Birds Get Ready For Week Four

Published on October 19, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


Week in Review

OCTOBER 16 Springfield- 4 vs. Manchester- 1 (Goal Scorers- Chad Wiseman, Colton Fretter, Geoff Paukovich, and Colin McDonald)

OCTOBER 17 Springfield- 2 vs. Hartford- 1 (Goal Scorers- Charles Linglet two goals)

OCTOBER 18 Springfield- 1 at Manchester- 6 (Goal Scorers- Chris Minard)

This Week's Schedule

OCOTBER 23 Springfield vs. Lowell 7:30pm MassMutual Center

OCTOBER 24 Springfield at Worcester 7:05pm DCU Center

OCTOBER 25 Springfield at Lowell 4:00pm Tsongas Arena

*Radio Broadcasts on WHYN AM 560

*Watch Live on the AHL Live Package

This Week's Game Previews

-Friday, October 23, 2009 and Sunday, October 25, 2009- Springfield Falcons (3-4-0-0) vs. Lowell Devils (2-2-1-0):

The Falcons will play their Atlantic Division rival Lowell Devils twice this weekend, home and away. These will be the first two meetings of the eight this season. Last season the teams split the season series each going 5-5-0-0. Each team won three games on the opponent's ice in those ten games. Leading Lowell in points are former Falcons captain Tim Sestito and Matt Taormina with seven points each. Sestito tied a Devils team record for goals scored on Oct. 17 against Worcester with four goals. Sestito leads Lowell and is tied for the AHL lead in goals scored this season with six goals so far this year. Patrick Davis leads the Devils with five assists early on in the season. Goalies Mike McKenna and Gerald Coleman have split time in the net this year. McKenna has better numbers with a 2.02 GAA and .950 save percentage in 119 minutes played this year. Coleman has a 4.28 GAA and a .873 save percentage in 182 minutes. After starting the season 0-1-1-0, the Devils have won two of three to bring their record to 2-2-1-0. Lowell will take on Bridgeport on Tuesday, Oct. 20 at home before coming to Springfield to face the Falcons on Friday night. Following the game in Springfield, Lowell will travel to Hartford to take on the Wolf Pack Saturday night before heading back home on Sunday to face off with the Falcons for the second time in three days.

-Saturday, October 24, 2009- Springfield Falcons (3-4-0-0) at Worcester Sharks (3-1-0-1):

The Falcons and Sharks will face off for the first time this season on Saturday in Worcester, where the Sharks were 4-1-0-0 against the Falcons last season, including one overtime win. The Falcons struggled against the Sharks last season going 2-4-4-0. The Sharks made the Calder Cup Playoffs last season and won their first ever playoff series against the top seeded Hartford Wolf Pack, 4 games to 2. This will be the first of eight games between the in-state rivals. Rookie center Logan Couture leads Worcester and all AHL rookies in scoring with 8 points (3 G, 5 A). Couture is on a three game goal scoring streak. Couture is tied with teammates Andrew Desjardins and Brandon Mashinter for the team leading 3 goals scored. The Sharks have split time in goal between Alex Stalock and Tyson Sexsmith. Stalock has played in three of the team's five games posting a 2.59 GAA and .901 save percentage allowing a total of eight goals. Sexsmith has less impressive numbers with a 5.05 GAA and .841 save percentage in 119 minutes played. The Sharks are 4th in the AHL in Power Play percentage taking advantage of 26.1 % of their chances. Worcester has a balanced offensive attack that ranks 2nd in the AHL in scoring averaging 4.20 goals a game. The Sharks have a 3-1-0-1 record this week after defeating the Albany River Rats last Sunday 5-3 at home. The Falcons game will be sandwiched between two road games for Worcester this weekend. Friday night the Sharks will play at Providence and Sunday afternoon the Sharks will travel to Hartford to take on the Wolf Pack.

Last Week's Game Recaps

Springfield vs. Manchester, Oct. 16- W 4-1:

The Falcons were able to snap a three game losing skid and remained undefeated at home with their 4-1 victory over the Monarchs.

After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, the Falcons offense exploded in the second 20 minutes of play. In the second period, after falling behind 1-0 when Manchester's Oscar Moller scored at 10:11, the Falcons responded with three goals in 57-seconds taking a 3-1 lead. Chad Wiseman, who was making his Falcons debut, evened the score at 1-1 when he converted at 15:22 of the middle period, followed by Colton Fretter scoring his first goal of the year at 15:51, followed by Geoff Paukovich tucking one home at 16:19 of the second frame.

The Falcons' wave of goals occurred after Springfield goaltender Devan Dubnyk robbed Manchester's Brandon Segal midway through the second period keeping the game at the time, a one-goal Falcons' deficit.

Late in the middle stanza, Springfield's Theo Peckham and Manchester's Drew Bagnall dropped the gloves with each player landing a few good punches.

Colin McDonald closed out the scoring with an empty net goal late in the third period giving Springfield a 4-1 win.

Springfield vs. Hartford, Oct. 17- W 2-1:

Goalie Devan Dubnyk led the Falcons to a second straight win with a 2-1 home victory over the Wolf Pack Saturday night earning the game's first star of the game.

At the 0:57 mark in the second period, Charles Linglet scored the first goal of the game after a Wolf Pack mishandle of the puck. Assisting on the play was newly acquired forward Chad Wiseman, recording his second point with the Falcons in as many games.

After a big penalty kill for the Falcons that gave them the momentum, Linglet was able to connect on his second goal of the game to give the Falcons a 2-0 lead at the 8:33 mark of the third period.

Following the goal, Wolf Pack's Brodie DuPont took a shot at Falcons center Ryan Potulny as he took him down to the ice. This led to a power play opportunity for the Falcons. Unfortunately for the Falcons, Hartford scored a shorthanded goal to cut the lead to 2-1. This gave the momentum to the Wolf Pack in a period that saw multiple swings of momentum.

With less than a minute left, Jake Taylor was penalized for a delay of game as he shot the puck into the stands. This allowed the Wolf Pack one more chance to tie the game, with a 6 on 4 man advantage because they pulled their goalie. The Falcons and goalie Devan Dubnyk were able to withstand the barrage of shots by Hartford to seal the 2-1 divisional win. Dubnyk made 32 saves on 33 shots on goal.

Springfield at Manchester, Oct. 18- L, 6-1:

The Springfield Falcons lost to the Manchester Monarchs 6-1 on Sunday afternoon at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

The Monarchs opened the scoring just two-minutes into the first period when Corey Elkins scored on the power play, followed by Manchester's Juraj Mikus giving Manchester a 2-0 advantage at 3:49 of the opening period. The Monarchs took a three-goal lead at 17:46 of the opening session when Bud Holloway converted on the man advantage.

Springfield's Kip Brennan and Manchester's Kevin Westgarth dropped the gloves in the first period for the afternoon's first altercation.

Manchester expanded their lead in the second period as Andrei Loktionov and Scott Parse each tallied giving the Monarchs a 5-0 lead through 40 minutes.

In the third period, the Monarchs took a 6-0 lead when David Meckler scored on the power play, but Springfield's Chris Minard got the Falcons on the scoreboard late in the final frame with a power play marker.

Manchester was 4-6 on the power play, while Springfield was 1-6 on the man advantage.

Player and Team Notes

Left Wing Charles Linglet leads the team in assists (6), goals (3), and points (9) this season for the Falcons. Linglet is tied for 8th in the AHL in points.

Charles Linglet is also second in the American Hockey League in Power Play Assists with five so far in the 2009-10 season.

Linglet has now tallied at least one point in each of the last four games for the Falcons.

Left Wing Chris Minard is tied with Linglet in goals scored with 3. Minard is tied for 13th in the AHL in points with 8.

Chris Minard and Charles Linglet are the only Falcons to record at least one point in each one of the team's wins this season.

Newly signed veteran Chad Wiseman recorded three points (1 goal, 2 assists) in his first three games with the Falcons.

Theo Peckham, Bryan Lerg and Johan Motin tallied their first points of the season in Friday Night's game against the Monarchs.

Johan Motin recorded his first North American professional career point during Friday Night's game.

The Falcons are undefeated at home with a 3-0 record, but yet to have gotten a win on the road this season going 0-4.

Goaltender Devan Dubnyk leads the AHL with 197 saves.

Leading Falcons Defensemen in points is Chris Armstrong and Taylor Chorney (now on the Edmonton Oilers roster) with five points each.

The Falcons have not allowed a Power Play Goal at home yet this season.

Springfield is outscoring their opponents 11-4 in three home wins, but are being outscored 23-9 in their four road losses.

Rookie Aaron Sorochan made his first AHL/pro start in goal for the Falcons in Sunday's game versus the Monarchs.

Matt Nickerson made his Falcons' debut on Sunday against Manchester.

On Friday night against the Monarchs, Charles Linglet recorded his 100th AHL assist.

Left Wing Liam Reddox played in his 200th career game as a professional Friday night in Springfield's 4-1 win over Manchester.

Saturday night's game against the Wolf Pack was Defenseman Jake Taylor's 250th career pro game.

Sunday afternoon in Manchester, Falcons Chad Wiseman recorded his 300th career point in the American Hockey League.

Injury Report

None

Transactions

10-13-09- Left Wing Adam Henrich was released by the Falcons. Henrich recorded 2 points (1 G, 1 A) so far this season for the Falcons.

10-13-09- The Falcons signed veteran Left Wing Chad Wiseman on Tuesday. The 9-year pro has played in the AHL for four other teams: Lowell Devils (2008-09), Hershey Bears (2006-07), Hartford Wolf Pack (2003-06), and Cleveland Barons (2001-03).

On the Farm: Stockton Thunder

The Stockton Thunder, the proud ECHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League and Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League, started their 2009-10 campaign this past weekend with three road losses in Boise to the Idaho Steelheads. The Thunder lost the games to a score of 3-1, 3-2, and 3-2. Leading the Thunder in points is Left Wing Judd Blackwater with 4 points, including 3 goals. Chris D'Alvise leads the team with 3 assists on the young season. Stockton is splitting the duties in goal between Andrew Perugini and Bryan Pitton. Perugini has posted a 2.54 GAA and .939 save percentage on 82 shots in the two games he has played. Pitton started the other game allowing 3 goals on 45 shots posting a .933 save percentage. Stockton will have its' home opener this weekend against the Ontario Reign on Friday, October 23.

Edmonton Oilers Update

The Oilers were .500 this past week losing on the road to the Chicago Blackhawks, while winning at home against the Minnesota Wild. The Oilers fell short 4-3 in Chicago Wednesday night. Andrew Cogliano, Dustin Penner, and Dennis Grebeshkov scored for Edmonton, while Nikolai Khabibulin made 34 saves in the losing effort.

This past Friday night in Edmonton, the Oilers were able to get a 5-2 victory over the Wild. Backed by 29 saves from Nikolai Khabibulin and led by two goals each for Dustin Penner and Gilbert Brule, Edmonton tamed Minnesota 5-2 at Rexall Place. Mike Comrie scored Edmonton's first goal of the night to round out the scorers.

Dustin Penner leads the Oilers in points, goals, and assists with nine points (5 G, 4 A). Ales Hemsky and Patrick O'Sullivan are tied with Penner for the team lead in assists with four each. Nikolai Khabibulin has posted a 3.11 GAA and a .898 save percentage in his first season with Edmonton.

The Oilers schedule this week looks like the following: Home vs. Vancouver on Oct. 19, Home vs. Columbus on Oct. 22, Away at Calgary on Oct. 24, and Away at Vancouver on Oct. 25.

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American Hockey League Stories from October 19, 2009


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