Falcons Beat Bears 5-4 In A Shootout

March 13, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


It took 65 minutes and six rounds of a shootout, but Rob Hisey scored the game winner that lifted the Springfield Falcons over the Hershey Bears on Saturday night. Chad Wiseman scored two power-play goals and picked up an assist for the Falcons and Charles Linglet added a goal and two assists in the 5-4 win in front of 5,162 fans at the MassMutual Center.

"We won the special team battle and that's what you have to do," said head coach Rob Daum. "You're never going to keep them off for the whole night and we found a way to get it done."

The Falcons penalty kill kept the Bears to 1-for-5 on the man advantage. The Bears only power-play goal came in the second period with Andrew Gordon's 31st goal of the season. Ryan MacMurchy was serving a five-minute major for boarding. Early in the second, MacMurchy hit Dylan Yeo sending him to the ice motionless. A stretcher was brought onto the ice but Yeo was able to skate off with the help of his teammates.

The Falcons held the lead at 4-3 going into the third period after Keith Aucoin scored his 32nd in the final minutes of the second period. The Falcons sat back a bit in the period but they withstood the rest of Hershey's offensive surges. Steve Pinizzotto's short-handed goal seven minutes into the period tied the game and sent the game into overtime.

The overtime period began with unusual circumstances as the teams skated three on three. Colton Fretter was called for unsportsmanlike conduct at the conclusion of regulation negating a Falcons' power-play and gave the Bears a one-minute power-play in the extra session. Levasseur, who had 21 saves in the game, helped to turn away the powerful Hershey offense and send the game to a shootout.

In the shootout Levasseur turned away all Hershey shooters including Gordon, Alexandre Giroux, and Chris Bourque. Braden Holtby's success in the overtime was similiar until Hisey's 6th round shot found its' way through the rookie goal keeper and into the net.

It was Hershey who had the early advantage as Giroux scored his league-leading 36th goal to open the scoring. Giroux took a cross-ice pass from Grant McNeill and scored past a diving Levasseur. Giroux's shot ended up being only one of two shots in the opening period as the Falcons shut down the Bears offense after the goal.

The Falcons would not be intimidated by the first-place Bears and the Falcons rattled off three first period goals to take the lead. Linglet evened the score a couple minutes after Giroux's goal by putting his own rebound top-shelf past Holtby. Not even a minute ticked off the clock before the Falcons scored again at 5:38 of the first. Dean Arsene scored this time with his first goal of the season against his old team with a soft dump from the point that found its' way to the back of the net.

"It was a fluke, but I'll take it anyway I can get it," said Arsene after the game. "The guys [Hershey] were yapping at me but I was having fun out there. You usually see one or two guys you played with but I know that entire team."

The Falcons wasted no time with the two-man advantage they received with penalties from Bourque and and Pinizzotto. Wiseman scored his 19th goal of the year and first of the night just 15 seconds into the two-man advantage to give the Falcons the 3-1 lead.

Wiseman picked up his second goal of the night on the man advantage and gave the Falcons another two-goal lead at 4-2. Linglet, who picked up his third point of the night, took the puck from behind the net and fed Wiseman who crashed the net and to pick up the power-play tally.

"If we don't put our best foot forward we're going to lose," said Wiseman. "We showed we can play with any team in the league tonight."



American Hockey League Stories from March 13, 2010


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