Falcons Hit The Road For Three Games In Four Days This Week
January 26, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release
THIS WEEK ¬â¢S GAME PREVIEWS
--THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2011 AT HERSHEY BEARS--
The Springfield Falcons and Hershey Bears meet for the first time this season as they get together Wednesday night in Hershey, PA. The Falcons swept the season series last year against the Bears last going a perfect 2-0. The Falcons are 5-4-0-1 over the last five years against Hershey, including 2-2-0-1 at Hershey.
The Falcons will be looking for the second straight win after beating the Bridgeport Sound Tigers 4-2 on Sunday afternoon. The Falcons have a record of 20-21-1-3 good for 44 points. Springfield is tied with both Providence and Bridgeport with 44 points.
Hershey has a record of 26-14-1-2 good for 55 points and third place in the East Division. The Bears are once again supplied with some fire power at the forward position. Andrew Gordon leads the team in scoring with 20 goals and 21 assists for 41 points in 35 games this season. Gordon is currently seventh in the league in goals.
Brian Willsie is second on the Bears in scoring with 17 goals and 23 assists for 40 points in 42 games. Keith Aucoin is once again averaging over a point a game with 12 goals and 27 assists for 39 points in 26 games played.
--FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2011 ¬" SPRINGFIELD FALCONS AT NORFOLK ADMIRALS ¬"
--SAT., JANUARY 29, 2011 ¬" SPRINGFIELD FALCONS AT NORFOLK ADMIRALS ¬"
The Falcons and Norfolk Admirals will meet for the third time this season and first match-up in Norfolk when they drop the puck on Friday night in Norfolk, Virginia. The Falcons are 0-1-1-0 against Norfolk this season, including a 3-2 overtime loss back on December 5.
Norfolk continues to play well in the East Division with a record of 24-11-7-2 good for 2nd place in the East Division. Norfolk is 6-3-1-0 in their last 10 games and overall they are 9-3-5-2 on home ice.
Cody Goloubef leads the Falcons in scoring with two assists against the Admirals this season. Mike Angelidis and Mike Vernace lead the Admirals in scoring against the Falcons with two goals and one assist each.
Former Falcon Marc Pouliot leads the Admirals in scoring with 11 goals and 26 assists for 37 points in 35 games played. Former Falcon Blair Jones is second on Norfolk in scoring with 12 goals and 21 assists for 33 points in 32 games. Overall, Norfolk has scored the third most goals in the Eastern Conference and they have nine players in double digits in goals this year.
PLAYER NOTES
Kyle Wilson made his Falcons debut on January 22 scoring his first goal with Springfield. On January 23, he collected three assists against Bridgeport.
LAST WEEK ¬â¢S GAME RECAPS
---SPRINGFIELD AT CHARLOTTE, JANUARY 19 ¬" L - 3-1---
January 19, 2011 - The Springfield Falcons lost to the Charlotte Checkers on Wednesday night by a score of 3-1 at the Times Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, NC. The Falcons built a 1-0 lead, but Charlotte battled back with three unanswered goals for the victory.
The Falcons came out and had a strong opening period as Tomas Kubalik gave Springfield a 1-0 lead when he scored his 12th goal of the year. Kubalik intercepted a Charlotte defender's pass and slid a wrist shot past goaltender Mike Murphy.
Charlotte tied the score at 11:11 of the first period when Zach Boychuk scored his 11th goal of the year. Springfield appeared to have taken a 2-1 lead a few minutes later, but the goal was disallowed when the officials determined their was goaltender interference on the play. The Checkers ended up on the power play in the same sequence and they took advantage when Brett Sutter tallied on the man advantage giving Charlotte a one goal advantage.
In the second period, the Falcons once again appeared to have scored when Chris D'Alvise redirected a shot to the back of the net, but again the goal was disallowed when it was ruled the puck was scored with a high stick.
The game remained tight throughout the night and in the third period, the Falcons had multiple scoring chances to find the equalizer, but Murphy was solid between the pipes, Late in the final period, Jerome Samson added some insurance for Charlotte with his 21st goal of the year adding to his all-star total.
SPRINGFIELD FALCONS LINEUP
Nick Tarnasky - Trevor Frischmon - Steven Goertzen
Maksim Mayorov - Chris D'Alvise - Dane Byers
Kevin Harvey - Tyler Murovich - Brent Regner
Tom Sestito - Ben Guite - Tomas Kubalik
John Moore - Theo Ruth
Nick Holden - David Savard
Jonathan Sigalet - Cody Goloubef
Gustaf Wesslau
David LeNeveu
Not in the lineup: Mike Blunden (Injured), Tomas Kana (Injured), Nikita Filatov (Injured), Kyle Neuber (Injured), Mike Commodore, Mike Ratchuk, Trevor Smith (Injured)
---SPRINGFIELD VS. CHARLOTTE, JANUARY 21 ¬" W - 6-5---
January 21, 2011 - The Springfield Falcons needed a win on Friday night and they used a strong team effort earning a 6-5 come-from-behind win over the Charlotte Checkers in Charlotte, NC. The Falcons used three point nights from four different players, including two goals each from Tomas Kubalik and Chris D'Alvise.
The night didn't start out perfect for the Falcons as they fell behind 2-0 in the first period when Charlotte used a pair of power play goals to take the lead. Zac Dalpe converted on the man advantage at 13:48 for the Checkers, followed by Zach Boychuk scoring just a minute later giving the home team a two-goal advantage after 20 minutes.
In the second period, the Falcons scored five goals in a period for the second time against Charlotte this month regaining momentum in the contest. D'Alvise cut the Falcons deficit to 2-1 just 1:01 into the middle period, followed by Maksim Mayorov converting on the power play at 3:32 evening the score at 2-2. The Falcons took their first lead of the night at 5:21 of the middle frame when Kubalik scored his 13th goal of the year.
Momentum would swing back in Charlotte's favor at 6:18 of the second period when Jacob Micflikier scored his 18th marker on the campaign, followed by Oskar Osala finding the back of the net at 8:51 of the middle frame and just like that, it was Charlotte back in front 4-3.
The Falcons came right back and tied the score at 4-4 when Ben Guite fresh out of the penalty box ended up on a breakaway and snapped a wrist shot five-hole on Mike Murphy for his seventh goal of the year. D'Alvise added his second goal of the period at 18:56 giving Springfield a 5-4 lead through 40 minutes. What a wild period it was, the Falcons started two goals down to battle back and take a one goal lead. Charlotte came back to take a one goal lead before the Falcons ended the frame in the lead.
Kubalik added his second goal of the night at 15:33 of the third period giving the Falcons some insurance, and they would need it as Osala added his second goal of the night late in regulation, but the Falcons picked up a well deserved two points.
GAME NOTES
There were a few fights and one might assume after these two teams have seen each other three times this month. Nick Tarnasky and Zack FitzGerald dropped the gloves in the first period, as well as Kevin Harvey and Michal Jordan dropping the gloves.
In the second period, Tom Sestito and Brett Bellemore collected fighting majors.
SPRINGFIELD FALCONS LINEUP
Nick Tarnasky - Trevor Frischmon - Steven Goertzen
Maksim Mayorov - Chris D'Alvise - Dane Byers
Kevin Harvey - Tyler Murovich - Brent Regner
Tom Sestito - Ben Guite - Tomas Kubalik
John Moore - Theo Ruth
Nick Holden - David Savard
Jonathan Sigalet - Cody Goloubef
David LeNeveu
Gustaf Wesslau
Not in the lineup: Mike Blunden (Injured), Tomas Kana (Injured), Nikita Filatov (Injured), Kyle Neuber (Injured), Mike Commodore, Mike Ratchuk, Trevor Smith (Injured), Chris Francis
---SPRINGFIELD VS. CONNECTICUT, JANUARY 22 ¬" L - 5-1---
January 22, 2011 - The Springfield Falcons lost to the Connecticut Whale on Saturday night by a score of 5-1 in front of 6,232 at the MassMutual Center. The Falcons will next get ready to host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Sunday afternoon starting at 3 pm.
The Falcons played host to their second largest crowd of the year on Saturday, but the Whale did everything in their power to take the home crowd out of the game. Evgeny Grachev scored a pair of goals just 29-seconds apart late in the first period giving Connecticut a two goal lead after 20 minutes of play.
In the second period, Devin DiDiomete gave the Whale a 3-0 lead when he scored his first goal of the night at 10:48. The Falcons shortly would answer back as Kyle Wilson scored his first goal of the year in his Springfield debut cutting the Falcons' deficit to 3-1 after two periods.
In the third period, Connecticut added some insurance, including Grachev scoring his third goal of the game ending the scoring for the Whale.
SPRINGFIELD FALCONS LINEUP
Kevin Harvey - Trevor Frischmon - Steven Goertzen
Maksim Mayorov - Chris D'Alvise - Tomas Kubalik
Nick Tarnasky - Ben Guite - Brent Regner
Tom Sestito - Kyle Wilson - Dane Byers
John Moore - Theo Ruth
Nick Holden - David Savard
Jonathan Sigalet - Cody Goloubef
Gustaf Wesslau
David LeNeveu
Not in the lineup: Mike Blunden (Injured), Tomas Kana (Injured), Nikita Filatov (Injured), Kyle Neuber (Injured), Mike Commodore, Mike Ratchuk, Trevor Smith (Injured), Chris Francis, Tyler Murovich
---SPRINGFIELD VS. BRIDGEPORT, JANUARY 23 ¬" W - 4-2---
January 23, 2011 - The Springfield Falcons used a pair of goals from Dane Byers and a three-assist afternoon from Kyle Wilson in beating the Bridgeport Sound Tigers 4-2 on Sunday afternoon at the MassMutual Center. The Falcons won two out of three games on the weekend as they next head to Hershey on Wednesday.
The Sound Tigers opened the scoring at 3:36 of the first period when Rob Hisey converted on the power play, but the Falcons rebounded nicely after Hisey's goal. David Savard would tie the score at 1-1 with a power play goal for the Falcons assisted by Brent Regner and Wilson at 7:53 of the opening frame.
The Falcons continued to have momentum on their side into the second period as Tom Sestito converted just 55-seconds into the middle frame giving Springfield a 2-1 advantage. Later in the second period, Byers and Wilson combined for a shorthanded marker when Wilson feathered a perfect pass to Byers who slid a shot past Bridgeport goaltender Joel Martin.
In the third period, Bridgeport came out strong and held a 10-0 shots advantage midway through the stanza. At 17:37, Bridgeport inched to within a single goal when Justin DiBenedetto scored his sixth goal of the year, but Byers added his second goal of the game in the game's final minute to secure the victory for the Falcons.
SPRINGFIELD FALCONS LINEUP
Kevin Harvey - Trevor Frischmon - Steven Goertzen
Maksim Mayorov - Chris D'Alvise - Tomas Kubalik
Nick Tarnasky - Ben Guite - Brent Regner
Tom Sestito - Kyle Wilson - Dane Byers
John Moore - Cody Goloubef
Nick Holden - David Savard
Jonathan Sigalet - Theo Ruth
David LeNeveu
Gustaf Wesslau
Not in the lineup: Mike Blunden (Injured), Tomas Kana (Injured), Nikita Filatov (Injured), Kyle Neuber (Injured), Mike Commodore, Mike Ratchuk, Trevor Smith (Injured), Chris Francis, Tyler Murovich
TRANSACTIONS
1-21-11 ¬" Columbus Blue Jackets assign Kyle Wilson to the Springfield Falcons.
1-23-11 ¬" Columbus Blue Jackets reassign Mike Ratchuk from Springfield to Fort Wayne (CHL).
1-23-11 ¬" Columbus Blue Jackets reassign Chris Francis from Springfield to Fort Wayne (CHL).
American Hockey League Stories from January 26, 2011
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- Checkers Fight Back in Second, Fall Short, 6-4 - Charlotte Checkers
- Rowe and Pither Lead Phantoms to Dramatic Win - Adirondack Phantoms
- Wolves Come Back to Grab 5-4 Shootout Win in Oklahoma City - Chicago Wolves
- Cliche scores twice on the power play; Zatkoff stops 34 shots - Manchester Monarchs
- Amerks Rally for 3-2 Shootout Win Over Griffins - Rochester Americans
- Americans Conquer Griffins in Shootout, 3-2 - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Earl Scores Twice as Aeros Beat Crunch 4-3 in OT - Houston Aeros
- Crunch Earn Point in OT Loss to Houston - Syracuse Crunch
- Admirals Wrap up Road Trip with 4-2 Loss in Manchester - Norfolk Admirals
- NHL Recalls Return, for Now - Connecticut Whale
- Monsters to Host Indians Players and Manager for Pregame Autograph Session this Weekend - Cleveland Monsters
- Admirals to Paint Face-Off Circles Green & Gold - Milwaukee Admirals
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- Rampage Beat Heat with 4-2 Win - San Antonio Rampage
- Rampage Double Heat 4-2 - Abbotsford Heat
- Jamie Arniel Heading to All-Star Classic - Providence Bruins
- Falcons Hit The Road For Three Games In Four Days This Week - Springfield Falcons
- Bulldogs Blank Moose 3-0 before Crowd of over 10,000 - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Bostin Bruins Tough Guy Shawn Thornton to Sign Autographs During 1st Annual High School Hockey Faceo - Worcester Sharks
- Falcons Game Tonight in Hershey Postponed - Springfield Falcons
- Preview: Aeros Close out Road Trip at Syracuse - Houston Aeros
- Rodney Atkins Peforms Friday for Country Music Night - Milwaukee Admirals
- AHL Game Postponed - AHL
- Wednesday's Bears Game with Springfield Postponed Until Thursday Night - Hershey Bears
- Moose Blanked by Bulldogs 3-0 - Manitoba Moose
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- Craig Janney to Skate in Whalers Vs. Bruins Legends Game - Connecticut Whale
- Montreal Assigns Ryan White to Hamilton - Hamilton Bulldogs
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