Whalers Ticket Giveaway Week 2!

This morning begins the second week of the Suite ticket giveaway for the January 7th game against the Aviators. Readers will have until 10am Friday to submit their responses for this week, and the winner as well as runner ups will be announced here Friday afternoon.

This week's question:

Who is your favorite Whalers defenseman, and why?

Responses can be emailed to mmaher7@gmail.com with "Whalers Ticket Contest" in the subject, or posted in the comments section here. Please limit responses to 1 paragraph or less. You are only allowed one answer, so if I get more than one, anything after the first doesn't count.

Good luck everybody!

Game 13: Home v. Broome, Friday November 26th

Puck drop at 7:05pm in Danbury

• Danbury returns from another disappointing road trip for a two home set, tonight against Broome and tomorrow against Rome.
• Danbury currently holds a 6-5-1 record for 13 points, which gives them a tenuous hold on second place. They are 7 points distance to the first place Aviators.
• Broome is at 4-5-2, giving them 10 points and 5th place in the league. A win tonight gives them a points tie with Danbury.
• Broome's powerplay and penalty are both last in the league, but it seems every time Danbury can take advantage of bad numbers there, they botch it. This may wind up being a team that wants even strength instead of either advantage or disadvantage. 
• Danbury recently released a brick wall D logo t-shirt with Niedert's name on it, and so far it's been well deserved. We haven't yet encountered the unstoppable force to polarize Niedert's immovable object at home, so there's no reason for him not to get the start tonight. Some of the saves he had last weekend were absolutely inhuman; the crowd must have spent a good five minutes on their feet just for saves. This team truly is going to go only as far as Niedert can take them. 
• Other players to watch tonight are Velasquez and Karlov. We haven't seen much from DiMarzo lately, but V is clicking at 4 goals and 10 assists in 12 games, and Karlov at 8 goals, 4 assists in 12 games. This is the kind of production we need from a lot more of the team, who've been looking pretty dreadful in the +/- category lately. 
• Dave Herring and Quinn McIntosh have been clicking at the same rate for Broome, so we'll need to watch out for them.

Rome plays the Privateers tonight as well, which is going to narrow the standings regardless of who wins. 

See everybody at 7!

Whalers Ticket Giveaway Week 1 Winner

There were a lot of great responses this week but one stuck with me the most.

Roger Katz said: "My favorite Danbury Whalers forward is Corey Fulton.  Fulton is the type of player who fits right into the great Danbury tradition of legendary enforcers such as Brad Wingfield and Jon Mirasty.  Fulton is always ready to drop the gloves to stick up for a teammate or get a point across.  Fulton is entertaining to watch and the kind of hockey player who may not put numbers up on the scoreboard but earns the respect of fans and teammates alike."


Roger was spot on in his assessment. Fulton is by far one of, if not the more entertaining forwards on the Whalers team. This past week he came off his 5 game suspension for leaving the penalty box to fight and stick up for his team and coach. Need we say more?


Congrats to Roger on winning a VIP suite ticket for the January 7th game against the Aviators! Stay tuned for round two of the ticket giveaway at 10am Monday morning!

Trade Results and Roundup

On Sunday Danbury waived Dan Malloy and signed Matt Caranci. In his first game with the Whalers, which was last night against Broome (6-4 loss), he scored a goal and 2 assists for 3 points and a 0 +/-. 

Malloy played 11 games for Danbury, scored 2 goals with 5 assists for 7 points, and had a +7 rating. 

It'll be interesting to figure out the reasoning behind waiving Malloy, but hopefully Caranci delivers. Certainly seemed as though he would in game 1. 

Now for the bad news. Malloy was picked up off waivers by the Aviators early today. 

I apologize for no game coverage this weekend, had a paintball event to be at. (My other obsession)

• Danbury had a hard fought victory at home Saturday night against the Aviators 3-1. Nothing short of the usual high intensity lots of fisticuffs hockey. After that game they remain the only undefeated home team in the FHL. 
• Danbury played away at Broome last night and dropped it 6-4 in what seems to be a new trend every time the two teams meet. A barn burning, goalies hating their stats, low scoring football game kind of hockey. 

Danbury is back on for a two home game set Thanksgiving weekend against Broome and Rome. 

Whalers Ticket Giveaway Week 1!

This morning begins the Suite ticket giveaway for the January 7th game against the Aviators. Readers will have until 10am Friday to submit their responses for this week, and the winner as well as runner ups will be announced here Friday afternoon.

This week's question:

Who is your favorite Whalers forward, and why?

Responses can be emailed to mmaher7@gmail.com with "Whalers Ticket Contest" in the subject, or posted in the comments section here. Please limit responses to 1 paragraph or less. You are only allowed one answer, so if I get more than one, anything after the first doesn't count.

Good luck everybody!

Danbury Whalers Suite Ticket Giveaway! (1/7 v. Aviators)

As promised, here's how the ticket giveaway will work. You will be entering to win a VIP Suite ticket to the Friday, January 7th Home game against the New York Aviators. I will be giving one ticket away per week, for 6 total, starting on Monday November 22nd.

 On each Monday morning at 10:30am for the next six weeks (11/22, 11/29, 12/6, 12/13, 12/20, 12/27), I will be posting a question for readers to answer. The question may ask your opinion, in which case I will select the best response. It may also be a trivia question, in which case I will pick randomly out of the correct responses.

Readers will have until 10am that Friday to submit responses, at which point in time I will read them all, select, and announce that week's winner. You can submit an answer on multiple weeks if you did not win a ticket the previous week, however nobody will win more than one ticket.

Game 10 Live!

9:28: That's a wrap. 5-1 Aviators.

9:24: 3 minutes left in the game.

9:23:Obelnicki and McClellan go at it. 5 for fighting.

9:20: Serse scores again at 15:52. 5-1 Aviators

9:17: Beedle takes 2 for holding at 10:57. NY PP.

9:14: Mignone scores at 9:27 to make it 4-0, and Karlov answers 30 seconds later to make it 4-1 NY.

9:09: Coming up on 10 left in the 3rd. No goals, no penalties.

8:56: Start of 3.

8:40: End of 2. 3-0 NY.

8:34: Mignone, 2 for slashing at 16:10, Danbury PP.

8:32: 5 left in the 2nd.

8:25: Puntureri takes a a tripping call for NY.

8:24: Malloy takes 2 for tripping

8:22: Scampoli scores at 11:08 to make it 3-0 NY.

8:18: Timmons scores for NY on the powerplay. 2-0.

8:11: New York also takes a roughing double minor. Schott takes a cross checking penalty for Danbury a minute later.

8:10: Karlov takes a 2 minute minor for Holding, Arnott takes a double minor for roughing

8:03: Serse and Linnik both go off for tripping at 3:34 and 3:46, respectively. Another Danbury 5-3.

7:58: Start of the 2nd.

7:43: Felten and Willock got at it at the end of the period. 5 each for fighting.

7:42: End of 1. 1-0 Aviators.

7:39: 1 minute left in the first.

7:36: Serse scores for New York at 16:51. 1-0 NY.

7:32: Still 0-0, 5 left in the 1st.

7:27: No powerplay conversion for Danbury

7:24: New York takes a tripping penalty (7:47, Kuqali), 5 on 3 for Danbury!

7:23: New York takes a high sticking penalty (7:27, Thompson)

7:08: Puck drop, game on!

Game 10: Away v. Aviators, Thursday November 18th

Puck drop in Brooklyn at 7:05 tonight. This is the first in the latest home and home set between Danbury and the Aviators that wraps up Saturday night at home.

• The Aviators have played Danbury three times so far this season, all three times at Danbury. 
• Danbury has not lost a game to the Aviators yet.
• The scores of those 3 games were 4-3, 4-0, and 3-2
• Danbury finally picked up its first road win last night and is now 1 for 5 on the road. (4 for 4 at home)
• The Aviators, on the other hand, have not played much at home.  They're 2 for 7 on the road and 2 for 2 at home. 
• As always, the stories of New York/Danbury games revolve around the goaltending battle, the Fulton/Bain fights (more in a moment), and of course, Felten's latest antics. 
• This is the last game of Fulton's suspension, so look for Guy to step up this evening in the enforcer department. 
• New York is still first in the league with an 89% penalty kill
• Interestingly enough, New York waived Bain this week and signed Center Anthony Longo. They should still do okay in the fight department, as Pelle is also a capable fighter. Looks like the Fulton/Bain legacy will be on hold for the time being. 
• Danbury is at 9 games played (5-3-1), 11 points and 2nd place. New York is at 9 games played (4-5-0), 8 points and 4th place. 
• Live coverage, as always, starts at 7pm. 

Stay tuned tomorrow morning for the announcement of the Whalers Blog ticket giveaway! 

The Week In Review

The biggest note here is obviously that Danbury has won its first road game! Last night, 5-4 in OT over Broome. Also, Danbury's first OT win.

• The 4-2 loss the previous night to the Privateers was disappointing, but to come back from the initial deficit showed some spirit. We're getting there. Soon enough the road losses will be solved.
• The actual low point over the course of the week was Game 7 against the Warriors, that Danbury dropped 7-4 on four allowed shorthanded goals. Hopefully it was just an off night, because the defense has rebounded a bit since then. 
• Danbury is now at 9 games played (5-3-1) for 11 points, still 2nd place in the league
• We saw Donovan for 10 minutes of the Warriors game, and he let in 3 goals on 4 shots. Only increases my confidence even more in Niedert.
• Willock and Velasquez are exploding as points powerhouses for Danbury. Willock: 9 games played, 8 goals, 6 assists, 14 points, +4. Velasquez: 9 games played, 4 goals, 9 assists, 13 points, +4. Karlov a close third. 
• On the 16th, Andy Strathmann was waived and Lynn Beedle was signed. Beedle is at 1 game played, 1 assist, -1 rating. 
• Danbury is at 20.93% on the Powerplay, 4th in the league, and 86.67% on the PK, 2nd in the league.

We're at New York tomorrow night, then home against New York Saturday.

Game 9: Away v. Barons, Tuesday November 16th

Away v. Barons for Game 9. The game tonight starts at 7:05. Unfortunately I'll be on the road and unable to update live, so you're going to have to check elsewhere for this one. Once it's over I'm going to catch up on the last 3 games and give a comprehensive rundown before midnight tonight.

Pre-Game

• Whalers are coming into Broome after a 4-2 loss to the Privateers in game 8 and a 7-4 loss to the Warriors in game 7.  They remain winless on the road.
• They look to rebound, as will be the theme for every game in the near future, from some painful defensive zone breakdowns that cost them precious road points.
• Their PP and PK are clicking at 21.4% and 86% respectively, locking in 3rd place in the league on both counts.
• The Barons, on the other hand, are at 8.3% and 66.7%, both placing last in the league. Danbury absolutely needs to take advantage of this.
• Niedert, even after the last two games, is walking in with a 3.07 GAA and 91.2 save percentage. No word on Broome's goalie this evening. Interesting that we still haven't seen Donovan.
• Corey Fulton's suspension is not yet up. 2 to go.
• Danbury is at 8 games played and 2nd place(4-3-1, 9 points), to Broome's 8 games played and last place(3-4-1, 7 points). They're going to need a win tonight in order to avoid being overtaken for a higher seed this week.
• Danbury's road tilt ends when they come home to face the Aviators on Saturday night.

Nothing else on the news front as of yet.

Coming soon: I'll be giving away VIP suite tickets to an upcoming game to 6 lucky readers! Details by the end of the week!

Game 8: Away v. Privateers, Sunday November 14th

5:20: 4-2 Final score, Privateers.

5:16: A hooking penalty for both teams so far in the period with no powerplay conversion. 3 left in the period.

4:54: Romeo makes it 4-2 Privateers at 3:01

4:50: Start of 3.

4:33: End of 2. 3-2 Privateers.

4:29: Privateers at 17:41. 3-2.

4:10: Pearson and Schott go at it. 5 for fighting.

4:07: Privateers score at 6:22. 2-2.

4:00: 2nd underway

4:39: End of the 1st, 2-1. Shots are 16 Privateers to 8 Danbury

3:30: Dabkowski from Willock and Velasquez on the powerplay for Privateers' hooking call at 12:08. 2-1 Danbury.

3:24: Privateers tie it up 1-1 at 10:09.

3:17: Velasquez tallies at 5:16 from Willock and Malloy. 1-0 Whalers.

3:15: Adler takes a hooking penalty 2 minutes in, Danbury runs a successful PK.

3:10: Game on.

Going to update from the game and then do a recap of the entire weekend to consolidate things since it's been busy.

Puck drop at 3pm, updates will be added to this post. See you then!

Game 7: Away v. Warriors, Saturday November 13th

10:03: Game. 7-4 Warriors. Loss for words...

9:56: Velasquez again on the powerplay at 14:01. 7-4.

9:51: Warriors score their 4th shortie of the night at 11:21. 7-3.

9:34: Fighting major for Malloy. Not what we need right now.

9:30: Whalers PP goal by Velasquez. 6-3

9:07: Willock scores with 2:15 to go in the second. 6-2.

9:01: Warriors again. 6-1....what a disaster this is turning out to be.

8:50: Warriors pot in 2 more shorties 60 seconds apart. 5-1

8:40: Warriors pot a shortie at 5:33. 3-1.

8:36: Warriors score two minutes in, even strength. 2-1 Warriors.

8:33: Start of 2.

8:10: End of 1. 1-1.

8:06: Velasquez scores for Danbury. 1-1.

7:55: Warriors score ES at 9:29. 1-0 Warriors.

7:51: 7 minutes into the 1st. No penalties, 0-0, 5 shots Warriors to 3 shots Danbury.

Playing away at Warriors tonight. More crucial points here; a win will get us within a game of 1st place, with 1 in hand.

Busy night tonight so a play by play is going to be sporadic, but I'll update as anything major happens.

Live from Game 6!

9:47: Game! 3-2 Whalers

9:34: Guy and NY10 fight. Guy wins big

9:24: Whalers goal by Willock. 3-2

9:09: Start 3.

8:48: End 2. 2-2

8:43: NY goal. 2-2. Niedert stickless after uncalled slash

8:23: Whalers goal. Velasquez. 2-1

8:17: Whalers goal waived. Loose net

8:15: Start 2

8:00: End of 1. 1-1

7:57: NY PP goal. 1-1

7:54: 5 minute major for Siefert. High stick

7:49: Whalers pick up an ES goal on a spin-o-rama by O'Malley. 1-0

7:37: Whalers get penalty shot on a hooking call. Guy fails to convert.

6:57: Gettin close to go time. Looks like Niedert v Druce

Game 6: Home v. Aviators, Thursday November 11th

Puck drop at 7:05pm tonight. Veteran's Day festivities as well, first 1000 fans get a free American flag. Live around 7.

Danbury's Last Game: (w) v. Broome, 6-1
New York's Last Game: (w) @ Rome, 4-3

• Warriors play Frenzy tonight at the same time. We could really use the Warriors to lose a game so we can start to catch up. Not that second place isn't good.....you know how it goes. 
• Danbury goes into tonight 3-1-1 for 7 points on the season, 2nd place in the league. New York goes in 2-4-0 for 4 points on the season, last place in the league. 
• Danbury's penalty kill and powerplay are ranked 2nd and 3rd in the league, respectively. New York's penalty kill and powerplay are ranked 1st and 5th in the league, respectively. Danbury's powerplay has been clicking a lot better lately, so hopefully they can overcome the NY PK. 
• I see no reason why it wouldn't be Niedert v. Druce tonight, and in fact I'm looking forward to it. Druce's game was thrown off so badly by the crowd chants last time that I wonder if he'll have it blocked out finally for this game. In Game 2 he was actually looking up into the crowd every time a certain spectator called his name.

Players to watch:

• 2 goals a game seems par for Karlov at this point. Can we get the man a hat trick soon, please? He works his tail off for it.
• Willock has also been putting up a respectable amount of points lately, contributing in every game. 
• Expecting another Fulton v. Bain fight this evening. They've thrown down twice each time they've met so far, and it's been a pretty even tilt. Entertaining nonetheless. Fulton is racking up the fighting majors like a madman, which makes me wonder how long he can keep it up. May be time to find another heavyweight to back him up. 
• Felton....ah, Felton. Need I say more? Expect more cheap shots at our goalie after the whistle tonight. However, the team has been stepping up in terms of protecting each other lately, especially after the Broome game last week. Certainly they'll take even less kindly to Felton this time. 

Related news: 

• Desmarais got traded to Rome this weekend 
• Danbury reported at the end of the week that Vallely has returned home to California to recover, but did not rule out a return to play depending on his condition later on in the season. 

Game 5 Wrap-Up

Another landslide win for the Whalers keeps them undefeated at home. 6-1 over Broome last night, and what a show it was. Very likely the most intense hockey game the league has seen so far.

• Total of 141 penalty minutes handed out (76 to Danbury on 20 penalties, and 65 to Broome on 17 penalties)
• Niedert back to his opening weekend form, 23 saves on 24 shots
• Testa had 43 saves for 49 shots for Broome. I really felt bad for the guy last night. That's a respectable save percentage, and to lose that much shows that his team completely left him hanging. There were numerous points where he was violently checking Whalers players out of his crease because the Broome D-men were nowhere to be found. 
• Danbury was 3 for 6 on the powerplay last night and 8 for 9 on the PK. Looking LOTS better.
• Goals: Karlov (Madsen, Guy). Willock [PP] (Adler, Dabkowski). Karlov [PP] (Adler, Bria). Siefert [PP] (Arnott). OMalley (Schott, Madsen). Siefert (Sands, Karlov). 
• Nearly another hat trick for Karlov. Sooner or later it's gotta happen for him. 2 goals and an assist for 3 points and a +2 rating. 
• 36 penalty minutes for Fulton. He now leads the league in PIMs. Charging, Fighting, Fighting, Roughing, Leaving the penalty box, continuing altercation misconduct, and an abuse misconduct rounded out his night.
• The bench brawl that stopped the game for 20 minutes saw Danbury Asst Coach Esposito ejected from the game as well. Bad image? Maybe. Personally, glad to see him sticking up for his players as well. And it was a hell of a time to watch. 
• Fulton's antics were definitely the highlight of the evening, but watching DiMarzo throw down some big hits toward the end I think surprised Broome as much as it did me. Good for him. 
• Final shots were 49-24 Danbury. They limited Broome to only 8 shots on goal over the first 40 minutes of the game. The final 16 all came in the third period on a set of furious Broome rushes to break Niedert's shutout. They were NOT happy after the second period bench clearing. Still, if we can get that kind of ratio every game I'll take it. 

Around the league:

• Danbury locked in 2nd place in the league last night. Both the Whalers and the Barons have 7 points, but Danbury takes second on virtue of the Barons having a game in hand. The Warriors are in 1st place with 10 points (5-1-0). They beat the Aviators (still last) 6-4 last night.
• The Privateers took down Frenzy 7-1.
• Aviators play Frenzy today, Warriors play Privateers. No games on tap for tomorrow. 
• The Whalers are back in action Thursday night @ Home v. Aviators

One more tidbit. Caught up with Augie DiMarzo and Paul Arnott at the bar post-game last night and grabbed this one from Augie: "I'd take 2,000 fans here over 20,000 fans somewhere else any day, because every single one of you knows the game and puts that behind us"

Will update from around the league during the week. Otherwise, ciao until Thursday. 

Live from Game 5!

10:15: Game. 6-1 Whalers

10:11: Danbury takes a 5 minute major after anotherr skirmish

10:00: Broome 15 takes a big hack at DiMarzo's knee, sends him to the benches

10:00: 6-1 Whalers goal

9:50: 3 player collision, medical staff on ice.

9:46: Brroome PP. 2 for unsportsmanlike

9:42: Broome fails to convert on a penalty shot for hooking

9:37: Broome goal. 5-1

9:31:e Starting 3 momentarily

9:08: End of the 2nd, finally. Longest hockey game ever? 35 shots to 8 Danbury.

9:05: 28 minutes of Whalers penalties. Asst Coach for Danbury ejected from game

8:58: FHL has just had its first bench clearing brawl. Wish I had a camera right now. Penalties being worked out. Niedert and Testa chatting at center for last 5 minutes while we wait

8:51: Whalers goal by O'Malley. 5-0

8:48: 5 left in 2

8:40: Whalers PP

8:39: Coincidentals for delay. 10 in 2nd.

8:26: Goal by Siefert on the PP. 4-0 Whalers

8:23: 5 more for fighiting. Draw here, 3 takes the penalty for 8. Broome takes an additional 2. Whalers PP

8:18: Start of 2. Karlov puts up another PP tally 40 seconds in. 3-0 Danbury. 5 for fighting, Fulton wins

7:50: Broome penalty cross checking. Also coincidental roughing calls. End of 1.

7:44: 17 mins for Willock fighting and checking from behind. Game ejection for Barons' Lind

7:35: Whalers penalty for charging. Broome penalty for tripping, 5m major

7:33: Coincidental roughing calls

7:28: Broome penalty. Whalers convert 4 seconds in for a PP goal. 2-0. Willock tallies

7:23: 1-0 Whalers. Karlov wrister top shelf

7:17: Whalers PK. High sticking.

7:07: Game on

6:38:Niedert v Testa in net tonight by looks.

6:31: Broome doesn't have names on any of their jerseys. Looks like no Skoggard tonight, both backups on the ice.

Game 5: Home v. Barons, Saturday November 6th

Puck drop at 7:05pm. Paul D'Amato's Dr. Hook from Slapshot will be at the arena tonight signing autographs.
Live coverage starting shortly before 7pm right here.

• Broome got railed by the Warriors 9-4 last night, allowing the Warrior to cement their first place standing.
• Danbury dropped an OT game 5-4 to Rome. 
• Broome has been a solid team so far, going 3-1-1 on the season. A win tonight allows Danbury to tie them for 2nd place. 
• Their first meeting of the season came earlier this week @ Broome, where they won 5-3. This is Danbury's first home meeting with Broome, and they have a critical two points on the line. 
• The first game saw Niedert v. Skoggard in net. So far it looks like we'll have a repeat this evening. 
• Broome has no particular players to watch this evening; on the contrary, their entire team would fit under that distinction. They've been working very well together and nearly all of them contribute points. Danbury will need to be in top form to hold them at bay.
• Malloy has been a productive player for Danbury every time he hits the ice, and currently holds on to a +7 rating, the highest on the team. Willock, Karlov, and DiMarzo have been racking up the points for the Whalers lately, and I don't expect things to change this evening. 
• Although Broome plays very well at even strength, their PP and PK are ranked 6th and 5th in the league, respectively. If Danbury can play a clean game tonight they may be able to capitalize on Broome errors for some points. 
• Aviators play Warriors, and Privateers play Rome, also at 7pm tonight. Will update on those if possible. 

See you at 7!

Game 4 Wrap-Up

Rome took down Danbury 5-4 in OT last night. Biggest disappointment was that they battled back from an 0-2 deficit all the way to OT and couldn't quite take Rome down. Oh well, first road stand is behind us and at least we walked away with a point.

• Both goalies had approximately 80% save numbers for the game. They happen occasionally. Can't fault a goalie here. 
• Whalers took 7 penalties that game compared to Rome's 5. Too many men and unsportsmanlike are poor mistakes to make and certainly could have been avoided. Although Danbury did well on the PK, 1 allowed on 7 attempts, they keep taking penalties at inopportune times and it's going to come back and bite them, hard. 
• No fights in this game. Rome seems like a very comparatively unphysical team compared to others.
• Dabkowski x2 and Willock x2 were your goal scorers for the evening. Assists by Willock, DiMarzo, Sands, Malloy, Velazquez, and Hager. 
• Danbury's record of 4 games played at 2-1-1 is good for 5 points and 3rd place in the league. 
• A rebound win in regulation tonight will tie them for second, giving them the same record as Broome. 

Game 4 Live

9:35: Rome scores early in OT, 5-4 final score. Danbury comes back home with a point.

9:27: 5 seconds left, Willock scores from Sands to tie it up. 4-4.

9:25: 60 seconds left, 4-3 Rome.

9:20: Fulton takes an unsportsmanlike for Danbury. Rome will get a partial powerplay on the expiration of Danbury's.

9:18: Rome gets 2 for slashing. Danbury powerplay.

9:15: 5 minutes left. 4-3 Rome.

9:08: Rome puts another tally up. 10 left in the third. 4-3 Rome.

9:02: Dabkowski from Velasquez; Danbury answers less than a minute later. 3-3. Malloy takes 2 for tripping. Rome powerplay.

9:01: Rome scores again right after the powerplay. 3-2 Rome.

8:56: Arnott for cross-checking. Rome powerplay.

8:52: Start of 3.

8:36: End of 2. 2-2. Shots are 29-24 Danbury.

8:32: Schott takes a slashing penalty for Danbury with less than a minute left.

8:26: Willock puts up a tally for Danbury from Velasquez and Dabkowski. 2-2.

8:15: Guy's second penalty of the night, this time for elbowing. Rome powerplay.

8:13: Powerplay time is over for Danbury, only one conversion. 2-1 Rome.

8:07: Dabkowski converts on the powerplay from Hager and DiMarzo. 2-1 Rome.

8:06: 30 seconds later Rome takes a roughing penalty. At the expiration of the powerplay, another one will begin for the Whalers immediately.

8:03: A minute in, Rome takes a roughing penalty and a cross checking penalty. 2 minutes of 5-3. Big powerplay for the Whalers.

8:00: Start of 2.

7:43: Shots after the 1st are 16-11, Rome.

7:40: Rome converts on the powerplay with 20 seconds left in the period. 2-0 Rome.

7:37: Nearly end of 1. Rome will start the 2nd on a little less than a minute's worth of PP (Danbury unsportsmanlike, Guy)

7:31: Danbury gets 2 shots on goal in the powerplay, no tally.

7:29: Cross checking penalty to Rome with 5 minutes left. Danbury PP.

7:28: 7.5 minutes in the first. 13 shots to 3, in favor of Rome.

7:19: 15 minutes left in the first. Danbury has 2 shots on goal to Rome's 8.

7:14: Rome converts right after the powerplay ends. 1-0 Rome. Armando from Bolduc and Skinner.

7:11: Sorry for the delay, mild connection issues where I am. Got it all sorted out now I hope. 2 minutes into the first, Rome already on the powerplay for a Danbury crosschecking call (Sands). Niedert v. Smarsh for goalies.

Game 4: Away v. Frenzy, Friday November 5th, 2010

7:05pm Puck drop tonight, Whalers are coming off a tough loss on their first away game, 5-3 to the Barons on Wednesday night. In a game that saw the Barons score 2 goals in 5 seconds with too many sacrificed powerplay chances, the Whalers are looking to get back to their opening weekend form before they return for a home stand tomorrow night against Broome. Live coverage to follow for both games starting around 7, as always.

Going into tonight:

• Danbury is 2-1-0 with 4 points on the season, good for 3rd place in the FHL
• Frenzy is 1-2-0 for 2 points on the season, good for last in the FHL. 
• This is the first meeting of the season between these two teams.
• Danbury PK is 81%, good for 3rd in the league. Where they're hurting is on the PP at 15%, 4th in the league.
• In contrast, Frenzy's PP is clicking at 25% and their PK at 78%. 
• We'll get our first look at Frenzy's Tibor Varga, who in 3 games played has 4 goals and 5 assists. 
• Many of Frenzy's D men are sitting on -4 or -6 ratings. Hopefully a sign of good things to come for the Whalers. Thus far in the season, when Frenzy loses, they lose big. They aren't a terribly tough team from what I've seen and have been pushed around by the more physical clubs. Hopefully they step it up and we get a good show tonight. 
• Frenzy's starting and backup goaltenders are averaging a 5.0 and 11.0 GAA, respectively. 
• Basically where I'm going with this is, let's get our 2 points!!!

See you at 7. 

Game 3 Live

9:20: Final score, 5-3 Broome. Less than stellar evening for Nidert, and the team was unable to convert on a multitude of Powerplay opportunities. Broome pair of goals 5 seconds apart didn't help either. That's a wrap folks, analysis to come in the AM.

9:18: One minute left, coincidental minors. We'll be 4 on 4 for the duration of the game.

9:07: Broome sinks another at even strength. 5-3.

9:02: Broome converts in a hurry on the powerplay. 4-3 Broome.

9:01: Broome powerplay on a Danbury hooking call.

9:00: Broome scores with 11:20 left to tie it up 3-3.

8:47: Start of 2nd.

8:31: Rome up 2-1 halfway through the 2nd.

8:30: And we're at the end of the 2nd.

8:28: Karlov again from Sands and DiMarzo. 3-2 Danbury.

8:22: Broome on the powerplay for a Danbury slashing call.

8:15: Finally! Karlov converts on the powerplay! O'Malley and Malloy get the assists. 2-2.

8:12: Another powerplay for Danbury, Broome gets 2 for tripping. With all these chances we better convert sometime soon. Couldn't do it in 30 seconds of 5on3.

8:08: 30 seconds of 5 on 3 for Danbury on a Broome interference call.

8:05: Whalers on the powerplay resulting from a Broome hooking call.

8:03: Whalers' Dabkowski answers the ppg for Danbury 60 seconds later off a feed from Guy. 2-1 Broome.

8:00: Broome scores on a Danbury elbowing call. 2-0 Broome on the PP.

7:49: We're 1-0 Broome in the 1st intermission. In other news, Warriors up on Frenzy 1-0 in the 1st.

7:33: Coming up on the end of the 1st, still no penalties. Surprising.

7:15: First goal scored by Broome at even strength. 1-0 Broome.

7:13: 5 in, clean game so far.

7:07: Game on! Let's Go Whalers!

6:57: 10 minutes to puck drop. Nidert in net for Danbury against Skoggard for Broome.

Game 3: Away v. Barons, Wednesday November 3rd

Puck drop at 7:05. This will be the first away game of the season for the Whalers, and the first against Broome, who have been relatively solid so far, dropping only one game in OT.

I don't see why anybody but Niedert would be in net tonight after his performance in the first two plus plenty of time to rest in between.

As this is also the first meeting with a new team, we'll have to wait to see what, if any, storylines develop. Regardless, Danbury is still undefeated, so everybody will be gunning for them. The Aviators, coincidentally, still have not won a game.

I'm skeptical at best about paying for the game stream since I know nothing about the quality of that website, so I'm going to do my best to keep you updated on the game progress this evening through other means.

Side note: Whalers staff confirmed at the beginning of the week that Vallely fractured his arm (I was close). He will not be returning to play another game this season.

Let's Go Whalers!