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Falcons Begin Stretch of Four Game in Five Nights This Evening in Manchester

March 9, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


Springfield, Mass. – The Springfield Falcons (17-36-2-3, 39 pts.) play a busy schedule of four games this week including a home contest on Friday against the Lowell Lock Monsters. The Falcons will also make a pair of visits to Verizon Wireless Arena to challenge the Manchester Monarchs tonight and Saturday. The club will make its only visit of the season to Bridgeport's Arena at Harbor Yard to take on the Sound Tigers on Sunday.

Team Notes: Falcons C Craig Darby needs one goal to reach 200 for his AHL career.... C Jason Jaspers, with 118 points in 218 games with Springfield, is four points behind former Falcon Jason McBain for sixth on the team's all-time scoring list and trails Jean-Guy Trudel by 10 contests for fourth place on the franchise's all-time games played list.... G Brian Eklund went eight appearances without allowing more than three goals in a game until yielding four to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last Friday .... C Nick Tarnasky has recorded 57 penalty minutes over the last five games. RW Andre Deveaux and LW Mitch Fritz have each collected 50 PIM over that span.... LW Derek Bekar is one game short of 450 for his professional career.... The Falcons has dropped a franchise-high nine straight road games.... The Falcons have killed off 10 of their opponents' last 11 power plays.

Roster Update: Jaspers returned to the Falcons' lineup against the Penguins on Friday after missing the last 14 games and 16 of the previous 17 contests with an injury.... RW Shane Willis has missed the last eight games with an injury.... LW Derek Bekar has missed the last five games and D Brian Chapman has sat out the last four games with injuries.

Upcoming Opponents:

Falcons at Manchester Monarchs

Verizon Wireless Arena

Wednesday, Mar. 9

Saturday, Mar. 12

The Falcons challenge the Monarchs (38-16-3-3, 82 pts) this week in the seventh and eighth meetings of the season between the teams.... The Falcons are 0-5-1-0 versus Manchester this season and 8-17-1 in the all-time series.... The Monarchs are currently tied with the Hartford Wolf Pack for first place in the Atlantic Division.... The Falcons have outshot Manchester, 171-159, in the season series.... LW Ryan Craig has scored three goals among four points to lead the Falcons against the Monarchs this season.... Manchester C Mike Cammalleri, the AHL's second-leading scorer has posted 13 points (5g, 8a) to pace his club against Springfield.... The Falcons have been limited to one goal in 28 power-play chances versus Manchester, but have killed off 29 of the Monarchs' 32 opportunities with the man advantage.... Manchester is tied for fifth in the league in power-play success for the campaign (17.8%).... Cammalleri is the reigning CCM Vector/AHL Player of the Week after notching six points (4g, 2a) in three games last week. The forward is currently riding a nine-game points streak during which he has compiled 14 points (6g, 8a). Cammalleri leads the AHL with 36 goals and his 84 points trail Binghamton C Jason Spezza's league-leading total by one.... Monarchs G Adam Hauser is tied for second in the AHL in save percentage (.932) and ranks third in goals against average (1.94).... Manchester D Denis Grebeshkov is tied for fourth in assists among league defensemen with 30.... The Monarchs, who were 20-1-0-0 after 21 games this season, have gone 6-7-0-1 in February and March.

Falcons vs. Lowell Lock Monsters

Springfield Civic Center

Friday, Mar. 11

The Falcons take on the Lock Monsters (34-18-1-5, 74 pts) at The Nest on Friday in the seventh encounter of the season between the division rivals. It is the fourth straight meeting of the season series in Springfield. The Falcons are 2-4-0-0 against Lowell this season including a 4-2 win over the Monsters at the Civic Center on Feb. 25. Craig scored twice for Springfield in the victory and RW Jim Campbell collected two assists in his first game with the club.... Craig has netted a team-high six goals versus Lowell this season.... Eklund has registered a 2-1-0 record, 2.29 GAA, and .934 SV% against the Monsters.... C Eric Staal, the second overall selection in the 2003 NHL Draft, has recorded 10 points (2g, 8a) and is +6 versus the Falcons to lead Lowell in both categories.... G Cam Ward is 2-0-1 with a 1.30 GAA and .963 SV% against Springfield this season.... The Falcons have converted six of 24 power plays (25.0%) in the season series while Lowell is seven for 22 (31.8%).... The Lock Monsters are currently riding a four-game winning streak and reside in third place in the Atlantic Division.... Lowell's line of Staal (+31), RW Chuck Kobasew (+33), and LW Colin Forbes (+33) each rank in the top four in the AHL in plus/minus. Kobasew and Forbes share the league lead.... Kobasew leads the Lock Monsters in scoring with 61 points (31g, 30a). He trails only Cammalleri in the AHL in goal scoring with 31 markers. He leads the league with 10 game-winning goals this season.... Staal shares the AHL lead in shorthanded goals with five.... Ward leads the league with a .938 SV% and ranks fourth in GAA at 1.95.... The Lock Monsters ranks fifth in the AHL in penalty killing on the road (86.7%).

Falcons vs. Bridgeport Sound Tigers

Arena at Harbor Yard

Saturday, Mar. 12

The Falcons visit the Sound Tigers (26-29-2-1, 55 pts) on Sunday in the first of two meetings between the teams this season. Springfield will host the Tigers at The Nest on Friday, Mar. 18.... The teams split their two encounters last season as each club won on the road.... Bridgeport resides in sixth place in the East Division.... The Falcons are 3-10-0-1 versus East Division foes this season. The Sound Tigers are 9-13-1-1 against the Atlantic Division.... RW Rob Collins leads Bridgeport in goals (17), assists (28) and points (45) this season.... The Sound Tigers are 20-8-0-0 at home this season and 6-21-2-1 on the road.... Campbell tallied 20 points (8g, 12a) in 46 games with the Sound Tigers before being assigned to the Falcons by the New York Islanders on Feb. 25.... Former Falcons G Dieter Kochan is 14-14-0 with a 2.56 GAA and .916 SV% this season. Kochan has been in net for nine of the Sound Tigers' last 10 games, compiling a 6-3-0 record, 2.20 GAA, and .936 GAA over that span.... Bridgeport D Chris Campoli ranks fifth among AHL rookies in assists (24) and eighth in points (33).... The Sound Tigers are tied for 11th in the league in penalty killing at home (86.1%).... Bridgeport has scored 11 shorthanded goals this season – fourth most in the AHL.... The Tigers are 13-0-0-0 at home and 18-0-1-1 overall when leading after the second period this season.

Upcoming Appearances:

Sumner Avenue Elementary School – Thursday, Mar. 10: Falcons RW Shane Willis will visit the students at Sumner Avenue School to participate in the "Time-out for Reading" program.

Upcoming Promotions:

Good Sports Equipment Drive – Friday, Mar. 11 vs. Lowell Lock Monsters: Fans can receive a ticket to the Falcons' game against the Worcester IceCats on April 8th by donating new or gently used athletic equipment to benefit local teams and organizations at Friday's game versus Lowell.

Holyoke Mall Night – Friday, Mar. 11 vs. Lowell Lock Monsters: The first 2,000 kids in attendance will receive a Build-A-Bear magnet and sticker courtesy of the Holyoke Mall.

Radio Broadcasts: Tune into The ZONE – Sports Radio 640 to hear all four Falcons' games this week. The Voice of the Falcons, Marc Shelanski, calls the action. The pre-game show begins thirty minutes prior to the opening face-off. Fans can also listen via the Internet by clicking on the MassLive.com Cybercast icon on the Falcons' official web site, www.falconsahl.com.

Tickets: Tickets for all Falcons' home games can be ordered in person or by phone through the Springfield Civic Center box office located along East Court Street. To order by phone, please call (413) 787-6600 or (800) 639-8602. Tickets can also be ordered online by visiting the Falcons' official web site, www.falconsahl.com. Groups of 15 or more can receive discount savings by contacting the Falcons' team office at (413) 739-3344. Group tickets must be ordered in advance.

This Weekend's Game Schedule:

Wed., Mar. 9 Falcons at Manchester Monarchs 7:05 PM Verizon Wireless Arena The ZONE

Fri., Mar. 11 Falcons vs. Lowell Lock Monsters 7:35 PM Springfield Civic Center The ZONE

Sat., Mar. 12 Falcons at Manchester Monarchs 2:05 PM Verizon Wireless Arena The ZONE

Sun., Mar. 13 Falcons at Bridgeport Sound Tigers 4:05 PM Arena at Harbor Yard The ZONE

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