Falcons Fodder
December 7, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release
SETUP: The Springfield Falcons and Manitoba Moose will meet for the 3rd time this season and 1st time in Springfield. The Falcons went 1-1-0 on their trip to Winnipeg, Manitoba losing 6-4 on October 25th, but winning 3-1 on October 26th. The Moose had nine players register at least a point in their 6-4 win on October 25th, led by Zenith Komarniski with one goal and two assists earning the game's first star. The Falcons were led by goaltender Zac Bierk's 48 save effort in their 3-1 win on October 26th. Erik Westrum also chipped in with two power plays for the Falcons in that game and Rob Murray and Boyd Kane each added two assists. The Moose will make one more visit to Springfield on Saturday, February 8th.
The Falcons enter tonight's game on a three-game winning streak and on a six-game home winning streak after their 6-3 win last night against the Syracuse Crunch. Springfield was led by forward Jeff Taffe's first pro hat trick. Jason Bonsignore, Dmitry Afanasenkov and Corey Foster all chipped in with two assists and Evgeny Konstantinov made 23 saves earning his third straight win. Springfield has improved their record to 12-14-0-0 good for 24 points and have moved within one point of third-place Binghamton. The Falcons are now 8-5-0 at home and are currently on their longest home-winning streak since the 1994-95 season when they set the franchise record with 8 consecutive home wins. After tonight, the Falcons will not play until next Friday, December 13th when they host the St. John's Maple Leafs.
Manitoba enters tonight's game having snapped a three-game losing streak with a 4-0 shutout of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Friday night in Bridgeport. The win snapped the Sound Tigers 11-game home unbeaten streak and their nine-game overall unbeaten streak. Brandon Reid led the Moose with two goals and Nolan Baumgartner and Jeff Farkas also added goals for Manitoba. Goaltender Alex Auld made 30 saves in collecting his first shutout of the season. Manitoba is currently on a four-game road trip that will conclude Sunday afternoon in Worcester. The Moose have evened their record at 11-11-3-0 good for 25 points and are in second-place in the Canadian Division.
FIRST PRO HAT TRICK: Falcons forward, Jeff Taffe recorded his first career pro hat trick on Friday night scoring his 6th, 7th, and 8th goals of the season. Taffe is currently 3rd on the team in scoring with eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points in 22 games played. Taffe is 6th in the American Hockey League in rookie scoring and is tied for the league lead among all rookies in power play goals with five. Taffe led the Falcons in scoring for the month of November with 13 points in 14 games and he made his NHL debut this season as a member of the Phoenix Coyotes on October 14th at Columbus.
THIRD STAR: Falcons forward, Dmitry Afanasenkov collected two assists last night and earned the game's third star giving him three goals and six assists for nine points in 24 games played this season.....Center Jason Bonsignore was the game's second star last night with two assists. Bonsignore has five goals and eight assists for 13 points in 13 games played and he has moved into 4th on the team in scoring. Bonsignore signed a Professional Tryout Agreement on October 28th.
WELCOME BACK BRIAN: Former Springfield defenseman, Brian Chapman returns to Springfield tonight as captain of the Manitoba Moose. This is Chapman's 4th consecutive season as captain of the Moose and he played in his 400th Moose game on November 3rd against Lowell. Chapman won a Calder Cup in Springfield during the 1990-91 season.
ARE YOU READY: Manitoba forward, Ryan Ready leads Manitoba in scoring with 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points in 25 games played. He also leads the team in power play goals with seven and is tied for the team lead in shots on goal with 71. Ready collected a hat trick on November 3rd against Lowell earning the game's first star that night.
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American Hockey League Stories from December 7, 2002
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