Falcons Fall to Bruins, 3-2
December 17, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release
Providence, RI â The Springfield Falcons were edged by the Providence Bruins, 3-2, before a crowd of 6,253 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center on Friday night. Falcons goaltender Brian Eklund stopped each of the 18 shots he faced after entering the game at the start of the second period. However, the Bruins received all the scoring they needed with three goals in the opening frame. Center Jason Jaspers and rookie forward Adam Henrich each connected for the Falcons while the club outshot Providence, 38-30, in the game.
Trailing 3-0, Springfield got on the board with 1:06 remaining in the second period by capitalizing on an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to former Falcon Brent Thompson. Jaspers redirected a Chapman blast through traffic for his third marker of the season. Left wing Derek Bekar also recorded an assist on the power play goal.
Henrich pulled the Falcons to within a goal with 2:53 left in regulation on a shot from the right face-off circle that Bruins goaltender Hannu Toivonen partially stopped, but could not hold out of the net. The goal was Henrich's fifth of his rookie season.
Eklund skated to the bench for an extra attacker with a minute-and-a-half to play, but, despite mounting pressure, the Falcons could not find the equalizer.
Springfield held a 20-10 shot advantage in the third period.
The loss was Springfield's seventh straight and the club's fourth consecutive one-goal defeat.
The Falcons scored once on three power-play opportunities and killed off both Providence man advantages.
The Bruins' three unanswered goals during the opening period built an early lead. Left wing Andy Hilbert skated out of the corner to score a wraparound goal for his team-leading 14th marker of the season 2:16 into the contest. Hilbert set up forward Andy Gove's fifth goal of the campaign 2:43 later by knocking a puck away from Falcons starting goaltender Jamie Storr, who had left his crease to play the puck.
Left wing Tomas Kurka collected a loose puck in the Falcons zone before scoring to pad the Providence lead at the 9:17 mark of the first period. Kurka's goal came in his first game with the P-Bruins after signing with the club on Monday. Kurka tallied 32 points including 26 assists in 55 games with the Lowell Lock Monsters last season.
Storr made 12 saves in twenty minutes of action before being replaced by Eklund.
The Falcons host the Albany River Rats on Saturday night in their first game at the Springfield Civic Center since Dec. 4. Game time is 7:05 p.m. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Civic Center box office, calling (413) 787-6600 or (800) 639-8602, or logging onto www.falconsahl.com.
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