Falcons Fall Short Against Bruins
Published on January 15, 2012 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release
Facing their third game in three days the Springfield Falcons fell short against the Providence Bruins, dropping a 5-2 decision at the MassMutual Center on Sunday afternoon. A pair of third period goals brought the Falcons close, but with time in their favor the Bruins managed to hold off the pressure and leave Springfield with a win.
The Falcons have earned 9 points in their last 5 games, and head coach Rob Riley says the busy weekend caught up to them.
"We ran out of gas here today unfortunately. It just wasn't in the cards - we wouldn't have beat anyone in the league today." said Riley. "We didn't have much left in the tank, and we had a few key players who could have been kept out of the lineup with minor injuries."
Play wouldn't open up for the Falcons in the first period, as the Bruins claimed the first goal of the game and held Springfield to just 5 shots on goal. At 14:32 Falcons' goaltender Mark Dekanich made a kick save on a slap-shot from Matt Bartkowski, but the rebounding puck lobbed into the goal to give Providence a 1-0 lead after the first period of play.
The Falcons fought for more scoring chances in the second period, but Providence goaltender Anton Khudobin posted 13 saves to keep Springfield off the board. Early in the second period Martin St. Pierre and Alexandre Giroux jumped on a 2-on-1 break, but Khudobin shut down Giroux on the doorstep. Andrew Bodnarchuk beat Dekanich off a rebound at 9:52 to give Providence a two-goal advantage.
Providence forward Yannick Riendeau ended the second period by collecting two goals in a span of 44 seconds. Riendeau scored at 18:15 and 18:59 of the second period to send the Falcons into the locker room with a 4-0 deficit.
In the third period the Falcons cut into their four-goal deficit. At 9:56 Giroux swung around the back of the goal and found Matt Calvert in front to light the lamp for Springfield and bring the score to 4-1. Falcons' defenseman Dalton Prout sent a 160 foot shot on goal at 12:54, unexpectedly trickling through the legs of Khudobin and bringing the Falcons within a pair at 4-2.
The Falcons pulled their goalie with two minutes left on the clock and came close to finding the net, but Bartkowski found the empty net to finish the game with the Bruins on top 5-2.
"We can't get too wrapped up in this loss. We need to move forward and we will," said Riley. The Falcons head back to Portland on Friday January 20, to battle the Pirates for the third time in four games. Springfield earned two points in Portland on January 14, defeating the Pirates by a 4-2 scoreline.
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