Falcons Host Sound Tigers Today
March 26, 2006 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release
The Springfield Falcons and Bridgeport Sound Tigers will meet for the sixth and final time this season Sunday night at the MassMutual Center. The Falcons have a record of 3-2-0-0 against the Sound Tigers this season, including a mark of 1-1-0-0 on home ice. The last time these two teams met was back on March 4 with Springfield beating Bridgeport in overtime, 3-2. Falcons forward Nick Tarnasky collected a natural hat trick in that contest for the Falcons. Tarnasky is tied with teammate Ryan Vesce for the team lead in goals against the Sound Tigers this year with three. Center Jason Jaspers leads Springfield in scoring against Bridgeport this year with five assists in five games. Rookie goaltender Jonathan Boutin has a record of 2-1-0-0 with a 1.97 goals against average and .906 save percentage against the Sound Tigers this season.
The Falcons head into tonight's game having defeated the Lowell Lock Monsters Saturday night, 3-0, at the Paul Tsongas Arena. Goaltender Morgan Cey made 37 saves in earning his first American Hockey League shutout in his very first AHL start. Springfield received goals from Norm Milley, Doug Andress and Gerard Dicaire. Vesce also chipped in with a pair of assists earning the game's second star. Springfield has a record of 5-2-1-0 in their last eight games collecting 11 of a possible 16 points in the standings.
The Sound Tigers head into Springfield having defeated the Hartford Wolf Pack last night, 6-3, at the Hartford Civic Center. Bridgeport opened the game building a 4-1 lead in the first period outshooting the Wolf Pack 14-9. Right wing Rob Collins led the offense for Bridgeport with one goal and two assists, while Allan Rourke also collected one goal and one assist. Steve Regier, Evgeny Tunik and David Masse also scored for the Sound Tigers, while goaltender Wade Dubielewicz stopped 42 of the 45 shots he faced earning the game's third star. Bridgeport remains in fourth place in the East Division standings with a record of 35-28-4-3 good for 77 points, three points behind the third-place Norfolk Admirals.
WELCOME TO THE AHL: Falcons goaltender Morgan Cey stopped all 37 shots he faced on Saturday night earning his first shutout in the AHL in his very first start at the AHL level. Cey joins fellow Springfield rookie goaltenders Jonathan Boutin and Gerald Coleman as netminders who have recorded a shutout this season with all three goaltenders blanking the Lowell Lock Monsters. Cey was recalled from the Falcons' ECHL affiliate, the Johnstown Chiefs, on March 16. At the time of his recall, Cey had played in 31 games for the Chiefs this season posting a record of 17-8-5 with a 2.74 goals against average and .922 save percentage. Cey leads all Johnstown goaltenders in games played and wins. Cey is in his first season of professional hockey after playing his collegiate hockey with Notre Dame from 2001-2005.
FIRST AHL GOAL: Falcons defenseman Doug Andress scored his first AHL goal last night in the Falcons' 3-0 win over the Lowell Lock Monsters. Andress has played in two games with Springfield since being recalled from the Johnstown Chiefs on March 23. Andress is in his second season of professional hockey and at the time of his recall, he led all Johnstown defensemen in scoring with six goals and 30 assists for 36 points and 39 penalty minutes in 59 games this season. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound native of Iroquois Falls, Ontario made his AHL debut this year with the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights. During the 2004-05 campaign, Andress split the season between South Carolina and Toledo of the ECHL collecting five goals and 14 assists for 19 points in 69 games played. Andress played his collegiate hockey with Ohio State University from 2000-2004 where he was named the CCHA Defenseman of the Year during his senior season.
SOUND TIGERS LEADERS: Bridgeport right wing Rob Collins continues to lead the Sound Tigers in scoring this season with 20 goals and 44 assists for 64 points in 59 games played. Teammate Jeff Hamilton is currently third on the team in scoring with 24 goals and 25 assists for 49 points in 39 games played. Hamilton has also registered a team leading 15 power play goals this season, which ranks 12th in the AHL in that category. Goaltender Wade Dubielewicz has been a work-horse between the pipes collecting a record of 17-16-2 in 37 games this season. Dubielewicz has a 3.10 goals against average and .910 save percentage this season.
American Hockey League Stories from March 26, 2006
- Bears fall to Penguins - Hershey Bears
- Philly boy leads Phantoms - Adirondack Phantoms
- Stars shutout San Antonio - Iowa Chops
- P-Bruins Fall to Wolf Pack in Shootout 3-2 - Providence Bruins
- Bears Continue Season Long Fight With Penguins - Hershey Bears
- Sound Tigers Win 5-2 In Springfield - Bridgeport Islanders
- Pushkarev Recalled By Kings - Manchester Monarchs
- Griffins set franchise record with 10th straight win - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Falcons Host Sound Tigers Today - Springfield Falcons
- Rivermen topple Knights, 3-2, in shootout - Peoria Rivermen
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.
