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Falcons Weekly Notes

March 25, 2013 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


Springfield, Mass. - The Springfield Falcons (37-18-5-4) won all three games this past week, taking two points in their home contests against Manchester on Wednesday and Worcester on Friday before outlasting Bridgeport in a shootout on the road on Saturday. The Falcons lead the Northeast Division by 11 points over Connecticut with two games in hand on the Whale at the start of the 25th week of the 2012-2013 season. Springfield is even with Providence for second place in the Eastern Conference standings but currently holds the tiebreaker for that spot over the Bruins.

The Falcons play a pair of Northeast Division matchups this week, welcoming Bridgeport to town for the final meeting with the Sound Tigers this season on Thursday before hosting Connecticut at the MassMutual Center on Saturday, presented by Z Airport Parking. Both games begin at 7 p.m.

During the second intermission of Saturday's game, the Springfield Team Final for the 2013 Labatt Blue AHL Bubble Hockey Tournament of Champions will be held on the MassMutual Center ice. The Team Final champion will move onto the Tournament Finals at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y. on Sunday, Apr. 21. Falcons players Jake Hansen and Allen York kicked off the Springfield 2013 tournament on Tuesday, Feb. 5 at Pasquale's Restaurant in East Longmeadow. The 2013 Labatt Blue AHL Bubble Hockey Tournament of Champions winner receives a Super Chexx Bubble Hockey game.

Fans will also have a chance to win a free bicycle at Saturday's game, courtesy of Gus Coelho Auto Repair at 442 Holyoke St. in Ludlow, as part of "Cycle Saturday." Additionally, characters from Six Flags New England in Agawam will be in attendance.

Single-game tickets to see the Falcons in 2012-2013 can be purchased at the MassMutual Center Box Office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. through game time on Saturday home dates, and starting four hours prior to Sunday home contests. Fans can also purchase tickets by logging onto Ticketmaster.com. For information about discounted group packages to Falcons home games, call (413) 739-GOAL (4625).

WEEK IN REVIEW

Springfield 2, Manchester 0

Wednesday, Mar. 20

MassMutual Center

Springfield registered the game's only offense in the first period, as Thomas Larkin recorded his first professional goal with a shot from the top of the right circle before Andrew Joudrey converted off a turnover by goaltender Martin Jones, giving the Falcons a 2-0 lead through 20 minutes. The Falcons played a sound game defensively and limited Manchester's scoring chances. Curtis McElhinney closed out the contest with 10 third-period stops en route to a 25-save shutout, his club-record ninth perfect outing of the season. The Falcons ended the season series against the Monarchs with a 4-1-0-1 record. The victory ended a six-game winless skid for the Falcons, as Springfield prevailed for the first time since it posted a 2-0 shutout win over Worcester on Mar. 3.

Springfield 2, Worcester 1

Friday, Mar. 22

MassMutual Center

Springfield led for almost its entire game against Worcester on Friday after Sean Collins finished off a Spencer Machacek setup just 13 seconds into the contest, providing the Falcons with a 1-0 edge. Nick Holden rocketed in a slap shot late in the second period with the Falcons on the power play, upping Springfield's cushion to 2-0. Adam Comrie backhanded a rebound from the slot by Curtis McElhinney at 9:03 of the third period, putting the Sharks on the board and ending the goaltender's shutout streak at 134 minutes and seven seconds. The Falcons held off a late push by the Sharks and emerged with a 2-1 win.

Springfield 4, Bridgeport 3 (SO)

Saturday, Mar. 23

Webster Bank Arena

The Falcons became the 13th team in AHL history to play 1,500 games when they took to the road to battle the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Saturday. Springfield grabbed a seemingly-commanding 3-0 lead. Trent Vogelhuber converted on the Falcons' best chance of the first, pushing a rebound in off a Nick Holden shot. Holden then connected with a blue-line blast on the power play in the middle stanza before Vogelhuber struck shorthanded moments later. Matt Donovan's goal with 34 seconds to go in the second started the Sound Tigers' comeback bid. Donovan lit the lamp again near the midway point of the third, while Brock Nelson beat Curtis McElhinney just 47 seconds later, eventually forcing overtime. The Falcons, who shut down all 10 of Bridgeport's power plays, had to kill off one last shorthanded situation in the sudden-death period. With time ticking down, McElhinney robbed Jon Landry's right-circle opportunity with his glove, sending the game into a shootout. While Johan Sundstrom and Joe Diamond scored for the Sound Tigers in the shootout, Nick Drazenovic, Cody Goloubef, and Andrew Joudrey converted in the final three rounds, as Springfield snapped its eight-game road winless skid, while Curtis McElhinney notched his 100th-career AHL victory.

WEEK AHEAD

Thursday, Mar. 28 - 7:00 p.m., Springfield vs Bridgeport, MassMutual Center

Saturday, Mar. 30 - 7:00 p.m., Springfield vs. Connecticut, MassMutual Center

MORE MILESTONES FOR MCELHINNEY

By amassing his ninth shutout on Wednesday, Curtis McElhinney now has more clean sheets in one season than any goaltender in the 70-year history of AHL hockey in Springfield. The eighth-year pro surpassed Marcel Paille, who garnered eight shutouts with Springfield in 1960-1961, the second of the Indians' three-straight Calder Cup championship seasons. McElhinney is the career shutout leader in Falcons history as well, besting Manny Legace's eight over 153 appearances with his ninth in his 41st game on Wednesday. He is tied for second in club history for victories in a season with 26, matching Jeff Deslauriers' output in 2007-2008. Scott Langkow's 30 wins in 1997-1998 are the team standard.

McElhinney became the ninth goaltender in league history to compile nine shutouts in one season. He is one shy of tying Maxime Ouellet (Portland, 2003-2004) and Frederic Cassivi (Cincinnati, 2004-2005) for second, and is four away of the record-holding Jason LaBarbera (Hartford, 2003-2004) who accumulated 13 shutouts.

While leading the league in shutouts (9), McElhinney is third in wins (26), fourth in save percentage (.926) and seventh in goals-against average (2.24).

He reached his 100th AHL win on Saturday in his 199th outing.

HOLDEN HELPS OUT

Nick Holden scored on the power play on Friday and Saturday to set a career high for goals in a season (7). Holden also has established career bests this season for points (30) and assists (23) and leads Springfield with a +19 rating. John Stevens and Danny Briere share the club record for the highest plus-minus mark in one season of +23.

TWO FOR VOGELHUBER

Trent Vogelhuber netted his first-career AHL multi-goal game on Saturday, scoring at even strength in the opening frame while striking on the penalty kill in the second. Vogelhuber also had two goals earlier this season with the ECHL's Evansville IceMen.

A CAREER FIRST

In just his second-professional contest, Thomas Larkin collected his first-career goal Wednesday night. Larkin's tally proved to be the game winner.

FULL POWER

Nick Drazenovic leads the AHL with 26 power-play points (9g-17a), while Ryan Craig is tied for fourth in the league with 24 points on the man advantage (10g-14a).

RARITY FOR RUSSELL

One of Springfield's top penalty killers, Ryan Russell had been whistled for just two minor infractions all season prior to Saturday, visiting the box in consecutive contests on Dec. 15 and 16. Russell went 38-straight games without a penalty after Dec. 16 before being called for hooking and tripping at 4:23 and 17:26 of the second period of Saturday's shootout win in Bridgeport. As a result, the Red Deer, Alberta native doubled his 2012-2013 penalty-minute total from four to eight in the same period.

CAPTAIN CLOSES IN

With 56 goals as a Falcon, Ryan Craig is one shy of Eric Healey for sixth in team history in that category. He is two power-play goals away from tying Danny Briere and Jean-Guy Trudel for the most man-advantage tallies in team history. Craig has 27 power-play goals, while Briere and Trudel netted 29 with the Falcons.

PENALTY-KILLING PERFECTION

Springfield set a season high with 10 successful penalty kills on Saturday night and has fended off 25-straight opposition power plays dating back four games to Mar. 17. The Falcons have moved up to second in the league on the penalty kill at 86.8%.

DEFENSE DELIVERS

Springfield continues to be second in the AHL on defense at 2.41 goals against/game, trailing only Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (2.35 goals against/game) for the league lead in that category. The Falcons are on pace to allow 183 goals, 32 fewer than their franchise low of 215, set in 1995-1996.

LUCKY THIRTEEN

Saturday's game was the Falcons' 1,500th in their regular-season history. They became the 13th AHL team to reach that mark.

WINS PILE UP

The Falcons' 37 wins are the fourth most in team history. Springfield is eight victories away from equaling its franchise mark of 45, set in 1997-1998.

GOOD POINTS

The Falcons are on pace to pick up 99 standings points this season, one short of their club-record 100, posted in 1995-1996.

PROTECTING 'THE NEST'

Springfield has won 15 of its 18 home games since Dec. 30 and is 21-8-1-3 at the MassMutual Center this season. The team record for home wins in a season is 26, set in its third campaign of 1996-1997.

BACK ON TRACK

The Falcons won their first road game since Feb. 2 on Saturday, ending an eight-game winless drought away from the MassMutual Center (0-5-2-1). With a road mark of 16-10-4-1, Springfield is on track to notch its first away winning season since 1997-1998, and the second in team history. The Falcons went 21-15-4 on the road in 1997-1998, their best away record in their 19 years of competition.

EXCITING FAN APPRECIATION WEEKEND PLANNED

Celebrity appearances highlight the Falcons' Fan Appreciation Weekend, which will take place on Saturday, Apr. 13 and Sunday, Apr. 14 as the club plays its final two home games of the regular season.

New England Patriots running back Stevan Ridley will meet and greet fans in the MassMutual Center concourse at the Falcons game against the Providence Bruins that Saturday, presented by Sherwin Williams. Ridley will sign autographs for fans that evening beginning at 6:45 p.m. behind section 14. Selected by the Patriots in the third round (73rd overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft out of LSU, Ridley ran for 1,263 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2012, helping New England advance to the AFC Championship Game for a second-straight season.

On Sunday, the Boston Bruins Alumni Team, featuring legends Ray Bourque, Terry O'Reilly, Rick Middleton, and Reggie Lemelin, will play at The Nest prior to the Falcons' home regular-season finale versus the Connecticut Whale. The exhibition game is free-of-charge to fans with a ticket to that day's Falcons game. The appearance by the Boston Bruins Alumni Team is presented by VizConnect, while the Falcons' game that afternoon is sponsored by The MRI Centers of New England.

Following Sunday's game, fans are invited to participate in an autograph session with all Falcons players on the MassMutual Center concourse.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MARCH MERCHANDISE SPECIALS

The Falcons Nest Pro Shop is undergoing some spring cleaning, and now is your chance to take advantage of merchandise specials on team apparel, souvenirs, and more! Items marked down include Reebok Center Ice Jackets, youth Reebok replica alternate jerseys, and adult beanies. Access the Falcons Nest Pro Shop online here, or stop by the main location at 45 Falcons Way from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday - Friday. The Tower Square location of the Falcons Nest Pro Shop is also open for the remainder of the season 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. each Wednesday and Thursday.

Fans can purchase their favorite team gear and apparel at the Falcons Nest Pro Shop, located inside the team office at 45 Falcons Way, during normal business hours or online by clicking here.

The Tower Square location of the Falcons Nest Pro Shop is also open for the remainder of the season 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. each Wednesday and Thursday.

The Tower Square venue, located at 1500 Main St. in downtown Springfield, gives fans a chance to browse a wide variety of Falcons merchandise and ticket packages in a popular downtown location.

The Falcons Nest Pro Shop moves to the MassMutual Center concourse behind section 27 during all home games.

FALCONS NEST PRO SHOP AT 45 FALCONS WAY STORE HOURS

Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

TOWER SQUARE STORE HOURS

Wednesday, Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

LOCK IN YOUR SEAT FOR 2013-2014

Falcons fans are invited to reserve their ticket packages for the 2013-2014 season. Fans can to stop by "Ticket Headquarters" behind section 31 at The Nest during any Springfield home game to lock in their spot for the Falcons' 20th AHL season.

Adult season ticket prices remain the same for 2013-2014, giving fans the opportunity to watch the Falcons compete in all 38 home contests at the MassMutual Center for only $13/game. Season ticket packages in 2013-2014 will come with a no-waste guarantee, giving fans the opportunity to exchange their unused tickets for future home games. Fans can also take advantage of 22 and 10-game ticket packages next season.

The Falcons will also continue to offer flex packages for fans who want to choose what games they want to attend and how many people they want to bring to each contest. Flex packages are broken down into 44, 20, and 12-ticket plans.

Youth ticket packages and flex plans are also available in 2013-2014 for children ages 14 and under.

A $50 non-refundable deposit per seat is required.

NOMINATE A HERO AMONG US

Throughout the season, fans can submit a nomination for TD Bank's "Heroes Among Us" program. Nominees can include teachers, doctors, firefighters, community volunteers, and other individuals you think deserve to be honored at a Falcons game.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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