Falcons Kick Off 2005-06 Season Tonight

October 8, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


GAME SETUP: The Springfield Falcons and Portland Pirates will begin the 2005-06 regular season tonight at the newly renovated MassMutual Center. Tonight will be the 93rd all-time regular season meeting between these two teams with the Falcons posting a record of 48-34-10 in that time frame. Springfield and Portland will face-off 10 times this year, five home and five away. Springfield's first visit to Portland will be on November 11, followed by the Pirates second trip to Springfield on November 27.

The Falcons finished their preseason with a record of 2-1, including back-to-back victories against the Providence Bruins and Hartford Wolf Pack. The Falcons defeated the Bruins last Friday, September 30, 5-2. Springfield received goals from Norm Milley, Marek Kvapil and Jim Campbell, while center Ryan Vesce and defenseman Paul Ranger each added a pair of assists in the win. Ranger came back on Sunday, October 2 and scored the game-winning marker in Springfield's 5-4 overtime win over Hartford. Following tonight's contest, the Falcons will be off until Friday, October 14 when they head to the Hartford Civic Center to battle the Wolf Pack.

The Pirates concluded their preseason schedule with a record of 2-0 including a pair of triumphs over the Bruins. Portland used three unanswered goals last Sunday, October 2 to defeat Providence 3-1. Joel Stepp, Ladislav Smid and Alex Kim all tallied for Portland in the win as they begin their regular season schedule. Similar to the Falcons, the Pirates will also not play their next game until Friday, October 14 when they head to Providence to take on the Bruins.

RETURNING TO THE FALCONS: The Falcons enter their regular season opener with 16 players who saw time in Springfield during the 2004-05 campaign. Forwards Jason Jaspers, Jim Campbell, Ryan Craig, Steve McLaren, Nick Tarnasky, Mitch Fritz, Adam Henrich, Darren Reid, Evgeny Artyukhin, Andre Deveaux, defensemen Doug O'Brien, Paul Ranger, Harlan Pratt, Gerard Dicaire, and goaltender Brian Eklund were all Falcons last year. Head Coach Dirk Graham returns for his second season as Springfield's bench boss, along with assistant coaches Phil Russell and Darren Rumble.

BACK FOR ANOTHER OPENER: Falcons veteran blueliner Brad Tiley returns to Springfield for his 15th professional season after spending the previous five seasons with the Philadelphia Phantoms and Milwaukee Admirals. Tiley previously played for the Falcons from 1997-2000 compiling 33-120-153 totals in 209 career games. Tiley enters this season ranking fifth on the Falcons all-time scoring list. Tiley won a Calder Cup Championship with Milwaukee in 2004 and won the Eddie Shore Award (AHL's Outstanding Defenseman) with Springfield in 2000.

FORMER MATES: Springfield defenseman Todd Rohloff will go up against his former team tonight when the Pirates come into town. Rohloff spent parts of four seasons with Portland starting in the 1998-99 season and concluding after the 2002-03 campaign. Rohloff was signed by the Tampa Bay Lightning on September 7, 2005 and he has played in 223 career AHL games compiling 8-33-41 totals.

NEW AFFILIATION: The Pirates enter the 2005-06 season with a new National Hockey League affiliate in the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim after spending several seasons with the Washington Capitals. Head coach Kevin Dineen enters his first season as the bench boss for the Pirates, while he is assisted by Bruce Crowder and Agawam's Mike LaZazzera.



American Hockey League Stories from October 8, 2005


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