Falcons Host Wolf Pack Tonight

Published on February 15, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


The Springfield Falcons and Hartford Wolf Pack meet for the seventh time this season when the "I-91" rivalry continues on Friday night at the MassMutual Center. This will be the third head-to-head meeting in Springfield this season with the Falcons going 1-1 in the first two contests at "The Nest." Tonight will be the back end of home and home series between the Falcons and Wolf Pack that started on Wednesday night with Hartford beating Springfield 4-3 at the XL Center. The Wolf Pack has won the last two meetings in the season series.

Center Marc Pouliot leads Springfield in scoring against Hartford with three goals and two assists for five points in five games. Defenseman T.J. Kemp (2g, 1a) and Rob Schremp (0g, 3a) are second on the team in scoring against the Pack with three points each. Goaltender Jeff Deslauriers has appeared in six of the seven games against Harford posting a 3.24 goals against average and .896 save percentage.

Defenseman Andrew Hutchinson leads the Pack in scoring against the Falcons with seven assists in five games. Dane Byers, Lauri Korpikoski, and Thomas Pock are all second on Hartford in scoring against Springfield this year with two goals and three assists for five points each. Goaltender Al Montoya has a 2-1 record with a 2.19 goals against average and .913 save percentage in four games against the Falcons this season, while fellow netminder Miika Wiikman has a perfect 2-0 record with a 2.00 goals against average and .922 save percentage in two games against the Falcons.

The Falcons head into tonight's action having won three of their last four games and have earned at least a point in six of their last eight contests. Starting tonight, Springfield will play their next five consecutive games on home ice, including three contests in the next four days. The Falcons have registered at least a point in their last six straight home games going 4-0-1-1 in that span. Springfield remains in the fourth and final playoff spot within the Atlantic Division standings with a record of 23-20-4-5 good for 55 points.

The Wolf Pack head into Springfield having earned at least a point in their last 10 straight games going 7-0-2-1 in that span. Hartford remains in second place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 32-13-2-5 good for 71 points, only eight points behind first place Providence. The Wolf Pack starts three games in three days this weekend as they host Portland on Saturday before heading to Bridgeport on Sunday.

FALCONS TEAM AND PLAYER NOTES: Patrick Thoresen returned to the Falcons lineup on February 8 for the first time since December 1 and he collected one goal and two assists in two games played last weekend. Overall, Thoresen has points in three straight games collecting one goal and four assists in that span. Thoresen collected one goal, one assist and one fighting major on Friday, February 8 in a 4-2 win over Philadelphia. Thoresen remains second on the team with 13 goals.

Center Marc Pouliot has collected at least a point in four straight games recording five goals and two assists for seven points in that span. Pouliot was the game's first star on February 8 against Philadelphia scoring two goals and one assist, while also playing in his 200th pro game on February 9 against Lowell. Pouliot scored a pair of goals this past Wednesday in Hartford.

Jonas Almtorp scored his first goal as a member of the Falcons and earned the game's first star on February 9 in a 3-1 win against Lowell.

Daniel Sparre made his Falcons debut on February 8 against Philadelphia and collected his first assist on February 9 against Lowell. Sparre added two more assists on Wednesday night in Hartford giving him three points in his last two games. Defenseman Mike Gabinet made his Falcons debut on February 13 at Hartford. Gabinet was signed to a Professional Tryout Agreement on February 6 by the Falcons. Defenseman Mathieu Roy was recalled by the Edmonton Oilers on February 13.

HARTFORD TEAM AND PLAYER NOTES: Defenseman Andrew Hutchinson has three goals and one assist in his last two games, including a hat trick on February 8 at Providence. Hutchinson leads all AHL defensemen in scoring this season with 12 goals and 30 assists for 42 points in 47 games....Alex Bourret has points in two straight games collecting four assists in that span....Lauri Korpikoski has points in two straight games collecting one goal and two assists in that span....Dane Byers has points in two straight contests collecting three goals and one assist in that span.....Artem Anisimov has points in two straight games collecting one goal and two assists in that span.....Defenseman Thomas Pock has four assists in his last two games.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from February 15, 2008


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.

OurSports Central