On Friday, the Connecticut Whale opened up against the Bridgeport Tigers. Being that it’s the Connecticut version of baby Rangers and Islanders, it made plenty of sense for the two clubs to face off in Hartford. After a promising start by the Whale, they dropped their season opener 6-4 to Bridgeport. The baby Isles are loaded thanks to the work stoppage- featuring forwards Nino Niederreiter, Kirill Kabanov, Brock Nelson, Casey Cizikas, Johan Sundstrom along with blueliners Travis Hamonic, Matt Donovan, Aaron Ness, Calvin de Haan and Ty Wishart. Plus netminders Kevin Poulin and Anders Nilsson. Hamonic has already established himself as a regular on the Islander D while Cizikas, Niederreiter, Nilsson, Poulin and Wishart all have NHL experience.
Not surprisingly, the Tigers stormed back from a two-goal deficit scoring six straight en route to their first win of ’12-13. The Whale got the game’s first two in the first period off the sticks of Kris Newbury and rookie Kyle Jean, who scored his first professional goal on a shorthanded penalty shot. Jean also tallied in a 3-2 loss earlier today and could be one to keep a close eye on. Bridgeport responded with a five-goal second that included a four goal barrage over 5:16 which caused panic on Twitter. Hey folks. Relax. It’s our farm team and will take time. The most important aspect is that the kids develop under vet coach Ken Gernander. Cizikas tallied twice for Bridgeport and Nelson- a forgotten second round pick- had a great game notching a goal and an assist. Hamonic set up three Tiger goals and Niederreiter scored his first and had two helpers.
In the third, Brandon DeFazio, Mike Vernace and Newbury all scored to make it 6-4 with over six minutes left. But they didn’t get any closer as Bridgeport held on. If you’re looking for a key stat, the clubs combined for five power play goals with the Tigers connecting twice in seven while the Whale went three for eight. Perhaps both coaches might want to have their clubs work on their penalty killing units this week. Poulin made 27 saves for the Tigers while Whale starter Jason Missiaen was chased after allowing five on 38 shots. Scott Stajcer replaced him and turned aside six of seven.
Both Kreider and J.T. Miller registered assists for Connecticut. Each had helpers for a second consecutive game in a 3-2 defeat today to the St. John’s Ice Caps. Jean posted his second in two contests while Newbury tallied his club-leading third. The Whale allowed 25 shots which was a marked improvement from Friday when they permitted 45. In his first start, Stajcer finished with 22 saves. The Whale led 2-1 with both goals coming on the power play. However, St. John’s rallied for the win thanks to goals from Zach Redmond and Spencer Machacek. Of concern to Connecticut is they permitted Redmond’s tying marker with four seconds left in the second. St. John’s also scored twice on the PP, making it four allowed on the PK in two games. At least the Whale are making the most of their chances, having scored five PPGs thus far. Alex Burmistrov had two assists for the Ice Caps.
On Saturday, the Albany Devils dropped their first game to visiting Manchester 2-1 at the Pepsi Center. Or is it Arena? I forget. I once went to a Wolf Pack/River Rats game 10 years ago that Hartford won in OT. I actually remember Jamie Lundmark scoring the winner at the buzzer. No joke. A nice place to see a game. Anyway, most Devil fans who made the trip or watched weren’t too thrilled with their power play, which apparently mirrored their team’s during last year’s run to the Cup Final.
AHL lifer Chad Wiseman scored the lone goal with defensemen Alex Urbom and Raman Hrabarenka drawing assists. Try pronouncing that name five times fast. All three goals were scored in the first with Wiseman steering Albany in front. But the Monarchs answered back 29 seconds later on the first of two power play goals from David Kolomatis. His last name sounds like a sickness. I wish I had more to go on but both playoff hero Adam Henrique and Adam Larsson played for the baby Devils. Henrique wore an ‘A’ along with Tim Sestito while vet blueliner Jay Leach is the captain. I believe he’s married to someone hot. Just can’t remember who.
Goalie prospect Keith Kincaid made 25 stops in defeat while Martin Jones stopped 22 of 23 for Manchester. Looking at their roster, ex-Ranger draft pick Marc-Andre Cliche still plays for them. He’s best known for being sent to the Kings for Sean Avery. Oddly enough, he’s their captain and set career bests last year with 17 goals, 24 assists and 41 points last year. Too bad he never made it. Jason Ward and Jan Marek also were in that deal. Marek died in that tragic plane crash last year in Russia that killed the entire Lokomotiv roster. God bless. Nice to see them back in the KHL. Artem Anisimov plays for them.
Looking at the rest of the Albany roster, Jacob Josefson, Mattias Tedenby and former No.1 pick Jeff Frazee also play upstate. Josefson will be a good player. Tedenby was once highly thought of but vanished on the Devil depth chart last season. Perhaps it’s his small size along with being considered a defensive liability. But this Swede has skill. He had a disappointing ’11-12 getting sent down and only tallying 20 points (6-14-20) in 35 contests for Albany, who should still be called the River Rats. Someone I knew used to love them. Wonder if she still has time to go see them.
Finally, the Rochester Americans also played yesterday. The Sabres minor league affiliate fell to the Toronto Marlies 3-1, rekindling another rivalry stemming from Northeast rivals Buffalo and the Maple Leafs. Marcus Foligno scored his second of the season for Rochester but the Marlies got the other three with Jake Gardiner scoring his first while Ryan Hamilton tallied twice. Cody Hodgson set up Foligno’s goal in the second that made it 2-1 with T.J. Brennan picking up an assist. The Marlies did their damage on the man-advantage scoring all three there including Hamilton’s second of the game in the third that increased the final margin to 3-1. Gardiner had a goal and assist while forgotten No.1 Nazem Kadri also notched a helper. Talk about gross mismanagement.
I can’t help but chuckle at the Toronto roster that includes vets Mark Fraser and Paul Ranger. Mike Zigomanis also plays. A good faceoff guy who probably could play for the Leafs if they had a spot on the fourth line. One of those ‘tweeners who never quite made it. Ben Scrivens made 20 saves for the win. A guy who could become Toronto’s No.1 goalie. David Leggio was busier finishing with 33 stops in defeat for the Americans, whose roster also features Luke Adam and former Michigan Wolverine Kevin Porter, who captains them.
One thing about the ‘A.’ It’s an interesting mix of vets still clinging on making those long bus rides along with kids trying to impress. This is an aspect that doesn’t get much pop. But would be interesting to document if you had the time. I kinda wish I did.
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