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 the Wave, man,” Kolarik said, a wry smile filling his face.

Yes, Catch the Wave and you’re sitting on top of the world.

As coach Ken Gernander pointed out, the Whale is “a long way from home” in a quest for the franchise’s 13^th playoff berth in its 14^th AHL season. But Whale players felt on top of their hockey world Friday night after Kolarik converted a 2-on-1 with Wade Redden with 29.5 seconds left in overtime to beat the Worcester Sharks, 3-2.

The players seemingly surfed across the XL Center ice to mob Kolarik as “Brass Bonanza” blared after the skillful right wing patiently picked his spot and beat Alex Stalock high to the glove side for his seventh goal and first winner in 15 games since being acquired for former Wolf Pack captain Dane Byers on Nov. 11.

Kolarik’s 11^th goal of the season enabled the Whale (14-11-2-4) to extend their winning streak to six games, the franchise’s longest since the Wolf Pack won seven in a row from Feb. 20 to March 4, 2009. The Whale also has a 10-game point streak (8-0-0-2) and is 8-0-0-1 since being rebranded from the Wolf Pack on Nov. 27 and making Catch the Wave the marketing theme.

The catchy phrase is part of a new website, and several players implore fans to hop aboard the wave as their faces flash across the video board before every home game. The only thing missing seemed to the Brian, Dennis and Wilson brothers, cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine strumming guitars, beating the drum and belting out lyrics with California girls dancing in the background. Or maybe Carrie Underwood, who beat Taylor Swift in a most popular singer contest among Whale players.

The Wolf Pack didn’t become the Whale until three weeks ago because of protracted negotiations between Whalers Sports and Entertainment and Northland, AEG and the New York Rangers, delaying Wolf Pack blue from becoming Whale(rs) green again. The new blue uniforms are scheduled to be shipped Dec. 22 and arrive Dec. 27, two days before the Whale’s next home game against the Portland Pirates, coached by former Whalers captain Kevin Dineen.

But by then the Whale could be on a 13-game point streak, so why bother ditching the lucky green? After all, the team has gone from the franchise’s worst losing streak (0-7-0-2) as the Wolf Pack to within three games of the team’s longest unbeaten streak (nine) as the Whale.

Why the turnaround?

Goalie Chad Johnson, who has won three in a row and is on an eight-game point streak (6-0-0-2), says it stems from a 3-2 victory at Binghamton on Nov. 20, when the Whale grinded it out and finally won on Jeremy Williams’ overtime goal, one of his team-leading 16.

“We were relentless, and it didn’t matter what the score was or what time of the game it was,” Johnson said. “If we took a penalty and were down 5-on-3 or on a 5-on-3, it didn’t matter. We played the same way with the same intensity. The guys really stuck together, got through that and found an identity. It just takes one game or one guy to just get things rolling and guys will follow.”

Other players point to the 13,089 fans, second-largest home crowd in franchise history, who showed up for the first Whale game, a 4-3 shootout victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

“The first night was great,” Kolarik said. “The fans were awesome. It was just good to get that emotional high. It wasn’t a change of scenario, but a change of jersey color might have given us a little spark. I know when I got traded I got a little spark under my butt. It definitely motivates you. At first you’re thinking, ‘Oh, what did I do wrong?’ Then you step back, and when one door closes, another door opens. That’s what I tell myself every day. I’m glad I’m here, and it’s a great opportunity for myself. I’ve never made it to the playoffs as an AHL player, so I’m excited for that opportunity here because Hartford has a great tradition.”

In pure hockey terms, the 180-degree turn has resulted from improved penalty killing (56-for-65 in the last 13 games); the addition of Kolarik, center Oren Eizenman and defenseman Stu Bickel via trades; the return from injuries of goalie Cameron Talbot and forwards Dale Weise, recalled by the Rangers on Friday afternoon, Brodie Dupont and Tim Kennedy; the maturation of rookie defensemen Ryan McDonagh, Tomas Kundratek, Pavel Valentenko and Jyri Niemi; and intangibles such as enhanced togetherness and team toughness from guys such as Justin Soryal, Devin DiDiomete and Jared Nightingale; and the ability to find ways to win or finish off games. Instead of 11 one-goal losses – and a 12^th by two goals with an empty-netter – in the first 22 games, the Whale has four one-goal victories in the current nine-game point streak.

Plus, North American rookie sharpshooter Mats Zuccarello (13 goals) and veterans such as Redden and forwards Williams (team-high 16 goals) and Kris Newbury (team-high, eight-game point streak and league-leading 27 assists) have supplied the offense and leadership expected.

“We’ve definitely found an identity,” Johnson said. “We’re kind of a consistent team. We’re relentless. We try to move the puck as quickly as we can. We try to play an overall game. We’re not just going to be strong in the offensive zone. We’re not going to be just a defensive team. We’re not going to be a greedy team.

“We’re going to try to do everything, which is kind of what we were struggling at the start of the year. We really didn’t know what we were. Are we a physical team or are we an offensive team? We kind of found it in that Binghamton game.”

McDonagh, who left NCAA runner-up Wisconsin after his junior year, is a prime example. After a hesitant start while Badgers teammate Derek Stepan was plying his trade on Broadway, McDonagh has improved in all phases of his game while playing alongside Kundratek early in the season, veterans Nightingale and Bickel lately and working in between with J.J. Daignault, who handles the defense.

“I’ve just gained so much more confidence,” McDonagh said. “It’s funny what 20 games feels like. It’s a lot for me, and I gained so much in a short span those first 20 games. Now these last 10-12 games, I’ve felt so much more confident and comfortable and back to the way I want to play getting up the ice and getting physical and being tough to play against.

“I’m a lot more poised with the puck. Early on, I might have been just nervous, just kind of overthinking, kind of throwing the puck too much. J.J. worked with me and sat down and did video quite a bit and said, ‘Play with confidence, play with poise, let things happen.’ I feel like I’ve just made more sound plays.”

Being put on the ice when the team is two men done also helps the psyche.

“It’s great when the coach has confidence in you,” said McDonagh, who has one goal, four assists and is among the team’s best shot blockers, especially when killing penalties. “But I trust anybody on this team right now. When we were losing, we knew we had a solid group of guys who could play, it was just finding out the right chemistry, getting guys back from injury, changing our team name to the Whale. It’s been fun.”

And kind of like catching a wave and feeling like you sitting on top of the world.

WEISE MAKES HIS MARK IN NHL DEBUT, THEN RETURNED TO WHALE

Right wing Dale Weise made quite noticeable in his NHL debut Saturday afternoon in the Rangers’ 4-1 loss to the Atlantic Division-leading Philadelphia Flyers, who won their fifth in a row to extend their run to 19-3-4 and increase their NHL-high point total to 49.

But despite finishing with one shot, two near goals and five penalty minutes after beating up Daniel Carcillo during a team-low 6:43 in ice time, all at even strength, Weise was reassigned to the Whale after the game and was to meet the team in Syracuse for a game Sunday at 3 p.m. against the Crunch.

Weise opened against the Flyers on a line with captain/center and Trumbull native Chris Drury, playing his third game after returning from missing 31 of the first 32 with a twice broken left wrist, and Sean Avery. It was one of three new lines for coach John Tortorella, who hasn’t been afraid to make changes despite the Rangers’ recent success. Wiese replaced Todd White, who committed a bad turnover on Martin Hanzal’s goal in the Rangers’ 4-3 shootout victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday night.

Weise’s first NHL shift lasted all of four seconds, as Avery, the Rangers pest, was suckered into a penalty by Carcillo, the Flyers’ pest, as he headed back to the bench. Weise played only two full shifts in the first period because of several penalties on both sides and then was the first-intermission guest on MSG Network.

“I was a little nervous for the first shift but just made a beeline across the ice and that was about it,” Weise said with a smile. “But it’s exciting. I’m sure all my buddies and my family are at home watching (in Winnipeg, Manitoba), so I’m just trying to keep the puck out of our net, which is the main thing, and make a good impression.

“I just want to play my game. Obviously your first NHL game is pretty tough, but I just want to be physical – I’m a physical player – bang some bodies and, like I said, just be good defensively and not have anybody score on us.”

“Carcillo has opportunities to fight some other people out there,” Tortorella told reporters after the game. “He decided to pick on Weise, and I thought (Weise) did a really good job in his fight. A really good job. Other than his first shift, where he kind of got handcuffed … I liked what he did. Even some plays behind the net, he kept some patience.”

Weise nearly scored on a partial breakaway with 5:32 left in the second period, but Flyers goalie Brian Boucher got a piece of his 30-foot shot, which trickled just wide of the right post. That came after former Rangers wing Nikolay Zherdev came out of the penalty box and put a backhander past Henrik Lundqvist on a breakaway.

Michel Del Zotto’s turnover after the Rangers won a faceoff to the left of Lundqvist led to Andreas Nolt’s goal from Claude Giroux and a 2-0 Flyers lead.

Weise appeared to put the Rangers on the board off a pass from Avery at 5:35 of the third period, but his goal was disallowed by referee Don VanMassenhoven for having used his left skate to kick the puck in the net. After a lengthy review in the NHL office in Toronto, officials ruled the puck went in because of “a distinct kicking motion.”

TSN’s Bob McKenzie thought otherwise, saying, “There was a distinct kicking motion on that NYR Weise non-goal, but I thought it was AFTER puck deflected off his skate.”

During the delay, MSG analyst Joe Micheletti said, “Weise has done just fine. He hasn’t looked out of place at all.”

Stepan was soon robbed by a sprawling Boucher but subsequently converted Alex Frolov’s pass for his ninth goal to get the Rangers to 2-1 at 8:23. But after Flyers coach Peter Laviolette called a timeout, another Del Zotto turnover led to Ville Leino’s deflection of Kimmo Timonen’s shot just 1:34 after Stepan scored. That made Del Zotto minus-3, and he watched the rest of the game from the bench.

Zherdev scored his second goal and 13^th of the season on a power play with 4:54 left to clinch the victory and end the Rangers’ three-game winning streak.

Soon after Zherdev’s second goal, Avery hit the post before Weise scored a takedown on Carcillo during a fight with 3:27 left.

“Weise is a tough kid,” MSG play-by-play man Sam Rosen said.

The teams then played it out, as Boucher improved to 6-0-1 in his last seven starts, including four of the previous five games, as the Flyers registered their second 4-1 win over the Rangers this season. He also was in goal when the Flyers eliminated the Rangers on the final day of last season in a shootout.

The 22-year-old Weise, who wore No. 32, was called up after former Hartford Wolf Pack right wing Ryan Callahan was sidelined 6-to-8 weeks with a broken left hand sustained when he blocked a shot in a 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night. Weise missed 18 of the Whale’s first 30 games because of injuries but still had six goals and five assists, including the winners in victories over the Adirondack Phantoms last Sunday and Wednesday.

Ironically, Weise got his first call-up at the end of last season because of an injury to Callahan but was a healthy scratch for four games. Weise earned a shot after he had AHL career highs in goals (28), assists (22), points (50), penalty minutes (114), power-play goals (four), shorthanded goals (five), game-winning goals (seven) and shots (177) and tied his career high with a plus-8 rating. His five shorthanded goals tied for the AHL lead.

Weise has 45 goals, 39 assists and 200 penalty minutes in 159 career AHL games with the Wolf Pack/Whale, and he and the rest of the Rangers didn’t have to worry about former Whalers defenseman Chris Pronger, who will miss 4-to-6 weeks with a broken bone in his right foot. Pronger, 36, the Whalers’ first-round pick (second overall) in 1993, had surgery Friday to repair a broken first metatarsal that he sustained when he blocked a shot during the second period of the Flyers’ 5-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night.

It’s the second time this season Pronger will have a long-term injury absence. He had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in August and missed all of training camp and the first two games of the regular season while recovering. In 31 games this season, Pronger has four goals and 11 assists while averaging 22:20 minutes, second on the team. Last season, his first with the Flyers, Pronger was named team MVP after getting 10 goals and 45 points while playing in all 82 games. Then he had 18 points in 22 games in helping the Flyers reach the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1997, averaging a league-high 29:03 of ice time in the postseason.

HOMECOMING FOR WHALE’S EIZENMAN, BICKEL

When the Whale makes its only visit to Syracuse this season, it will be a homecoming for Bickel and Eizenman, acquired from the Anaheim Ducks on successive days last month while playing with the Crunch.

Bickel played in the first meeting between the teams, the Crunch’s stunning 2-1 victory on Oct. 23 when they tied the score on Kyle Palmieri’s sixth-attacker goal with 24 seconds left in regulation and then won 45 seconds into overtime on a goal by NHL veteran Josh Green, who has both the Crunch’s winning goals in extra time and points in six of his last eight games (four goals, three assists).

Bickel was picked up Nov. 23 for disgruntled defenseman Nigel Williams, and Eizenman was acquired 24 hours later for future considerations. Since the deals, the Whale is 8-0-0-2 as Bickel has added physicality and leadership on defense while chipping in five assists and being plus-5, and Eizenman has been solid all-around while getting two goals and one assist, helping kill penalties, taking face-offs in the defensive zone and being plus-3. Meanwhile, the Crunch is 2-4-0-0 in the games played by Williams, who was outspokenly unhappy in Hartford as far back as the end of last season and frequently asked to be traded. He has one assist, is minus-7 and had been scratched the last four games before a home game against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday night.

The Crunch (9-15-1-3) are led by former Bridgeport Sound Tigers center Trevor Smith (five goals, 12 assists), left wing Nicolas Deschamps (8, 7) and Palmieri (9, 4), who has left the team to play for Team USA in the World Junior Hockey Championships Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 in Buffalo, N.Y. And the Crunch acquired left wing Patrick Maroon (7, 6) and right wing David Laliberte (5, 7) from the Adirondack Admirals on Nov. 21. Center Nick Bonino, an Avon native who was the Ducks’ sixth-round pick in 2007, had two goals and seven assists in eight games before being called up by Anaheim, where he is scoreless in 22 games. Timo Pielmeier (6-10-0, 3.61 goals-against average and .898 save percentage) has done most of the Crunch goaltending and had 27 saves in a 2-1 overtime victory over the Whale on Oct. 23.

Eizenman and Bickel both said the Crunch is a hard-working team

“They go hard to loose pucks and compete hard, which is something the coach demands,” said Bickel, who has remained in contact with many of his former Crunch teammates. “It’ll be interesting to go back, but when you’ve played the game long enough, it just becomes something where it’s normal to play against people you’re friends with and played with in the past. Hockey is actually a pretty small world, so it’s not really going to be personal for me. I’m just going to take it like any other game and try to play my best.”

Eizenman said the Crunch has a good defensive corps in “a blue-collar system.”

“Every time I go somewhere where I’ve played, I’m excited to go back,” said Eizenman, who is playing on his 10^th pro team in three-plus seasons. “I always hope to have a good game and definitely want to beat them because I know a lot of guys on their team, so you want to have bragging rights. I’m sure Stu and I will be playing our hardest.”

That’s assuming they play. Bickel was a healthy scratch the last two games, and Eizenman replaced Weise on Friday night.

… Whalers Sports and Entertainment chairman and CEO Howard Baldwin will be the guest speaker at the East Hartford Chamber of Commerce breakfast series sponsored by AT&T Connecticut on Jan. 11 at 8 a.m. at the Sheraton Hartford Hotel on East River Drive in East Hartford. Baldwin will be speaking about his efforts to bring the NHL back to Hartford, the Whalers Hockey Fest 2011 on Feb. 11-23 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford and other economic development opportunities.

“I am very excited to have a man of Howard Baldwin’s experience, energy and commitment to Connecticut and the Hartford area speaking at our Chamber event,” Chamber president Ron Pugliese said. “I invite anyone who has the desire to see the Hartford area grow and prosper economically to join us on January 11.” … Howard Baldwin Jr., the new president and chief operating officer of WS&E, has a new Twitter account that is accessible to Whale fans at howardbaldwinjr. … Former Wolf Pack assistant coach Nick Fotiu, one of the biggest fan favorites in the history of the Rangers and New England and Hartford Whalers, will sign autographs in the XL Center atrium Dec. 29 from 6-7 p.m. before the Whale plays Portland. … Fans can give the gift of Whale hockey during the holiday season. The Whale Hockey Pack of six dark green undated flex tickets and one Heritage Connecticut Whale hat is $122, a savings of $38. Six yellow undated flex tickets and one hat are $74, a savings of $14. Holiday packages are available through Jan. 3 at the Fan Center behind Section 101 in the XL Center or by calling 860-728-3366 or visiting www.ctwhale.com. … The Whale has moved the starting time of their Jan. 1 game against the Providence Bruins from 7 p.m. to 5 p.m. so it doesn’t conflict with the University of Connecticut football team playing Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, which starts at 8:30. … The Bridgeport Sound Tigers’ annual holiday toy drive ends Sunday. The Sound Tigers have been working with the Bridgeport Fire Department to gather toys and teddy bears to be distributed to local children and families by players and front office staff members. Before a game against Worcester on Sunday, the Bridgeport Fire Department will play a charity hockey game against the Worcester Fire Department to assist families of Bridgeport firefighter Michel Baik and Lt. Steven Valeasquez, who were killed in the line of duty on July 24 in Bridgeport. … Speaking of teddy bears, the largest crowd of the season in Greenville, S.C., nearly didn’t get to toss theirs Friday night. The Greenville Road Warriors, affiliated with the Rangers and Flyers, needed Mark Voakes’ penalty shot at 2:47 of overtime for a 1-0 victory over the Gwinnett Gladiators, allowing the 4,589 in attendance to toss 1,142 teddy bears on the ice. Dov Grumet-Morris, who played two games with the Whale in late November, made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season, improving the Road Warriors to 19-6-2.

ALL-STAR VOTING CONTINUES

On-line fan voting for the AHL All-Star Classic Jan. 30-31 at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa., runs through midnight Jan. 9 at theahl.com and facebook.com/theahl. Players receiving the most votes by position will earn berths in the starting lineups of the Eastern Conference and Western Conference All-Star teams. A committee of AHL coaches will select the remaining All-Stars, and all 30 clubs must be represented. By completing the official ballot, fans will be entered to win a grand prize of a team-signed All-Star jersey. Ten more winners will each receive an official All-Star Classic T-shirt.

Tickets for the AHL Hall of Fame induction and awards ceremony and post skills party during the All-Star Classic are on sale. The induction and awards ceremony will take place at the Hershey Theater on Jan. 31 at 11 a.m. when the Hall of Fame Class of 2011 – the late Maurice Podoloff, who grew up in New Haven and graduated from Yale, Mitch Lamoureux, Harry Pidhirny and Larry Wilson – will be enshrined. AHL Hall of Famer Bruce Boudreau, former coach of the Bears and now coach of the Washington Capitals, will be the keynote speaker, and AHL graduate and 2008 Foster Hewitt Award winner Mike Emrick will be master of ceremonies.

The post-skills party will be at the Hershey Lodge on Jan. 30 from 6 to 10 p.m. It will feature a tailgate theme while watching the NHL All-Star Game with a buffet-style menu of food and drinks. Ticket packages for the two events are $75 and can be purchased at the Giant Center box office or by calling 717-534-3911. Availability is limited, and there is a six-ticket limit per person.

HAMEL REACHES 300-GOAL PLATEAU

Adirondack left wing Denis Hamel scored twice to help the Phantoms rally from a one-goal deficit to a 3-1 victory over Hershey on Friday night. Hamel’s second goal against Dany Sabourin with 8:32 left in the game made him the 19th player to reach 300 AHL goals.

Hamel has a team-leading 10 goals and seven assists in only 19 games since joining the Phantoms. A 33-year-old native of Lachute, Quebec, Hamel has 300 goals and 272 assists in 729 career AHL games with Rochester, Binghamton, and Adirondack. Among active players, only former Wolf Pack left wing Alexandre Giroux of Oklahoma City has more goals (318) than Hamel. … While Kolarik was getting the OT winner for the Whale, Byers was getting two goals and an assist in the visiting Falcons’ 6-3 victory over the Sound Tigers. It gave the Falcons back-to-back wins for the first time since sweeping a home-and-home series from the Whale on Oct. 29-30. … Former Wolf Pack defenseman Dean Arsene had a goal and an assist as the Peoria Rivermen beat the Grand Rapids Griffins, 5-2. … Former Wolf Pack center Jamie Lundmark scored and rookie goalie Jeremy Smith made 31 saves for his first AHL shutout in the Milwaukee Admirals’ 3-0 victory over the visiting Lake Erie Monsters.