Falcons Host Bruins On Saturday Night
February 23, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release
The Springfield Falcons and Providence Bruins meet for the second time in a week as they get together on Saturday night at the MassMutual Center. The Falcons defeated the Bruins by a score of 2-1 last Saturday at "The Nest" with Marc Pouliot netting the game-winner late in the first period and goaltender Devan Dubnyk stopping 28 of 29 shots earning the game's first star. Springfield is 3-3-1-1 against Providence this season with six of the eight contests decided by one goal and three of the games going into overtime or the shootout. Following today's game, the Falcons and Bruins will conclude their season series on March 28 in Providence. Tonight is the 146th all-time meeting between the Falcons and Bruins.
Center Marc Pouliot leads the Falcons in goals against Providence this year with five and is tied for the club lead in scoring against the Bruins with seven points in six games. Rob Schremp (2g, 5a, 7pts) and T.J. Kemp (0g, 7a, 7pts) are tied with Pouliot for the team lead in scoring against Providence this season.
Pascal Pelletier leads Providence in scoring against Springfield this season with four goals and four assists for eight points in seven games played. Chris Collins is averaging a point-a-game against the Falcons this season with three goals and three assists for six points in six games played. Providence goaltender Jordan Sigalet has a record of 2-1 with a 1.16 goals against average and .943 save percentage in three games against the Falcons. Fellow netminder Tuukka Rask has a 3-1 record with a 2.68 goals against average and .878 save percentage in five appearances against the Falcons this season.
The Falcons head into Saturday's action having defeated the Portland Pirates in a shootout on Friday night by a score of 2-1. Rob Schremp scored in regulation for Springfield, while goaltender Devan Dubnyk stopped 42 of 43 shots before stopping all four shooters he faced in the shootout earning the game's first star. Marc Pouliot and Schremp both converted in the extra session for the Falcons. Springfield concludes a five-game homestand tonight having gone 2-1-1-0 in the previous four contests. The Falcons have earned at least a point in nine of their last 12 games going 5-3-2-2 in that span. The Falcons conclude their weekend in Worcester on Sunday night against the Sharks.
The Bruins head into Springfield having won their last two games including a 6-1 win at Hartford on Thursday night. Providence had 11 players record at least a point in their win against Hartford, including five skaters record a multi-point game. Matt Hunwick (1g, 1a), Nate Thompson (1g, 1a), Martins Karsums (0g, 2a), Matt Lashoff (0g, 2a), and Jeff Hoggan (1g, 2a) all had big nights for the Bruins in their win on Thursday. Providence remains the top team in the American Hockey League with a record of 40-12-2-1 good for 83 points. Tonight will be the Bruins second game of a seven-game road trip that includes stops in Milwaukee, Rockford, Chicago, Houston and San Antonio over the next 12 days.
FALCONS TRANSACTIONS: The Falcons announced Friday that defenseman Danny Syvret was reassigned by the Edmonton Oilers to the Hershey Bears and the Bears have loaned center Grant Potulny to the Falcons. Potulny made his Falcons debut on Friday night against Portland.
Potulny had played in 50 games with Hershey this season collecting 19 goals and 12 assists for 31 points and 71 penalty minutes. Potulny was second on the Bears in goals and seventh on the club in scoring. The 6-foot-3, 204-pound native of Grand Forks, North Dakota is in his fourth full season of professional hockey after spending his collegiate career with the University of Minnesota from 2000-2004. Potulny was originally drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the fifth round (157th overall) in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft and he reached the 20-goal plateau while with the Binghamton Senators during the 2005-06 campaign.
WELCOME BACK CAPTAIN: Falcons captain Rick Berry returned to Springfield's lineup on Friday night after missing 10 games due to injury. Berry has played in 43 games with the Falcons this season collecting one goal and eight assists for nine points and 42 penalty minutes.
BRUINS PLAYER STREAKS: Providence forward Nate Thompson currently is a on a three-game goal scoring streak and he also has points in three straight games collecting three goals and two assists in that span....Pascal Pelletier has recorded a point in five straight games collecting three goals and three assists for six points in that span....Chris Collins is on a three-game point streak recording one goal and two assists in that span....Byron Bitz has goals in back-to-back games entering Saturday's action....Goaltender Tuukka Rask has been victorious in his last two starts for the Bruins.
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