Falcons Host Devils Tonight

Published on April 8, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


GAME NOTES

GAME SET-UP: The Springfield Falcons and the Albany Devils will end their season series on Friday night in Springfield. The Devils have a 2-1 record against the Falcons, but have yet to win at The Nest. Their last meeting was on March 12th when Springfield lost to Albany 2-1.

Tomas Kana has scored two goals in two games against the Devils this season. Falcons captain Ben Guite has one goal and one assist in three games versus Albany. Trevor Smith has seen Albany quite a few times this season from his time in Syracuse. Smith has four goals and three assists, good for seven points in just six games against Albany this year.

Defenseman Alexander Urbom has one goal and two assists for Albany this season against Springfield. Adam Henrique and Brad Mills both have two goals apiece against the Falcons this year.

LENEVEU BACK WITH FALCONS: The Blue Jackets assigned goaltender David LeNeveu back to the Falcons on Thursday.

LeNeveu, 27, appeared in one game for Columbus after being added to the roster on emergency recall on April 1. He stopped 10-of-12 shots in relief of Mathieu Garon against St. Louis on April 3. He has gone 16-20-2 with a 2.97 goals-against average and .896 save percentage in 41 games with the Falcons this season. He has a record of 103-136-23 with a 2.84 GAA, .908 SV% and seven shutouts in 272 career AHL games with Springfield, Utah, San Antonio, Hartford and Iowa.

He appeared in 67 games for Salzburg of the Austrian League in 2009-10, posting a 2.58 goals-against average, .906 save percentage and two shutouts. He was 6-2 with a 2.17 GAA in nine playoff games to lead Salzburg to the Austrian Championship. He signed with the Blue Jackets as a free agent on July 7, 2010.

A native of Fernie, British Columbia, LeNeveu was Phoenix's third pick, 46th overall, in the 2002 Entry Draft. He went 5-9-2 with a 3.38 GAA and .888 SV% in 21 games with the Coyotes from 2005-07.

Prior to his professional career, he played two seasons at Cornell University from 2001-03 and went 39-5-2 with a 1.29 GAA and seven shutouts in 46 games. In 2002-03, he was 28-3-1 with a 1.20 GAA and nine shutouts in 32 games as Cornell reached the Frozen Four.

He was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, was named the ECAC Co-Player of the Year, ECAC Goaltender of the Year, NCAA East First All-American Team, ECAC First All-Star Team and ECAC Tournament MVP that season. He owns the NCAA Division I record for career GAA (1.29) and helped Canada to a silver medal at the 2003 World Junior Championships.

KUBALIK RETURNS FROM COLUMBUS: Also on Thursday, Columbus assigned right wing Tomas Kubalik to the Falcons.

Kubalik, 20, collected two assists for two points in three games with the Blue Jackets after being added to the roster on emergency recall March 31. He became just the third player in franchise history to record a multi-point game while making his NHL debut with the club when he had two assists at Washington on March 31. He has registered 22 goals and 28 assists for 50 points and 43 penalty minutes in 73 games for Springfield, ranking fourth among AHL rookies in points and sixth (tied) in goals.

Kubalik became the first Falcons rookie to score 20 goals in a season since Jeff Taffe scored 23 in 2002-03. Daniel Briere holds the Falcons rookie record for goals in a season with 36, followed by Jason Jaspers with 25 in 2001-02 and Taffe's 23 in 2002-03.

The Blue Jackets' sixth pick, 135th overall in the 2008 Entry Draft, he is playing his first professional season and leads the Falcons in goals, points and power play goals (6), while ranking second (tied) in assists.

DEVILS SIGN SISLO: The Albany Devils signed forward Mike Sislo to an amateur tryout contract this week after finishing a four-year career at the University of New Hampshire (Hockey East).

Sislo, 23, played 154 games for the Wildcats and registered 116 points with 51 goals and 65 assists. The 5-11, 188-pound, right-shooting forward played 39 games this past season, totaling 48 points with 15 goals and a career-high 33 assists. He served as team captain and led UNH to their 10th-consecutive NCAA appearance and into the Regional Finals for the third-straight year.

Prior to his collegiate career, Sislo played two seasons for Green Bay of the USHL. He totaled 55 points, including 26 goals and 29 assists. During the 2006-07 campaign, he had career-high marks for points (49), goals (23) and assists (26).

WISEMAN HONORED BY LEAGUE: The American Hockey League announced that Devils left winger Chad Wiseman has been selected the winner of the reGen™ Muscle Recovery Beverage/AHL Performance of the Month award for March.

With his team trailing Bridgeport by three goals on Mar. 9, Wiseman led the Devils' recovery by scoring four times in the final 9:25 of regulation, tying an American Hockey League record for goals scored in a single period and lifting Albany to an improbable 5-4 victory.

In recognition of his reGen™/AHL Performance of the Month award, Wiseman will be honored at an upcoming Devils home game.

Wiseman has scored 15 goals and added 26 assists for 41 points in 44 games for Albany this season. The 10th-year pro from Burlington, Ont., has played in 526 AHL games in his career, totaling 162 goals and 234 assists for 396 points.

Wiseman spent the 2009-10 season with Springfield and on January 17, 2010, he tied a Falcons record for most goals in a game collecting four markers.

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American Hockey League Stories from April 8, 2011


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