Falcons Host Sharks Monday Night

January 21, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


The Springfield Falcons and Worcester Sharks meet for only the third time this season when they go head-to-head on Monday night at the MassMutual Center starting at 7:00 PM. These two Atlantic Division rivals haven't played each other in Springfield since October 6, which was the Falcons' home opener and the Sharks' season opener. The last overall meeting between Springfield and Worcester was back on November 12 at the DCU Center when the Sharks won 2-1 in a shootout. The Falcons are 0-1-0-1 against the Sharks this season and these two teams will play each other once again on Saturday, January 26 back at the MassMutual Center.

Falcons forward Jean-Francois Jacques (1-1-2) and defenseman T.J. Kemp (0-2-2) lead Springfield in scoring against Worcester this season, while goaltenders Jeff Deslauriers and Devan Dubnyk have shared the duties against the Sharks. Deslauriers has a 2.52 goals against average and .897 save percentage in two appearances against Worcester, while Dubnyk has a 1.16 goals against average and .941 save percentage in one appearance against the Sharks.

Graham Mink (1-2-3), Dan Spang (1-2-3), and Mike Iggulden (0-3-3) all share the Worcester team lead in scoring against Springfield this season with three points each. Goaltender Thomas Greiss, who is currently on recall to the San Jose Sharks, has a perfect 2-0 record with a 1.44 goals against average and .955 save percentage against the Falcons this season.

The Falcons head into Monday's action looking to rebound from a 5-1 loss on Saturday night against the Hershey Bears at the Giant Center. Marc Pouliot scored the Falcons' lone goal, while goaltender Jeff Deslauriers stopped 25 of 30 shots on goal. Forward Jean-Francois Jacques and defenseman Mathieu Roy also added assists on Saturday evening. Prior to their trip to Hershey, Springfield beat the Hartford Wolf Pack by a score of 3-1 on Friday night at the MassMutual Center. Troy Bodie, Jacques and Tim Sestito all scored for the Falcons, while Deslauriers was the game's first star stopping 35 of 36 shots. The Falcons remain in fourth place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 20-18-3-3 good for 46 points. Including tonight's contest, the Falcons have three games remaining before the AHL's All-Star break. Springfield will head to Providence on Friday, before hosting Worcester once again on Saturday, followed by a four-day break.

The Sharks head into Springfield on a four-game winless streak (0-3-0-1) after losing to the Providence Bruins by a score of 4-3 on Saturday night. Tom Cavanagh, Ashton Rome and Tomas Plihal all scored for the Sharks in the defeat, while goaltender Dimitri Patzold stopped 36 of 40 shots on goal. Worcester is currently in sixth place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 17-16-3-3 good for 40 points, only six points behind the Falcons. The Sharks are currently on a five-game road trip with stops in Manchester on Wednesday, Hartford on Friday and a return visit to Springfield on Saturday before breaking for the AHL All-Star Classic.

FALCONS TRANSACTION UPDATE: The Falcons announced after the game on Friday that defenseman Matt Greene was recalled from his conditioning assignment by the Edmonton Oilers. Greene was originally assigned to the Falcons by the Oilers on Thursday. Greene played in Springfield's 3-1 win on Friday against Hartford recording a +2 rating. Springfield also announced on Thursday they have recalled defenseman Brad Farynuk from their ECHL affiliate, the Stockton Thunder.

This is Farynuk's fourth recall of the season to Springfield and the Enderby, British Columbia native has played in four games for the Falcons this season not registering a point. In 28 games with the Thunder this season, the Stockton captain has three goals and 12 assists for 15 points and was named to participate in the 2008 Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Game, which will be played in Stockton this season.

FALCONS PLAYER NOTES: Center Tim Sestito scored goals in back-to-back games for the first time this season netting his third marker of the campaign on January 13 at Providence, followed by his fourth goal of the year on January 18 against Hartford. Sestito was the game's second star on January 18.....Center Marc Pouliot currently has points in two straight games collecting one goal and one assist in that span....Jean-Francois Jacques also has points in two straight games recording one goal and one assist in that span.

WORCESTER SHARKS PLAYER STREAKS: Defenseman Dan Spang currently has points in three straight games collecting three assists in that span....Tom Cavanagh is on a six-game scoring streak registering two goals and four assists in that span....Worcester center Mike Iggulden will represent the Sharks as a member of the Canadian AHL All-Star roster at the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic. Iggulden is in his third full professional season and he currently leads Worcester in scoring with 17 goals and 22 assists for 39 points in 39 games. Iggulden collected 30 goals and 27 assists for 57 points in 73 games with Worcester last season. Iggulden played his collegiate hockey with Cornell University from 2001-2005.



American Hockey League Stories from January 21, 2008


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