Falcons Host Bears Tonight

Published on November 15, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


The Springfield Falcons and Hershey Bears meet tonight for the first and only time in Springfield this season. The Falcons and Bears have met 28 times in franchise history with Springfield posting a record of 8-13-7 in that span. The Falcons will conclude their season series with the Bears on March 21 at Hershey.

The Falcons enter tonight's game on the heels of a 4-2 victory over the Atlantic Division leading Portland Pirates this past Sunday in Portland. Rookie Justin Keller scored a pair of goals, while center Daniel Corso added the game-winning goal and one assist. Forward Marek Kvapil also scored for the Falcons, while goaltender Karri Ramo made 26 saves in collecting his fourth win of the season. Springfield will play three of their next four games on home ice, including their first ever meeting against the Toronto Marlies on Friday night.

The Bears head into this season the defending Calder Cup Champions and won a pair of road games last weekend, both over the Manitoba Moose. Hershey currently has a record of 10-1-0-1, including a perfect 8-0-0-0 on the road this season where they have outscored their opponents 40-22.

SPINA, ADAMS AND LASCEK JOIN FALCONS: The Falcons announced Tuesday that forwards David Spina, Stanislav Lascek, and defenseman John Adams have been recalled from their ECHL affiliate, the Johnstown Chiefs. The Falcons also announced on Tuesday that center Andre Deveaux has been reassigned to the Chiefs, while center Jared Aulin has been released from his Professional Tryout Agreement.

Lascek currently leads the Chiefs in scoring with five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in 10 games. Lascek, who attended Falcons training camp this year, is also tied for the Johnstown lead in assists. The 6-foot, 195-pound native of Martin, Slovakia is in his first season of professional hockey after leading Chicoutimi of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in scoring last year with 47 goals and 88 assists for 135 points in 64 games. Spina started the season with the Falcons and was reassigned to Johnstown on November 2 after not registering a point in seven games with Springfield. In six games with Johnstown, the Mesa, Arizona native has four goals and two assists, including a team leading thee power play goals.

Adams also attended Falcons training camp this season and he has registered one goal and three assists for four points in 12 games with Johnstown. Adams signed an AHL contract with the Falcons on August 30, 2006 after playing in five games with Springfield during the 2005-06 season. Adams was a teammate of Spina while at Boston College. In six games with Springfield this season, Deveaux has two assists. Aulin had played in 13 games with the Falcons collecting two goals and two assists.

FIRST AS A FALCON: Falcons center Daniel Corso scored his first goal as a member of the Falcons this past Sunday while adding one assist. Corso made his Springfield debut last Friday against the Portland Pirates after being acquired by the Tampa Bay Lightning from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for right wing Darren Reid. Corso, a 5-foot-9, 190-pound native of Montreal, Quebec, appeared in six games with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League this season. He scored two goals and recorded four assists with an even plus/minus rating in his first season with the Phantoms.

Corso, 28, has played in 77 career NHL games with St. Louis and Atlanta, totaling 14 goals and 25 points. His best offensive season was 2000-01 when he scored 10 goals in 28 games with the St. Louis Blues. He has also played in 14 Stanley Cup Playoff games and recorded one assist that season. He played three seasons with the Blues before joining the Atlanta Thrashers organization for the 2003-04 season. Corso was drafted by St. Louis in the seventh round, 169th overall, at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft.

FALCONS FODDER (CONT)..................

BEARS LEADERS: Hershey is led offensively by forward Eric Fehr, who has nine goals and seven assists for 16 points in 12 games played, including a +11 rating. Fehr is in his second season with the Bears and also in his second year of professional hockey. The 6-foot-4, 212-pound native of Winkler, Manitoba collected 25 goals and 28 assists for 53 points in 70 games during his rookie season. Fehr was the Washington Capitals' first choice (18th overall) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft while collecting 109 goals and 86 assists for 195 points in 142 games with Brandon of the Western Hockey League during his final two seasons.

Goaltender Frederic Cassivi enters tonight's game with a record of 7-1-1 while posting a 2.38 goals against average and .923 save percentage. Cassivi currently ranks ninth in the AHL in goals against average. The 6-foot-4, 221-pound native of Sorel, Quebec led the AHL in victories last season with 34 and also earned the Most Valuable Player trophy of the 2006 Calder Cup Playoffs.

WELCOME BACK TIMO: Bears defenseman Timo Helbling is in his first season with Hershey after spending the 2005-06 season with the Falcons. Helbling played in 60 games with Springfield last year collecting seven goals and 14 assists for 21 points. Helbling saw action in nine games with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, including making his NHL debut on October 5, 2005 against Carolina.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from November 15, 2006


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