Tag Archives: Dustin Tokarski

ADMIRALS RULE AHL

Posted on June 9, 2012 | Leave a comment

     VERSUS     

By: BRUCE BERLET, Special to Howlings

No controversy Saturday afternoon as the record-setting Norfolk Admirals won their first Calder Cup title in a dominating fashion that earmarked their play throughout the season.

Defenseman Mike Kostka, an early-season acquisition whose goal shouldn’t have ended Game 3 in overtime, scored twice and standout rookies/linemates Tyler Johnson and Corey Conacher combined for two goals and six assists as the Admirals rolled to a 6-1 victory over the Toronto Marlies and a four-game sweep of the Calder Cup finals before a second straight sellout of 8,084 at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto.  Continue reading →

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Posted in AHL, Connecticut Whale, CTWhale, Hockey, Sports

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BERLET SPOTLIGHT: NORFOLK ADMIRALS ON THE VERGE

Posted on June 8, 2012 | Leave a comment

BY: BRUCE BERLET, Special to Howlings

There’s an old saying, “It’s better to be lucky than good.” What happens though when you’re both?

Everyone in the hockey world knows how good the Norfolk Admirals are.

Thursday night the Admirals also turned into the luckiest – in more ways than one. Continue reading →

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Posted in AHL, College Hockey, Connecticut Whale, CTWhale, ECHL, Greenville Road Warriors, Hartford Wolf Pack, Hockey, IIHF World Championships, New York Rangers, NHL, Olympics, Sports, Traverse City Tournament, World Junior Championships

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BERLET SPOTLIGHT: GAME TWO

Posted on June 2, 2012 | Leave a comment

BY: BRUCE BERLET, Special to Howlings

     VERSUS      

ADMIRALS TAKE 2-0 LEAD IN CALDER CUP FINALS

At this rate, the Connecticut Whale will have more wins over the Norfolk Admirals in the last four months of the American Hockey League season than the other 28 teams combined.

The Admirals improved to a staggering 41-3 since Feb. 5 on Saturday night as Richard Panik had a goal and an assist and Dustin Tokarski made 30 saves in a 4-2 victory over the visiting Toronto Marlies for a 2-0 lead in the Calder Cup finals before a sellout of 8,661, the largest playoff crowd in Norfolk team history.

Continue reading →

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GAME FIVE: ADMIRALS SHOW…WHALE NOT SO MUCH

Posted on May 10, 2012 | Leave a comment

     VERSUS     

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMI-FINAL SERIES: GAME FIVE

BY: BRUCE BERLET (Special to Howlings)

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – The “real” Norfolk Admirals showed up at Webster Bank Arena on Wednesday night, put the Connecticut Whale on the brink of elimination in their Eastern Conference semifinal and then celebrated with a rousing rendition of “We Are Young” by Janelle Monae in the post-game locker room.

The Admirals demonstrated why they won a North American professional hockey record 28 consecutive games to close the regular season to finish 55-18-1-3 for 113 points, 14 more than runner-up Oklahoma City, champions of the Western Conference. Four of the Admirals’ wins came against the Whale, who showed plenty of spunk in winning the series opener 3-2 in overtime in Virginia and then getting even with a convincing 4-1 victory on Sunday night at the XL Center in Hartford, ending the Admirals’ 16-game winning streak on the road since Feb. 5.  Continue reading →

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Posted in AHL, Connecticut Whale, CTWhale, Hartford Wolf Pack, Hockey, New York Rangers, NHL, Sports

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WHALE WEEKLY: May 8-13, 2011

Posted on May 9, 2012 | 1 Comment

BY: Bob Crawford, Voice of the CTWhale

The Whale have split the first four games of their Eastern Conference Semifinal Calder Cup playoff series with the Norfolk Admirals, evening the series at two games a piece with a 4-1 win Monday night in Hartford. Each team has one once at home and on the road, and the series now shifts to the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport Wednesday night for a pivotal Game Five. Casey Wellman (3-1-4), Kris Newbury (1-3-4) and Marek Hrivik (1-3-4) have led the way in scoring for the Whale with four points each in four games, while goaltender Cam Talbot has posted four strong efforts in goal with a 2.73 goals against average and a .904 save percentage. Hrivik carries a six-game playoff scoring streak into Wednesday’s action, gathering five goals and three assists over that span. 

This week:

The Whale take on the Admirals again in Game Five Wednesday at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport (7:00), in what will be a crucial game for both teams. Regardless of the outcome of that game, the series is guaranteed to switch back to Norfolk for Game Six on Friday at the Norfolk Scope (7:30). If necessary, a winner-take-all Game Seven is slated for Sunday, May 13 at the Norfolk Scope (5:00). Continue reading →

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Posted in AHL, CTWhale, Hartford Wolf Pack, Hockey, New York Rangers, NHL, Sports

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GAME THREE: MINUTIAE

Posted on May 7, 2012 | Leave a comment

     VERSUS     

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMI-FINAL SERIES: GAME THREE

BY: BRUCE BERLET (Special to Howlings)

When you’re playing a team that has won 33 of 35 games since Super Bowl Sunday, including a North American professional hockey league record 29 in a row, every little action and reaction can be critical.

 The Connecticut Whale learned that lesson Sunday night, failing to convert several good scoring chances early in the second period before allowing three goals in 6:09, enabling the Norfolk Admirals to rally for a 4-3 victory before 3,319 at the XL Center and a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal.

“If you look at our overall body of work, I’ve got no complaints,” Whale coach Ken Gernander said. “I thought we did a heck of a job, worked hard, finished our hits, did a lot of good things. Now it comes down to the minutiae, and we’re just going to have to play even closer to the vest because our margin of error isn’t that great given they’re a good team.  Continue reading →

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Posted in AHL, Connecticut Whale, CTWhale, Hartford Wolf Pack, Hockey, New York Rangers, NHL, Sports

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GAME TWO: WHISTLES WHACK WHALE

Posted on May 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

     VERSUS     

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMI-FINAL SERIES: GAME TWO

Looking to build off a tremendous performance in Game One of their Eastern Conference semi-final series, the Connecticut Whale returned to The Scope in Norfolk, Virginia Friday for Game Two of their Best-of-Seven series with the number one seeded Norfolk Admirals. But, everything that went right for the visitors in Game One seemed to abandon them in Game Two as they dropped a 4-1 decision evening the series with the Admirals at a game apiece.

The Whale’s ultimate undoing was a combination of outrageously bad refereeing, exacerbated by a lack of overall team discipline and most importantly, a failure to capitalize on their scoring chances.  The Admirals meanwhile received strong performances from several players including Mike Kostka and Tyler Johnson who each had a goal and an assist. The big difference was the out-of-this-world goaltending Norfolk got from Dustin Tokarski (3-1-0, 27 saves) en route to their victory in front of 4,859. Continue reading →

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Posted in AHL, Connecticut Whale, CTWhale, Hartford Wolf Pack, Hockey, New York Rangers, NHL, Sports

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