Falcons fall in Manchester

Published on March 21, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


Manchester, NH – Manchester forwards Pavel Rosa and Steve Kelly posted two goals and an assist apiece as the Monarchs defeated the Springfield Falcons, 8-3, before a sell-out crowd of 9,916 at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Sunday. Falcons center Jason Jaspers, coming off a four-point night in Lowell on Saturday, collected a goal and an assist in the losing effort.

Kelly stickhandled through the slot in the Springfield zone to open scoring with a backhand between the pads of Falcons goaltender Jean-Marc Pelletier 4:28 into the game.

The Monarchs made the score 3-0 a few minutes later on back-to-back goals separated by nine seconds. Kelly received a blind centering pass by Sam Ftorek from below the goal line to score his second goal of the game from the slot at 8:54.

Manchester rookie Noah Clarke followed with a snap shot into the top corner from the left wing face-off circle at the 9:03 mark. Center Michael Cammalleri helped set up Clarke by flipping a backhand pass to the forward from the left boards as the pair rushed into the Springfield zone.

The Monarchs onslaught continued at 15:32 of the period when Rosa scored a wraparound goal inside the left post after collecting the rebound of his own shot on the opposite side of the net.

The Falcons got on the scoreboard when defenseman Nic Bilotto stayed with the puck after his own attempt was stopped by Manchester netminder Mathieu Chouinard to center a pass to Peter Ferraro. Amid a crowd of Monarchs, Ferraro banged home Bilotto's feed from near the corner for his team-leading 18th goal of the season.

Rosa scored his second goal of the game during a power-play at 10:08 of the middle frame to make the score 5-1. The Czech native connected with a high slap shot from the top of the right wing face-off circle.

However, the Falcons responded 49 seconds later when Tom Koivisto's shot from the left wing was blocked and caromed to Jaspers in front of the net where the center potted his 15th goal of the season and fourth in less than 24 hours. Jaspers posted a hat trick and added an assist in the Falcons' 5-1 win over the Lowell Lock Monsters on Saturday evening.

The opponents again traded goals late in the second period as Manchester center Jerred Smithson scored his sixth goal of the campaign at 17:22 and Springfield forward Nick Lent tallied with 36 seconds remaining in the stanza. Lent carried the puck down the left wing deep into the Monarchs' zone before sliding a backhand under Chouinard for his second marker as a Falcon.

The Monarchs added goals by Ftorek and Cammalleri in the third period to seal the win. Ftorek collected a pass from Smithson to score his sixth goal of the season from the low slot at the 10:20 mark. Cammelleri received a pass from Clarke in the corner to find himself alone in front of the Springfield net before patiently lifting a shot under the crossbar with 4:12 remaining to play.

Manchester's eight goals in the game were both a season-high for most goals scored by the club as well as the most tallies allowed by the Falcons in a game this campaign.

The Monarchs held a 34-27 shot advantage in the game, while Chouinard made 24 saves in the Manchester net to earn his 10th win of the season.

With his three-point effort on Sunday, Rosa took over the lead in the AHL scoring race with 74 points (31g, 43a) on the campaign.

The Falcons record versus the Monarchs this season dropped to 3-4-0-0 with the defeat. The clubs will meet three more times this season including the next match-up on April 3rd in Springfield.

The Falcons will visit the Lowell Lock Monsters on Thursday before returning to the Springfield Civic Center to host the Portland Pirates in a 7:35 contest on Friday. For information on tickets and group discounts, please contact the Falcons team office at (413) 739-3344.

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American Hockey League Stories from March 21, 2004


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