Every Wednesday we’ll take a look at the status of the
Rangers’ AHL affiliate. Top prospects Ryan Bourque and Carl Hagelin will
be key players for the Whale this season - we’ll check on how they’re doing and
how the team performs as the season progresses.
- Connecticut picked up three wins in three days last weekend over
the Manchester Monarchs and twice over the Springfield Falcons.
The Whale opened the weekend with a 5-0 shutout
the of Monarchs on Friday as Mats Zuccarello dominated in his return to the
AHL. Zuccarello posted two goals and an
assist and Cam Talbot picked up a 23-save shutout. John Mitchell also
had a goal and two assists playing alongside Zuccarello.
Next, the Whale beat
the Springfield Falcons 2-1 on Saturday as Zuccarello scored the
game-winning goal late in the third period. Jonathan Audy-Marchessault scored his first AHL goal earlier in the
final frame to tie the game.
On Sunday, the Whale returned home and downed the Falcons
again, this
time 4-1. Audy-Marchessault followed
up his first pro goal with another goal
and two assists, which earned him first-star of the game honors.
- Zuccarello missed Sunday’s game after he was crushed by a blindside hit from Adam Mairon Saturday. It was exactly the type of hit that everyone wants to eliminate from hockey and Zuccarello, at his size, certainly felt the effects. There’s been no update on his condition. Mair was suspended four games.
- With three wins over the weekend, Connecticut is now tied
for first-place in the Northeast Division.
- Kris Newbury continues to lead the Whale in scoring despite
playing with the Rangers for the last week. Carl Hagelin is second in scoring with six points and is also a
team-leading plus-6.
- After returning from their Western Canada road trip, the
Rangers reassigned Brendan Bell to the Whale.
- Sean Avery began
skating with the Whale last Wednesday. Avery says that he’s doubtful he’ll ever be recalled by the New York
Rangers and indicated that he doesn’t think he was given a fair shot at making
the team at training camp. Later in the
week Avery told Andrew Gross that he’s not concerned with money and would
happily return to New York for the league minimum. It sounds like Avery is getting very close to
making his Whale debut.
- It was initially reported that Ryan Bourque had missed games
with illness, but now it appears that Bourque
suffered a concussion. Bourque was
back on the ice today, but there’s no timetable for his return to the lineup.
- The Whale has a road back-to-back on Friday and Saturday
when the team will visit the Adirondack Phantoms, the AHL affiliate of the
Philadelphia Flyers, and Worcester Sharks, the AHL affiliate of the San Jose Sharks. Both games begin at 7:00 p.m. Connecticut is then off until next Wednesday.
Past editions of The Whale Week That Was:
The
Whale Week That Was - October 5, 2011 >
The
Whale Week That Was – October 12, 2011 >
The
Whale Week That Was – October 19, 2011 >
The Whale Week That Was – October 26, 2011 >
Click
here for our full 2011-2012 Season Archive >
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