Falcons Host Weekend Match-ups with Portland and Albany

Published on December 2, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


Springfield, Mass. – The Springfield Falcons, who have collected seven out of a possible ten points over their last five games, look to continue to gain ground in the standings this weekend as the team will face the two teams directly ahead of them in the Atlantic Division. The Falcons will host the division's fifth-place Portland Pirates at The Nest on Friday in a 7:35 p.m. contest. The East Division's Albany River Rats, whose lineup includes top-notch NHL prospect Zach Parise and NHL veteran Dean McAmmond, will visit the Civic Center on Saturday evening. The Falcons will wrap up the weekend in Lowell against the Lock Monsters, who reside in sixth place in the Atlantic Division, on Sunday. Game time is 4:00 p.m.

Team Notes: The Falcons have carried a lead into the third period in each of their last five games.... RW Shane Willis has registered at least a point in every Springfield win this season and has scored six goals in the team's six victories.... The Falcons have not given up a power-play goal in their last three games, killing off their opponents' last 16 man advantages.... LW Derek Bekar registered an assist in his Falcons debut on Friday at Albany. The game also marked Bekar's 400th AHL game.... The Falcons are 2-1 against the East Division this season after playing three consecutive interdivisional games ending with last Friday's 4-3 win at Albany. The team's next interdivisional contest will be against the Philadelphia Phantoms on Dec. 15 which will be played at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla.... Willis led Springfield in goals (7) and points (11) in 12 games during November.... C Craig Darby registered seven assists during the month to pace the team.... C/LW Ryan Craig scored six goals among eight points during November.... Goaltenders Jamie Storr and Brian Eklund each registered a .906 save percentage during the month.... LW J.F. Soucy accumulated 66 penalty minutes in November – the most on the Falcons.

Roster Update: Darby sat out the third period of Friday's game in Albany and missed Saturday's game against Manchester with an injury.... D Mike Egener and RW Darren Reid have each sat out the last five games with injuries.... D Marc Busenburg has missed the last eight games with an injury.

Upcoming Opponents:

Falcons vs. Portland Pirates

Springfield Civic Center

Friday, Dec. 3

The Falcons host the Pirates (9-9-1-2, 21 pts) in the fourth of ten meetings between the teams this season. All three of the previous season match-ups have been tied at the end of regulation and have required extra time to decide a winner. Rookie LW Adam Henrich scored in overtime of a 6-5 Falcons' win in the last encounter on Nov. 5. The Pirates won 3-2 in overtime on Oct. 22 and 2-1 in a shootout on Oct. 29. The Falcons own an all-time record of 43-32-10 versus Portland.... The Pirates are 1-5-0-0 over their last six games. The team has been outscored, 31-7, over that span.... C Trent Whitfield leads Portland in scoring this season with 18 points (6g, 12a) and has registered seven assists among eight points over the last nine games.... The Pirates are 2-4-1-1 on the road this season.... Portland ranks seventh in the AHL in power-play success in road games (18.4%). The team's penalty killing away from Portland (73.5%) ranks 27th in the league.... The Pirates are 7-0-1-2 in one-goal games this season.... Portland assigned former Albany enforcer Carlyle Lewis to South Carolina of the ECHL on Tuesday.

Falcons vs. Albany River Rats

Springfield Civic Center

Saturday, Dec. 4

The Falcons face the River Rats (6-9-4-2, 18 pts) for the second consecutive weekend. The Falcons posted a 4-3 victory in Albany last Friday in the first of six season meetings between the clubs. Springfield LW Mitch Fritz scored the game-winning goal in the contest while C Jason Jaspers netted his first marker since rejoining the Falcons.... The Falcons are 24-22-9 all-time against Albany.... The River Rats are winless in their last seven games (0-3-3-1) this season.... Albany has a better record in road games (3-3-2-2) than at home (3-6-2-0).... RW Aaron Varos leads Albany and shares the AHL rookie lead in scoring with 18 points (9g, 9a) this season. His nine goals lead league rookies. Parise is tied for fourth among AHL rookies with 15 points (5g, 10a).... McAmmond (1g, 3a) and C Eric Johansson (1g, 3a) have each registered four points over the last five games to pace the Rats over that span.... Parise, a 2003 first-round draft selection (17th overall) by the New Jersey Devils in 2003, has posted seven points (3g, 4a) in nine road games to lead Albany in contests away from Pepsi Arena.

Falcons at Lowell Lock Monsters

Tsongas Arena

Sunday, Dec. 5

The Falcons travel to Lowell for their second of ten encounters this campaign with the Lock Monsters (9-7-1-1, 20 pts).... After the Falcons opened scoring with a pair of first-period goals, Lowell posted four unanswered tallies en route to a 4-3 win in the first meeting on Nov. 6. Springfield's Reid and Lowell's C Eric Staal, the second overall selection in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, each registered two assists in the game.... The Falcons carry an all-time record of 19-22-4 versus the Monsters.... On Wednesday, Lowell's Brent Krahn was named the Koho AHL Goaltender of the Month for November. Krahn, the ninth overall selection in the 2000 NHL Draft by Calgary, posted a 5-1-0 record, 1.65 goals against average, and .944 save percentage in six games during November.... Staal leads the Lock Monsters in points (20), assists (16) and plus/minus (+11).... RW Chuck Kobasew, who was drafted by Calgary with the 14th overall selection in 2001, paces Lowell and is tied for fifth in the AHL with 13 goals.... Lowell is 3-3-0-0 over the last six games.... The Lock Monsters rank seventh in the AHL in power-play efficiency (19.5%) and is tied for 19th in penalty killing (82.7%).

Upcoming Promotions:

AAA Night – Friday, Dec. 3: Fans can receive a $3 discount on their ticket to Friday's game versus Portland by presenting their AAA membership card.

Balise Drug Awareness Poster Giveway – Saturday, Dec. 4: The first 2,000 kids in attendance to Saturday's game against Albany will receive a Drug Awareness Poster featuring Falcons players courtesy of Balise Auto.

Radio Broadcasts: Tune into The ZONE – Sports Radio 640 to hear all three Falcons' games this weekend. Voice of the Falcons Marc Shelanski calls the action. The pregame show begins 30 minutes prior to the opening face-off. Sunday's contest will be broadcast its entirety following NFL football. Fans can also listen to broadcasted games live on the Internet by clicking on the MassLive.com Cybercast icon on the Falcons official web site, www.falconsahl.com.

Tickets:

Tickets for all Falcons' home games can be ordered in person or by phone through the Springfield Civic Center box office located along East Court Street. To order by phone, please call (413) 787-6600 or (800) 639-8602. Tickets can also be ordered online by visiting the Falcons' official web site, www.falconsahl.com. Groups of 15 or more can receive discount savings by contacting the Falcons' team office at (413) 739-3344. Group tickets must be ordered in advance.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 2, 2004


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