Falcons Look To Make It A Season-High Four Straight Wins

Published on February 12, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


THIS WEEK'S GAME PREVIEWS

--WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2008 - SPRINGFIELD FALCONS at HARTFORD WOLFPACK-

The Springfield Falcons travel to Hartford on Wednesday to take on the Wolf Pack for the sixth time this season. Kelly Buchberger's team is 1-3-0-1 this season against Hartford, losing the most recent match up 6-2 on February 1 in Hartford. The Falcons come into the game riding a three game winning streak, after two home wins against the East Division's top-ranked Philadelphia Phantoms and one victory over their Atlantic Division rival, the Lowell Devils. The Wolf Pack is coming off a high scoring 7-5 win in Providence and they have earned at least a point in nine straight games, 6-0-2-1. In the season series, the Wolf Pack has yet to lose to the Falcons on their home ice going a perfect 3-0. T.J. Kemp leads the Falcons in scoring against Hartford this year with two goals in four games. Marc Pouliot is having a successful month, notching seven points in the first week and a half of February. Andrew Hutchinson has made his passes count against the Falcons this season recording six assists in four games against Springfield. The Wolf Pack also has two players in the top 20 for goals scored in the league, Greg Moore and Pierre Parenteau are 18th and 19th in the league respectively. Parenteau leads the Wolf Pack in terms of goals against the Falcons this season, he has three. Falcons goaltender Jeff Deslauriers ranks fourth in the league in wins with 19. Deslauriers goes up against Hartford rookie, Miika Wiikman, who has the third best goals against average in the league at 2.08.

--FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2008 - SPRINGFIELD FALCONS vs. HARTFORD WOLFPACK--

The Falcons and Wolf Pack will meet for the seventh time this season, and second time in three days when they face-off Friday night in Springfield at 7:30. The Falcons have split the series with the Wolf Pack at the MassMutual Center, having won the most recent match up 3-1 on January 18. Jean-Francois Jacques scored the game winner for the Falcons in the second period. The Wolf Pack has been tough on the road this year, they are 16-5-2-1 coming into Friday's game. Wolf Pack winger Greg Moore leads his team in goals scored on the road with 16. On the flip-side, Falcons center Marc Pouliot leads the team with eight goals at home. Falcons goaltender Jeff Deslauriers has a 3.05 goals against average and .902 save percentage in five appearances against Hartford this year.

--SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2008 - SPRINGFIELD FALCONS vs. PROVIDENCE BRUINS--

Springfield will host the Providence Bruins for the fourth time this season. The Falcons are 2-3-1-1 this season against Providence, with the Bruins just sneaking by in a 4-3 shootout victory in Providence on January 25. The Bruins have won the last four meetings between the two teams, with all but one game decided by one goal. The Bruins have experienced a lot of success this season, they are currently in first place in the Eastern Conference and are second in the league with 182 goals for the campaign. T.J. Kemp is the leading point getter against Providence with seven, and all seven of those points have come from assists. Marc Pouliot is the leading goal scorer against the Bruins with four. Pascal Pelletier has enjoyed his time against the Falcons, netting four goals and three assists in six games. Pelletier is also 9th in the league with 49 points and he has 25 goals on the season. Providence's rookie netminder Tuukka Rask is 17th in the league with a 2.54 goals against average. Falcons goaltender Jeff Deslauriers has a 2.53 goals against average in the seven games against the Bruins this season, as well as a .922 save percentage.

LAST WEEK'S GAME RECAPS

---SPRINGFIELD vs. PHILADELPHIA FEBRUARY 8, 2008-W-4-2--

February 8, 2008 - The Springfield Falcons beat the Philadelphia Phantoms 4-2 in front of 3,676 on Friday night at the MassMutual Center. The Falcons have now won two straight games and are back in fourth place in the Atlantic Division. Springfield has now earned at least a point in five of their last six games.

The Falcons opened the scoring at 15:55 of the first period when Marc Pouliot scored on the power play, followed by Patrick Thoresen's marker on the man advantage at 17:48 of the opening frame giving the Falcons a 2-0 lead. Thoresen was involved in the game's first fight as he squared off with Philadelphia's Pete Zingoni late in the opening frame. "I thought tonight was a great example of all 19 guys that were dressed playing a full 60 minutes," said Falcons head coach Kelly Buchberger. "Patrick (Thoresen) came back to us and played exactly they way he has all year, with a lot of heart and determination."

In the second period, Philadelphia cut their deficit to 2-1 when Alexandre Picard converted on the power play at 1:22, but Springfield regained their two-goal advantage with just 23-seconds remaining in the middle session when Theo Peckham's slap shot beat a screened Brian Boucher.

"It was a big win for us heading into an important stretch of games," said Buchberger, who has seen his team regain fourth place in the division. "We have a lot of home games coming up and we know we need to take advantage of this opportunity."

In the third period, the Phantoms cut their deficit to 3-2 when Denis Tolpeko scored at 17:45 of the final frame, but Pouliot added his second marker of the contest with just nine-seconds remaining capping off a 4-2 win for the Falcons.

---SPRINGFIELD vs. LOWELL FEBRUARY 9, 2008-W-3-1--

February 9, 2008 - The Springfield Falcons beat the Lowell Devils 3-1 in front of 3,839 on Saturday night at the MassMutual Center. The Falcons have now earned a point in six of their last seven games and remain in fourth place in the Atlantic Division. The Falcons have a three point lead over the Manchester Monarchs for the final playoff spot.

"This has to be one of our better weekends," said Falcons head coach Kelly Buchberger. "We played very well as a team, played a full 60 minutes and really did what we had to do on home ice."

Rob Schremp opened the scoring for the Falcons at 4:42 of the first period assisted by Marc Pouliot and Daniel Sparre giving the Birds a 1-0 lead through 20 minutes of play.

"We played well and we wanted to get back into a playoff spot and we did that this weekend," said Schremp, who along with his teammates will next play at Hartford on Wednesday. "We received contributions from everyone and as a team, that's what you need each game."

The Falcons took a 2-0 lead at 3:31 of the second period when Jonas Almtorp scored his first goal as a member of the Falcons, but Noah Clarke cut Lowell's deficit to 2-1 at 8:51 of the middle session.

In the third period, Stephen Werner added his third goal in a Falcons uniform at 3:24 of the final frame giving Springfield a 3-1 advantage and a two-goal victory.

PLAYER/TEAM NOTES:

The Springfield Falcons improved their record to 23-19-4-5 through 51 games good for 55 points, nine points more than they had at the same point last year. The Falcons currently have a grasp on the fourth and final playoff spot within the Atlantic Division.

The Falcons are currently on a three-game winning streak, their second three-game winning streak of the season. Springfield has earned at least a point in the standings in six of their last seven games. The Falcons have a record of 3-1-1-2 in that span.

The Falcons improved their home record to 14-7-2-2 this season and they have the third best home winning percentage in the Atlantic Division. Springfield will play five of their next six games on home ice.

Patrick Thoresen returned to the Falcons lineup this past weekend for the first time since December 1 and he collected one goal and two assists in two games played last weekend. Thoresen collected one goal, one assist and one fighting major on Friday, February 8 in a 4-2 win over Philadelphia. Thoresen was the game's second star on Friday and he remains second on the team in goals with 13.

Rob Schremp collected one goal and two assists in two games last weekend.

Center Marc Pouliot has collected at least a point in three straight games recording three goals and two assists 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.

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.

Forward Ryan O'Marra has points in six of his last seven games collecting two goals and four assists in that span. O'Marra, who returned to the Falcons on December 28 after being named an ECHL All-Star with the Stockton Thunder, scored his first goal as a member of the Falcons on January 21 against the Worcester Sharks.

INJURY REPORT

Sebastien Bisaillon , Tyler Spurgeon, Jacob Micflikier, T.J. Reynolds, Rick Berry, Liam Reddox, Jean-Francois Jacques all missed games due to injury.

TRANSACTIONS

February 6, 2008 - Springfield Falcons sign defenseman Mike Gabinet to a professional tryout agreement.

February 6, 2008 - Springfield Falcons sign left wing Daniel Sparre to a professional tryout agreement.

February 6, 2008 - Springfield Falcons reassign forward David Rohlfs to the Stockton Thunder.

February 6, 2008 - Edmonton Oilers reassign Patrick Thoresen to the Springfield Falcons on a conditioning assignment.

ON THE FARM - STOCKTON THUNDER

The Thunder start a three-game homestand on Wednesday when they take on the Las Vegas Wranglers on Wednesday, followed by a pair of games against the Alaska Aces on Saturday and Sunday.

WEEK IN REVIEW

FEBRUARY 8 Springfield-4 vs. Philadelphia -2 (Pouliot, Thoresen, Peckham, Pouliot )

FEBRUARY 9 Springfield-3 vs. Lowell-1 (Schremp, Almtorp, Werner)

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE

FEBRUARY 13 Springfield at Hartford 7:00 PM XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum FEBRUARY 15 Springfield vs. Hartford 7:30 PM MassMutual Center

FEBRUARY 16 Springfield vs. Providence 7:00 PM MassMutual Center

*Radio Broadcasts on WHYN AM 560

*Watch Live on the B-2 Network

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American Hockey League Stories from February 12, 2008


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