Falcons Set For 3 Games This Week

Published on December 2, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


This Week's Games Previews

-Friday, December 4, 2009- Springfield Falcons (10-9-3-2) vs. Worcester Sharks (13-10-0-1):

This will be the fourth of eight meetings between the two teams, with the Sharks winning the first three games, including last week in Springfield. Leading Springfield in those games has been Charles Linglet and Colton Fretter who each have two points in the three games. Worcester has been led by a very balanced offense, but Logan Couture has scored two goals in the season series thus far. The two teams will meet next on December 26 in Worcester. Danny Groulx leads the Sharks this season with 19 points (3 G, 16 A). Steven Zalweski (7 G, 11 A) and Couture (7 G, 10 A) have played well for Worcester this season. Goalie Alex Stalock has played stellar in net this season with an 11-6-2 record posting a 2.32 GAA and.914 save percentage. Worcester comes into the Falcons game winners of five straight. The Sharks will take on Portland and Manchester to end this weekend following the Springfield game.

-Saturday, December 5, 2009- Springfield Falcons (10-9-3-2) at Bridgeport Sound Tigers (13-12-0-1):

The Falcons and Sound Tigers will meet for the third time this season after splitting the first two games. The teams will play each other 10 times throughout the season. The next meeting between the two teams will be on Sunday, December 20 in Bridgeport, CT. Bridgeport has been a very balanced team this season with seven guys with at least 10 points on the season. The team leader in points is Sean Bentivoglio with 16 points (8 G, 8 A). Leading Bridgeport's goalies this season has been Scott Munroe and Nathan Lawson. Munroe has a 7-5-1-1 record with a 2.48 GAA and.925 save percentage. Lawson is 5-6-0-0 while posting a 2.54 GAA and.921 save percentage. In the season series between the teams, Bridgeport has been led by Bentivoglio with two goals and one assist. On the other side, Springfield has been led by Colton Fretter and Chad Wiseman who each have four points combined in the two games. The Sound Tigers are winners of two of three after defeating Hartford in a shootout last Sunday. Before Saturday's game with the Falcons, the Sound Tigers will take on Providence and Lowell this week.

-Sunday, December 6, 2009- Springfield Falcons (10-9-3-2) vs. Adirondack Phantoms (9-9-0-1):

This will be the second and final game between the Phantoms and Falcons. In the previous meeting on October 9, the Falcons lost to the Phantoms 4-3. Scoring in the game for Springfield were Taylor Chorney, Colin McDonald, and Ryan Potulny (all of whom are currently on the Edmonton Oilers roster). Adirondack goal scorers were Andreas Nodl, Oskars Bartulis, Jonathon Kalinski, and Josh Beaulieu. Leading the Phantoms this season have been John Matsumoto (8 G, 8 A, 16 P) and Patrick Maroon (2 G, 9 A, 11 P). The leading goaltender for the Phantoms this season has been Johan Backlund posting a 2.79 GAA and.904 save percentage. Adirondack comes into the week on a high note after beating the Hershey Bears in Hershey last Saturday in a shootout. The Phantoms will take on Lowell, Norfolk, and Albany before coming to Springfield on Sunday.

Last Week's Game Recaps

Springfield vs. Worcester, Nov. 25- L, 3-2:

The Springfield Falcons lost to the Worcester Sharks 3-2 in front of 2,536 at the MassMutual Center Wednesday night.The game featured a battle of rookie goaltenders as Worcester's Alex Stalock earned the victory over Springfield's Aaron Sorochan, but special teams came into play throughout the 60 minutes.

Springfield took advantage of their one and only power play in the first with a Colton Fretter goal halfway through the period. The goal was set up by Theo Peckham's shot that hit off the post. The goal extended Fretter's scoring streak to eight games overall as well as nine straight home games with a point.

Worcester had their chances in the first period with four power play chances including a 2-man advantage early on in the stanza. However, the Sharks could not find the back of the net against Falcons goalie Sorochan.

Worcester continued to get their chances on the power play in the second period with three more opportunities. Worcester's first power play of the second period was technically not successful, but only one second into even strength Worcester's Trent Campbell scored his first goal of the year to tie the game up. Later in the period, Worcester recorded their first official power play goal thanks to Ryan Vesce's third goal of the season. The Sharks had a 2-1 lead with less than five minutes left in the second period.

After a Peckham check on Nick Petrecki, the teams both got into a melee and dropped the gloves. This led to a Falcons power play opportunity which Fretter seemed to score on immediately, but was later ruled not a goal. The ruling was that a tripping penalty on the Sharks occurred before the puck crossed the goal line. Springfield was now on a 5 on 3 advantage and this time Fretter did convert as he scored his second goal of the game. Cody Wild assisted on the play.

The Worcester power play chances continued to increase as the third period started. Less than four minutes into the period, the Sharks' Logan Couture gave Worcester the 3-2 lead. Springfield had their chance halfway through the final period with a power play opportunity of their own, but were not able to find a way past Stalock.

Springfield at Manchester, Nov. 27- L, 4-2:

The Springfield Falcons lost to the Manchester Monarchs 4-2 on Friday night at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, NH opening a home-and-home series with the Monarchs.

Trailing 4-0 entering the third period, the Falcons rallied in the final frame cutting their deficit in half. Bryan Lerg got the Falcons on the scoreboard at 7:41 of the third period when he danced around a pair of Manchester defenders and slipped a backhand past Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Bernier. Midway through the final period, Lerg again was involved, this time dropping the gloves with Manchester's Juraj Mikus as each player received fighting majors.

The Falcons continued to apply pressure in the third period as Slava Trukhno cut Springfield's deficit to 4-2 at 14:58 of the third period, Trukhno's third goal of the year.

After a scoreless 10-minutes of play, the Monarchs exploded for four goals in the second half of the first period taking a four-goal cushion into the intermission. Patrick Mullen opened the scoring at 10:40 of the first period with a power play goal, followed by Drew Bagnall's slap shot finding the back of the net just 20-seconds later. Marc-Andre Cliche gave Manchester a 3-0 lead at 16:57 of the opening period, followed by Gabe Gauthier scoring his third marker of the year with just 39-seconds remaining in the period.

The teams played a scoreless second period with Springfield outshooting Manchester 10-9. The Falcons outshot Manchester 9-3 in the third period and 31-28 for the game.

Springfield vs. Manchester, Nov. 28- L (SO), 3-2:

In a game that saw a lot of close calls, pucks hitting the post and good scoring chances, the visiting Manchester Monarchs were able to defeat the Springfield Falcons for the second time in two days, this time 3-2 in a shootout.

The shootout was going Springfield's way after Falcons goalie Andrew Perugini stopped the first two Manchester shooters and Chad Wiseman scored on the Monarchs giving a 1-0 shootout lead. Unfortunately for the Falcons, things changed in the blink of an eye as the next three Manchester shooters converted in the extra session leading to the 3-2 shootout win for Manchester.

During the overtime, Falcons Perugini played outstanding, especially on one Manchester possession where he was not going to allow the Monarchs to get a puck past him. Perugini lost his stick in a scuffle in the crease, but continued on to block all shots, including using one of his fellow teammate's hockey stick. Perugini was impressive in his first AHL start stopping 31 of 33 shots heading into the shootout.

Earlier in the first period, Manchester took a 1-0 lead thanks to Bud Holloway's seventh goal of the season. Springfield's Bill Thomas had a chance late in the period to tie the game for Springfield, but his shot hit off the post.

Colton Fretter tied the game up 1-1 early in the second period with his ninth goal of the season, including his team-leading sixth power play goal of the year. Fretter extended his home scoring streak to 10 consecutive games. Thomas and Chris Armstrong assisted on the score.

Manchester took the 2-1 lead in the third period when Gabe Gauthier scored his fourth goal of the season. Immediately following Gauthier's goal, the Falcons sent a barrage of shots at Manchester goalie Jeff Zatkoff. Zatkoff made some highlight reel saves, but at 14:51 Springfield's Wiseman slid one by Zatkoff to tie the game up and send the game into overtime. Thomas added his second assist of the game on the score.

Springfield vs. Portland, Nov. 29- L, 3-2:

The Springfield Falcons ended a busy stretch of four games in five days with a 3-2 loss suffered against the Portland Pirates on Sunday afternoon at the MassMutual Center.

The Falcons were trailing very early in the game, only 38-seconds into the contest to be exact, when Portland's Felix Schutz scored his third goal of the season to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead. Portland struck again at the 15:42 mark in the first when Paul Byron converted on a Pirates power play.

Fretter scored the Falcons first goal of the game only 15-seconds after Byron's goal. The goal extended Fretter's home scoring streak to 11 consecutive games. Cody Wild earned his eighth assist of the season on the goal.

Springfield had their chances to score with two power plays, including a 5 on 3, but the Falcons never seemed to get into any rhythm on either man advantage. The Falcons struggled in the first period, being outshot 12-5.

The Falcons tied the game up during the second period on Liam Reddox's fourth goal of the season. Reddox maneuvered the puck through multiple Portland defenders as he beat Pirates goaltender Jhonas Enroth on the play.

The tie game did not last for long as Schutz scored his second goal of the game for the Pirates, making it 3-2 in favor of the visitors. The Pirates took the 3-2 lead heading into the final period. In the third period, the Falcons sent 17 shots at Portland's Enroth, but he was there to make every stop.

Player and Team Notes

Charles Linglet leads the Falcons in points (26), assists (19), and +/- (+8) in his 24 games played this season. Linglet is tied for third in the AHL in points and tied for second in assists.

Only four Springfield Falcons players have played in all 24 games this season (Charles Linglet, Kip Brennan, Jake Taylor, and Geoff Paukovich).

Colton Fretter has overtaken Chris Minard has the team's leading goal scorer with ten goals on the year. Fretter also leads the team in power play goals with six on the year, which places him in a second place tie in the AHL in power play goals.

Colton Fretter is currently on an 11 game home scoring streak dating back to October 16 against Manchester.

Despite being called up to the Edmonton Oilers, Devan Dubnyk continues to lead the AHL in minutes played (1,081) and saves (608). Dubnyk has posted a 2.77 GAA,.924 save percentage, and a 9-8-1 record for Springfield this season.

AHL Rookies Aaron Sorochan and Andrew Perugini have filled in for Dubnyk in goal since his call up. Sorochan's numbers on the year are a 3.60 GAA,.883 save percentage, and 143 saves in 317 minutes. Perugini has appeared in one game for the Falcons allowing two goals in regulation, but loss 3-2 in a shootout.

Jamie Bates recorded his first assist and point as a member of the Springfield Falcons last Friday in Manchester.

Colton Fretter recorded his 75th career AHL point on Sunday with his 10th goal of the season.

Theo Peckham earned his 25th career American Hockey League assist last Wednesday versus the Worcester Sharks.

Andrew Perugini made his first career AHL start in goal last Saturday against Manchester.

Liam Reddox scored his 25th career AHL goal on Sunday against the Pirates.

Springfield has the AHL's third best home power play scoring at a 27.7% rate when playing at the MassMutual Center. The Falcons are fifth best overall at 21.4%.

Springfield outshot two of their opponents this past week. Prior to this week, the Falcons had only outshot their opponent two times.

Injury Report

Chris Minard has missed the entire month of November due to injury and is listed Day-to-Day.

Transactions

11-26-09- The Springfield Falcons NHL affiliate Edmonton Oilers recalled forwards Colin McDonald and Ryan O'Marra from the Falcons. This is McDonald's first NHL call up and he scored his first career NHL goal on Saturday Nov. 28. McDonald has played in 21 games this season for Springfield recording five goals and four assists. This was O'Marra's second call up this season. O'Marra has also played in 21 games and has eight points (5 G, 3 A). O'Marra recorded his first career NHL assist on McDonald's goal last Saturday.

11-26-09- The Edmonton Oilers returned on loan forward Liam Reddox back to the Springfield Falcons. Reddox played well in his stint in the NHL this season, recording two assists in nine games played. As of Nov. 30, Reddox has appeared in 16 games for the Falcons this season with four goals and one assist in those games.

11-28-09- The Springfield Falcons have announced that they have signed forward Chanse Fitzpatrick to a PTO. Fitzpatrick previously played this season in the ECHL for the Elmira Jackals recording 20 points (11 G, 9 A) in 17 games. Fitzpatrick appeared in one game for the Falcons before being released from his PTO on Monday, November 30.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 2, 2009


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