Falcons Host the Whale Tonight

Published on April 2, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


The Springfield Falcons and the Connecticut Whale conclude their season series tonight when they play each other for the 10th time this year. Springfield is 3-5-1-0 against the Whale this season. Springfield won the first three games of the season series, but Connecticut has responded winning the last six games against the Falcons.

The Whale is currently in third place in the Atlantic Division with 84 points, two points in front of the Worcester Sharks for the final guaranteed playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. Connecticut has lost their last three straight games, while Worcester has won their last two contests.

Tomas Kubalik, who is currently on recall to the Columbus Blue Jackets, leads the Falcons offense against the Whale this year with three goals, four assists, and seven points in nine games. David LeNeveu, also on recall to the Columbus Blue Jackets, has seen Connecticut seven times this season posting a 3-4 record with a 2.66 GAA and a .899 save percentage. Rookie goaltender Paul Dainton made his first professional start against Connecticut on Wednesday, March 23. Dainton stopped 31 of 34 shots in the effort.

Kris Newbury leads the Whale this year against Springfield with two goals and seven assists in nine games. Center Evgeny Grachev has three goals and four assists against the Falcons this year. Forward John Mitchell has two goals and one assist in four games against Springfield this year, including the game-winning goals on March 2 and March 23.

ATKINSON AND YORK MAKE PRO DEBUTS: Rookie forward Cam Atkinson made his AHL/pro debut Friday night assisting on the game-tying goal and scoring the game-winning goal in the Falcons' 3-2 win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. On Monday, the Columbus Blue Jackets signed Atkinson to a two-year entry level contract. Atkinson, 21, just completed his junior season at Boston College, where he registered 31 goals and 21 assists for 52 points, 28 penalty minutes and a +21 plus/minus rating in 39 games. He set a career high in goals, which led the nation for the second consecutive season, while ranking third (tied) in points and sixth (tied) in power play goals (11). He led Hockey East in goals, points (tied) and shorthanded goals (4-tied), was third in game-winning goals (5-tied) and fourth in power play goals.

The Riverside, Connecticut native finished his career at Boston College with 68-56-124, 86 penalty minutes and a cumulative plus/minus rating of +42 in 117 games. He had 30-23-53, 30 penalty minutes and was +26 in 42 games in 2009-10, helping the Eagles win the National Championship. He was named the NCAA Northeast Regional Most Outstanding Player and was selected to the NCAA All-Tournament Team.

Rookie goaltender Allen York made his AHL/pro debut on Friday earning the win against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. On Tuesday, the Columbus Blue Jackets signed York to a standard two-year entry level contract. York, 21, just completed his junior season at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (R.P.I.), where he went 18-11-4 with a 2.17 goals-against average, .924 save percentage and two shutouts in 34 games. He was named Third Team All-ECAC after he finished the season ranked third in the league in wins and goals-against average and fifth in save percentage. The Wetaskiwin, Alberta native finished his career at R.P.I. with a record of 37-33-8, 2.47 GAA, .915 SV% and four shutouts in 83 career games. He ranks first all-time among R.P.I. goaltenders in GAA and is fourth in SV%. He was named Second Team All-ECAC and was a finalist for Ken Dryden Award, given to the ECAC Goaltender of the Year, in 2009-10.

KEARNEY MAKES AHL/PRO DEBUT: Rookie forward Denny Kearney made his AHL/pro debut Friday night against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers collecting his first point as a pro, an assist on Atkinson's game-winning goal. On Thursday, the Falcons signed Kearney to an Amateur Tryout Agreement. Kearney recently finished his collegiate career with Yale University where he registered 45 goals and 86 assists for 131 points in 138 games. Kearney improved his point production all four years at Yale and collected a career high 16 goals and 41 points in 36 games this past season.

PRO DEBUT TOTALS: Over the last three weeks, the Falcons have had six players make their AHL/pro debuts including: Cam Atkinson, Allen York, Denny Kearney, Aaron Bogosian, Wade MacLeod, and Paul Dainton. Anton Blomqvist is expected to make the total grow to seven players on Saturday.

MAKING HIS NHL DEBUT: The Blue Jackets added right wing Tomas Kubalik to the roster on emergency recall from the Springfield Falcons on Thursday. Kubalik joined Columbus in Washington where he made his NHL debut against the Capitals recording two assists.

Kubalik, 20, has registered 22 goals and 28 assists for 50 points and 43 penalty minutes in 73 games for Springfield this season. The Blue Jackets' sixth pick, 135th overall, in the 2008 Entry Draft, is playing his first professional season and leads the Falcons in goals, assists (tied), points and power play goals (6).

The Plzen, Czech Republic native tallied 33-42-75, 95 penalty minutes and was +16 in 58 games with Victoriaville of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in 2009-10, his first season in North America. He led the club (tied) and ranked sixth (tied) in the QMJHL in game-winning goals (7). He also ranked third on the club in points (tied), fourth in goals and fifth in assists. Prior to his North American career, he spent four seasons playing for Plzen in the Czech Elite and Czech-2 leagues. He combined to record 36-32-68 and 222 penalty minutes in 136 games from 2005-09.

ZUCCARELLO BACK TO WHALE: New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced Friday that forward Mats Zuccarello has been assigned to the Whale.

Zuccarello, 23, has registered six goals and 16 assists for 22 points, along with four penalty minutes in 41 games this season. He leads the Rangers with nine power play assists, and is tied for sixth with nine power play points. Zuccarello also leads the team and is tied for fifth and second in the NHL, respectively, with five shootout goals and three shootout game-deciding goals, and ranks second on the Rangers with a 55.6% shootout percentage.

He has posted four multi-point performances this season, including a career-high, three-assist effort on January 25 vs. Florida and his first career multi-goal game with two goals on March 6 vs. Philadelphia. Zuccarello made his NHL debut on December 23 vs. Tampa Bay, tallying a shootout goal in the contest. He recorded his first NHL point with a power play assist on December 27 vs. the New York Islanders, and notched his first career goal with the overtime game-winner on January 5 vs. Carolina.

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American Hockey League Stories from April 2, 2011


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