Hartford’s Locke named AHL Player of the Month

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Hartford Wolf Pack center Corey Locke has been named the Reebok/AHL Player of the Month for November. Locke tallied five goals and 14 assists for 19 points along with a plus-6 rating in 13 games during the month.

Locke began November with an impressive three-point showing, assisting on two regulation goals and scoring the buzzer-beater in overtime to lift Hartford over Manchester, 3-2, on Nov. 1. He picked up another game-winning goal plus an assist for his fourth consecutive multiple-point effort in a 4-1 win at Bridgeport on Nov. 7, and then put together a five-game scoring streak from Nov. 14-25, which included a four-point performance (2g, 2a) in a 5-3 decision over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Nov. 19. Locke wound up contributing to the scoring of half of the Wolf Pack’s 38 goals on the month.

In recognition of his achievement, Locke will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Wolf Pack home game.

Locke enters December ranked second in the AHL with 12 goals and leading the league with 21 assists and 33 points in 24 games. The 25-year-old Toronto native is in his sixth AHL season and first in the New York Rangers organization after signing as a free agent on July 3, 2009. A two-time OHL scoring champion and player of the year during his junior career, Locke has totaled 122 goals and 219 assists for 341 points while skating in 414 AHL games with Hartford, Houston and Hamilton. He won a Calder Cup with the Bulldogs in 2007 and appeared in the AHL All-Star Classic in 2006, 2008 and 2009.

Other nominees for Reebok/AHL Player of the Month include Adirondack center Jon Matsumoto, Albany right wing Jerome Samson, Binghamton center Martin St. Pierre, Bridgeport left wing Sean Bentivoglio, Chicago center Jason Krog, Grand Rapids left wing Tomas Tatar, Hamilton center David Desharnais, Hershey center Keith Aucoin, Houston right wing Jon DiSalvatore, Lowell right wing Vladimir Zharkov, Manchester center Oscar Moller, Manitoba goaltender Cory Schneider, Milwaukee center Cal O’Reilly, Norfolk center Blair Jones, Peoria right wing Adam Cracknell, Portland center Tyler Ennis, Rochester center Jamie Johnson, Rockford center Mark Cullen, San Antonio center Joel Perrault, Texas center Aaron Gagnon, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton left wing Luca Caputi and Worcester center Steven Zalewski.