Falcons Host Admirals Tonight

Published on November 16, 2007 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


The Springfield Falcons and Norfolk Admirals will meet for the second time this season when they face-off at the MassMutual Center on Friday night presented by Punderson Oil. The Falcons and Admirals first meeting this season occurred back on Sunday, October 14 with Springfield defeating Norfolk by a score of 4-3. The Falcons used three third period goals in that contest to erase a 2-1 third period deficit to earn the victory. Robert Nilsson led the Falcons with a pair of goals, while rookies Theo Peckham and Liam Reddox also scored for the Falcons. Blair Jones led the Admirals with one goal and two assists in the first meeting, while Zbynek Hrdel and Mike Egener also tallied for Norfolk back on October 14. These two teams will conclude their season series next week when Springfield heads to Norfolk for two games the weekend of November 23-24.

The Falcons head into Friday's action 2-0-0-1 in their last three games, including back-to-back home wins last weekend over the Lowell Devils and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Springfield earned a point on the road in their last game played on Monday, November 12 losing to the Worcester Sharks in a shootout by a score of 2-1. Rookie defenseman Sebastien Bisaillon scored the game-tying marker on Monday with five-seconds remaining in regulation. The Falcons start a busy weekend tonight as they will play three games in three days, including back-to-back divisional games on Saturday at Manchester and Sunday at Providence. Springfield is currently in a second-place tie with the Hartford Wolf Pack in the Atlantic Division with a record of 7-5-0-3 through 15 games.

Norfolk is currently on a four-game road trip through the Northeast, a voyage that started on Wednesday night with a 6-3 loss at Hartford. The Admirals Kyle Wanvig netted a pair of goals for Norfolk, while defenseman David Schneider also scored for the Admirals on Wednesday. Left wing Mathieu Darche picked up three assists at Hartford in his first game with Norfolk this season after starting the year with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Admirals will also play three games in three days this weekend as they head to Providence on Saturday and Lowell on Sunday. Norfolk currently has a record of 4-9-0-1 through 14 games, good for nine points and sixth place in the AHL's East Division.

FALCONS TRANSACTIONS: The Falcons announced Thursday that forward Liam Reddox was recalled by their National Hockey League affiliate, the Edmonton Oilers. Reddox joined the Oilers in Edmonton for their game on Thursday against the Minnesota Wild. The Falcons also announced Thursday that goaltender Jeff Deslauriers had been reassigned to Springfield by Edmonton.

Reddox has played in 15 games for the Falcons this season collecting four goals and six assists for 10 points. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound native of Whitby, Ontario is in his second season of professional hockey after spending the entire 2006-07 campaign with the ECHL's Stockton Thunder. Reddox is currently 10th in the AHL in rookie scoring and he tallied his first career AHL goal on October 12 against the Portland Pirates.

Deslauriers was originally recalled by the Oilers on November 13 and he was in uniform for Edmonton on November 14 at Vancouver, but didn't play any minutes. Deslauriers has appeared in 12 games with the Falcons this year posting a record of 6-2-3 with a 2.22 goals against average and .929 save percentage. Deslauriers is currently 10th in the AHL in goals against average and tied for third in the league in wins. Deslauriers is also fourth in the AHL in minutes played with 647 and third in saves with 312.

FALCONS PLAYER NOTES: Center Marc Pouliot collected two goals and two assists good for four points in two games last weekend. Pouliot scored a pair of goals and was the game's first star on Friday, November 9 in a 4-2 win over Lowell, followed by being named the game's second star with two assists on Saturday, November 10 in a victory over Wilkes-Barre. Pouliot has collected a point in all four games with Springfield this year. Jean-Francois Jacques scored two goals and earned the game's first star in a 4-2 win on Saturday, November 10. Jacques collected two goals and one assist in two games last weekend. Jacques has points in three of his last four games collecting two goals and two assists in that span.

NORFOLK TRANSACTIONS: The Admirals announced on Tuesday that the Tampa Bay Lightning has reassigned forwards Mathieu Darche and Craig MacDonald along with defenseman Matt Smaby to Norfolk. Darche, a 6-foot-1, 217-pound left wing from Montreal, Quebec, posted a goal and three assists in his first 13 games with the Lightning. The 30-year-old forward has now appeared in 41 career NHL games between the Columbus Blue Jackets, Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks and Lightning, scoring two goals and six points with eight penalty minutes.

Darche ranked among the top 15 in the AHL in points (T-7th, 80), goals (T-6th, 35), assists (T-14th, 45) and power play goals (T-5th, 16) while leading the Worcester Sharks in each of those categories last season. In 436 career AHL games between the Syracuse Crunch, Milwaukee Admirals, Hershey Bears and Worcester Sharks, the eighth-year pro has 162 goals and 180 assists with 247 penalty minutes. He won the 2004 Calder Cup Championship with the Milwaukee Admirals.

MacDonald, a 6-foot-1, 201-pound center from Antigonish, Nova Scotia, had an assist in his first 14 games with the Lightning. In 174 career NHL games, the tenth-year pro has eight goals and 15 assists with 81 penalty minutes.

MacDonald captained the Admirals last season, ranking ninth on the team in scoring with 40 points (15G, 25A) in 50 games. In 313 career AHL games, the 30-year-old forward has 76 goals and 135 assists with 386 PIM between the Beast of New Haven, Lowell Lock Monsters, San Antonio Rampage, Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights and the Admirals.

Smaby, a 6-foot-5, 222-pound defenseman from Minneapolis, Minnesota, has played in four games with Tampa Bay this season and recorded four penalty minutes with one shot on goal. He made his NHL debut with the Lightning on October 4 against the New Jersey Devils.

Smaby has also played in four games in two stints with Norfolk this season and recorded an even rating with seven penalty minutes and three shots on goal. He made his AHL debut last season with Springfield and played in 66 games, tallying two goals and 16 points. In 70 career AHL games, Smaby has two goals and 14 assists with 50 penalty minutes.

ADMIRALS LEADERS: Kyle Wanvig leads Norfolk in goals (6) assists (9), points (15), power play goals (3) and penalty minutes (34) through 14 games. Goaltender Jonathan Boutin is second in the AHL in save percentage at .936, while also ranking 15th in goals against average at 2.37.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 16, 2007


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