The American Hockey League team playing at the XL Center will be renamed the Hartford Wolf Pack in time for the start of the 2013-14 season, it was announced on Tuesday by both Madison Square Garden, owners of the team, and Global Spectrum, the new operators of the team and the arena in which the team will play, the XL Center.

The Wolf Pack, which originally played in Hartford from 1997 until 2010, was renamed the Connecticut Whale for three seasons. The Wolf Pack remain the New York Rangers AHL affiliate.

"The return to the Hartford Wolf Pack name signifies a return to the roots of this franchise, emphasizing the ties that this team has to the Hartford community," said Jim Schoenfeld, New York Rangers Assistant General Manager, Player Personnel and Assistant Coach. "It celebrates the winning tradition of the franchise and focuses on the qualities of teamwork and loyalty."

"The name change also coincides with our new partnership with Global Spectrum who will handle all of the marketing, advertising and game-day operations in Hartford for us," added Schoenfeld. "Global Spectrum has an outstanding reputation for operating world-class arenas and their attention to providing our fans with the ultimate experience is second to none."

Global Spectrum, a leader in operating public assembly facilities worldwide, is a subsidiary of the Philadelphia-based sports and entertainment company Comcast-Spectacor. The company was hired to operate XL Center, Rentschler Field, as well as the Wolf Pack.

Global Spectrum named Chris Lawrence to be the General Manager of the Wolf Pack, XL Center and Rentschler Field. Before arriving in Hartford, Lawrence was the General Manager of the Glens Falls Civic Center, home of the Philadelphia Flyers AHL-affiliate, Adirondack Phantoms. He was the captain of the NCAA Frozen Four Champion Michigan State Spartans in 2007.

"There is a rich hockey history here in Hartford," said Lawrence. "Our primary goals are to revitalize hockey in the Hartford market, enhance the experience for the fans and bring a high-level of customer service to the venues in which we manage.

"In the short time we have been here, we can tell that Hartford is a very passionate community. We are creating an affordable family entertainment experience with the Wolf Pack."

The Wolf Pack staff will begin holding Town Hall Meetings for their Season Ticket Holders and potential season ticket holders. These meetings allow fans to provide feedback and suggestions for the upcoming season. Date and location will be announced later this week.

The team is also distributing season ticket renewal information this week.

A new website, www.hartfordwolfpack.com, is being launched. Fans interested in ordering tickets can call 1-855-762-6451.

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NEW YORK, April 28, 2013 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has recalled 10 players from the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL) – Stu Bickel, Ryan Bourque, Micheal Haley, Brandon Mashinter, Dylan McIlrath, Jason Missiaen, J.T. Miller, Brandon Segal, Cameron Talbot, and Christian Thomas.

PLAYERS RECALLED FROM CONNECTICUT (AHL) ON 4/28/13:

Goaltenders (2): Jason Missiaen, Cameron Talbot

Defense (3): Stu Bickel, Dylan McIlrath

Forward (6): Ryan Bourque, Micheal Haley, Brandon Mashinter, J.T. Miller, Brandon Segal, Christian Thomas

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Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men's basketball and women's basketball teams as well as the other sports the student-athletes engage in. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you're on the home page.

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Portland, ME, April 20, 2013 – Phil Lane scored a hat trick, and Andy Miele added a goal and two assists, Saturday night at the Cumberland County Civic Center, as the Portland Pirates defeated the Connecticut Whale, 5-1, in the Whale’s last game of the regular season.

The Whale (35-32-6-3, 79 pts.) finished the regular year 0-5-1-0 in their last six games, but remained mathematically alive for an Eastern Conference playoff spot, with the Norfolk Admirals losing 2-0 Saturday at Albany and the Hershey Bears dropping a 4-2 decision in Binghamton.  For the Whale to grab the eighth-and-final playoff spot, they need Norfolk to lose in regulation in Providence Sunday and Manchester to win in regulation at Hershey.

Troy Bodie also had a goal and an assist for Portland in Saturday’s win, and Mike Lee made 31 saves.  Marek Hrivik scored the lone Whale goal.

The Pirates got the jump on the Whale by dominating the first period, to the tune of a 16-7 shots advantage, and built a 3-0 lead.

The Whale did not sustain any damage until the 13:01 mark, when Lane scored his first of the game to start a three-goal burst in a span of 3:52.  Boris Valabik slid the puck at the net from the left point, and Lane deflected it through the legs of Whale starting goaltender Cam Talbot for a 1-0 Portland lead.

The Pirates made it 2-0 at 16:37, after the Whale failed to connect on a couple of clearing attempts.  Mathieu Brodeur got the puck down low from the left point, and Bodie was able to jam it into the net from Talbot’s right.

Only 16 seconds thereafter, at 16:53, Lane scored again, bursting down right wing past Dylan McIlrath and slipping the puck off the post on Talbot’s glove side and into the net.

That goal chased Talbot (13 saves) from the game in favor of Jason Missiaen, and the Whale settled things down after that, outshooting Portland 17-11 in the second period and shaving a goal off of the Pirate lead.

Hrivik got the Whale on the scoreboard at 9:07 of the second, beating Lee on a shot from below the goal line on the right-wing side.  Hrivik’s try went off of Lee’s skate and in, after a shot by Benn Ferriero had been tipped wide.

Portland restored the two-goal lead at 10:19 of the third period, though, when Whale defenseman Logan Pyett overskated the puck deep in his own zone, allowing Miele to jump on it and fire a close-in shot past Missiaen.

Lane completed his hat trick 2:49 later, at 13:08, when he poked a rebound in from the left side of the goalmouth, after Missiaen had stopped a Miele shot.

For information on a possible Whale playoff schedule, as well as playoff tickets and plans, and all of the Whale’s many ticketing options, visit www.ctwhale.com, or call the CT Whale ticket office at (860) 548-2000 to talk with an account executive today.

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Albany, NY, April 19, 2013 – Joe Whitney’s goal with 4:59 left in the third period gave the Albany Devils a 3-2 win over the Connecticut Whale Friday night at the Times-Union Center.

Whitney tallied his 26^th of the year for the winner, poking the puck in from the right side of the goalmouth after Jon Merrill had stickhandled down the slot.

With the loss, the Whale are now winless in a season-high five straight games (0-4-1-0) and fell to 35-31-6-3.  The Whale finish their regular season Saturday night in Portland, while the teams with whom they are battling for one of the last playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, Norfolk, Manchester and Hershey, all have two games left.

Hershey won at Adirondack, 2-1, and Manchester defeated Binghamton on the road by the same score, meaning that the Whale, Bears and Monarchs all ended the night at 79 points.

Harri Pesonen had the other two Albany goals, and Keith Kinkaid made 21 saves in the Devil net.  Kris Newbury and Christian Thomas scored for the Whale, and Cam Talbot made 32 stops.  Sean Collins assisted on both Connecticut goals.

The Whale struck first in the game, at 10:21 of the first period, as Newbury scored his 20^th goal of the season on a breakaway.  Collins sent Newbury behind the Albany defense with a skillful bank pass off of the right-wing boards, and Newbury put a shot up under the crossbar behind Kinkaid.

Albany replied on a power play at 15:35, with Kelsey Tessier in the penalty box for interference.  Moments after Talbot had made a stellar sliding save on Devil point man Damon Severson, Severson was set up again for a one-timer from the left circle.  Talbot stopped the shot, but the puck slipped through his pads into the goal crease behind him, and Pesonen poked it into the net.

The same pattern repeated itself in the second period, the Whale jumping ahead and the Devils answering fairly quickly.

Thomas made it a 2-1 Connecticut lead at 11:45 with his 19^th of the year, off of a two-on-one down low with Tessier.  Tessier found a loose puck and fed it across the slot to Thomas, and Thomas’ hard shot went off a diving Kinkaid and in.

Pesonen got that one back for the Devils only 2:49 later, though, at 14:34.  The Whale’s Dylan McIlrath seemed to have Pesonen well checked on left wing, but Pesonen found enough room to get a hard shot away, and the drive eluded the catching glove of Talbot.

The Whale’s regular-season finale in Portland Saturday night is a 7:00 PM game.  All the action of that battle can be heard live on “The Rock” 106.9 WCCC and on-line at www.ctwhale.com.  Video streaming is available at www.ahllive.com.

For information on Whale playoff tickets and plans, and all of the Whale’s many ticketing options, visit www.ctwhale.com, or call the CT Whale ticket office at (860) 548-2000 to talk with an account executive today.

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HARTFORD, April 17, 2013:  Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that forwards Jason Wilson, Danny Hobbs and Jordie Johnston, and goaltender Scott Stajcer, have joined the Whale from its ECHL affiliate, the Greenville Road Warriors.

Wilson, a second-year pro out of the Ontario Hockey League and a fifth-round (130^th overall) New York Ranger draft pick in 2010, has played 17 games this season with the Whale, scoring one goal and registering 30 penalty minutes and a +1.  In 23 ECHL games with the Road Warriors, the 6-2, 205-pounder had one goal and four assists for five points, along with 75 PIM.

Hobbs, a seventh-round (198^th overall) selection by the Rangers in the 2007 NHL Draft and a rookie out of U. Mass-Amherst, posted nine goals and 22 assists for 31 points, plus 27 PIM and a +2 rating, in 53 games with Greenville this season.  In 120 career games in four seasons at U. Mass-Amherst, the 6-1, 196-pound Hobbs, who signed an AHL contract with the Whale July 24, 2012, totaled 28 goals and 35 assists for 63 points, plus 76 PIM.

Johnston, a first-year pro from Ferris State University, finished his rookie season tied for third on the Road Warrior team in goals, with 22, and added 23 assists for 45 points, fourth-best on the Greenville squad, in 56 games.  Also signed to an AHL contract by the Whale July 24, 2012, Johnston, 6-0 and 180 pounds, amassed 30 goals and 27 assists for 57 points, in 136 career games, in four years at Ferris State.

Stajcer saw action in three games earlier this season with the Whale, going 0-2-0 with a 4.32 goals-against average and an 84.1% save percentage.  In 23 ECHL outings with the Road Warriors, the 2009 fifth-round (140^th overall) Ranger draftee was 10-8-5, with a 2.66 GAA and a 91.4% save percentage.

Next up for the Whale is a visit to Albany, NY this Friday, April 19, for a 7:00 PM game against the Devils.  All the action of that battle can be heard live on “Beethoven Radio” AM 1290 and on-line at www.ctwhale.com.  Video streaming is available at www.ahllive.com.

For information on Whale playoff tickets and plans, and all of the Whale’s many ticketing options, visit www.ctwhale.com, or call the CT Whale ticket office at (860) 548-2000 to talk with an account executive today.

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NEW YORK, April 17, 2013 –New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has recalled forward Chris Kreider from the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Kreider, 21, has registered one goal and three assists in six games since being assigned to Connecticut on April 3. He has recorded 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points, along with 73 penalty minutes in 48 games this season. Kreider is tied for sixth on the team in goals, and ranks third on the Whale with six power play goals this season.

The 6-3, 230-pounder returns to the Rangers where he has registered two goals and one assist for three points in 17 games this season. Kreider  tallied a point in consecutive games, including his first career regular season point with a goal on February 5 at New Jersey and his first career regular season assist on February 7 against the New York Islanders, after missing the previous five games, including four games due to injury. He made his NHL regular season debut in the season opener on January 19 at Boston.

The Boxford, Massachusetts native was originally selected by the Rangers as a first round choice, 19^th overall, in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

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HARTFORD, April 17, 2013:  Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the Whale has signed defenseman Charlie Dodero and forward Michael Kantor to Amateur Tryout (ATO) agreements.  Both players come to the Whale from the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League.

Dodero, a 6-2, 195-pound native of Bloomingdale, IL, led Sudbury blueliners in goals this year with seven, and also had 20 assists for 27 points, which tied him for the team lead among defensemen.  He also served 97 penalty minutes, second-most on the team.  In the playoffs, the 20-year-old Dodero again tied for tops among team blueliners in points, notching 1-2-3 in nine games, and posted a team-high 18 penalty minutes.

In 248 career OHL games over four seasons with the Wolves and Kitchener Rangers, Dodero amassed totals of 11 goals and 58 assists for 69 points, along with 286 PIM.

Kantor, 21, who hails from Lake Forest, IL, stands 6-1 and weighs 185 pounds.  He netted 20 goals, good for fourth on the Wolves’ team, in 56 games this season and added 13 assists for 33 points, to go along with 93 penalty minutes, third-most on the squad.  Kantor chipped in two goals and two assists for four points in nine playoff games for the Wolves, and had 12 PIM, the third-highest total on the team.

Kantor has suited up for 197 career OHL games in four seasons with the Wolves, Saginaw Spirit and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and has chalked up 43 goals and 51 assists for 94 points, along with 420 PIM.

Next up for the Whale is a visit to Albany, NY this Friday, April 19, for a 7:00 PM game against the Devils.  All the action of that battle can be heard live on “Beethoven Radio” AM 1290 and on-line at www.ctwhale.com.  Video streaming is available at www.ahllive.com.

For information on Whale playoff tickets and plans, and all of the Whale’s many ticketing options, visit www.ctwhale.com, or call the CT Whale ticket office at (860) 548-2000 to talk with an account executive today.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Springfield, MA, April 14, 2013 – Rookie Boone Jenner scored with 28.8 seconds left in the third period Sunday at the MassMutual Center, to give the Springfield Falcons a 4-3 victory over the Connecticut Whale.

Jenner, playing only his second game since joining the Falcons from the Ontario Hockey League, got his stick free at the side of the goal crease and stuffed the puck in, after David Savard threw it at the net from the right point.

The loss dropped the Whale to 35-30-6-3 on the year.  At 79 points, Connecticut remains tied for seventh place in the Eastern Conference with Norfolk, which lost 4-1 in Providence.  Manchester and Hershey both won on Sunday and moved to within two points of the Whale and Admirals.

Springfield also got a goal and an assist from Michael Chaput on Sunday, and Andrew Joudrey and Matthew Ford also scored.  Allen York made 16 saves in the Falcon net.  Kris Newbury, Micheal Haley and Brandon Mashinter scored for the Whale and Jason Missiaen stopped 18 shots.

Joudrey opened the scoring at 6:50 of the first period, shooting the puck past the catching glove of Missiaen off of left wing, after Whale defensemen Dylan McIlrath and Mike Vernace seemed to miscommunicate on the coverage.

The Whale would come back with a pair of goals in just over four minutes, though, starting with a power-play marker at 10:43.

Newbury scored on his own rebound at 10:43, after he deflected Vernace’s shot from the blue line on net and York couldn’t control the puck.

Haley then put the Whale ahead for the first time at 14:53, scoring his tenth goal of the season.  Christian Thomas did much of the work on the goal, tracking down his own dump-in and hitting the net from the right-wing side.  York stopped that try, but Thomas jammed the rebound back on goal and Haley was able to poke it through York.

The Falcons tied the score 7:11 into the second, with Chaput getting his 12^th of the year.  Missiaen stopped a jam-in attempt to his left, but Dalton Smith was able to work the puck out into the slot to Chaput, who put it home.  The Whale argued that Smith interfered with Missiaen in the goal crease, but the goal was allowed to stand.

A fine J.T. Miller rush led to the Whale regaining the lead at the 11-minute mark.  Miller got behind a Springfield defender and handcuffed York with a shot.  Miller was able to knife the rebound under York, and Mashinter arrived on the scene to knock the puck in.

That lead lasted until there was only 1:06 left in the period, when the Falcons were able to force the Whale into a turnover that led to a Ford goal.  Former Whale Jonathan Audy-Marchessault blocked a Sean Collins pass behind the net and centered to Ford busting down the slot.  Ford’s shot beat the catching glove of Missiaen for a 3-3 tie.

The Whale finished the 12-game I-91 rivalry series with the Falcons 5-7-0.

The Whale now have two games left in the regular season, the first of which is this Friday, April 19 at Albany, as the Whale and Devils battle at 7:00 PM.  All the action of that game can be heard live on “Beethoven Radio” AM 1290 and on-line at www.ctwhale.com.  Video streaming is available at www.ahllive.com.

For information on Whale playoff tickets and plans, and all of the Whale’s many ticketing options, visit www.ctwhale.com, or call the CT Whale ticket office at (860) 548-2000 to talk with an account executive today.

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Glens Falls, NY, April 13, 2013 – Jason Akeson’s second goal of the game at 3:31 of overtime gave the Adirondack Phantoms a 4-3 win over the Connecticut Whale Saturday night at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

Akeson took a pass from Danny Syvret and got loose down the right side of the slot, before firing a slap shot past Whale goaltender Cam Talbot for the win.

The standings point for the overtime loss allowed the Whale (35-29-6-3, 79 pts.) to maintain a share of seventh place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.   Connecticut is tied for seventh with the Norfolk Admirals, who won 4-3 in overtime at Worcester, four points ahead of Hershey and Manchester.

Rob Bordson also had a goal and two assists for Adirondack, and Cal Heeter made 28 saves.  Brandon Mashinter had a goal and an assist for the Whale, with Talbot making 32 saves.

The early highlight of the first period was a spirited fight at 7:38 between the Whale’s Dylan McIlrath and Adirondack’s Zack FitzGerald, and the only scoring of the first was a shorthanded goal by the Phantoms’ Scott Laughton at 16:28.

Laughton, a former Philadelphia Flyers first-round draft pick playing only his second AHL game, broke up a Whale pass in center ice and moved down right wing into the Whale zone.  Using the lone Connecticut defender back as a screen, Laughton snapped a shot that Talbot appeared not to see until it was past him and into the net.

Bordson then gave Adirondack a 2-0 lead at 3:19 of the second period, after a Whale turnover.  A  Mike Vernace pass went hit the skates of Nick Palmieri, allowing Bordson to steal, and Talbot got a big piece of Bordson’s shot off of right wing but could not stop it.

The Whale would get the next three of the game, though, the first two in a span of 35 seconds.

Marek Hrivik got Connecticut on the board with his sixth of the year at 6:03.  Christian Thomas passed the puck out of the left-wing corner to Hrivik high in the slot, and Hrivik’s shot went by the glove side of Heeter, who was being screened by Kelsey Tessier.

Benn Ferriero tied the score at 6:38, putting a shot past Heeter from a nearly impossible angle.  The right-handed-shooting Ferriero got to the right-wing corner to track down a Mashinter dump-in, and managed to fire the puck from below the goal line high into the net behind Heeter.

The Whale then took their first lead of the game at 13:12, with Mashinter scoring on a tip-in.  Vernace wristed the puck toward the net from the left point, and Mashinter got to the slot to deflect it past Heeter.

At 16:15, however, Adirondack scored its second shorthanded goal of the game, against a Whale power-play unit that had given up only three shorthanders all season coming into the night.

Bordson carried into the Whale zone and centered the puck through a diving Thomas to Akeson, who was able to jam it past Talbot for a 3-3 tie.  That held up throughout a third period in which the Whale were shorthanded four times, before the Phantoms came up with the overtime winner.

The Whale finish a three-game road weekend Sunday in Springfield, taking on the Northeast Division-champion Falcons at 3:00 PM.  All the action can be heard live on “Beethoven Radio” AM 1290 and on-line at www.ctwhale.com.  Video streaming is available at www.ahllive.com.

For information on Whale playoff tickets and plans, and all of the Whale’s many ticketing options, visit www.ctwhale.com, or call the CT Whale ticket office at (860) 548-2000 to talk with an account executive today.

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