Falcons Host Phantoms Tonight

Published on January 27, 2007 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


The Springfield Falcons and Philadelphia Phantoms meet for the first time this season when they hit the ice Saturday night at the MassMutual Center starting at 7:05 PM. The Falcons and Phantoms will meet twice this year with the Falcons concluding the season series in Philadelphia on March 23. Tonight will be the 19th all-time meeting between the Falcons and Phantoms with the Birds posting a record of 6-10-2 in that span. Springfield and Philadelphia split a pair of games head-to-head during the 2005-06 campaign with each team winning on home ice.

The Falcons head into tonight's action looking to snap a three-game losing streak and head into the All-Star Break on a positive note. Springfield lost to the Lowell Devils Friday night at home, 5-3, dropping their record to 22-24-0-1 on the season. The Falcons built a 3-0 lead against Lowell with goals from Norm Milley, Andre Deveaux and Eric Healey before the Devils responded with five unanswered goals, including four in the third period. Milley was the game's third star Friday night with one goal and one assist, while center Daniel Corso also added a pair of assists. Tonight will be Springfield's first game against a team outside of the Atlantic Division since December 30, a span of 13 straight divisional contests. Tonight will be the Falcons ninth game this season against a team from the East Division with the Birds posting a mark of 3-5 in the previous eight contests. After tonight's game, Springfield will not return to action until next Friday, February 2 when they begin a three-game road trip through Syracuse, Toronto and Binghamton.

The Phantoms storm into Springfield having defeated the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Friday night by a score of 7-2 snapping their own four-game losing streak. Philadelphia used 11 different point producers Friday on their way to victory, including Nolan Baumgartner tying a club record with four assists in the game. Center Pete Zingoni earned the game's first star with two goals, while center Matt Ellison added three assists. Denis Tolpeko, Stefan Ruzicka, Eric Meloche, Darren Reid and Lars Jonsson also converted for the Phantoms in the win. Goaltender Michael Leighton stopped 26 of 28 shots in earning his first win in his first start with Philadelphia. After tonight's game, the Phantoms will also break for the AHL's mid-season classic and will resume play next Friday, February 2 when they host the Hamilton Bulldogs.

A NEW HOME FOR A PAIR: Back on November 9, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers swapped forwards with the Bolts sending right wing Darren Reid to the Flyers, and in exchange, Tampa Bay received center Daniel Corso. Corso started the season with the Phantoms and in 34 games since joining the Falcons, the Montreal, Quebec native has eight goals and 25 assists for 33 points in anchoring the top line with Norm Milley and Eric Healey. The Falcons have gone 12-9-0-1 when Corso registers at least a point in a game. Reid has appeared in 26 games with the Phantoms collecting 10 goals and six assists for 16 points after starting the season in Springfield. Reid earned a hat trick back on January 5 against Lowell.

FALCONS PLAYER STREAKS: Defenseman Doug O'Brien extended his scoring streak to three straight games with an assist last night. O'Brien has collected at least a point in four of his last five games picking up three goals and one assist in that span....Captain Norm Milley scored his 17th goal last night and added one assist giving him points in four of his last five games collecting one goal and four assists for five points in that span....Center Daniel Corso added a pair of assists last night giving him back-to-back multi-point games. Corso has one goal and three assists for four points in his last two games and has picked up a point in six of his last nine games....Eric Healey scored his team-leading 20th goal of the year Friday night giving the veteran points in five of his last six games collecting three goals and three assists in that span.

MILESTONE FOR SLANEY: Philadelphia Phantoms captain John Slaney became the first defenseman -- and 72nd player overall -- in the 71-year history of the American Hockey League to reach 500 points in his AHL career when he picked up an assist in a 4-3 overtime loss on January 21. The historic point came on a power play with 7:47 remaining in the second period when Slaney helped set up a goal by Stefan Ruzicka. Slaney is in his 15th professional season and seventh with the Phantoms. He has spent at least part of 12 of those seasons in the AHL. Slaney now has 160 goals and 340 assists for 500 points in 598 career AHL games.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 27, 2007


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