Falcons Fodder
January 31, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release
SETUP: The Springfield Falcons and Portland Pirates will meet for the third time this season and for the second time at "The Nest." The Falcons and Pirates have split the first two games of the season with the road team winning both contests. The Pirates won the first meeting in Springfield 4-2 back on October 12. The Falcons won the second meeting between these two teams 2-1 in Portland on November 17. Matt Libby, Trent Whitfield, and Roman Tvrdon have three points each against the Falcons this season. Tvrdon and Colin Forbes have two goals each against Springfield this season. Ramzi Abid leads the Falcons in scoring against the Pirates this season with one goal and two assists for three points. Boyd Kane, Nikita Alexeev, and Goran Bezina have also scored goals against the Pirates this season.
The Falcons enter tonight's contest on a three-game winless streak, going 0-2-1 in those games. Springfield last played on Wednesday night in Binghamton losing 5-3. The Falcons last home game was a 3-3 tie with the Manchester Monarchs on January 25. Frank Banham scored his team leading 16th goal of the season on Wednesday against the Senators and has a six-game point- scoring streak entering tonight's game. Jeff Taffe scored his team leading 9th power play goal in his first game back with the Falcons since being called up by the Phoenix Coyotes on January 9. Springfield enters tonight's game in fourth place in the East Division with a record of 19-26-4-0 for 42 points and they are currently in 10th place in the Eastern Conference.
Portland enters tonight's game coming off a 5-3 win over the Worcester IceCats on Wednesday night in Worcester. Mike Farrell scored two goals with one assist and Maxime Ouellet made 29 saves in recording the win. Ouellet ranks second among AHL goaltenders with a record of 17-7-2 with a 2.08 goals against average and a .939 save percentage. He leads the AHL in shutouts with seven. Ouellet is 6-2 in his last eight starts with a 2.05 goals against average and a .940 save percentage. Portland enters the game in third place in the North Division and in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 24-16-4-5 for 57 points. Portland is ranked fourth in the AHL in goals against, allowing just 117 goals in 49 games, for an average of 2.39 goals per game.
NEW FACE IN THE LINEUP: The Springfield Falcons signed defenseman Todd Gill to a Professional Tryout Agreement on January 27th and he made his Falcons debut on Wednesday, January 29th in Binghamton. Gill is in his 18th season of pro hockey after spending last season with the Colorado Avalanche. Gill spent 12 seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization after being drafted by Toronto in the 2nd round (25th overall) in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. Gill has played in 1,002 NHL games collecting 351 points.
FALCONS STREAKS: Falcons forward, Frank Banham scored his 16th goal of the season Wednesday night, passing Ramzi Abid for the team lead in goals. Banham currently has a six-game point-scoring streak in which he has five goals and one assist...Forward Brian Holzinger has a seven-game point-scoring streak in which he has two goals and eight assists. Holzinger leads the team in scoring over the last ten games with 10 points.
LEADING PIRATES: Portland forward Peter Ferraro has nine goals and 10 assists in his last 10 games for 19 points. He has points in seven of his last nine games, including a two goal and four assist effort on January 25th against Providence....Forward Trent Whitfield leads the Pirates in scoring for the season with 17 goals and 26 assists for 43 points. He shares the team lead in goals with forward Colin Forbes and forward Graham Mink.
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American Hockey League Stories from January 31, 2003
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- Cheechoo Raising Money For Charity - Cleveland Barons
- Boyes added to AHL All-Star roster - AHL
- Kings Assign Four Players To Manchester - Manchester Monarchs
- Torres & Godard Reassigned by Islanders - Bridgeport Islanders
- Kos, Tabacek Sent to Dayton - Cincinnati RailRaiders
- Flames Recall Defenseman Leopold - Saint John Flames
- Griffins Release Allen - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Falcons Fodder - Springfield Falcons
- The Best AHL All-Star Game Coverage - Cincinnati RailRaiders
- Griffins Sign Goaltender Lanicek - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Advance Auto Parts Score For More Program Details Announced - Syracuse Crunch
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