- Connecticut Whale
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Connecticut Whale 
City Hartford, Connecticut League American Hockey League Conference Eastern Conference Division Northeast Division Founded 1997 Home arena XL Center Colors Blue, white, green
Owner(s) Madison Square Garden, Inc. General manager 
Jim SchoenfeldHead coach 
Ken GernanderMedia The Rock 106.9 WCCC-FM Affiliates New York Rangers (NHL)
Greenville Road Warriors (ECHL)Franchise history 1926–1976 Providence Reds 1976–1977 Rhode Island Reds 1977–1980 Binghamton Dusters 1980–1990 Binghamton Whalers 1990–1997 Binghamton Rangers 1997–2010 Hartford Wolf Pack 2010-present Connecticut Whale Championships Regular season titles 1 1999–00 Division Championships 3 1999–00, 2003–04, 2008–09 Conference Championships 1 1999–00 Calder Cups 1 1999–00 The Connecticut Whale (formerly the Hartford Wolf Pack) is a professional ice hockey team based in Hartford, Connecticut. They play in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play their home games at the XL Center.
The team was established in 1926 as the Providence Reds, and after a series of relocations moved to Hartford as the Hartford Wolf Pack. They adopted their current name in October 2010 in honor of the Hartford Whalers of the National Hockey League.[1] The Whale are the top affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Rangers and are one of several professional hockey teams in Connecticut.
Contents
History
The minor league Connecticut Whale is named for the only major league sports franchise to have been based in Hartford, the former Hartford Whalers, which left for North Carolina in 1997 to become the Carolina Hurricanes. In the season following the Whalers' departure, the New York Rangers' minor league affiliate, the Binghamton Rangers, relocated to Hartford to begin play at the vacated Hartford Civic Center (today known as the XL Center).
The Hartford Wolf Pack logo, used from 1998-2010
Following a "name-the-team" contest, the franchise became the Hartford Wolf Pack, intending to honor the Seawolf-class submarines built in Connecticut (the name "Seawolf" itself being taken by the Mississippi Sea Wolves of the ECHL). Following the submarine theme, the mascots were named "Sonar" and "Torpedo".
The Wolf Pack's first coach was E.J. McGuire and in the first game, the team won 2-0 against the neighboring Springfield Falcons. PJ Stock recorded the first goal in Wolf Pack history. The team reached the playoffs during the first twelve years of their existence, and won the Calder Cup in 2000, defeating the Rochester Americans in the Cup finals. As of December 2010 the team has only missed the playoffs during the 2009-10 AHL season.
In Summer 2010 the team hired Howard Baldwin, former owner of Hartford Whalers National Hockey League team, as the team's head of marketing. On September 20, 2010 Baldwin announced the Wolf Pack would change their name to the Connecticut Whale in honor of the Whalers.[2] The name change took place on November 27, 2010; the final game with the "Wolf Pack" name came on November 26, 2010. The opponent was Connecticut's other AHL team, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Sound Tigers won 4-3, in a shootout. On November 27, 2010, the team played first game under the new "Whale" name. The opponent was, again, the Sound Tigers. The Whale won 3-2, in a shootout. The attendance for the debut game was 13,089, which is the second-largest crowd in franchise history.[3] On January 1, 2011 the Connecticut Whale debuted new jerseys featuring light blue instead of green.
Retired numbers
- #12 Ken Gernander
Mascots
The then-Hartford Wolf Pack started in 1997 with one mascot, a wolf named Sonar. The name was chosen to keep with the submarine theme that the team had used in their naming and logo. Shortly after, the team added a second wolf mascot named Torpedo; this mascot has since been retired. In 2010, with the renaming of the team to the Connecticut Whale, the former Hartford Whalers mascot Pucky the Whale joined as a mascot. Sonar retains his Wolf Pack hat, but now wears a Connecticut Whale jersey; Pucky wears a unique Whalers jersey which features the Pucky shoulder patch as the primary logo.
Season-by-season results
Regular season
Season Games Won Lost Tied OTL SL Points GF GA Standing Avg. Attendance 1997–98 80 43 24 12 1 — 99 272 227 2nd, New England 1998–99 80 38 31 5 6 — 87 256 256 2nd, New England 1999–2000 80 49 22 7 2 — 107 249 198 1st, New England 2000–01 80 40 26 8 6 — 94 263 247 2nd, New England 2001–02 80 41 26 10 3 — 95 249 243 2nd, East 2002–03 80 33 27 12 8 — 86 255 236 3rd, East 2003–04 80 44 22 12 2 — 102 198 153 1st, Atlantic 2004–05 80 50 24 — 3 3 106 206 160 2nd, Atlantic 2005–06 80 48 24 — 6 2 104 292 231 2nd, Atlantic 5,045 2006–07 80 47 29 — 3 1 98 231 201 2nd, Atlantic 4,563 2007–08 80 50 20 — 2 8 110 266 198 2nd, Atlantic 4,405 2008–09 80 46 27 — 3 4 99 243 216 1st, Atlantic 4,190 2009–10 80 36 33 — 6 5 83 231 251 6th, Atlantic 4,188 2010–11 80 40 32 — 2 6 88 221 223 3rd, Atlantic 5,695 Playoffs
Season Prelim 1st round 2nd round 3rd round Finals 1997–98 — W, 3–0, NH W, 4–3, WOR L, 1–4, SJ — 1998–99 — W, 3–0, SPR L, 0–4, PRO — — 1999–2000 — W, 3–2, SPR W, 4–1, WOR W, 4–3, PRO W, 4–2, RCH 2000–01 — L, 2–3, PRO — — — 2001–02 — W, 3–2, MAN L, 1–4, HAM — — 2002–03 L, 0–2, SPR — — — — 2003–04 — W, 4–1, POR W, 4–0, WOR L, 3–4, WBS — 2004–05 — L, 2–4, LOW — — — 2005–06 — W, 4–3, MAN L, 2–4, POR — — 2006–07 — L, 3–4, PRO — — — 2007–08 — L, 1–4, POR — — — 2008–09 — L, 2-4, WOR — — — 2009–10 Out of Playoffs 2010–11 — L, 2-4, POR — — — Team records
- Single season
- Goals: 50, Brad Smyth (2000–01)
- Assists: 69, Derek Armstrong (2000–01)
- Points: 101, Derek Armstrong (2000–01)
- Penalty Minutes: 415, Dale Purinton (1999–2000)
- GAA: 1.59, Jason LaBarbera (2003–04)
- SV%: .936, Jason LaBarbera (2003–04)
- Shutouts: 13, Jason LaBarbera (2003–04)
- Goaltending Wins: 34, Jason LaBarbera (2003–04)
- Career
- Goals: 184, Brad Smyth
- Assists: 204, Derek Armstrong
- Points: 365, Brad Smyth
- Penalty Minutes: 1077, Dale Purinton
- Shutouts: 21, Jason LaBarbera
- Goaltending Wins: 91, Jason LaBarbera
- Games: 599, Ken Gernander
Team captains
- Ken Gernander 1997–2004
- Craig Weller 2006–07
- Andrew Hutchinson 2008
- Greg Moore 2009
- Dane Byers 2010
Retired numbers
- 12 Ken Gernander, RW, 1997–2005
Hartford Whalers Retired numbers
In January 2006 The Hartford Wolfpack honored three former Hartford Whalers by raising their numbers to the rafters of the XL Center along with the 2, 9 and 19 retired by the Hartford Whalers. These numbers are not officially retired by the Hartford Whalers, nor are they honored by the Connecticut Whale.
- 5 Ulf Samuelsson, D 1984-1991
- 10 Ron Francis, C 1981-1991
- 11 Kevin Dineen, RW 1984-92, 95-97
Current roster
Updated November 20, 2011.[4][5]
References
- ^ http://www.courant.com/sports/hockey/hc-baldwin-wolf-pack-0920-20100920-5,0,4627592.story
- ^ http://www.courant.com/sports/hockey/hc-baldwin-wolf-pack-0920-20100920-5,0,4627592.story
- ^ http://www.courant.com/sports/hockey/hc-whale-debut-1128-20101127,0,7689490.story
- ^ "ctwhale.com - CT Whale Roster". http://www.ctwhale.com/default.asp?ctwhale=28&urlkeyword=rosterr. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- ^ "TheAHL.com -Connecticut Whale Roster". http://theahl.com/stats/roster.php?step=&sub=&season_id=37&team_id=307. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
Notable alumni
- Marc Savard
- Ryan Callahan
- Sean Avery
- Donald Brashear
- Terry Virtue
- Peter Ferraro
- Jason LaBarbera
- Nigel Dawes
- Brandon Dubinsky
- Dane Byers
- Lauri Korpikoski
- Corey Potter
- Matt Zaba
External links
- Connecticut Whale Official Website
- The Internet Hockey Database - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Franchise History Timeline
- American Hockey League
New York Rangers The franchise Franchise • History • Seasons • Records • General managers • Head coaches • Players • Award winners • Draft picks • BroadcastersArenas Madison Square Garden III • Madison Square Garden IVCulture and lore Original Six • Curse of 1940 • "It's a power play goal!" • GAG line • Messier's Guarantee • George Kalinsky • Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award • 2011 NHL Premiere • 2012 NHL Winter ClassicRivalries Philadelphia Flyers • New Jersey Devils • New York IslandersKey personnel Owner: Madison Square Garden, Inc. • Managing Partner: James Dolan • President and General Manager: Glen Sather • Head Coach: John Tortorella • Team Captain: Ryan CallahanMedia NetworksTVRadioBroadcastersTVRadioMinor league affiliates Connecticut Whale (AHL) • Greenville Road Warriors (ECHL)Sports teams based in Connecticut Baseball EL: New Britain Rock Cats – NYPL: Connecticut Tigers – ALPB: Bridgeport Bluefish – NECBL: Danbury Westerners • Mystic Schooners – FCBL: Torrington Titans
Basketball Football Ice hockey Soccer W-League: Connecticut Passion – WPSL: SoccerPlus ConnecticutRoller derby Rugby league Rugby union Softball College athletics
(NCAA Div. I)Central Connecticut State Blue Devils • Connecticut Huskies • Fairfield Stags • Hartford Hawks • Quinnipiac Bobcats • Sacred Heart Pioneers • Yale BulldogsCategories:- Connecticut Whale
- Hartford Wolf Pack
- Ice hockey teams in Connecticut
- New York Rangers
- Sports clubs established in 1997
- Sports in Hartford, Connecticut
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