Falcons Fall to Whale 3-2
March 2, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release
Tomas Kubalik's goal with 42-seconds remaining in regulation tied the score late in regulation for the Falcons, but Connecticut's John Mitchell tallied with just eight seconds remaining in the third period leading the Whale to a 3-2 win over the Springfield Falcons on Wednesday night. These same two teams will meet again on Saturday night in Springfield.
The Falcons carried a 1-0 lead into the third period holding the Whale to just eight shots through two periods of play. At 4:24 of the final frame, Connecticut's Stu Bickel tied the score at 1-1 with his first goal of the year. The Whale took their first lead of the night at 14:17 of the third period when Dale Weise converted for his 12th marker on the campaign.
With the Falcons looking for the equalizer late in regulation, Kubalik tipped in a David Savard shot in the game's final minute on the power play evening the score at 2-2 and the game seemed destined for overtime. In the game's final seconds, Connecticut's defenseman Pavel Valentenko dumped the puck up the boards where the puck ended up taking a bad bounce off the glass and right in the slot for Mitchell to one-time home the game-winner.
"That's a tough one tonight, we played hard, battled back to tie it and just an unfortunate bounce at the end," said Falcons head coach Rob Riley. "All we can do is come in Thursday, put this one behind us and get ready for another big game on Saturday."
After a scoreless first period, Brent Regner converted on the power play at 6:47 of the second period assisted by Kubalik and Tomas Kana giving Springfield a 1-0 lead.
Also in the second period, Kyle Neuber dropped the gloves with Connecticut's Justin Soryal with each player landing some blows and both individuals collecting fighting majors. Neuber returned to the lineup for the first time since October 17 after recovering from a lower body injury. Theo Ruth also returned to the lineup Wednesday after being out of action since January 29 with an upper body injury.
American Hockey League Stories from March 2, 2011
- Bounce Lifts Whale over Falcons - Connecticut Whale
- Aeros Wallop Rampage, 8-1 - Houston Aeros
- Falcons Fall to Whale 3-2 - Springfield Falcons
- Rampage Beat Heat with 3-2 Win - San Antonio Rampage
- Rockford Powered out of Houston - Rockford IceHogs
- Admirals Upend Bears 6-1 - Norfolk Admirals
- Bulldogs Sink Admirals 5-4 in Overtime - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Admirals Fall to Hamilton in OT - Milwaukee Admirals
- Gernander Returns to Whale Bench - Connecticut Whale
- Sound Tigers Release Jason Pitton from PTO - Bridgeport Islanders
- Checkers Swap Forwards with ECHL Affiliate - Charlotte Checkers
- TJ Hensick Named WPC Player of the Month - Peoria Rivermen
- Pirates Weekly - February 28 - Portland Pirates
- Flyers Sign Two Prospects - Adirondack Phantoms
- Worcester Sharks Host Three Promotions Packed Games this Weekend - Worcester Sharks
- Wolves Help Sports Fans Track Down Jobs at Annual Career Fair - Chicago Wolves
- Rangers Recall Chad Johnson from Whale, Assign Cameron Talbot - Connecticut Whale
- Admirals Welcome Super Bowl Champions Nelson, Jones and Bishop - Milwaukee Admirals
- Whale Sign Dov Grumet-Morris to AHL Contract - Connecticut Whale
- Texas Releases Dave Bonk - Texas Stars
- B-Sens Release Zemlak, Reassign Two to Elmira - Binghamton Senators
- Crunch Players to Sign Autographs at Dick's Sporting Goods March 9 - Syracuse Crunch
- AHL Quick Hits - AHL
- Bears Charge Into March With East Division Games - Hershey Bears
- Preview: Aeros, IceHogs - Houston Aeros
- Falcons Weekly Notes - Springfield Falcons
- Statement from Syracuse Crunch President and CEO Howard Dolgon - Syracuse Crunch
- Heat Shoot Down Stars 5-3 - Abbotsford Heat
- Rivermen Victorious in OT Thriller - Peoria Rivermen
- Stars Fall to Heat 5-3 - Texas Stars
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.
