Every Wednesday we’ll take a look at the status of the
Rangers’ AHL affiliate. Top prospects Mats Zuccarello, Ryan Bourque and
Tim Erixon are key players for the Whale this season - we’ll check on how
they’re doing and how the team performs as the season progresses.
- The Blueshirts recalled Tim
Erixon from the CT Whale this morning.
New York will head west this week to visit St. Louis and Phoenix, so this
could just be a precautionary move. With
Marc Staal and Mike Sauer out with concussions, the Rangers don’t have any
spare bodies to insert into the lineup should another defenseman get hurt. However, it’s also possible that Erixon could
replace Jeff Woywitka in the lineup.
Woywitka’s turnover led directly to the Stars’ only goal last night, so
perhaps Coach John Tortorella wants to sit him down for a game or two. Erixon missed four games with an undisclosed
injury before returning to the lineup this past weekend, so this probably isn’t
an ideal time to bring him up long-term.
He has improved steadily and is “playing
exceptionally well,” according to Mitch Beck at Howlings.net. Beck also writes, “Having seen every game
he’s played in at this level, he is so clearly ready to make the jump to the
next frontier that to keep him in Hartford at this point will slow his
development.
- Mats Zuccarello injured his ankle against the Hershey Bears
and is expected
to be out four-to-six weeks.
- Erixon returned to the Whale lineup on
Friday against the Bears, but Connecticut lost 5-3 in the second “Battle of
the Bourques.” It was a strange night in
Connecticut; a loose cinder block fell from the ceiling and hit Kris Newbury’s shin pads and name plate prior to the game, but
the center avoided injury. The Whale
fell behind 4-0 before launching a comeback, but it was too little too
late. Former Whale member Tomas
Kundratek scored for Hershey. Newbury, Zuccarello and Kelsey Tessier scored for Connecticut.
- Connecticut bounced back on Saturday with a convincing
3-0 victory over the Providence Bruins.
Chris McKelvie replaced Zuccarello in the lineup and scored the
game-winner. Stu Bickel added a goal and
Francois Bouchard scored an empty-netter.
Cam Talbot pitched a 27-save shutout, his second of the year.
- A day after pounding Providence, the Whale fell
in the chippy second half of a home-and-home set, 3-2. Connecticut fell behind 3-0 as Talbot stopped
just 10 of 13 shots and was pulled in the second period. Tessier scored twice for Connecticut.
- Despite losing twice this weekend, Connecticut still leads
the Northeast Division by
three points.
- Erixon recorded four assists in three games in his return to
the lineup. He has a goal and 11 assists
in 13 games with the Whale.
- Zuccarello has tied Jonathan Audy-Marchessault for the team
points lead with 22.
- Goalie prospect Jason Missiaen was named
ECHL goalie of the week after going 2-0-0 with a .50 GAA and a .986 Sv%.
- Before the season Audy-Marchessault’s agent told the rookie
that he should expect to play for the ECHL’s Greenville Road Warriors this
season. But J.A.M. had more ambitious
plans, as The
Hartford Courant explains.
- Prior to his injury, Nick Perri wrote
about how well Zuccarello has played for the Whale.
- Check out this
feature from The Wall Street Journal on Carl Hagelin.
- Bruce Berlet profiles Scott
Tanski.
- StadiumJourney.com posted this review of the Whale’s home arena, the XL Center.
- The week ahead: Connecticut has home matches against Bridgeport
and Providence on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Both games will start at 7:00 p.m.
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 >
The
Whale Week That Was – November 2, 2011 >
The
Whale Week That Was – November 9, 2011 >
The
Whale Week That Was – November 16, 2011 >
The
Whale Week That Was – November 23, 2011 >
The
Whale Week That Was – November 30, 2011 >
The
Whale Week That Was - December 7, 2011 >
The Whale Week That Was - December 14, 2011 >
Click
here for our full 2011-2012 Season Archive >
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