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Whale Weekly

December 26, 2012 - American Hockey League (AHL) - Connecticut Whale News Release


The Whale (12-14-2-0, 26 pts.) headed into the Christmas holiday with a split of two games this past weekend. A trip to Manchester on Friday night yielded a 5-2 win, after the Whale had lost 9-2 in its previous trip to Verizon Wireless Arena, The Whale then scored the game's first goal on Saturday at home against Providence, but the Bruins then got the last three, including a pair in the third period, to skate off with a 3-1 victory. Whale points leader Kris Newbury struck for two goals and an assist on Friday night, and then assisted on the only Connecticut goal Saturday, to increase his totals on the year to 10-16-26 in 26 games.

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS

Atlantic Division

Rank Team GP W L OTL SL PTS PCT GF GA STK P10 S/O PIM

1 Portland Pirates 29 16 11 1 1 34 0.586 88 90 0-1-0-0 7-3-0-0 1-1 631

2 Providence Bruins 27 15 10 0 2 32 0.593 68 75 1-0-0-0 7-2-0-1 4-2 523

3 Worcester Sharks 27 14 10 1 2 31 0.574 77 82 1-0-0-0 5-4-0-1 5-2 679

4 Manchester Monarchs 29 13 12 2 2 30 0.517 82 78 1-0-0-0 4-5-0-1 1-2 432

5 St. John's IceCaps 31 14 16 0 1 29 0.468 72 85 0-1-0-0 3-7-0-0 1-1 431

Northeast Division

Rank Team GP W L OTL SL PTS PCT GF GA STK P10 S/O PIM

1 Springfield Falcons 27 16 6 2 3 37 0.685 90 61 1-0-0-0 6-3-1-0 1-3 446

2 Bridgeport Sound Tigers 28 13 12 1 2 29 0.518 85 93 0-1-0-0 3-4-1-2 1-2 716

3 Adirondack Phantoms 28 13 14 1 0 27 0.482 71 82 3-0-0-0 4-5-1-0 2-0 631

4 Connecticut Whale 28 12 14 2 0 26 0.464 80 93 0-1-0-0 3-6-1-0 1-0 531

5 Albany Devils 26 9 10 1 6 25 0.481 60 69 0-2-1-1 5-3-1-1 0-6 437

East Division

Rank Team GP W L OTL SL PTS PCT GF GA STK P10 S/O PIM

1 Syracuse Crunch 28 17 7 1 3 38 0.679 100 77 0-1-0-1 5-3-0-2 0-3 714

2 Binghamton Senators 25 16 6 1 2 35 0.700 84 63 3-0-0-1 7-2-0-1 0-2 538

3 W-B/Scr. Penguins 27 14 11 1 1 30 0.556 75 74 1-0-0-0 4-4-1-1 3-1 591

4 Hershey Bears 29 14 13 1 1 30 0.517 77 76 0-1-0-0 6-3-0-1 1-1 511

5 Norfolk Admirals 27 13 13 1 0 27 0.500 73 80 2-0-0-0 6-3-1-0 3-0 562

North Division

Rank Team GP W L OTL SL PTS PCT GF GA STK P10 S/O PIM

1 Toronto Marlies 28 17 9 1 1 36 0.643 96 75 4-0-1-0 8-1-1-0 1-1 505

2 Abbotsford Heat 29 15 8 3 3 36 0.621 69 61 0-3-0-0 2-6-1-1 2-3 429

3 Lake Erie Monsters 30 15 13 1 1 32 0.533 95 96 3-0-0-0 5-5-0-0 4-1 506

4 Rochester Americans 27 13 11 2 1 29 0.537 91 90 0-1-0-0 4-4-1-1 4-1 462

5 Hamilton Bulldogs 27 10 14 1 2 23 0.426 61 87 0-3-0-1 4-5-0-1 1-2 551

Midwest Division

Rank Team GP W L OTL SL PTS PCT GF GA STK P10 S/O PIM

1 Grand Rapids Griffins 27 16 9 1 1 34 0.630 85 74 3-0-0-0 6-4-0-0 2-1 440

2 Rockford IceHogs 30 15 13 1 1 32 0.533 95 91 1-0-0-0 5-4-1-0 2-1 715

3 Chicago Wolves 26 13 9 3 1 30 0.577 67 73 4-0-1-0 5-3-1-1 2-1 375

4 Peoria Rivermen 29 13 12 2 2 30 0.517 73 92 0-1-0-0 7-2-0-1 3-2 439

5 Milwaukee Admirals 28 13 12 2 1 29 0.518 76 83 1-0-0-0 5-4-1-0 1-1 361

South Division

Rank Team GP W L OTL SL PTS PCT GF GA STK P10 S/O PIM

1 Charlotte Checkers 30 18 9 0 3 39 0.650 96 80 5-0-0-1 6-3-0-1 2-3 395

2 Texas Stars 28 15 9 2 2 34 0.607 69 71 0-1-0-0 6-2-1-1 3-2 408

3 Oklahoma City Barons 28 14 10 1 3 32 0.571 92 83 1-0-0-0 3-5-0-2 0-3 541

4 Houston Aeros 28 14 10 1 3 32 0.571 87 82 0-2-0-0 5-4-0-1 3-3 356

5 San Antonio Rampage 31 11 17 0 3 25 0.403 77 95 1-0-0-0 4-6-0-0 0-3 534

This week:

The Whale finish out calendar year 2012 with four games in six days this week, starting with a home-and-home series against their in-state rivals the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Whale and Sound Tigers square off tonight at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport at 7:00 PM, and then a rematch is on tap tomorrow night, Thursday, at the XL Center, also a 7:00 faceoff. Then the Whale are off to Springfield on Saturday night, hooking up with the Falcons in a 7:00 game, and spend New Year's Eve in Portland, ME, where they will meet the Pirates at 5:30 on Monday.

Wednesday, December 26 at the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (Webster Bank Arena), 7:00 p.m.

- After losing the first two matchups of the year with their Connecticut adversaries, the Whale have won the last two. The Whale and Sound Tigers have split two previous encounters in Bridgeport, the Sound Tigers winning 4-3 on November 11 and the Whale capturing a 7-5 verdict November 23.

- The Sound Tigers had a five-game points streak (3-0-1-1) snapped in their last game before Christmas, a 3-2 home loss to Adirondack on Saturday. At 13-12-1-2 for 29 points, Bridgeport stands second in the Northeast Division, two points ahead of Adirondack and three points up on the Whale.

- Sound Tiger rookie forward John Persson (9-6-15 in 28 GP) has three of his nine goals on the year (3-1-4) against Connecticut.

- Radio - live with Bob Crawford on "Beethoven Radio" AM 1290, and on-line at www.ctwhale.com. Video streaming at www.ahllive.com.

Thursday, December 27 vs. the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the XL Center, 7:00 p.m.

- The Whale are 1-1-0-0 at home on the year against the Sound Tigers. Bridgeport spoiled the Whale's season opener with a 6-4 win over Connecticut October 12 and the Whale broke back with a 4-2 triumph December 5.

- Bridgeport is 6-8-1-1 in 16 road games on the season.

- For this and all Whale home games, tickets start as low as $10 each ($12 each when tickets are purchased on the day of the game), at the Public Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, through TicketMaster Charge-by-Phone at 1-800-745-3000 and on-line at www.ticketmaster.com.

- Radio - live with Bob Crawford and Mark Bailey on "Beethoven Radio" AM 1290, and on-line at www.ctwhale.com. Video streaming at www.ahllive.com.

Saturday, December 29 at the Springfield Falcons (MassMutual Center), 7:00 p.m.

- Springfield has won three of its first four games against the Whale, two of them by shutout. The two clubs have split two earlier meetings in Springfield, with the Falcons winning 2-0 on November 9 and the Whale taking a 3-2 decision November 25.

- The Falcons have won only two of their last five games (2-2-1-0), but are still ten games above .500, at 16-6-2-3 for 37 points, and lead second-place Bridgeport by eight points in the Northeast Division.

- Springfield goaltender Curtis McElhinney, who is 15-3-2 on the year, leads the AHL in shutouts with six and owns the third-best goals-against average (1.98) and save percentage (93.7) in the league. He has blanked the Whale twice in three appearances against them this year.

- Radio - live with Bob Crawford on "The Rock" 106.9 WCCC-FM. All Whale Saturday night games this year will be beamed on The Rock 106.9 WCCC's 50,000 watts of power. Also available on-line at www.ctwhale.com. Video streaming at www.ahllive.com.

Monday, December 31 at the Portland Pirates (Cumberland County Civic Center), 5:30 p.m.

- Portland (16-11-1-1, 34 pts.) heads a tightly-packed Atlantic Division, leading second-place Providence by two points. The Pirates had won a team season-high six straight games, before falling 5-3 at Manchester Saturday in their last game before Christmas.

- This is the Whale's first of four visits on the season to Portland. They have lost a pair of one-goal games to the Pirates this year in Hartford, 2-1 on November 16 and 1-0 on December 15.

- Rookie goaltender Mark Visentin rang up his first professional shutout in the last game between the Whale and Pirates, making 28 saves in Portland's 1-0 win in Hartford December 15.

- Radio - live with Bob Crawford on "Beethoven Radio" AM 1290, and on-line at www.ctwhale.com. Video streaming at www.ahllive.com.

Whale Community Appearances:

The Whale have the following appearances scheduled this week. For further information on these, or any other Whale community initiatives, contact Whale community relations manager Frank Berrian, at (860) 541-4728:

- Thursday, December 27-Saturday, December 29

Pucky, the Whale's lovable mascot, will be celebrating youth hockey throughout the day Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with appearances at the Simsbury Youth Hockey Holiday Tournament at the International Skating Center of Connecticut, 1375 Hopmeadow St., Simsbury, CT, and at the Connecticut Polar Bears' Christmas Tournament, at various rinks throughout the area.

- Monday, December 31, 2:00-5:00 PM, XL Center and Winterfest Rink at Bushnell Park, Hartford, CT

Pucky will be taking part in the First Night Hartford 2013 celebration, meeting and greeting revelers in downtown Hartford at the XL Center and at the Winterfest outdoor skating rink in Bushnell Park.

Recent Transactions:

J.T. Miller - reassigned from the Whale to the U.S. National Junior Team December 16.

Steven Delisle - reassigned to the Whale from Greenville (ECHL) December 18.

Bryan Hince - released from a Professional Tryout (PTO) agreement by the Whale December 23.

Jason Missiaen - reassigned to the Whale from Greenville (ECHL) December 23.

Practice: All Whale practices are open to the media at the XL Center or Champions Skating Center in Cromwell. As schedules are subject to last-minute changes, please call the public relations department at (860) 541-4791 before attending a practice.

Thurs., December 27 10:00 - 10:30 AM, XL Center (Game vs. Bridgeport)Fri., December 28 10:30 - 11:30 AM, Champions Skating Center

Sat., December 29 10:30 - 11:00 AM, Champions Skating Center (Game at Springfield)

Sun., December 30 10:30 - 11:30 AM, Champions Skating Center

Mon., December 31 Game at Portland

Tues., January 1 10:00 - 11:00 AM, Champions Skating Center

Whale Tales:

The Whale's next Friday-night home game is January 4, when the Adirondack Phantoms make their first visit of the season to the XL Center for a 7:00 game. At each and every Friday Whale home game this year, fans can enjoy $1 hot dogs and $2 beers until the end of the first intermission.

From now through January 4, the Whale are offering a special "Holiday Gift Pack". The deal includes four flex vouchers good for any 2012-13 game, four pairs of snazzy Connecticut Whale sunglasses and one Dunkin' Donuts gift card. Holiday Gift Packs are available for only $50 each for the Blue level and $75 each for the Green level. To order, and for more details, visit the Whale's official website at www.ctwhale.com.

The Whale's next Sunday home game is January 6, when the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins come into the XL Center for a 3:00 game. At every Sunday home game this year, fans can take advantage of the Whale's "Click It or Ticket Sunday Family Value Packs", which include a ticket, a hot dog or a pizza slice and a soda, all for just $18.

Tickets for all Whale regular season home games at the XL Center are on sale now at the Public Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, through TicketMaster Charge-by-Phone at 1-800-745-3000 and on-line at www.ticketmaster.com.

Season tickets for the Whale's 2012-13 AHL season are still available. For information on season seats, and all of the Whale's many ticketing options, visit www.ctwhale.com, or call the CT Whale ticket office at (860) 548-2000 to talk with an account executive today.

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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.

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