Falcons Host Sound Tigers Tonight

November 12, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


GAME SETUP: The Springfield Falcons and Bridgeport Sound Tigers will meet for the first time this season tonight at the MassMutual Center. The Falcons and Sound Tigers will face off against each other next Saturday night as well when the Falcons make their first visit to Bridgeport this year.

The Falcons head into tonight's game looking to snap a 0-2-0-2 mark over their last four games as Springfield concludes a stretch of three games in three days. Springfield played last night in Portland dropping a 5-1 decision to the Pirates. Jim Campbell scored Springfield's lone goal in the third period. The Falcons currently have a record of 6-4-1-2 good for 15 points in the Atlantic Division standings. The Falcons are tied with Manchester in the standings, one point behind second place Hartford and five points behind first place Portland. Following tonight's game, Springfield will be off until next Friday, November 18 when they host the Albany River Rats for the first time this season.

The Sound Tigers head into Springfield winners of three straight games after snapping a five-game losing streak on November 5. Bridgeport played last night in Philadelphia beating the Phantoms 3-2. Matt Koalska, Allan Rourke, and Travis Brigley all scored for the Sound Tigers, while goaltender Chris Madden stopped 28 of the 30 shots on goal. Bridgeport will conclude their weekend on Sunday when they host the Lowell Lock Monsters.

SPRINGFIELD FALCONS CATEGORY LEADERS: Falcons right wing Norm Milley enters tonight's game as the Falcons leader in points with seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in 13 games played. Milley also leads the club in power play goals with five and is two power play goals away from tying three players for the AHL lead in that category. Milley has earned at least a point in 10 of the Falcons' 13 games this season, including three goals and six assists for nine points in his last six games played. Milley was signed as a free agent by the Tampa Bay Lightning on August 18, 2005 and is in his sixth season of professional hockey after spending the previous five seasons with the Rochester Americans.

TOP AHL ROOKIE SCORERS: Falcons rookie Ryan Vesce is currently ranked fourth in the AHL in rookie scoring with four goals and nine assists for 13 points in 13 games. Vesce is third on the Falcons in points and has collected two goals and three assists in his last four games. Vesce signed with the Falcons on September 7, 2005 after spending the 2004-05 season in Sweden. Vesce played his college hockey with Cornell University where he collected 128 career points in 131 games played.

BACK IN THE LINEUP: On Wednesday, the Falcons' National Hockey League affiliate, the Tampa Bay Lightning, reassigned center Nick Tarnasky and goaltender Brian Eklund to the Falcons. Tarnasky scored his first goal of the season on Thursday night against the Manchester Monarchs, while Eklund has started two consecutive games between the pipes.

LEADING THE SOUND TIGERS: Bridgeport right wing Rob Collins currently leads the team in scoring through 12 games with five goals and 11 assists for 16 points, including three markers on the power play. Collins is in his third season with the Sound Tigers after collecting 23 goals and 39 assists for 62 points in 78 games last season. Collins spent the first full season of his professional career with Grand Rapids after completing his collegiate career with Ferris State University in 2002.

BETWEEN THE PIPES: Bridgeport goaltenders Chris Madden and Wade Dubielewicz have split the duties between the pipes this season. Madden has played in seven games collecting a record of 4-1-0 with a 2.91 goals against average and .909 save percentage. Dubielewicz has also played in seven games posting a record of 1-6-0 with a 5.20 goals against average and .860 save percentage. Madden split last season between Providence (AHL) and Long Beach (ECHL), while Dubielewicz played in 43 games for the Sound Tigers in 04-05.



American Hockey League Stories from November 12, 2005


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