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Falcons Host Lowell Wednesday; Meet Hartford to Complete Season this Weekend

April 12, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


Springfield, Mass. – The Springfield Falcons (22-46-5-3, 52 pts) play four games during the final week of the team's 2004-05 season including a home-and-home series with the I-91 rival Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday and Sunday. The club will host the Lowell Lock Monsters at the Springfield Civic Center on Wednesday before traveling to challenge the Portland Pirates on Friday. The Falcons and Wolf Pack will face-off in Springfield on Saturday and meet in Hartford on Sunday in the season finale.

The Falcons will look to continue a strong finish to the season as the club has collected points in six of its last eight games, posting a record of 3-2-3-0 over that span. Springfield has outscored opponents, 24-23, over the eight-game stretch.

Team Notes: The Falcons have scored 17 goals over their last five games – the most tallies of any five-game stretch this season.... RW Evgeni Artukhin has posted 11 points (2g, 9a) over his last seven games. He has figured in scoring in six of his last seven games which includes four multiple-point contests.... C Jason Jaspers has scored five goals in the last five games. He has scored in six of the last 10 games and has posted 10 points (7g, 3a) over that span.... The Falcons have scored first in each of their last four games.... D Andreas Holmqvist has collected an assist in each of the last three games and has recorded five points (1g, 4a) over his last five games to raise his season total to 11 points (3g, 8a).... D Brian Chapman skated in his 600th AHL game on Saturday versus the Manchester Monarchs.... After dropping their first two meetings of the season with the Worcester IceCats by a combined score of 16-2, the Falcons went 4-3-1-0 over the final eight encounters outscoring the ‘Cats, 22-21.... Jaspers shares the team lead in scoring on the road (with LW Ryan Craig) with 15 points (8g, 7a) in 23 games.... G Jean-Marc Pelletier is two appearances shy of 300 for his pro career.

Roster Update: LW Mitch Fritz has missed the last 14 games due to an injury while D Mike Egener has been forced to sit out the last nine contests.... RW Darren Reid has missed the last eight games with an injury.... RW Jim Campbell suffered a broken jaw on Mar. 26 against the Albany River Rats and is out for the season.... Chapman left Saturday's game and missed Sunday's game due to an injury.

Upcoming Opponents:

Falcons vs. Lowell Lock Monsters

Springfield Civic Center

Wednesday, Apr. 13

The Falcons meet the third-place Lock Monsters (44-26-1-5, 94 pts) on Wednesday at the Nest.... The Falcons are 2-7-0-0 versus Lowell this season and hold an all-time record of 21-28-4 against the team.... Craig has scored seven goals in nine games versus Lowell this season.... G Brian Eklund has stopped 91.7% (211 of 230) of the shots he's faced against the Lock Monsters this season.... C Eric Staal has tallied 12 points (3g, 9a) to pace Lowell versus the Falcons this season.... The Falcons have scored seven power-play goals in 43 opportunities (16.3%) against the Monsters.... Lowell has converted nine-of-35 man advantages (25.7%) in the season series.... Lowell had a three-game winning streak snapped with a 3-2 home loss to Portland on Sunday.... Lock Monsters RW Chuck Kobasew was named to the 2005 AHL First All-Star Team and G Cam Ward was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team last week.... Staal leads the AHL in both shorthanded goals (7) and plus/minus (+35).... D Mark Giordano has scored three of his six goals this season over the last four games.... Kobasew is tied for second in the AHL with 37 goals this season.... C Mike Zigomanis has scored four goals in his last five games.... The Lock Monsters are guaranteed to finish in third-place in the Atlantic Division for the regular season.... Ward shares the AHL lead with a .936 save percentage.

Falcons at Portland Pirates

Cumberland County Civic Center

Friday, Apr. 15

The Falcons visit the Pirates (32-33-6-6, 76 pts) on Friday carrying a 6-1-1-1 head-to-head record against the team this season. The Falcons own a mark of 48-33-10 in the all-time series.... Springfield has scored five goals in each of the two prior meetings – both Falcons' wins.... Rookie LW Adam Henrich has posted nine points (3g, 6a) to lead Springfield against the Pirates this season.... Forward J.F. Soucy is a team-best +5 versus the Portland.... Eklund is 2-0-0 with a 1.80 GAA and .940 SV% in the season series.... The Falcons have scored eight goals in 35 power-play opportunities (22.9%) against the Pirates.... Portland RW Boyd Gordon has paced his club with nine points (3g, 6a) versus the Falcons this season.... Springfield has outscored the Pirates, 10-5, in the third period in the nine previous match-ups this season.... Pirates G Maxime Ouellet was injured in the third period of a 3-2 shootout loss to the Falcons on Feb. 18 and has been out of Portland's lineup since.... C Chris Bourque, the son of Hall of Fame D Ray Bourque, signed with the Pirates last Thursday and has collected one assist in three games with the club after leaving Boston University. Bourque put a team-high eight shots on goal in a 5-4 shootout loss to Worcester on Saturday before collecting his first pro point with an assist in a 3-2 win over Lowell on Sunday.... The Pirates announced a new five-year lease agreement with the Cumberland County Civic Center on Thursday.

Falcons vs. Hartford Wolf Pack

Springfield Civic Center

Saturday, Apr. 16

Falcons at Hartford Wolf Pack

Hartford Civic Center

Sunday, Apr. 17

The Falcons complete the campaign with a home-and-home series with the Wolf Pack (48-22-3-3, 102 pts).... Springfield is 2-5-1-0 this season and 30-44-6 all-time versus the Wolf Pack.... Hartford LW Alexandre Giroux scored the only goal of the game in overtime in the last match-up on April 1.... Craig has scored four goals in the season series to lead the Falcons.... RW Jozef Balej has paced the Wolf Pack versus Springfield this season with nine points (4g, 5a).... Hartford G Jason LaBarbera, last season's AHL MVP, has stopped 97.1% of shots from the Falcons this season.... The Wolf Pack had a five-game winning streak halted with a 2-1 road loss to the Providence Bruins on Sunday.... The Wolf Pack trails the Manchester Monarchs by four points in the division race. The club can finish no lower than second place as it leads Lowell by eight points and four wins with four games to play and holds the tie breaker of points in head-to-head match-ups.... Hartford G Steve Valiquette (1.72) and LaBarbera (1.81) rank first and second respectively in the AHL in GAA.... Wolf Pack D Lawrence Nycholat is tied for third among league blue liners with 38 assists.... Giroux has registered 10 points (6g, 4a) over his last 10 games.... D Bryce Lampman is +9 over the last six contests.... The Wolf Pack today announced the signing of forward Colby Genoway, who led Frozen Four finalists, the North Dakota Fighting Sioux, with 44 points (13g, 31a) this season.

Upcoming Promotions:

Banknorth Fan Appreciation Night – Saturday, Apr. 16: The Falcons' Banknorth warm-up jerseys will be individually raffled off and presented by the players following Saturday's game versus Hartford. Raffle tickets are just $5 and will benefit Springfield Falcons Charities, Inc.

Meet Ryan Cabrera: Fans can get a chance to meet pop star Ryan Cabrera before his Sunday, April 17 concert at Six Flags with the purchase of $1 raffle tickets to benefit Springfield Falcons Charities, Inc. at either of the Falcons' remaining home games or at the Falcons' team office. The winner will be chosen and announced at Saturday's game.

Falcons Day at Yankee Candle - Thursday, Apr. 21: Join the Springfield Falcons at the Yankee Candle Flagship Store in South Deerfield, Mass. for a day of autographs and fun on Thursday, April 21st from 1-3 p.m. Meet head coach Dirk Graham, assistant coach Phil Russell, defenseman Marc Busenburg, left wing Mitch Fritz, and goaltender Jean-Marc Pelletier.

Radio Broadcasts: Tune into The ZONE – Sports Radio 640 to hear all four Falcons' games this week. The Voice of the Falcons, Marc Shelanski, calls the action. The pre-game show begins thirty minutes prior to the opening face-off. Fans can also listen via the Internet by clicking on the MassLive.com Cybercast icon on the Falcons' official web site, www.falconsahl.com.

Tickets: Tickets for all Falcons' home games can be ordered in person or by phone through the Springfield Civic Center box office located along East Court Street. To order by phone, please call (413) 787-6600 or (800) 639-8602. Tickets can also be ordered online by visiting the Falcons' official web site, www.falconsahl.com. Groups of 15 or more can receive discount savings by contacting the Falcons' team office at (413) 739-3344. Group tickets must be ordered in advance.

This Week's Game Schedule:

Wed., Apr. 13 Falcons vs. Lowell Lock Monsters 7:05 PM Springfield Civic Center The ZONE

Fri., Apr. 15 Falcons at Portland Pirates 7:05 PM Cumberland County C.C. The ZONE

Sat., Apr. 16 Falcons vs. Hartford Wolf Pack 7:05 PM Springfield Civic Center The ZONE

Sun., Apr. 17 Falcons at Hartford Wolf Pack 4:05 PM Hartford Civic Center The ZONE



American Hockey League Stories from April 12, 2005


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