Falcons Host Rats Tonight
April 13, 2006 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release
The Springfield Falcons and Albany River Rats conclude their season series tonight at the MassMutual Center. The Falcons are 3-4-0-0 against the Rats this season, including 1-2-0-0 on home ice. These two Atlantic Division rivals last met on March 19th at the Pepsi Arena in Albany. Springfield took the 7-1 victory with two goals from both Marek Kvapil (first star) and Zdenek Blatny (second star). Zbynek Hrdel, Travis Brigley and Jason Jaspers also converted for Springfield in that contest. Petr Vrana scored Albany's lone goal. Jonathan Boutin stopped 41 of 42 shots and earned the game's third star. Albany is currently on a 13-game winless streak as they have gone 0-11-1-1 in that stretch.
The Falcons enter tonight's game having won three of their last four games. Springfield defeated Manchester in back-to-back games last week, followed by a 3-1 win over the Providence Bruins last Saturday. The Falcons conclude their 2005-06 season this week with three games in the next three days concluding with a home-and-home series against the Portland Pirates starting on Friday night.
The River Rats head into Springfield having lost to the Hartford Wolf Pack last night, 3-2, in Albany. Tuomas Pihlman and Ahren Nittel scored for the Rats, while goaltender Ari Ahonen stopped 34 of the 37 shots he faced in goal. Albany also has three games remaining in their regular season as they have Friday off, followed by a home game against Providence on Saturday and a trip to Binghamton on Sunday.
NEW POINTS LEADER: Rookie Ryan Vesce has taken over the team lead in scoring with 18 goals and 47 assists for 65 points in 77 games played. Vesce has registered at least a point in his last seven games collecting three goals and eight assists for 11 points in that span. The Lloyd Harbor, New York native has played in all 77 of Springfield's games this season; the only member of the team who has not missed a game this year. The 2004 Cornell University graduate is currently ranked fifth in the AHL in rookie scoring.
ROSTER CHANGES KEEP ON COMING: The Falcons signed two new players on Tuesday. Goaltender Gabe Winer signed an Amateur Tryout Agreement (ATO) with Springfield. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound rookie played in seven games with the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL before arriving in Springfield and earned a 3.66 goals against average and a .910 save percentage with a record of 2-2-1 with the Chiefs. In Winer's four seasons with the UMass-Amherst Minutemen, he finished his collegiate career with a record of 50-52-10, including five shutouts. The Stoughton, Massachusetts native posted a 2.71 goals against average and a .891 save percentage.
The Falcons also signed forward Mike Ouellette to an Amateur Tryout Agreement (ATO). The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Kamloops, British Columbia native just finished his collegiate career at Dartmouth College as captain with 58 goals and 80 assists for 138 points in 136 career games. Prior to college, Ouellette spent two seasons with the Merritt Centennials of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) where he collected 138 points (66g, 72a).
Ouellette and Winer join rookies Kevin Croxton, P.J. Atherton and Jared Nightingale as first-year players making their AHL debuts with the Falcons.
The Tampa Bay Lightning, Springfield's NHL affiliate, reassigned Jay Rosehill and Jonathan Boutin to the Johnstown Chiefs on Monday as the Chiefs began their journey through the Kelly Cup Playoffs. Both players played a role in the Chiefs opening series win against the Trenton Titans. Rosehill, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound defenseman, was in the lineup for both Monday and Tuesday's victories over the Trenton Titans and Boutin earned the 4-3 victory on Tuesday night.
ALBANY MAKES CHANGES, TOO: Last Thursday, the Albany River Rats signed Mark Fraser and Patrick Davis to Amateur Tryout Agreements (ATO). Fraser is a 6-foot-3, 200-pound defenseman who played in 59 games with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) this season, collecting five assists and 129 penalty minutes. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Davis hails from Sterling, Michigan. He also played with the Kitchener Rangers earlier this season before being traded to the Windsor Spitfires. Davis made his AHL debut on Friday night at Providence.
Netminder Frank Doyle returns to the lineup after an emergency call-up to the New Jersey Devils last Wednesday. He replaced Scott Clemmensen, who was ill, as Martin Brodeur's backup. In his six games against Springfield, the 6-foot-1, 175-pound Guelph, Ontario native is 4-2-0 and posts a 3.18 goals against average and a .940 save percentage.
• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...
American Hockey League Stories from April 13, 2006
- Patzold Shines in Barons 3-1 Win - Cleveland Barons
- Koalska Recalled By Islanders, Lee and Jarmuth Up From Trenton - Bridgeport Islanders
- Rivermen defenseman Mike Stuart joins Blues - Peoria Rivermen
- Wolf Pack Announce 2006 Calder Cup Playoff Scenarios - Connecticut Whale
- Stars announce change to TV schedule - Iowa Chops
- Special Olympians to meet Travis Richards - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Wolf Pack Sign Greg Moore to ATO Agreement - Connecticut Whale
- Crunch Announce First Round Playoff Dates Against Manitoba - Syracuse Crunch
- Monsters sign Maine Black Bears forward Derek Damon - Albany Devils
- Aeros' O'Sullivan wins AHL's 2005-06 Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award - Houston Aeros
- Crunch and Advance Auto Parts Announce Dave McCormick as Advance Auto Parts Fan of the Year - Syracuse Crunch
- Falcons Host Rats Tonight - Springfield Falcons
- Bulldogs announce individual award winners - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Penguins to take on Sound Tigers in opening round of Calder Cup playoffs - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- B2 Networks AHL Game of the Week - AHL
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
