Falcons Earn Point In Overtime Loss

Published on December 19, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


The Falcons fell for the 12th straight game as the visiting Providence Bruins rallied to defeat Springfield 3-2 in overtime. Springfield had a 2-1 lead late in the third period, but failed to hold on to the lead as Providence ended their three game losing streak. The Falcons are now 10-15-5-2 on the season.

"This is about as tough as it gets," said Falcons Head Coach Rob Daum, "You got a one goal lead with less than three minutes to go in your own building and they end up tying it, which is devastating enough. Then for them to get the winner in overtime that is just piling on."

It looked like the Falcons were going to end their winless streak after a big penalty kill stop with less than five minutes left in the game. The game was in the Falcons hands.

"This is what happens," said Falcons Colin McDonald on the loss, "You go through a losing streak where games you should win and end up finding ways to lose where before when we were winning we were finding ways to win."

Later in the third period at the 17:31 mark, Providence's Mikko Lehtonen scored his 11th goal of the season after a controversial icing call by the referees. The goal forced the game into overtime where the Bruins Zach Hamill notched his fifth goal of the season to give the Bruins the road victory. It was just another tough loss for a struggling Falcons team.

The Falcons were able to do something tonight that they have failed to do since November 25 versus Worcester, a span of ten games. Springfield scored the game's first goal. Bill Thomas notched his fourth goal of the season at 8:51 in the first period on a Liam Reddox assist.

The score remained 1-0 until the 19:27 mark when the visiting Bruins got on the board thanks to a slapshot by Defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk. Prior to Bodnarchuk's second goal of the season, the Falcons were looking like the team before their recent losing skid. They played sharper, smarter, and quicker than Providence as they outshot the Bruins 14-6 in the first period. The momentum was favoring the home team before the game tying score by Bodnarchuk.

Springfield came out aggressive in the second period looking to gain the momentum and lead as they continued to outshoot the Bruins 24-13 at the end of two periods, including 10-7 in the middle period. The game was tied 1-1 for most of the second period with both teams missing chances to score.

Early in the period, Reddox created himself an opening for a quality shot, but just missed wide left. Later in the period, Falcons Defenseman Jake Taylor found himself on a breakaway immediately after leaving the penalty box. Unfortunately for Springfield, Taylor's shot hit the post and ricocheted away from the net. Providence had chances of their own in the second twenty minutes, but Springfield goalie J.P. Levasseur was there to stop every shot, including a couple highlight reel saves. The only goal in the second period came at 15:42 when Springfield forward Colin McDonald scored his sixth goal of the season to give the Falcons a 2-1 lead heading into the final period. The Falcons regained the momentum after McDonald's goal and looked strong going into the third period.

"I thought we played a solid game, a very solid game," said Coach Daum, "But bottom line is we end up with nothing to show for it."

Early in the third period Providence's Matt Marquardt checked Springfield's J.F. David into the boards. David left the game with an apparent arm injury. The hit led to Alex Plante dropping gloves with Marquardt as Plante got the better of the battle.

Even after a tough loss like this, a team must focus on the positive as they continue the season. The Falcons played a hard, smart, and solid sixty minutes tonight, but just fell a little bit short of earning the two points.

"It's deflated right now," said McDonald on the mood in the locker room after the game, "But Coach came in and told us right away forget about this one and we played well...You have to look at the glass half full here. Guys played all night and we need to carry that into tomorrow and more importantly after the break."

The Falcons will look to end their losing streak tomorrow afternoon in Bridgeport when they take on the Sound Tigers at 4pm before their Holiday break.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 19, 2009


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