Falcons Capture Franchise Mark in Win over Sharks

April 17, 2013 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


Worcester, Mass. - The Northeast Division-champion Springfield Falcons (44-21-5-4) clinched the highest points percentage in a season in their 19-year history on Wednesday night at the DCU Center in a 4-3 win over the Worcester Sharks (30-34-4-6).

With the victory, Springfield guaranteed itself a minimum .638 points percentage at the conclusion of the season, higher than its prior record of .625, registered in its 1995-96 campaign.

The club set another team standard as well, moving to 23 games over .500 for the first time in franchise history.

The Falcons closed to within two points of Eastern Conference-leading Providence, turning Friday's road game versus the Bruins into a battle for first place.

The Falcons and Sharks produced most of the game's offense in the first period, as each club scored three times while exchanging leads.

With the Sharks on their first of four first-period power plays, Eriah Hayes held a puck in the left circle and then snapped it over Falcons goaltender Curtis McElhinney's blocker just 2:57 in, as Worcester went up, 1-0.

The Falcons countered with a pair of tallies that flanked the midpoint of the period.

Springfield, moments into its first man-advantage opportunity, made it 1-1 when Boone Jenner pushed a rebound off a Nick Drazenovic shot past Sharks backstopper Harri Sateri at 9:15.

Spencer Machacek completed a two-on-one setup in the right circle from Michael Chaput at 11:16, as the Falcons took the upper hand for the first time, 2-1.

Worcester battled back, as Lane Scheidl submitted a loose puck at the bottom of the right circle by McElhinney at 15:13 for a 2-2 deadlock.

Springfield brought the game back in its favor at 16:16. Jake Hansen received a pass from Trent Vogelhuber, settled down a bouncing puck in the bottom of the right circle, and wristed a shot past Sateri, as the Falcons went ahead, 3-2.

A late delay of game penalty in the first put Worcester in position to draw even at 3-3, and it did just that, as Danill Tarasov flipped in a rebound off a Sena Acolatse shot from in tight with three seconds remaining in the stanza.

The Falcons shut down the Sharks in the second, holding Worcester to just five shots, receiving five power-play chances, and eventually reclaiming the lead on a permanent basis.

Blake Parlett, with the Sharks down a man, worked the puck in the left circle and flipped it toward the top of the crease. After Sateri knocked the puck down, Machacek jabbed away at it on the doorstep before Chaput swatted the rebound in at 16:01, hoisting Springfield to a 4-3 cushion.

Worcester, playing in its home finale, upped its urgency in the third, but McElhinney stopped all 11 shots in the final frame. His key stop on Riley Brace following a Springfield turnover with 11 minutes remaining preserved the Falcons' bubble. Springfield prevailed, 4-3.

McElhinney (29-15-3) set aside each of the final 16 shots he faced over the last two periods and made a game-total 29 saves. With 29 victories, McElhinney is a win over the final two contests of the regular season away from equaling Scott Langkow's franchise-record 30, set in 1997-98.

Sateri (14-21-3) allowed four goals on the Falcons' 24 bids.

Springfield heads to Providence on Friday before finishing its 76-game schedule in Glens Falls, N.Y. against Adirondack on Saturday.

The Falcons host the first two contests of the best-of-five Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at the MassMutual Center. Game 1 will be played on Saturday, Apr. 27 at 7 p.m., with Game 2 following on Sunday, Apr. 28 at 4 p.m. Springfield would also host Game 5, if necessary.

The remainder of Springfield's first-round schedule will be announced on FalconsAHL.com once the club's opponent is determined. The AHL's regular season ends this Sunday. The Falcons, as division winners, will have one of the Eastern Conference's top three seeds.

Single-game tickets to watch the Falcons compete in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals are on sale now at the MassMutual Center Box Office, or online at Ticketmaster.com. For information on cost-saving postseason ticket packages, call (413) 739-GOAL (4625) or click here.

Notes:

Springfield's 44 wins place the club one win short of its record 45, set in 1997-98. The Falcons' 97 points are three shy of their franchise mark of 100, registered in 1995-96...sNick Holden escalated his team-leading rating to +25. The franchise end-of-season record is +23, held by Danny Briere and John Stevens...Springfield has won four-straight road games, tying a season high. The franchise record is five-straight road wins, set from Nov. 19 to Dec. 7, 2005...The Falcons now have a league-best 34 wins when leading after two periods (34-1-0-0)...The clubs combined for 15 power plays. Springfield was 2/8 on the man advantage, while Worcester was 2/7...Chaput has a goal and an assist in consecutive games...Cody Bass returned to the Falcons' lineup for his first action since Mar. 8...Springfield won five of its final six games against Worcester this season and was 5-2-1-0 in the season series



American Hockey League Stories from April 17, 2013


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central