http://www.yardbarker.com/nhl/players/brandon_defazio/201833 Recent articles about Brandon DeFazio en-us Bridgeport, CT, April 6, 2013 – Cam Talbot made 38 saves Saturday night at Webster Bank Arena to key a 3-2 victory for the Connecticut Whale, who were outshot 40-20 by the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, including 14-3 in the third period. Brandon Segal’s early third-period goal held up as the game-winner, and the Whale also got goals from Benn Ferriero and Ryan Bourque.  Matt Donovan and Brock Nelson scored for Bridgeport. “I got in the zone pretty quick there, I thought,” Talbot said.  “I was seeing pucks pretty well from the first period on and just trying to knock some of those ones down in the third period when they were getting traffic in front.  I didn’t really control the rebounds too well in the third period, they were all over me, but the guys did a great job of helping out and battling down low, and it was a big win for us.” The victory improved the Whale’s record to a season-best eight games over .500, 35-27-5-3 for 78 points.  Connecticut remains in seventh place i... Sat, 06 Apr 2013 23:13:34 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/nhl/article_external/connecticut_whale_3_bridgeport_sound_tigers_2/13335820 http://network.yardbarker.com/nhl/article_external/connecticut_whale_3_bridgeport_sound_tigers_2/13335820 Connecticut Whale 3, Bridgeport Sound Tigers 2 http://www.yardbarker.com/nhl/articles/connecticut_whale_3_bridgeport_sound_tigers_2/13335820 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Bridgeport, CT, March 3, 2013 – The Connecticut Whale let a 2-0 third-period lead slip away Sunday at the Webster Bank Arena, but rebounded to defeat the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 3-2 in overtime. Logan Pyett’s goal at 2:17 of overtime gave the Whale the win.  Pyett converted off of a two-on-one with Brandon Segal, after Christian Thomas broke up a Bridgeport rush in the defensive zone. “Tommer (Thomas) and Seegs (Segal) both did a good job covering me,” Pyett said of the winning play.  “I got caught in the offensive zone, and Tommer made a great play reversing the flow, and Seegs picked it up.  I was happy to go in two-on-one with him, he made a good decision making the pass, and luckily I was able to finish.” The win improved the Whale’s record to 27-23-5-2 for 61 points and allowed Connecticut to maintain the eighth-and-final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Micheal Haley and Chris Kreider also scored Whale goals in Sunday’s win, and Segal had two assists.  ... Sun, 03 Mar 2013 20:48:28 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/nhl/article_external/connecticut_whale_3_bridgeport_sound_tigers_2_ot/13043596 http://network.yardbarker.com/nhl/article_external/connecticut_whale_3_bridgeport_sound_tigers_2_ot/13043596 Connecticut Whale 3, Bridgeport Sound Tigers 2 (OT) http://www.yardbarker.com/nhl/articles/connecticut_whale_3_bridgeport_sound_tigers_2_ot/13043596 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Bridgeport Sound Tigers 3, Connecticut Whale 0 By Wil Goldsholl Hartford, CT, December 27, 2012 – Kevin Poulin turned away 36 Connecticut Whale shots in Hartford on Thursday to pick up his first shutout of the season, on the way to a 3-0 win for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Bridgeport took both games in this week’s double-header, the first of which was at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport on Wednesday. Connecticut, who has now been shut out five times on the year, went 0 for 7 on the man advantage; they are 1 for 25 in the last five games. Bridgeport struck first, less than two minutes in to the game. Right winger David Ullstrom slid a pass to Matt Watkins. Watkins advanced to the right circle and shoveled a backhand pass allowing Chad Costello to tap it past Cam Talbot on the backdoor for his first goal of the year. Dylan McIlrath, who made his first appearance of the season, came out with high energy, delivering a hard check on Marc Cantin breaking up the left half boards. He w... Fri, 28 Dec 2012 14:00:24 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/nhl/article_external/around_the_farm_whale_shutout_in_mcilraths_return/12527083 http://network.yardbarker.com/nhl/article_external/around_the_farm_whale_shutout_in_mcilraths_return/12527083 Around the Farm: Whale shutout in McIlrath’s return http://www.yardbarker.com/nhl/articles/around_the_farm_whale_shutout_in_mcilraths_return/12527083 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/f/6/f6d697dee225678a100f98cddfbc8d1c724a558a/mini/2010-nhl-draft-portraits.jpg By Wil Goldsholl Hartford, CT, December 27, 2012 - Kevin Poulin turned away 36 Connecticut Whale shots in Hartford on Thursday to pick up his first shutout of the season, on the way to a 3-0 win for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Bridgeport took both games in this week’s double-header, the first of which was at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport on Wednesday. Connecticut, who has now been shut out five times on the year, went 0 for 7 on the man advantage; they are 1 for 25 in the last five games. Bridgeport struck first, less than two minutes in to the game. Right winger David Ullstrom slid a pass to Matt Watkins. Watkins advanced to the right circle and shoveled a backhand pass allowing Chad Costello to tap it past Cam Talbot on the backdoor for his first goal of the year. Dylan McIlrath, who made his first appearance of the season, came out with high energy, delivering a hard check on Marc Cantin breaking up the left half boards. He was called for elbowing at 7:49 but ... Thu, 27 Dec 2012 23:28:18 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/nhl/article_external/bridgeport_sound_tigers_3_connecticut_whale_0/12523102 http://network.yardbarker.com/nhl/article_external/bridgeport_sound_tigers_3_connecticut_whale_0/12523102 Bridgeport Sound Tigers 3, Connecticut Whale 0 http://www.yardbarker.com/nhl/articles/bridgeport_sound_tigers_3_connecticut_whale_0/12523102 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Another night, another lose for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. But Nino is averaging a point per game if you are looking to take something good out of the game. Travis Hamonic did NOT play last night. After I made comments yesterday about Brett Gallant's PIMs, Brandon DeFazio racked up 15 in last night's game. He received a game misconduct for fighting Brandon Segal for boarding Matt Donovan. G... Thu, 06 Dec 2012 07:45:15 -0500 http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=47820 http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=47820 Dee Karl: BST Fall to Whale 4 - 2 & Toy Shopping http://www.yardbarker.com/nhl/articles/dee_karl_bst_fall_to_whale_4_2_toy_shopping/12375538 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png By Wil Goldsholl Hartford, CT, December 5, 2012 - After suffering three losses in three nights over the weekend, Connecticut Whale coach Ken Gernander was looking for a more “buttoned-up performance” Wednesday, and he got it, mostly. Despite frequent trips to the penalty box, the Connecticut Whale pulled out a 4-2 win over the in-state rival Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the XL Center.  J.T. Miller scored his third and fourth goals of the year, while Kelsey Tessier netted his first. It took all of 12 seconds for Kris Newbury to earn the game’s first minor for hooking, which was not the ideal start to the night fresh off the weekend that left the Whale a point behind the Bridgeport squad in the Northeast division standings. Connecticut would not give up much ground during the penalty kill. They allowed three shots and turned the momentum in their favor once Newbury was released. With a quality cycle from the Ryan Bourque- Tessier-Tommy Grant line developing early, th... Wed, 05 Dec 2012 23:30:21 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/connecticut_whale_4_bridgeport_sound_tigers_2/12373804 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/connecticut_whale_4_bridgeport_sound_tigers_2/12373804 Connecticut Whale 4, Bridgeport Sound Tigers 2 http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/articles/connecticut_whale_4_bridgeport_sound_tigers_2/12373804 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png By Brian Ring Hartford, CT, October 12, 2012 - The Connecticut Whale were defeated by the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 6-4, Friday night at the XL Center in their 2012-13 season opener. The Sound Tigers scored five times in the second period and once in the third to defeat the Whale in their first meeting since the first-round of the 2011-12 Calder Cup Playoffs, which the Whale swept in three games. Bridgeport’s Casey Cizikas scored twice, and Nino Niederreiter tallied three points with a goal and two assists to derail Connecticut. Kris Newbury scored twice for the Whale. “There were some positives, but by and large we’ve got a lot of work to do,” said Whale head coach Ken Gernander. “I think it starts with a little more commitment to winning some one-on-one battles. I think we have to track pucks and pursue.” The veteran Newbury tallied the first goal of the season for Connecticut, converting on the first man-advantage of the year just 2:31 into the opening period. Matt Gilroy fir... Fri, 12 Oct 2012 23:38:37 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/bridgeport_sound_tigers_6_connecticut_whale_4/11952127 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/bridgeport_sound_tigers_6_connecticut_whale_4/11952127 Bridgeport Sound Tigers 6, Connecticut Whale 4 http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/articles/bridgeport_sound_tigers_6_connecticut_whale_4/11952127 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png As of today the Islanders have officially sent 24 players on assignment to their AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.With the second lockout in less then a decade practically here, the Islanders decided to make sure to get as much playing time as possible for as many players as possible. The biggest names on the list are Travis Hamonic, Nino Niederreiter, Casey Cizikas, Calvn de Haan, Matt Donovan, Kirill Kabanov, Brock Nelson, Aaron Ness, David Ullstrom, Kevin Poulin, and Anders Nilsson. All of the above had a chance to fight for an NHL role in training camp, but instead will find themselves battling for playing time in the AHL. Whenever it is that the CBA situation is resolved, and the lockout comes to a close, expect Hamonic, Cizikas, and Donovan to be among the first to get the call-up.The rest of the 24 that were sent down include Ty Wishart, Sean Backman, Matt Watkins, Nathan McIver, Colin McDonald, Marc Cantin, Jason Clark, Brandon DeFazio, Mike Halmo, Jon Landry, John... Sat, 15 Sep 2012 14:03:35 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/nhl/article_external/islanders_assign_over_20_players_to_bridgeport/11720359 http://network.yardbarker.com/nhl/article_external/islanders_assign_over_20_players_to_bridgeport/11720359 Islanders Assign Over 20 Players to Bridgeport http://www.yardbarker.com/nhl/articles/islanders_assign_over_20_players_to_bridgeport/11720359 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png By Christian Arnold (CA_NYHockey) Getty Images The Isles have assigned 19 players to their minor league affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, ahead of Saturday’s CBA deadline that would see the NHL lockout for the third time in commissioner Gary Bettman’s Tenure. Among the players starting their season in the AHL are defensemen Travis Hamonic and former first round draft pick Nino Niederreiter. Hamonic has not played in the minors since 2010, when he played 19 games for the Sound Tigers before being called up by the Islanders. Since then he has become one of the Islanders top defensemen. Just a week ago Hamonic told the Sporting News that he was confident that a new CBA would be worked out and that he had not even thought about playing in the AHL. “It’s a situation, we’ll cross the road when it comes,” he said. When we get there, but as of right now, my mindset is getting ready for the NHL season and getting ready for training camp. That’s where I’m at right now.” Niederreiter wa... Fri, 14 Sep 2012 21:33:25 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/nhl/article_external/isles_assign_hamonic_niederreiter_along_with_17_others_to_ahl_bridgeport/11715784 http://network.yardbarker.com/nhl/article_external/isles_assign_hamonic_niederreiter_along_with_17_others_to_ahl_bridgeport/11715784 Isles Assign Hamonic, Niederreiter Along with 17 Others to AHL Bridgeport http://www.yardbarker.com/nhl/articles/isles_assign_hamonic_niederreiter_along_with_17_others_to_ahl_bridgeport/11715784 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Michael St. Croix (Edmonton Oil Kings) From our friends at the Edmonton Oil Kings announcing that the Rangers have signed Michael St. Croix (2011 4th) to a Entry Level Contract. St. Croix very much deserved this contract. Edmonton, AB - The Edmonton Oil Kings are very proud to congratulate forward Michael St. Croix on signing his three-year NHL entry-level contract with the New York Rangers. St.Croix was selected by the Rangers in the fourth round (106th overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft. The 19-year old Winnipeg native has posted career highs in each of his three WHL seasons. In 2011-12, he lead the team with 45 goals, 60 assists, 18 power play goals and 105 points - all Oil Kings club records. St.Croix also posted a +40 rating, 33 multi-point games and eight game winners in the 2011-12 regular season. He then helped lead the team to their first WHL Championship in the modern era. St.Croix was the Oil Kings first selection (4th overall) in the 2008 WHL Bantam Draft. He enters the 2012-13 season Fri, 14 Sep 2012 14:21:00 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/nhl/article_external/rangers_sign_st_croix_islanders_assign_21/11712913 http://network.yardbarker.com/nhl/article_external/rangers_sign_st_croix_islanders_assign_21/11712913 Rangers sign St. Croix, Islanders assign 21 http://www.yardbarker.com/nhl/articles/rangers_sign_st_croix_islanders_assign_21/11712913 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png