Falcons Host Providence and Hartford in Rivalry Weekend

Published on January 6, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


Springfield, Mass. – The Springfield Falcons face two of their biggest rivals at The Nest this weekend when the Providence Bruins and Hartford Wolf Pack come to town on Friday and Saturday night. The Falcons will wrap up the three-game weekend with a visit to Maine to challenge the Portland Pirates on Sunday.

On Friday night, the visitor's lineup will include center Patrice Bergeron who will be skating in his first game back with the P-Bruins since leading Team Canada to the gold medal in the 2005 World Junior Championship and taking home the tournament's Most Valuable Player award. Bergeron, one of the NHL's top rookies last season while playing for Boston, led the WJC in scoring with 13 points (5g, 8a) while Canada posted a 6-0-0 in the tournament.

Also Friday, Justin Guarini, who advanced to the Grand Finale in the debut season of television's American Idol, will be on hand to sing the National Anthem prior to the game and sign autographs for fans during the second intermission. Game time is 7:35 p.m.

The Falcons will meet the Wolf Pack in the second Springfield encounter of the season between the I-91 rivals on Saturday beginning at 7:05 p.m. Springfield overcame Hartford, 3-2 in a shootout, in the previous match-up in Springfield on Nov. 20. The Falcons take on the Pirates in the sixth overall meeting of the campaign between the Atlantic Division opponents. All five of the prior matchups have been tied at the end of regulation and have needed overtime and/or shootouts to decide a winner. The Falcons have won their last three contests versus Portland.

Team Notes: After being held pointless in his first 21 games, D Marc Busenburg registered 5 points (2g, 3a) during a three-game point streak which began in a 4-1 win at Worcester on Sun., Dec. 26.... D Brian Chapman is one point shy of 450 for his pro career.... D Nikos Tselios needs two points to reach 100 as a pro.... LW Nikita Alexeev's two-goal effort versus the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday marked his third multi-point game of the season.... D Gerard Dicaire scored his first goal of the season against the Penguins on Saturday.... C Ryan Craig skated in his 100th pro game at Binghamton last Friday.... RW Evgeni Artukhin scored in his first game upon returning from his 10-game AHL suspension versus Providence last Thursday.... RW Shane Willis led the Falcons in scoring during December with 10 points (5g, 5a) in 13 games played.... G Brian Eklund registered a 3-2-0 record, 2.42 GAA, and .920 SV% in six appearances during the month.

Roster Update: LW Dennis Packard, who skated four games with the Falcons at the beginning of the season, was recalled today from the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL. The Harvard product will join the club in time for Friday's game.... D Doug O'Brien and left wings Adam Henrich and Jean-Francois Soucy were reassigned from Springfield to Johnstown today.... D Mike Egener returned to the Falcons' lineup against Binghamton last Friday after missing 18 games with an injury.... D Andreas Holmqvist has missed Springfield's last five games with an injury.... C Craig Darby missed two games last week with the flu before returning to collect an assist and score in the shootout versus the Penguins on Saturday.... RW Shane Willis was injured last Thursday against Providence and has not played in the last two games.... RW Darren Reid was injured at Binghamton on Friday and did not play in Saturday's game.... RW Andre Deveaux was injured blocking a shot versus Providence last Thursday and missed the following game before returning to the lineup on Saturday.

Upcoming Opponents:

Falcons vs. Providence Bruins

Springfield Civic Center

Friday, Jan. 7

The P-Bruins (18-11-2-5, 43 pts) return to Springfield for the second straight week to face the Falcons in the sixth overall meeting of the season between the teams.... The Falcons are 1-4-0-0 versus the Bruins this season and 44-60-5 all-time.... The P-Bruins won the last meeting, 4-2, at The Nest last Thursday.... Providence had a 12-game streak in which the team did not lose in regulation (9-0-0-3) snapped with a 5-3 defeat to the Monarchs in Manchester on Saturday.... Bergeron returns to the Bruins ranked third in team scoring (10-17-27) after leaving the club on December 13 for the World Junior Championships.... C Keith Aucoin, who posted a hat trick against the Falcons last Thursday, had a six-game point streak snapped in Manchester on Saturday. The Waltham native tallied 12 points (5g, 7a) over that span.... Neither of Providence's top two scorers, LW Andy Hilbert and C Brad Boyes, has potted a goal in the team's last five games although the pair has combined to collect 13 assists over that span.... Hilbert has registered eight points (3g, 5a) versus the Falcons to lead Providence in the season series.... Bruins G Hannu Toivonen is tied for third in the AHL with a .935 SV% and ranks fifth in the league with a 2.00 GAA.

Falcons vs. Hartford Wolf Pack

Springfield Civic Center

Saturday, Jan. 8

The Falcons host the Wolf Pack (4-8-1-2, 51 pts) for the second time at The Nest in the fifth overall matchup of the season between the clubs.... Springfield carries a 1-3-0-0 versus Hartford this season and is 29-41-6 in the all-time series.... The Wolf Pack have won seven of their last eight games.... Willis has collected three assists in four games versus Hartford this season.... RW Jozef Balej has recorded five points (1g, 4a) against the Falcons this season to pace the Wolf Pack.... D Lawrence Nycholat has led Hartford with 11 points (2g, 9a) over the last 10 games.... Former Falcon LW Trevor Gillies has missed the last six Hartford contests with an injury.... Hartford is 8-5-1-1 on the road this season.... The Wolf Pack have surrendered a league-low 63 goals to their opponents in 35 games played.... Hartford's goaltending tandem of Jason LaBarbera (1.57) and former Falcons Steve Valiquette (1.75) rank first and second in the AHL in GAA. LaBarbera leads the league with a .942 SV%.... The Falcons will visit the Wolf Pack in Hartford on Jan. 19 in the following meeting.

Falcons at Portland Pirates

Cumberland County Civic Center

Sunday, Jan. 9

The Falcons and Pirates face-off for the sixth time this campaign.... All five of the previous season meetings have gone to overtime with two of the contests being decided in shootouts.... The Falcons are 3-0-1-1 against Portland this season and 45-32-10 all-time versus the team.... Willis has posted six points (3g, 3a) to lead Springfield against the Pirates this season.... G Jamie Storr has registered a 2-1-1 record, 2.37 GAA and .922 SV% in four games versus Portland.... RW Graham Mink has collected five points (2g, 3a) in the season series to pace the Pirates.... Portland G Maxime Ouellet is 1-1-1 versus the Falcons with a 1.89 GAA and .942 SV%.... Ouellet has been in the Pirates' net for 15 of the club's last 16 games.... C Trent Whitfield leads the Pirates in scoring with 22 points (8g, 14a).... D Michel Periard has led Portland with four points (4a) over the last five games.

Radio Broadcasts: Tune into The ZONE – Sports Radio 640 to hear each Falcons' game this week. The Voice of the Falcons, Marc Shelanski, calls the action. The pre-game show begins 30 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 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 Weekend's Game Schedule:

Fri., Jan. 7 Falcons vs. Providence Bruins 7:35 PM Springfield Civic Center The ZONE

Sat., Jan. 8 Falcons vs. Hartford Wolf Pack 7:05 PM Springfield Civic Center The ZONE

Sun. Jan. 9 Falcons at Portland Pirates 4:05 PM Cumberland County C.C. The ZONE

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American Hockey League Stories from January 6, 2005


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