski and Jean Hebert. ... The Whale next play Friday night at 7 at Providence before a rematch with the Sharks on Saturday night at 7 at the XL Center in Hartford.

NEW CANAAN NATIVE PACIORETTY AHL PLAYER OF THE MONTH

Hamilton left wing Max Pacioretty, a former standout at New Canaan High and Taft School-Watertown, was named the AHL Player of the Month for November after leading all league scorers with 10 goals and seven assists in 13 games as the Bulldogs surged to the top of the Western Conference with a 9-3-0-1 record.

Pacioretty's 10 goals surpassed his previous career high for a season set in his rookie campaign of 2008-09 when he had nine goals in 71 games with Hamilton and the parent Montreal Canadiens. During the month, he had the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Grand Rapids on Nov. 13 and celebrated his 22nd birthday on Nov. 20 at Toronto by providing all the Bulldogs' offense in a 4-3 shootout loss with three goals in regulation and the team's only goal in the shootout.

And Pacioretty picked up where he left off Wednesday night, scoring twice in a 3-2 shootout victory over the Abbotsford Heat. A third-year pro, Pacioretty is tied for second in the AHL in scoring with 13 goals and 14 assists in 21 games. Montreal's first-round pick (22nd overall) in 2007 split each of the last two seasons with the Bulldogs and Canadiens and has six goals and 19 assists in 86 NHL games and 21 goals and 46 assists in 77 AHL games.

The Whale nominated right wing Jeremy Williams, who had eight goals and five assists in 13 games. Other nominees included Bridgeport Sound Tigers goalie Kevin Poulin, former Whale center Corey Locke (Binghamton Senators) and former Rangers center Jason Krog (Chicago Wolves).

Binghamton right wing Bobby Butler was named AHL Rookie of the Month after getting nine goals, including four winners, and six assists and being plus-6 in 14 games. He notched his first professional hat trick in a 5-0 victory over Syracuse on Nov. 7, part of a stretch of seven goals in four games. The 23-year-old native of Marlborough, Mass., played four seasons at the University of New Hampshire before signing with the Ottawa Senators as a free agent on March 29. He was the Hockey East conference's player of the year as a senior last season, when he also was one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award as the nation's top collegiate player. In 23 games with Binghamton, Butler ranks first in the AHL in game-winning goals (five) and in goals (14). He leads all rookies in goals, game-winners, points (22) and shots on goal (86) and is tied for first in power-play goals (five).

The Whale nominated Zuccarello, who had seven goals and seven assists in 13 games, including his first pro trick and an assist in a 7-1 victory over the Sound Tigers on Nov. 7. Other nominees included Poulin.

Jake Allen of the Peoria Rivermen was named AHL Goaltender of the Month after going 6-1-0 with a 1.35 goals-against average, .959 save percentage and three shutouts. Allen stopped 213 of 222 shots while facing more than 30 shots in five of his seven starts. A 20-year-old rookie from Fredericton, New Brunswick, Allen leads the AHL in goals-against average (1.27), save percentage (.962) and shutouts (four) while posting an 8-1-0 record in nine appearances. He was a second-round pick (34th overall) by the parent St. Louis Blues in 2008 and played his junior hockey in the QMJHL, where he was named the Major Junior Goaltender of the Year in 2009-10.

Greenville Road Warriors center Brendan Connolly is the ECHL Plus Performer of the Month after leading the league with a plus-minus rating of plus-12. He was even or better in 13 of 14 games in November and leads the ECHL in plus-minus (plus-13), is tied for third in points (23) and tied for fourth in goals (11). Greenville is the ECHL affiliate of the Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers.

FORMER WOLF PACK DEFENSEMEN HELP CHECKERS' COMEBACK

Former Wolf Pack/Whale defensemen Bryan Rodney and Bobby Sanguinetti have helped the first-year Charlotte Checkers rally from a bad start to one of the better teams in the East Division, which includes the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, who have the AHL's best record (17-4-0-0).

The Checkers of coach Jeff Daniels, a former Whalers forward, lost seven of their first nine games as the new top affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes, who were previously in Albany, NY. But a 3-2 overtime victory at the Binghamton Senators on Oct. 30 started an 11-2-0-2 run during the last month that has vaulted the Checkers (13-8-1-2) into second place, five points behind the Penguins. The Checkers have the AHL's second-best penalty kill (88.8 percent) and are sixth in offense (3.25 goals a game) and power play (20.5 percent).

Zach Boychuk, a first-round pick (14th overall) in 2008, is tied for sixth in the league in scoring with 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists), one more than Jerome Samson (12, 12), a second-team AHL All-Star last season. Rodney, who split last season between the NHL and AHL, is second among NHL defensemen with 17 points (4, 13), including 11 on the power play. Sanguinetti, the New York Rangers' first-round pick (21st overall) in 2006, started slowly after being acquired on draft day but has nine points (2, 7) in 19 games. ... The New York Islanders signed forward Jeremy Colliton to a one-year, two-way (NHL/AHL) contract. Colliton, 25, had signed a professional tryout contract with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Oct. 18. In 18 games with the Sound Tigers, the Islanders' second-round pick in 2003 had two goals and an assist. Colliton played 19 games with the Islanders in his rookie season (2005-06) and has one goal and two assists in 42 career NHL games. He has 50 goals and 84 assists in 250 games with the Sound Tigers. ... The Sound Tigers rescheduled a postponed Oct. 30 game against the Manchester Monarchs to Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m. The original game was postponed because of President Obama's visit to the Arena at Harbor Yard earlier in that day.

KUDOS TO PENGUINS AND SENATORS

The Penguins and Senators are enemies on the ice, but they're joining forces to help public servants in their respective areas. The East Division rivals will team up for games Friday night and Jan. 29 to honor the efforts of their local police and firemen.

As the teams take the ice Friday night at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., the Penguins will wear special firefighter themed jerseys, while the Senators will wear special police themed jerseys. Fans will be able to bid on the Penguins game-worn firefighters jerseys during the game, with proceeds going to the Penguins' charity fund. The Penguins have extended a ticket discount to Binghamton fans who wish to make the trip to the game. A portion of each ticket sold will be donated to Foundation 58, a non-profit organization that financially assists firefighters, police and emergency medical personnel who are battling cancer.

On Jan. 29 at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton, N.Y., members of the Binghamton police and fire departments will take on members of the Wilkes-Barre area police and fire departments at 4:30 p.m. in a special "I-81 Battle of the Badges" game to raise awareness for and benefit the American Heart Association. The game takes the place of the "Heart Cup," an annual match between the Binghamton police and fire departments that began in 1985 to help raise money to fight heart disease.

Following the game, the Senators will host the Penguins. The Senators will wear their special firefighter themed jerseys, while the Penguins will wear special police themed jerseys. After the game, the Senators will auction off their police and firefighter themed jerseys, with proceeds from the auction benefitting the Broome Sports Foundation and American Heart Association, respectively.

Discount tickets can be purchased for $15 and include admission to both the Battle of the Badges and the Senators game. A portion of each ticket sold through this special offer will be donated to the American Heart Association.

• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...

American Hockey League Stories from December 1, 2010


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Connecticut Whale Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central