Falcons Get Ready For Four Games In Five Days

Published on February 26, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


THIS WEEK'S GAME PREVIEWS

--WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2008 - SPRINGFIELD FALCONS at WORCESTER SHARKS-

The Springfield Falcons travel to Worcester on Wednesday to take on the Sharks for the sixth time this season. The Falcons are

1-1-1-2 this season against Worcester, and they are coming off a thrilling 7-4 victory Sunday night in Worcester. The Falcons come into the contest riding the record tying performance of newly acquired winger Grant Potulny, who tallied four goals against the Sharks in the DCU Center. The Sharks are fighting through a seven game losing streak, with loses to Springfield, Portland, Lowell, Norfolk, Bridgeport and Hershey. Rob Schremp has scored a goal and tallied three assists against Worcester this season, and has scored two goals in the past three games. Marc Pouliot, who has also found success in the Shark Tank, is coming off a goal and two assist performance on Sunday night. Worcester's winger Lukas Kaspar has led the Sharks against Springfield this season with two goals and five assists in five games. Mike Iggulden leads the team with 19 goals and 25 assists this season. One of Springfield's Sunday night goal scorers, Liam Reddox, is currently 17th among all AHL rookies with 29 points this season. Worcester is currently 13 points behind Springfield for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Atlantic division. Springfield goaltender Jeff Deslauriers got his first start in four games stopping 29 of 33 shots on Sunday.

--FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2008 - SPRINGFIELD FALCONS vs. ALBANY RIVER RATS-

The Falcons start their two-game homestand at The Nest on Friday when they host the Albany River Rats at 7:30. Springfield and Albany meet for the second time this season. The first meeting favored well for the Falcons, who came away from Albany with a 5-2 road win. In their first meeting of the season, the Falcons were led by rookie Liam Reddox, who found a marker during the second period, and added two assists against the River Rats. The River Rats are coming off a 2-1 shootout win against Bridgeport and bring their winning streak to three games. River Rats leading goal scorer Brandon Nolan is 18th in the AHL with 48 points this season, he is four points behind Falcons leading goal scorer, Rob Schremp, who is 13th in the league. The River Rats are ranked third in the East Division.

--SATURDAY, MARCH 1, 2008 - SPRINGFIELD FALCONS vs. PORTLAND PIRATES-

Springfield will play the Portland Pirates for the eighth time this season. The Falcons are 4-1-1-1 this season against Portland, with the Falcons beating the Pirates in a shootout on February 22 by a score of 2-1. The Falcons have won two of the last three meetings between these two teams, with all but one game decided by one goal, and the Falcons winning both of their games at home. The Pirates lead Springfield by ten points for third place in the Atlantic Division. Rob Schremp is the leading point getter against Portland with five, he has two goals and three assists through seven games against the Pirates. Portland's Brian Salcido is second among all defensemen in the AHL with 43 points, he has also recorded a goal and three assists against Springfield through seven games. Jason King and Petteri Wirtanen lead the Pirates with three goals each against the Falcons. Falcons goaltender Jeff Deslauriers has a 2.12 goals against average in the six games against the Pirates this season, as well as a .936 save percentage.

--SUNDAY, MARCH 2, 2008 - SPRINGFIELD FALCONS at MANCHESTER MONARCHS-

The Springfield Falcons and Manchester Monarchs meet for the seventh time this season with the Falcons posting a record of 2-2-2-0 in the first six match-ups. Manchester beat Springfield in overtime on February 18 by a score of 2-1 in the most recent meeting. Three games have been decided in overtime this year between the Falcons and Monarchs with the Falcons going 1-2 in those contests. These two teams are only separated by four points in the standings as they battle for the fourth and final playoff spot.

LAST WEEK'S GAME RECAPS

---SPRINGFIELD vs. MANCHESTER FEBRUARY 18, 2008-OTL-2-1--

February 18, 2008 - The Springfield Falcons lost to the Manchester Monarchs in overtime on Monday by a score of 2-1 in front of 3,522 at the MassMutual Center. Manchester's Troy Milam scored the game-winner in the extra session, his second marker of the game.

Trailing 1-0 late in the third period, Springfield's Theo Peckham evened the score at 1-1 when he tallied his sixth goal of the season at 15:40 of the final frame. Peckham's goal came after a scramble at the top of the crease and Peckham was waiting in the slot area to tie the score.

"I thought this was a game tonight in which both teams realized the importance of the contest," said Falcons head coach Kelly Buchberger, who saw his team maintain a three point lead over the Monarchs for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. "I thought five-on-five we controlled the play, we just had some issues with our special teams."

After two-plus periods of scoreless hockey, Manchester opened the scoring at 8:33 of the third period when Milam scored his first goal of the evening on the power play. Springfield went 0-6 on the man advantage as Monarchs goaltender Daniel Taylor was steady between the pipes. Falcons goaltender Devan Dubnyk started his second straight game and was also very solid stopping 21 of 23 shots on the night.

"I thought Devan (Dubnyk) played very well for us," said Buchberger. "He gave us a chance to win, and he has been giving us those type of performances night after night. It was a hard-fought game and I thought our team gave an honest effort and that's all you can ask from the guys."

The Falcons outshot the Monarchs 36-23 for the game. Springfield still has a three-point lead over Manchester for fourth place in the Atlantic Division. The Falcons will next play on Friday night when they host the Portland Pirates at "The Nest."

---SPRINGFIELD vs. PORTLAND FEBRUARY 22, 2008-SO-2-1--

February 22, 2008 - The Springfield Falcons beat the Portland Pirates 2-1 in a shootout on Friday night at the MassMutual Center. Falcons goaltender Devan Dubnyk stopped 42 of 43 shots in regulation and all four in the shootout to earn the game's first star.

The Falcons improved their record to 25-21-5-5 on the season and have a four point lead on the fourth and final playoff spot within the Atlantic Division. Springfield has now earned at least a point in nine of their last 12 games and they will prepare to host the Providence Bruins on Saturday night.

The Falcons opened the scoring in the first period when forward Rob Schremp converted on the power play at 18:14 assisted by Viacheslav Trukhno and T.J. Kemp. Springfield carried that lead into the third period.

"It was a tight game and every contest late in the year is going to be a close game," said Falcons head coach Kelly Buchberger, who has seen his team already surpass last year's point total in the standings. "We can't get too high, we have a long weekend still ahead of us, we have two more tough games and we will be ready to go."

In the third period, Portland's Drew Miller tied the score at 1-1 when he tallied his ninth marker of the campaign at 5:22. Dubnyk held the fort the remainder of regulation stopping 15 of 16 Pirates' shots in the final frame.

"Devan (Dubnyk) gave us a chance to win and we counted on him a lot tonight," said Buchberger. "He has worked hard and it's nice to see him get rewarded."

---SPRINGFIELD vs. PROVIDENCE FEBRUARY 23, 2008-L-4-1---

February 23, 2008 - The Springfield Falcons lost to the Providence Bruins 4-1 in front of 4,764 at the MassMutual Center on Saturday night. The Bruins opened the scoring at 6:25 of the first period when Jonathan Sigalet fired a puck through a crowd of players in front that found the back of the net. Just 1:19 later, Chris Collins gave Providence a 2-0 advantage when he scored his 15th marker of the season.

In a very intense contest that featured several occasions in which players battled back and forth, the game's first fight took place midway through the opening frame as Springfield's Troy Bodie and Providence's Sean Curry received fighting majors.

In the second period, Springfield cut their deficit to 2-1 when Rob Schremp scored on the power play at 13:31, but Providence answered with a power play marker of their own at 18:59 when Martins Karsums' wrist shot beat Falcons goaltender Devan Dubnyk.

The Bruins added an insurance goal at 8:56 of the third period when Matt Lashoff tallied on the power play.

---SPRINGFIELD vs. WORCESTER FEBRUARY 24, 2008 - W-7-4---

February 24, 2008 - The Springfield Falcons beat the Worcester Sharks 7-4 on Sunday night at the DCU Center. Newly acquired forward Grant Potulny tied a Falcons franchise record for most goals in a single game scoring four goals and leading Springfield to victory. Potulny joins Daniel Briere as the only two Falcons players to score four markers in a single game.

The Falcons opened the scoring at 4:58 of the first period when Marc Pouliot scored his 19th marker giving Springfield a 1-0 lead. Worcester tied the score at 1-1 when Devan Setoguchi tallied on the power play at 9:11 of the first period, but the Falcons regained their advantage just 10-seconds later when Potulny scored his first goal as a member of the Falcons.

"Grant adds a lot to our lineup, he is a very skilled player and he is a true professional," said Falcons head coach Kelly Buchberger. "The line of Potulny, O'Marra and Reddox seemed to find some chemistry tonight and they had a good night."

Potulny gave Springfield a 3-1 lead when he scored his second marker of the game at 6:54 of the second period on the power play. Potulny finished off the natural hat trick at 15:31 of the middle period extending Springfield's lead to 4-1. Mike Iggulden cut the Sharks deficit to 4-2 at 15:59 of the second period, but the Falcons took a 5-2 lead when Liam Reddox converted on a shorthanded breakaway with just 41-seconds remaining in the second period.

After Graham Mink pulled Worcester to within 5-3 at 4:23 of the third period, Potulny tallied his fourth marker of the game at 9:04 of the final frame giving Springfield a 6-3 lead. Colin McDonald and Dan Spang traded goals late in the third period capping off the scoring.

PLAYER NOTES:

The Springfield Falcons scored the most amount of goals they have tallied in a single game this season when they converted for seven on Sunday, February 24.

Newly acquired forward Grant Potulny tied a Falcons franchise record on February 24 when he tallied four goals in a game, tying Daniel Briere as the only two Falcons players to have scored four goals in a single game. Briere accomplished his mark on December 22, 2000 against the Portland Pirates in a 6-4 Springfield win. Potulny made his Falcons debut on February 22 against the Portland Pirates. Potulny is the Falcons' active leader in goals with 23.

Liam Reddox had a career-high four-point night on February 24 at Worcester scoring one goal and adding three assists. Reddox currently leads all Falcons rookies with 12 goals and 17 assists for 29 points in 44 games.

Marc Pouliot scored his 19th marker of the season and added two assists on February 24 against Worcester. Pouliot has recorded a point in eight of his last 10 games picking up seven goals and six assists for 13 points in that span.

Rob Schremp is on a three-game scoring streak collecting two goals and two assists for four points in that span.

Stephen Werner played in his 100th pro game on February 23 against Providence.

The Falcons have already surpassed their point total in the standings from all of last year having earned 59 points during the 2006-07 season. Springfield already has 62 points in the standings this campaign.

INJURY REPORT

Sebastien Bisaillon , Tyler Spurgeon, Jacob Micflikier, T.J. Reynolds, Brad Farynuk, Jean-Francois Jacques all missed games due to injury.

TRANSACTIONS

February 21, 2008 - Edmonton Oilers recall Patrick Thoresen from his conditioning assignment with the Springfield Falcons.

February 21, 2008 - Edmonton Oilers reassign defenseman Danny Syvret to the Hershey Bears.

February 21, 2008 - Hershey Bears loan center Grant Potulny to the Springfield Falcons.



American Hockey League Stories from February 26, 2008


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