Falcons Downed by Wolf Pack, 4-0
February 19, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release
Springfield, Mass. â Playing before a home crowd of 5,643, the Springfield Falcons could not overcome the Hartford Wolf Pack at the Springfield Civic Center on Saturday night. Former Falcon Steve Valiquette made 19 saves to record the 4-0 win - his fifth shutout of the season. Goaltender Jean-Marc Pelletier stopped 22 shots in the Springfield net.
Hartford right wing Jeff Hamilton put the Wolf Pack in front with 3:58 remaining in the first period with his 15th goal of the season. Linemate Layne Ulmer made a centering pass from the left wing corner to the oncoming Hamilton, who one-timed the feed past Pelletier from between the face-off circles. Hamilton led the AHL with 43 goals last season.
The contest remained a one-goal game until Wolf Pack left wing Lucas Lawson snuck a shot past Pelletier with three seconds left in the second period for an unassisted shorthanded tally.
Hartford capped scoring with a pair of power-play goals early in the third frame. Center Alexandre Giroux scored his team-leading 21st goal at the 1:15 mark following an interference penalty whistled on Springfield forward Evgeni Artukhin. Jamie Lundmark tallied with the man advantage 2:42 later when his centering pass from the left circle caromed off the stick of a Falcons defenseman and under Pelletier.
The seventh game of the season series, the contest marked the first time that the visiting club claimed the victory.
It was the second consecutive shutout of the Falcons for Valiquette, who made 21 saves in a 5-0 victory in the last meeting between the clubs on Jan. 19. The 27-year-old leads AHL goaltenders with a 1.71 goals against average as well as a 93.5% save percentage this season.
The Falcons were scoreless on seven power plays in the game while Hartford converted two of their six chances.
Saturday's crowd was the largest for the Falcons at the Civic Center since March 29, 2003 when the team skated to a 2-2 tie with the Albany River Rats.
The Falcons will travel to Providence on Sunday to face the Bruins in a 4:05 p.m. contest. Tune into The ZONE â Sports Radio 640 to catch the live play-by-play action. The Falcons' next home game is Wednesday when the Norfolk Admirals make the first of two appearances at The Nest. Game time is 7:05 p.m. To purchase tickets, visit the Springfield Civic Center box office, call (413) 787-6600 or (800) 639-8602 to order by phone, or log onto www.falconsahl.com to order tickets online.
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