Falcons Host The Pirates Tonight
December 5, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release
The Springfield Falcons and Portland Pirates meet for the third time this season when they get together on Friday night at the MassMutual Center. The Falcons are 0-1-0-1 against the Pirates this season with the last meeting occurring on November 7 with Portland skating away with a 2-1 shootout win at the Cumberland County Civic Center. Portland beat Springfield in their home opener on October 18 by a score of 3-2.
Springfield's Colin McDonald leads the Falcons in scoring against the Pirates this season with two goals in two games. McDonald scored the Falcons' lone goal in regulation against the Pirates in the most recent head-to-head match-up back on November 7. Goaltender Devan Dubnyk has a 1.94 goals against average and .943 save percentage in two games against the Pirates this year.
Rookie Nathan Gerbe leads the Pirates in scoring against the Falcons this year with two goals and one assist for three points in two games. Goaltender Adam Dennis has also been rock solid in goal for Portland against Springfield with a 1.45 goals against average and .940 save percentage in a pair of contests.
The Falcons head into Friday's action looking to snap a season-high five-game losing streak after falling to the Lowell Devils on Wednesday night by a score of 6-4 at the Paul Tsongas Arena. Sebastien Bisaillon led the Falcons' offense on Wednesday with two goals, while Ryan Potulny and Bryan Lerg also converted for Springfield. The Falcons currently have a record of 9-9-2-1 in a very competitive Atlantic Division. Eight points separates the top from the bottom of the Atlantic Division. Springfield will play three games in three days over the weekend with home games against Portland tonight, Manchester on Saturday and a trip to Providence on Sunday.
The Pirates head into Springfield having snapped a five-game losing streak (0-4-0-1) on Sunday with a 4-0 shutout win over the Manchester Monarchs. Goaltender Jhonas Enroth recorded the shutout making 23 saves, while Colton Fretter led the offense with a pair of goals. Nathan Gerbe and Derek Whitmore also scored for the Pirates, while Aaron Slattengren picked up three assists in the victory. The Pirates remain in second place in the Atlantic Division standings with a record of 13-5-1-1 good for 28 points, one point behind first place Providence. Portland will also play three games in three days without leaving the state of Massachusetts. The Pirates will play in Lowell on Saturday and in Worcester on Sunday.
FALCONS TRANSACTIONS: On Tuesday, the Falcons announced that left wing Rob Schremp was recalled by their National Hockey League affiliate, the Edmonton Oilers. Schremp joined the Oilers in Edmonton for their game on Wednesday against the Dallas Stars and collected his first NHL point.
Schremp has played in 18 games for the Falcons this season and he leads the team in scoring with one goal and 17 assists for 18 points and a +5 rating. Schremp recorded at least a point in 12 of Springfield's 18 games and had five multi-point games on the season.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound native of Syracuse, New York led the Falcons in scoring last season with 23 goals and 53 assists for 76 points in 78 games. He is currently in his third professional season after being selected by the Oilers in the first round (25th overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.
The Falcons also announced Tuesday that they recalled forward Ryan Huddy from their ECHL affiliate, the Stockton Thunder and he made his AHL debut on Wednesday at Lowell. The Falcons also announced they assigned defenseman Cleve Kinley to the Thunder.
Huddy is in his first professional season in North America having played in 19 games for Stockton this year collecting eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points and a +6 rating. Huddy currently ranks first on the Thunder in goals, second in points, second in assists and second in plus/minus.
PIRATES PLAYER NOTES
- Pirates rookie Nathan Gerbe continues to lead all AHL rookies in scoring with 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points in 20 games.
- Fellow rookie Tim Kennedy is tied for third in the league in rookie scoring with five goals and 16 assists for 21 points in 20 games.
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