Every Wednesday we’ll take a look at the status of the Rangers’ AHL affiliate. Top prospects Ryan Bourque and Carl Hagelin will be key players for the Whale this season - we’ll check on how they’re doing and how the team performs as the season progresses.

- Last Wednesday the Whale again came back in the third period and beat Portland 3-2 in overtime.  Brendan Bell scored his second OT-winner in as many games.  After scoring with just 6.8 seconds left in OT last Sunday to beat Providence, Bell put a rebound home with 1:31 left in OT against the Pirates.  Blake Parlett scored his second goal of the season and rookie Jonathan Audy-Marchessault stuffed home a rebound with 1:11 left in regulation to tie the game.  Cam Talbot stopped 25 of 27 shots.

- Without Andre Deveaux and Kris Newbury, who were suspended, and Carl Hagelin and John Mitchell, who had been recalled by New York, Connecticut struggled against Bridgeport on Friday.  The Sound Tigers crushed the Whale 6-2.  Talbot stopped 19 of 24 shots and was relieved by Chad Johnson in the third period.  Audy-Marchessault and Kelsey Tessier scored the goals for Connecticut.  Aaron Voros was assessed three minor penalties during the contest. Wade Redden returned to the lineup after missing a couple of games with an upper-body injury.

- After a disheartening effort against Bridgeport the Whale bounced back and scored three unanswered goals to beat Springfield 3-2 on Saturday.  Andreas Thuresson scored twice in the third period including the game-winner with 21.6 seconds remaining in regulation.  Pavel Valentenko unleashed his rocket of a slap shot for Connecticut’s first goal.  Johnson made 26 saves on 28 shots.

- Last night Connecticut won the “Battle of the Bourques” 4-2 over Hershey.  Ryan Bourque went scoreless for the Whale while Chris tallied his team-leading 11th of the year for the Bears.  Valentenko tallied his second goal in as many games after going scoreless in his first 12 contests.  Voros and Chris McKelvie both contributed their first goals of the season and Mats Zuccarello also scored for the Whale.  Johnson stopped 26 of 28 shots despite playing with the flu.  Jared Nightingale returned to the lineup after sitting out five games with an injury.  Tim Erixon was scratched with an undisclosed physical ailment.

- Connecticut currently holds a three point lead in the Northeast Division and sits at 12-5-1-2.  The Whale trails the Eastern Conference-leading St. John’s IceCaps by a single point.

- Mitchell and Hagelin were recalled by the Rangers on Thursday, leaving gaping holes in Connecticut’s lineup.  The two had combined for 27 points in 34 games with the Whale.

- With Hagelin, Mitchell and Newbury out of the picture lately, Audy-Marchessault has taken a commanding lead in the points race.  J.A.M has seven goals and 11 assists in 20 games as an AHL rookie.  He’s also a plus-7.

- With those players gone, Zuccarello will be relied on to do the heavy lifting offensively.  He’s scoring at a point per game clip with the Whale and has four goals and 10 assists in 14 games.

- Francois Bouchard has one goal in eight games with the Whale.

- Erixon now has a goal and seven assists in 10 games with Connecticut.

- Bourque has a goal and two assists in 13 games and is minus-5.

- Deveaux still leads the Whale in power play goals (3) despite playing just nine games with the club.  The Rangers placed Deveaux on waivers this morning and he could be back with the Whale this weekend.

- Tommy Grant is a team-worst minus-8 in 19 games.

- Johnson is 6-3-2-1 with a 2.58 goals against average and a .907 save percentage in 12 games this year.  Talbot is 6-3-0-1 with a 2.88 goals against average and a .891 save percentage in 10 games.

- Newbury is set to return from his suspension on Friday.

- Bruce Berlet finds that Bell has earned respect from teammates and coaches for his positive attitude despite being scratched on November 13th.  Bell has three goals and five assists in 14 games.

- The week ahead: Connecticut will play three games in three days this weekend, first in Providence on Friday night, then Saturday in Springfield and finally home on Sunday for an afternoon game against the defending Calder Cup champion Binghamton Senators.

Past editions of The Whale Week That Was:

The Whale Week That Was - October 5, 2011 >

The Whale Week That Was – October 12, 2011 >

The Whale Week That Was – October 19, 2011 >

The Whale Week That Was – October 26, 2011 >

The Whale Week That Was – November 2, 2011 >

The Whale Week That Was – November 9, 2011 >

The Whale Week That Was – November 16, 2011 >

The Whale Week That Was – November 23, 2011 >

The Whale Week That Was – November 30, 2011 >

Click here for our full 2011-2012 Season Archive >

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