Falcons Host Bruins Tonight at 7:30 P.M.

Published on December 11, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


The Springfield Falcons and Providence Bruins begin a home and home series on Saturday night at the MassMutual Center. After playing each other three times in the season's first four games, the Falcons and Bruins haven't seen each other since October 15. Springfield is 2-1 against Providence this year with both wins occurring at the Dunkin Donuts Center. The Falcons beat the Bruins 5-1 on October 8, followed by a 2-1 victory on October 15 in Providence in a shootout. The Bruins spoiled the Falcons home opener on October 9 with a 6-5 victory.

It's been a streaky season for Providence of late as they lost four straight games leading up to their 2-1 win on Sunday at Manchester. Before the four-game losing streak, Providence had gone 4-0-1-0 in a five-game stretch from November 13-24. Providence dropped a 5-1 decision on Friday night in Portland.

Tom Sestito has been very impressive in the season series thus far collecting two goals and four assists for six points in three games played, but he was recalled on Friday by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Mike Blunden has four goals in three games against Providence this year, while defenseman David Savard has four assists in three games.

Maxime Sauve leads the Bruins in team scoring in the season series with three goals and one assist for four points in three games. Kirk MacDonald has two goals in three games against the Falcons, while Steven Kampfer has one goal and two assists. Kampfer is currently on recall to the Boston Bruins.

This home and home series is a very important stretch in the schedule for both teams. The Falcons have a three-point lead on Providence in the very competitive Atlantic Division standings. Springfield and Providence will meet in four of the next five games played heading down the stretch in December.

SESTITO UP, FILATOV TO SPRINGFIELD: The Columbus Blue Jackets assigned forward Nikita Filatov to the Springfield Falcons on Friday. The club also announced that forward Tom Sestito has been recalled from Springfield.

Filatov, 20, has collected seven assists and eight penalty minutes with a +3 plus/minus rating in 23 games with Columbus this season. He has registered 6-7-13, 16 penalty minutes and is +6 in 44 career NHL games over the past three seasons with the Blue Jackets. The club's first pick, sixth overall, in the 2008 Entry Draft, Filatov collected 16-16-32 and 24 penalty minutes in 39 AHL games with the Syracuse Crunch in 2008-09. He split last season between Columbus and KHL's CSKA.

Sestito, 23, has tallied six goals and 11 assists for 17 points with 81 penalty minutes and an even plus/minus rating in 17 games with Springfield this season, leading the club in penalty minutes and tying for second in assists and third in points. He has picked up 24 penalty minutes in four career NHL games with the Blue Jackets, including seven penalty minutes in three games in 2009-10.

Sestito was the club's third pick, 85th overall, in the 2006 Entry Draft. The 6-5, 226-pound native of Rome, New York has registered 31-46-77 and 589 penalty minutes in 171 career AHL games with Springfield and the Syracuse Crunch. Prior to beginning his pro career, he collected 53-35-88 and 399 penalty minutes in 152 career games with the Ontario Hockey League's Plymouth Whalers from 2004-07.

PROVIDENCE BRUINS TRANSACTIONS: The Providence Bruins announced Thursday that the National Hockey League's Boston Bruins made two trades. The Bruins acquired forward Juraj Simek from Tampa Bay in exchange for Levi Nelson. Boston also acquired defenseman Sean Zimmerman and a conditional seventh round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft from Florida in exchange for Jordan Knackstedt and Jeff LoVecchio. Both Simek and Zimmerman reported to Providence.

Simek, 23, has posted three goals and six assists for nine points in 21 games this year for the AHL's Norfolk Admirals. The winger is coming off of a career-year for the Admirals in 2009-10, during which he scored 21 goals and assisted on 15 others for 36 points, all personal-bests. In his four-year professional career, including three with Norfolk and one with Manitoba, the Presov, Slovakia, native has totaled 40 goals, 44 assists and 84 points, along with 110 penalty minutes in 225 regular season games. Simek has also scored seven points (2g, 5a) in 10 postseason outings. He was selected by Vancouver 167th overall in round six of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Zimmerman, 23, has gone scoreless in seven games this year as a member of the AHL's Rochester Americans. Prior to joining the Amerks, the defenseman has enjoyed time with San Antonio, Lowell and Albany of the AHL, the ECHL's Trenton, and Arizona of the CHL. Now in his sixth year, Zimmerman has 21 career points, including four goals and 17 assists, plus 218 PIM in 216 games. He had a career-best two goals, seven assists, nine points and 105 PIM in 72 contests for the Rampage in 2009-10. The Denver, Colorado, native was selected by New Jersey 170th overall in round six of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

Nelson, 22, skated in 14 games for the P-Bruins this season, scoring seven points (4g, 3a). Selected by Boston 158th overall in round six of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, the third-year pro has spent the majority of his professional career in Providence, along with a brief stint in Reading of the ECHL. In his career, the Calgary, Alberta, native has scored 33 points (18g, 15a) in 135 contests between the regular season and playoffs.

Knacktedt, 22, appeared in 22 games for Providence this year with 12 points, including seven goals, which ranked tied for second on the club. The winger and native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, had spent his entire professional career with the P-Bruins, scoring 83 points (37g, 46a) in 185 games between the regular season and postseason. Knackstedt was selected by Boston 189th overall in round seven of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

LoVecchio, 25, tallied three points in 22 games for the P-Bruins this year, all assists. The left wing played his entire pro career in Providence, scoring 33 points (18g, 15a) in 107 contests between the regular season and playoffs. The undrafted Chesterfield, Missouri, native was first signed by Boston to an entry-level contract on Mar. 18, 2008.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 11, 2010


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