Falcons Lose Early Lead, Defeated by Comets
December 18, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release
Springfield, MA - The Springfield Falcons surrendered a two-goal lead on Friday night and lost to the Utica Comets by a 7-4 score at the MassMutual Center.
The Falcons opened the scoring early as Christian Thomas made a mark in his first game with the club. Thomas beat goaltender Joe Cannata with a shot from the side of the net to put Springfield up by a 1-0 score. Jon DiSalvatore and Steven Delisle got the assists on the goal at 4:39. The Comets would respond quickly, however, as Brandon Gaunce snapped a quick shot past Falcons goalie Marek Langhamer at the 7:33 mark. Hunter Shinkaruk and Travis Ehrhardt would be credited with the helpers. The Falcons took over the period by adding a pair of goals to take a 3-1 lead. Greg Carey found Philip Samuelsson at the point and he got a clean shot off that was stopped by Cannata. The goalie couldn't handle the rebound and Craig Cunningham deposited the puck at the 11:27 mark for his sixth of the season. Michael Bunting would also score off of a heavy shot with assists from Ross Mauermann and Eric Selleck at 15:51.
Utica would score just 36 seconds into the middle frame when Darren Archibald came into the zone and snapped a quick shot through Langhamer off of a feed from Ehrhardt. The Comets would tie the game just over five minutes later as John Negrin let a long shot go from the point that slid past the Springfield goaltender. Archibald and Cam Reid would get the assists on the goal at the 5:57 mark. The Comets would push and take a 4-3 lead with a power play goal from Alexandre Grenier who fired a one-timer from the top of the circle on Langhamer's stick side. The goal, scored at 13:15, was assisted by Danny Syvret and Shinkaruk.
The Comets extended their lead in the third period with three goals. Syvret would score on a shot from just below the blue line at 3:21 on the power play. Gaunce would add his second of the game from Carter Bancks and Ehrhardt at 5:28 while shorthanded. Shinkaruk would also score an unassisted goal at the 7:47 mark on the power play. Dan O'Donoghue got one back for the Birds at the 10:42 mark, but it proved too little too late. Langhamer made 25 saves in the loss, as his record falls to 0-1-0 on the season. Cannata improved to 9-5-2 with 30 saves.
The Falcons remain on home ice tomorrow night. The Providence Bruins visit the MassMutual Center at 7 p.m. In addition, Rene Rancourt will be performing the National Anthem.
Springfield Falcons ticket packages are on sale now. To reserve your seats, call 413-739-GOAL (4625) or visit the team office inside the MassMutual Center Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For all the latest Falcons information and updates, follow the Birds at www.falconsahl.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/falconsahl and on Twitter (@TheFalconsAHL) using #YourTownYourTeam.
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