Pregame Report - Falcons Host Admirals Saturday

Published on February 4, 2012 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


The Springfield Falcons and Norfolk Admirals meet for the first time this season as they kick off a stretch of back-to-back games this weekend, which concludes with a Sunday matinee starting at 3 pm at the MassMutual Center. The Falcons and Admirals will conclude their four-game season series on March 2-3 when the Falcons head to Virginia.

The Falcons head into tonight's action having won three of their last four games as they returned from the All Star break on Friday and dropped a 4-1 decision to the Providence Bruins in Providence, RI. Springfield starts a busy home schedule during the month of February tonight. The Falcons will play eight of their next 10 games on home ice. Springfield remains in the hunt in the Northeast Division as they are only one point behind Adirondack and Albany, four points behind Connecticut and six points behind Bridgeport.

The Admirals head into The Nest looking to snap a two-game losing streak after falling to the Adirondack Phantoms on Friday by a score of 3-1. Norfolk concludes their road trip through the Northeast on Sunday before returning home for a pair of home games next weekend. Norfolk currently has a record of 26-17-1-2 in the East Division good for third place, two points out of second and five points out of first.

FALCONS TRANSACTIONS: The Columbus Blue Jackets assigned center Andrew Joudrey to the Springfield Falcons on Friday. Joudrey, 27, became the sixth Blue Jackets player to make his NHL debut with the club this season Wednesday at Los Angeles. He had one shot on goal and two blocked shots in 9:16 of ice time. He has registered seven goals and eight assists for 15 points, 10 penalty minutes and a +2 plus/minus rating in 42 games with Springfield this season. Signed as a free agent by Columbus on July 1, 2011, he spent the previous five years in the Washington Capitals organization. He has collected 49-69-118, 85 penalty minutes and a +47 plus/minus rating in 321 AHL games with Hershey and Springfield. He helped the Bears win back-to-back Calder Cup championships in 2008-09 and 2009-10.

Washington's fifth pick, 249th overall, in the 2003 Entry Draft, Joudrey played four seasons at the University of Wisconsin (WCHA) from 2003-07. The Halifax, Nova Scotia native registered 31-62-93 and 52 penalty minutes in 160 career games with the Badgers, including a career-high 9-20-29 and 18 penalty minutes as a senior in 2006-07.

It was also announced on Friday that goaltender Allen York has been reassigned to the Falcons' ECHL affiliate, the Chicago Express.

FALCONS TEAM/PLAYER NOTES: The Springfield Falcons just completed their most productive month of the season going 7-4-0-1 in 12 games in January, including two three-game winning streaks, one to start the month and one to conclude the month.

All-Star representative Cam Atkinson led the Falcons in goals in January with 9 in 11 games. Atkinson is one goal shy of tying Jason Jaspers for the second most goals in a single season by a Falcons rookie at 25.

Alexandre Giroux led the Falcons in scoring in January with five goals and seven assists for 12 points in 12 games.

Giroux, Andrew Joudrey and Matt Calvert all finished second in goals in January with five each.

Matt Calvert had five goals and five assists for 10 points in 12 games.

Martin St. Pierre had two goals and eight assists for 10 points in 12 games in January.

ADMIRALS GAME RECAP - COURTESY OF NORFOLKADMIRALS.COM

GLENS FALLS, N.Y. - Carter Ashton netted his 18th goal of the season, but it was the only shot that got behind former Norfolk goaltender Michael Leighton as the Norfolk Admirals (26-17-1-2) fell to Leighton's Adirondack Phantoms (22-21-1-1), 3-1, on Friday night at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

Norfolk netminder Jaroslav Janus stopped 31 of 34 shots, as the Phantoms out-shot the Admirals, 34-28. Leighton stopped 27 of 28 shots for Adirondack.

The Phantoms took a 1-0 lead 12:27 into the first period. Jason Akeson entered the Norfolk zone in the high slot before dropping a pass to a trailing Tye McGinn, who sent a high snap shot through traffic and past Janus, blocker-side.

Adirondack's lead doubled to 2-0 just 20 seconds into the second stanza. Matthew Ford sent a shot from the left faceoff circle that deflected off the right shoulder of Janus and into the net.

Norfolk cut its deficit to one goal 9:58 into the second period. Tyler Johnson sent a feed from the right corner to Ashton in the low slot. Ashton quickly shot the puck past the right leg of Leighton to make the score 2-1 in favor of Adirondack.

However, the Phantoms struck back eight minutes later. Akeson took the puck from behind the goal line and centered into the low slot. McGinn redirected the feed into the net at 17:42 for a 3-1 Adirondack lead.

The Admirals out-shot the Phantoms, 11-8, in the third period, but were unable to get a shot past Leighton, who played behind an Adirondack defense that blocked a large volume of shots all night.

Jaroslav Janus (8-8-2) stopped 31 of 34 shots in defeat. Michael Leighton (15-16-0) stopped 27 of 28 shots for the win.

Both teams were 0-for-1 on the power play.

NORFOLK TRANSACTIONS: The Tampa Bay Lightning, NHL parent club of the Norfolk Admirals, have reassigned forward Pierre-Cedric Labrie ("PEE-air SEHD-rihk lah-BREE") to the Admirals, Lightning Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman announced Friday.

Labrie, 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, has played in eight games with the Lightning, recording one assist and 10 penalty minutes while averaging 4:59 in ice time. He made his NHL debut on January 7 against Montreal and recorded his first assist and point on January 21 at Phoenix.

Labrie has appeared in 31 games with Norfolk this season, posting seven goals and 20 points with a plus-18 rating and 69 penalty minutes. Labrie leads the Admirals and is tied for third in the American Hockey League in plus/minus. He also ranks third on Norfolk in penalty minutes.

A fifth-year professional, Labrie has appeared in 286 career AHL games between Norfolk, the Peoria Rivermen and the Manitoba Moose. In those games, he has scored 32 goals and 86 points with 489 penalty minutes.

An undrafted forward, Labrie was originally signed by the Vancouver Canucks on July 9, 2007. Vancouver traded him to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for forward Yan Stastny on March 3, 2010. The Lightning signed Labrie to a two-year contract on December 29, 2011.

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