Falcons Back At Home for Two Games

Published on February 21, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


WEEK IN REVIEW

FEBRUARY 17 Springfield-5, Bridgeport-2

FEBRUARY 18 Springfield-2, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton-1 (SO)

FEBRUARY 19 Springfield-1, Lowell-4

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE

FEBRUARY 23 Springfield vs. Lowell 7:05 PM MassMutual Center

FEBRUARY 24 Springfield @ Hartford 7:00 PM Hartford Civic Center

FEBRUARY 25 Springfield vs. Norfolk 7:05 PM MassMutual Center

*Radio Broadcasts on WMAS 1450 AM

*Watch Live on the B-2 Network

THIS WEEK'S GAME PREVIEWS

--THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2006 VS. LOWELL LOCK MONSTERS--

The Springfield Falcons will host the Lowell Lock Monsters on Thursday night at the MassMutual Center. Lowell is ranked just above the Falcons in fifth place in the AHL's Atlantic Division with a record of 22-27-2-6 for the season. The Falcons have a record of 4-2 against the Lock Monsters, including 2-1 at home. The two teams just played on Sunday night at the Paul Tsongas Arena which resulted in a 4-1 loss for Springfield. Paul Healey, Krystopher Kolanos, and Leon Hayward all scored goals for Lowell in that contest while netminder Tyler Weiman made 27 saves, earning him the second star of the game. Falcons left wing Chris Dingman was the lone scorer for Springfield on Sunday. The Lock Monsters are ranked second in the AHL for penalty killing. Center Keith Aucoin is ranked ninth in the league for scoring and sixth for assists with 20 goals and 40 assists in 53 games. He leads the team in points, goals, and assists. Chad LaRose has made three shorthanded goals in 23 games this season, earning him a fourth-place ranking in the league. Goalie Craig Kowalski has a 3.22 goals against average and a .914 save percentage, while fellow netminder Tyler Weiman has a .896 save percentage and a 2.85 goals against average in five games.

--FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2006 AT HARTFORD WOLF PACK--

The Falcons will travel to Hartford to take on the Wolf Pack for the third meeting at the Hartford Civic Center this season. The two teams are tied 2-2 for the season and 1-1 in Hartford. Springfield last visited the Wolf Pack on January 25 and lost 6-3. Nigel Dawes, Hugh Jessiman, Chad Wiseman, Thomas Pock, Colby Genoway and Alexandre Giroux scored for Hartford while Jason Jaspers, Dennis Packard and Timo Helbling each scored for the Falcons. Goaltenders Al Montoya (2.47 GAA for fifth place in the league) and Robert Gherson (2.44 GAA for fourth place in the league) both spent time in the net during that game after Montoya allowed Springfield's three goals. However, Montoya has had two shutouts so far this season in 27 games. Alexandre Giroux leads the AHL in shorthanded goals with six in 49 games this season. Martin Grenier is ranked eighth in the league for penalty minutes, spending 204 minutes in the penalty box over 52 games. Nigel Dawes is the tenth-ranked rookie in the AHL for scoring. He has 23 goals and 18 assists for 41 points in 51 games. Thomas Pock ranks second in the AHL in scoring among defensemen posting 12 goals and 34 assists for 46 points in 49 games for the Wolf Pack. He scored one goal and had three assists in the last game against Springfield, earning him the first star of the game.

--SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2006 VS. NORFOLK ADMIRALS--

The Norfolk Admirals will make their second and final trip of the season to Springfield on Saturday night. The Admirals won the last two games in Norfolk - 5-2 on February 10 and 3-1 the following night on February 11. The last time the Admirals came to Springfield was on January 20 in what resulted in a 5-2 win for the Falcons with Mitch Fritz scoring a pair of goals for Springfield, earning the game's first star. David Spina also scored an unassisted powerplay goal and Dan Cavanaugh had two assists, earning him the second star of the game. Norfolk is in fourth place in the AHL's East Division with a record of

28-20-2-3. Norfolk center Mark Cullen has moved up the ranks to 13th in the league in points with 25 goals and 31 assists for 56 points and leads the Admirals in points. Nathan Barrett has scored 15 powerplay goals in his 52 games, ranking him third in the AHL and third on the team. Admirals center Martin St. Pierre is currently sixth in the AHL in rookie scoring with 47 points. Norfolk goaltender Corey Crawford has a 16-15-1 record this season with a 2.78 goals against average and .895 save percentage.

LAST WEEK'S GAME RECAPS

---Game 1 - Springfield vs. Bridgeport, February 17 - W 5-2---

The Springfield Falcons earned a 5-2 victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Friday night at the MassMutual Center, ending a six-game losing streak and earning their first win of February. The Falcons hosted the Sound Tigers Friday in the fourth meeting between the two teams. Bridgeport took an early lead in the game, thanks to Joel Bouchard's unassisted goal at 2:12 of the first period. It was the only goal of the period despite six shots from Springfield and four shots on goal for the Sound Tigers, giving Bridgeport the 1-0 lead at the end of the first period. At 4:37 of the second period, Falcons center Ryan Vesce was assisted by Ray Schultz in the first goal of the game for Springfield, tying the score 1-1. Bridgeport's Jeremy Colliton gave Bridgeport back their lead at 15:31 of the middle period, but it didn't last long. Andre Deveaux evened the score at 2-2 just 3:06 after Bridgeport's goal. The Falcons took 14 shots on Bridgeport goaltender Wade Dubliewicz, but he stopped 13 of them during the second period. Just 30-seconds into the third period, Doug O'Brien gave the Falcons a 3-2 lead, assisted by Zdenek Blatny and Jason Jaspers. Fifty-eight seconds later, Timo Helbling made it a 4-2 lead with an unassisted goal, his sixth of the season.

---Game 2 - Springfield vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, February 18 - W 2-1---

The Falcons earned a 2-1 win in the second and final meeting between the Springfield Falcons and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday night in front of 4,797 at the MassMutual Center. The Penguins took the lead just before the halfway mark of the first period. Erik Christensen scored the first goal of the game at 10:42, assisted by Noah Welch. The rest of the period was uneventful as the Falcons trailed 1-0 after 20 minutes of play. Neither team managed to score in the second period despite five shots for Springfield and nine for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. At 10:27 of the third period, Marek Kvapil evened the score 1-1 with a goal assisted by Jason Jaspers and Doug O'Brien sending the game into overtime. The game went into a five-minute extra session, during which Stephen Dixon earned himself two-minutes in the penalty box for holding. The Falcons had a powerplay for 50-seconds until Jason Jaspers was called for holding. Neither Springfield nor Wilkes-Barre/Scranton scored in overtime, so the game went into a shootout. Erik Christensen was the first shooter for the Penguins and successfully scored on Jonathan Boutin. Jason Jaspers and Dan Cavanaugh both scored in the shootout but none of the other Penguin shooters could convert, giving the Falcons a 2-1 shootout win. Marek Kvapil and Jason Jaspers earned the first and third stars of the game, respectively.

---Game 3 - Springfield at Lowell, February 19 - L 4-1---

The Springfield Falcons lost to the Lowell Lock Monsters 4-1 Sunday afternoon in Lowell. Lowell's Paul Healey scored a power play goal at 3:32 of the middle period giving the Lock Monsters a 1-0 advantage. Chris Dingman evened the score at 1-1 when he redirected Mike Egener's slap shot past Lowell goaltender Tyler Weiman at 16:20 of the second period. Lowell regained a one-goal lead when Krys Kolanos converted with 51-seconds remaining in the middle session. Eight minutes into the third period, Lowell's Leon Hayward expanded the Lock Monsters lead to 3-1. Healey added an empty net goal late in the final period concluding the scoring for the night.

PLAYER / TEAM NOTES:

Center Jason Jaspers played in his 300th AHL game in Friday night's 5-2 win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. That night he earned three points for his three assists. He had an assist and was successful as the third shooter for the Falcons in Saturday's 2-1 shootout win against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, earning him the game's third star.

The Falcons have now collected at least a point in six of their last seven home games posting a record of 4-1-0-2 in that span.

Falcons defenseman Timo Helbling earned the first star of the game on Friday night at the MassMutual Center. He had one goal and one assist against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Defenseman Doug O'Brien earned the second star of the game in Friday's 5-2 win over Bridgeport. He scored the game-winning goal 30-seconds into the third period.

Ryan Vesce earned the third star of the game on Friday for scoring the first goal of the night for the Falcons. He also had an assist in Sunday's 4-1 loss to the Lowell Lock Monsters.

Falcons left wing Chris Dingman scored the only goal of the game on Sunday in Lowell improving his season totals to eight goals and six assists for 14 points in 20 games. Dingman was the Falcons player of the month for January collecting five goals and five assists for 10 points in 13 games.

The Falcons shootout win on Saturday night was their first shootout win of the season. Springfield had been 0-6 in the shootout prior to Saturday.

INJURY REPORT

Falcons forward Steve McLaren and left wing David Spina missed games due to injury.

TRANSACTION REPORT

2-17-06 - Tampa Bay Lightning reassigns Zbynek Hrdel from the Springfield Falcons to the Johnstown Chiefs.

ON THE FARM - JOHNSTOWN CHIEFS

The Johnstown Chiefs (21-20-11) went 1-2-0 last week, gaining a split of games in Trenton before falling at home on Sunday to Wheeling. The Chiefs won in Trenton on Friday, 4-3, despite registering just seven shots in the final two periods, combined. Former Titan, Steve Cygan deflected a Joe Tallari shot in the third period for the game winner. On Saturday, The Chiefs battled back from a 2-0 deficit, but were not able to sustain the second period comeback, as the Titans pulled away for the 5-2 win. On Sunday, Johnstown raced out to a 2-0 lead, but Wheeling's power-play rose to the occasion, netting three goals in the 4-3 Wheeling win. This week, the Chiefs have three games at home, hosting Toledo on Friday night, Dayton on Saturday, and Trenton on Sunday. Sgt. Slaughter will visit the Chiefs on Saturday, as part of U.S. Army Weekend. Saturday, will also be Team Picture Night, all fans in attendance can be in the team picture, and will receive one for free.

FALCONS NEW TICKET PLANS:

A new ticket plan the Falcons unveiled was a Five-Game Flex Pack, offering fans even more flexibility to attend Springfield home games. The Five-Game Flex Pack is a block of five vouchers that can be redeemed for tickets to any remaining Falcons home game. Vouchers may be redeemed at the MassMutual Center Box Office either in advance or the day of the game. Seat locations are subject to availability.

Five-Game Flex Pack Pricing and Benefits:

- Sideline Seating - $65 for adults and $45 for youth/students/seniors

- Goal Zone Seating - $62.50 for adults and $40 for youth/students/seniors

- Savings off the box office price

- Chance to win autographed Falcons goalie stick

- Playoff Priority

- Falcons Team Store discount (10%)

COMMUNITY

FEBRUARY VACATION WEEK IS WILD WITH THE FALCONS:

Looking for something to do with the family during February vacation week? The Springfield Falcons have your answer!

TUESDAY, FEB. 21 Open Practice at Cyr Arena, Springfield 10AM-Noon

Join us for a team autograph session following practice!

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 22 Falcons Autograph @ Tower Square, Springfield 1-2PM

Tower Square, Spfld signing: Meet #26 Nick Tarnasky, #37 Gerald Coleman, #48 Mike Egener, #51 Gerard Dicaire & #62 Andre Deveaux

THURSDAY, FEB. 23 Falcons v. Lowell Lock Monsters @MassMutual Center 7:05PM

KIDS UNDER AGE 18 FREE courtesy of BIG Y WORLD CLASS MARKETS: FREE YOUTH TICKET with the purchase of an adult ticket (LIMIT of 4 FREE tickets per adult purchase)

FRIDAY, FEB. 24 Check out the Falcons game on the web! B2 networks provides coverage of the game at www.falconsahl.com - game starts @ 7:05PM in Hartford

SATURDAY, FEB. 25 Falcons v. Norfolk Admirals 7:05PM

Falcons Ride for Brightside - Fans receive a poster featuring #29 Mitch

Fritz courtesy of Tibby's Harley Davidson & Salty Dog Saloon.

Fundraising Post-Game Party at the Salty Dog Saloon, Bridge St., Springfield - Special $1.00 cover benefits Brightside for Families and Children

Post-Game Skate: Bring your skates for a Vacation Post-Game Skate!

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American Hockey League Stories from February 21, 2006


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