Falcons Fall to Pirates 4-1

January 7, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


The Springfield Falcons lost to the Portland Pirates 4-1 on Friday night at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine. Nikita Filatov scored Springfield's lone goal as the Falcons now look to rebound on Saturday night when they host the Charlotte Checkers at the MassMutual Center starting at 7 pm.

Both teams came out and played a very even first period with each team exchanging scoring chances, but neither club able to grab the lead in the opening frame.

In the second period, Portland would use a goal early and a pair late in the stanza to take control of the game. Dennis Persson opened the scoring at 4:40 of the second period when his slap shot from the left point found the back of the bet. With the Falcons trying to find the equalizer throughout the middle period, it was Portland that built upon their lead when Maxime Legault tallied his sixth goal of the year at 18:39 of the second period. The Pirates took a 3-0 lead just 22-seconds later when Marc-Andre Gragnani tallied his seventh marker on the campaign.

The Pirates didn't have a let down in the third period as Mark Mancari scored just 11 seconds into the final frame giving Portland a 4-0 cushion. Filatov scored for the Falcons late in the final stanza, but that would be the end of the scoring on the night.

GAME NOTES

Trevor Smith made his Falcons debut playing with Mike Blunden and Tom Sestito.

The Falcons are 2-3 against the Pirates this year, including 1-2 in Portland.

Matt Calvert made his NHL debut in Anaheim on Friday night as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets.



American Hockey League Stories from January 7, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central