Falcons Begin Series with Cats and Monsters Tonight

January 14, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


Springfield, MA – The Springfield Falcons (12-18-5-2, 31 pts) will meet the Worcester IceCats and Lowell Lock Monsters in a pair of home-and-home series beginning tonight. The club visits Worcester this evening before hosting the IceCats at the Civic Center on Friday. The Falcons will take on the Lock Monsters in a home game on Saturday evening and travel to Lowell on Sunday.

The Falcons found themselves on both sides of closing-minute goals that sent games to overtime this past weekend. Springfield defenseman Mike Wilson scored with 41 seconds remaining in regulation to pull the Falcons into a 2-2 tie with the Providence Bruins on Saturday night. On the previous evening, forward Kirby Law tallied for the Philadelphia Phantoms with four seconds left in the third period to extend the game to an extra session. Philadelphia defenseman John Slaney scored a power-play goal during the overtime period to provide the Phantoms with a 3-2 win. The Falcons gained a point in the standings in each game for being tied after regulation.

Week in Review (0-0-1-1):

Falcons – 2 vs. Philadelphia – 3 (OT)

Friday, January 9th

Law figured in the scoring of all three Phantoms' goals by scoring twice in regulation and setting up Slaney's game-winner in overtime. Philadelphia's leading scorer batted a puck out of mid-air and into the net to tie the game, 2-2, at 19:56 of the third period. Falcons center Krystofer Kolanos registered a goal and an assist while Wilson opened scoring in the game with a first-period marker. Springfield netminder Jean-Marc Pelletier made 34 saves in the contest. Right wing Peter Ferraro nearly won the game for the Falcons early in overtime with a shot from between the face-off circles, but Phantoms goaltender Antero Niittymaki made a sparkling pad save on the attempt.

SOG: 29 SOGA: 37 PP: 0-for-5 PK: 6-for-7

Falcons – 2 vs. Providence – 2

Saturday, January 10th

Erik Westrum scored a power-play goal after receiving a feed from newly signed right wing Billy Tibbetts to give Springfield a 1-0 lead late in the second period. However, Providence center Brendan Walsh scored his third and fourth goals of the season 3:10 apart early in the third frame to vault the Bruins in front. After Falcons head coach Marty McSorley had called Pelletier to the bench for an extra skater, Wilson's second goal in two games evened the score, 2-2, stretching the contest to overtime. The Falcons' 44 shots on goal in the game were the second-most for the club this season.

SOG: 44 SOGA: 36 PP: 1-for-5 PK: 4-for-4

Team Notes: The Falcons have gained points in five of the team's last six games (3-1-1-1).... Falcons assistant coach Gord Dineen will be honored by the Utah Grizzlies this Saturday on "Gord Dineen Retirement Night" as the club faces the Hartford Wolf Pack at The "E" Center in West Valley City. The former defenseman played a Grizzlies' franchise record 440 games from 1994 to 2000 and ranks second in team history in assists with 147. Dineen will miss the Falcons games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday this week to attend the event.... Wilson is six games shy of 500 for his professional career.... Right wing Frank Banham is two American Hockey League games short of 300 for his career and one assist shy of 100 in the league.... Pelletier and rookie David LeNeveu have combined to register a goals against average (GAA) of 1.89 and a save percentage (SV%) of .949 over the last 10 Falcons games.... Kolanos has scored five goals over the last five games.... Springfield ranks third in the AHL in penalty killing in home games this season (91.0%).... The team is 9-6-0-2 in one-goal games.... The Falcons will play five consecutive road games, equaling their longest stretch of the season, beginning with Sunday's contest at Lowell.... Springfield has outshot Providence, 178-143, during their season series.... The Falcons will not face the P-Bruins again until March 6th and will meet the division rival five times over the last six weeks of the season.

Roster Update: The Falcons signed Tibbetts on Thursday. The right wing, who registered 23 points (7g, 16a) and 102 penalty minutes in 16 games with the ECHL's San Diego Gulls this season, made his debut for the Falcons on Friday versus Philadelphia.... Center Chris Ferraro did not play last week and is not expected to play in any of Springfield's contests this week. The 30-year-old was injured in the third period of the 4-1 win in Hartford on December 31st.... Center Jason Jaspers skated Saturday against Providence after missing two games with an injury.... Defenseman Igor Knyazev sat out Saturday's game with an injury. His status is day-to-day.... Defenseman Bryan Helmer continues to rehabilitate from an injury he suffered during Coyotes' training camp.

Upcoming Week:

Falcons at Worcester IceCats

Wednesday, January 14th

Falcons vs. Worcester IceCats

Friday, January 16th

The Falcons challenge the IceCats in the sixth and seventh meetings this season. Springfield is 2-1-1-1 against Worcester this season and 36-44-13 all-time versus the franchise.... Mike Stutzel and Banham scored in the third period of a 2-1 comeback win for the Falcons in the last encounter on December 28th.... Banham has registered three of his six goals and six of his 13 points this season against the IceCats.... Stutzel, who posted a hat trick versus Worcester on December 5th, is +6 against the team this season. Wilson is +5 versus the ‘Cats.... LeNeveu owns a record of 2-0-0, a 1.50 GAA, and .952 SV% against Worcester this season.... Forwards Mike Glumac (3-1), Jeff Panzer (2-2), and Marc Brown (1-3) have collected four points each against the Falcons this season to pace Worcester.... The ‘Cats are 2-3-2-1 over their last eight games.... The club has scored nine goals over their last five contests.... Worcester is 7-8-3-0 at home this season and 9-5-5-1 on the road.... The IceCats went to overtime in a pair of games in Texas last week. The club fell 3-2 in OT to the San Antonio Rampage on Thursday. Worcester skated to 0-0 tie with the Houston Aeros on Friday. ‘Cats goaltender Reinhard Divis made 26 saves to earn a shutout.... Worcester left wing Sergei Varlamov has registered 12 (5g, 7a) of his 19 (7g, 12a) points this season in home games.... Glumac has tallied three goals and two assists and is +3 over his last five games.

Falcons vs. Lowell Lock Monsters

Saturday, January 17th

Falcons at Lowell Lock Monsters

Sunday, January 18th

The Falcons meet the Lock Monsters in the fourth and fifth encounters of the campaign between the teams. Lowell has won each of the season's three previous meetings. Springfield carries an all-time record of 17-16-4 against the Lock Monsters.... Lowell right wing Pavel Brendl, the team's leading scorer with 33 points (17g, 16a) this season, was called up by the Carolina Hurricanes today. Brendl leads the Monsters in scoring against Springfield this season with five points (3g, 2a). Left wing Ryan Bayda was reassigned from Carolina to Lowell today.... The Lock Monsters have outshot the Falcons, 120-92, in the season series.... Former Falcons forwards Jason Morgan and Josh Green remain with the Calgary Flames after being called up from Lowell in early December.... Lowell owns the AHL's top-ranked power play this season (18.4%). However, the club ranks 27th in the league in penalty killing (80.4%).... The Lock Monsters last win in regulation was on December 30th – 5-1 over the Manchester Monarchs.... Lowell is 1-3-0-2 over their last six games.... Lock Monsters forwards Mike Zigomanis (2g, 8a) and David Inman (3g, 7a) have each registered 10 points over the team's last 10 games.

Upcoming Promotions:

AAA Night - Friday, January 16th – Fans can receive a $3 discount on an adult ticket to Friday's game versus Worcester by presenting their AAA card at the Civic Center box office prior to 5 pm on the day of the game.

Scout Night – Friday, January 30th – The Falcons will hold their first Scout Night of the season on January 30th when the club will again face the Worcester IceCats. Scouts can receive discounted tickets to the game as well as a commemorative patch for their uniform. One troop from participating councils will present that evening's colors and lead in the scout promise. Scouts are encouraged to wear their uniform to the game.

This Week's Game Schedule:

Wed, Jan. 14th Falcons at Worcester IceCats 7:05 PM Worcester's Centrum Centre

Fri., Jan. 16th Falcons vs. Worcester IceCats 7:35 PM Springfield Civic Center

Sat., Jan. 17th Falcons vs. Lowell Lock Monster 7:35 PM Springfield Civic Center

Sun., Jan. 18th Falcons at Lowell Lock Monster 4:00 PM Paul E. Tsongas Arena



American Hockey League Stories from January 14, 2004


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