3’s and 2’s 

      VERSUS     

After knocking off the Springfield Falcons 4-1 Sunday afternoon in front of 2,764 at the XL Center, if the Connecticut Whale were at all superstitious they would be heading to place 3-3-3 as their lottery number because Sunday was all about threes and twos.

• The Whale won for the 3rd straight time.
• The team won their games in 3 consecutive days.
• The game started at 3pm.
• They won by 3 goals.
• Jonathan Audy-Marchessault had 3 points (1g, 2a)

You could also sprinkle in a couple of two’s as well.

• Won both ends of the back-to-back with Springfield.
• Audy-Marchessault has goals in two straight games.
• The Whale killed off two lengthy 5-on-3 penalties.

But besides all of that, the biggest news entering the game was that Mats Zuccarello was not going to play as a result of injuries resulting from the very dirty elbow to the head by NHL veteran Adam Mair.

When asked if that was the reason Zuccarello was not in the game, Whale head coach Ken Gernander said, “Certainly…We don’t know the extent of it, but he was not able to play (Sunday) as a result of the hit from the game (Saturday) night.”

Gernander said he also has spoken to the league about the early third period hit where Mair blindsided “The Norwegian Hobbit” and hit him in the head with an elbow. “The matter is in the league’s hand right now,” Gernander said. “We got them the tape last night and they are in possession of it and the matter is in their hands.”

Meanwhile, the Whale went about their business and tried to put it behind them. After two excellent performances Friday and Saturday in which he faced 56 shots and stopped 55 of them, Cam Talbot was given the-day- game-after-a-night-game, to borrow a baseball phrase, off and Chad Johnson, (2-0-2, 27 saves) stood between the pipes for the home team.

The Whale dug themselves an early hole when Jared Nightingale took a high-sticking call at 10:33 and John Mitchell followed up 13 seconds later with a slashing call giving the visiting Falcons a two-man advantage for 1:47. But aside from Johnson making a strong stop on ex-Wolf-Pack captain Dane Byers near the end of the power play, the penalty killers held their ground and put the threat aside.

Johnson made strong saves on Matt Calvert and and then Mair later in the period before the tide turned the Whale’s direction and they got on the board first.

“I lost that faceoff,” In the left wing circle Audy-Marchessault said. “But (Jyri) Niemi jumped, so he gave me like a good push on that and they were battling in front. (NHL veteran and Springfield starting netminder Manny) Legace (0-2-0, 27 saves) dropped that puck and it was supposed to be another face-off on that, but I jumped to the net and recovered that puck and scored. I mean I was the right person  at the right moment.”

The goal came with just 3:25 left in the first and gave the team momentum heading into the first intermission.

To start the second, things continued to be sloppy and penalties were being called at a steady clip by the referee tandem of Tim Mayer and Keith Kaval. 23 seconds in, Andre Deveaux was whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct – diving and then at 3:21 the Springfield bench earned a Too Many Men on the ice penalty giving the Whale their 4th  power play of the game and this one they capitalized on.

After a bad clearing attempt hit the glass and bounced out in front of the net, in the scramble, Carl Hagelin got it over to Blake Parlett on the left side of the crease and the ever improving defenseman slid it under Legace for his first goal of the season at 4:01 and a 2-0 lead.

32 seconds later it was Andreas Thuresson’s turn as he took a sweet pass from behind the net by Tommy Grant and sliding through the low clot ripped a shot over Legace’s blocker for his second of the 2011-2012 season and the 3-0 lead.

After Byers put a cheap shot on Parlett running him face first into the boards, the Whale put their second power-play goal on the board as Audy-Marchessault made a perfect pass fro the right side circle and put it perfectly on Grant’s stick for the easy redirect and his first of the campaign at 13:24 for the 4-0 bulge.

Byers and Stu Bickel dropped the gloves for a bout with 1:19 left in the period. Byers refused to stop hitting Bickel even after the referees had pulled him off and landed a couple earning a ten-minute misconduct.

But not to be outdone, Deveaux, likely making Mair answer the bell for last night’s hit on Zuccarello, would also not stop hitting a fallen foe and also was given a ten-minute misconduct with 1:08 left in the period.

With all the penalties and the Whale’s total dominance around the net, the Whale had an 18-7 shot advantage and 28-17 overall for the game as the two teams entered the final frame.

After Jordan Owens took a run at a Falcon player  and boarded him, RYan Russell, who was selected by the New York Rangers in round 7 (#211 overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, rushed to the aide of his stunned teammate and the two dropped the gloves for a lightweight battle that was a draw.

The Whale put themselves in another hole as Bickel made a tough situation tougher as his high sticking call gave Springfield their second two-man advantage. His high sticking call gave the Falcons a 50 second 5-on-3 power play, which the Whale penalty killers rose to the occasion and gave the Falcons nothing.

Martin St. Pierre ended Johnson’s bid for his second shutout of the season when he took a rebound of a Ray Marcias,  a professional try-out contract holder with the Falcons, shot and put it past Johnson for what would prove to be the games’ final score.

The Whale are back at on the road on Friday night when they travel up to Adirondack for a rematch with the Phantoms. Then Saturday they battle the Worcester Sharks and then off until the following Wednesday for a morning battle with the Sound Tigers at 11am.

Brian Ring has his story for the Whale here on Howlings. Freelancer Nate Owen reports the Springfield perspective at MassLive.com.

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

STANDINGS:

(Standings via theahl.com)

VIDEO:

SOUNDS OF THE GAME:

Gernander  – 

Audy-Marchessault – 

Chad Johnson – 

NOTES:

* Coming into the game, the Whale were tenth in the league in overall attendance at 6,052 per game.

* Both Chad Johnson (9) and Cam Talbot (13) are in the T0p 15 overall leading AHL goaltenders.

* Carl Hagelin entered the game leading all rookies in the plus/minus category with a plus-6

* The Whale entered the game 23rd on the PP and 4th on the PK

LINES:

Hagelin – Mitchell – Zuccarello
Grant – Marchessault – Thuresson
Niemi – Tessier – Deveaux
McKelvie – Owens – Tanski

Parlett – Baldwin
Redden – Nightingale
Bickel – Kundratek

Johnson
Talbot

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

SCRATCHES:

Sean Avery – Shoulder – Day-to-Day
Ryan Bourque – Undisclosed injury – Day-to-Day
Mats Zuccarello – Injury related to head hit from Saturday – Day-to-Day
Kris Newbury / Brendan Bell – Recall with Rangers

* Pavel Valentenko technically wasn’t scratched, but did not play.

THREE STARS:

1. CT – J. Audy-Marchessault
2. CT – T. Grant
3. CT – C. Johnson

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:
Tim Mayer (19)
Keith Kaval (40)

Linesmen:
Marty Demers (79)
Luke Galvin (2)

NEXT GAME:

The Whale are off until Friday when they head back to Adirondack for another meeting with the Phantoms. BTW, they won’t have Brayden Schenn to contend with as the phenom has been recalled to Philadelphia.  Bob Crawford will have the broadcast with the pre-game show starting at 6:30 on WCCC.com.

To watch the game live, you can purchased it for $6.99 at AHL-live.

For Ticket information for all home games, call (860) 548-2000.

Too far away or can’t make it? Listen live at WCCC.com or from your cell phone or computer visit www.twitter.com/howlingstoday for complete live in-game coverage of all games both home and away.

SCORE-SHEET:

Springfield Falcons 1 at Connecticut Whale 4 – Status: Final
Sunday, October 23, 2011 – XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Springfield 0 0 1 – 1
Connecticut 1 3 0 – 4

1st Period-1, Connecticut, Audy-Marchessault 2 (Niemi), 16:35. Penalties-Joudrey Spr (hooking), 1:57; Byers Spr (tripping), 5:30; Nightingale Ct (high-sticking), 10:33; Mitchell Ct (slashing), 10:46; served by McKelvie Ct (bench minor – too many men), 13:10; Thomas Spr (slashing), 19:15.

2nd Period-2, Connecticut, Parlett 1 (Hagelin), 4:01 (PP). 3, Connecticut, Thuresson 2 (Grant, Audy-Marchessault), 4:33. 4, Connecticut, Grant 1 (Audy-Marchessault, Bickel), 13:24 (PP). Penalties-Deveaux Ct (diving), 0:23; served by MacLeod Spr (bench minor – too many men), 3:21; Calvert Spr (slashing), 9:24; Byers Spr (elbowing), 11:39; Delisle Spr (high-sticking), 14:44; Byers Spr (fighting, misconduct – continuing altercation), 18:41; Bickel Ct (fighting), 18:41; Mair Spr (fighting), 18:52; Deveaux Ct (fighting, misconduct – continuing altercation), 18:52; Owens Ct (interference), 19:48.

3rd Period-5, Springfield, Atkinson 2 (St. Pierre, Goloubef), 14:33. Penalties-Drazenovic Spr (kneeing), 6:19; Russell Spr (fighting), 9:36; Owens Ct (boarding, fighting), 9:36; Bickel Ct (high-sticking), 10:47.

Shots on Goal-Springfield 10-7-11-28. Connecticut 10-18-3-31.
Power Play Opportunities-Springfield 0 / 7; Connecticut 2 / 8.
Goalies-Springfield, Legace 0-2-0 (31 shots-27 saves). Connecticut, Johnson 2-0-2 (28 shots-27 saves).
A-2,764
Referees-Tim Mayer (19), Keith Kaval (40).
Linesmen-Marty Demers (79), Luke Galvin (2).