Falcons Lose in Overtime at Portland, 2-1
Published on April 15, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release
Portland, ME â The Falcons fell to the Portland Pirates, 2-1 in overtime, at the Cumberland County Civic Center on Friday night. Center Chris Bourque, son of Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque, scored his first professional goal in overtime to end the game. Blueliner Marc Busenburg provided the scoring for the Falcons. Despite the overtime loss, the Falcons have collected points in eight of their last 10 games.
Busenburg scored his third goal of the season 13:56 into the game for the lone tally of the first period. Defenseman Paul Ranger and center Jason Jaspers assisted on the goal to extend point streaks to three games for both players. It marked the sixth consecutive game in which the Falcons have scored the first goal of the game.
Portland evened the game with a power-play goal at 2:31 of the second period. The Pirates' leading-scorer Trent Whitfield deposited the rebound of a shot by center Brooks Laich for his 16th goal of the season.
Following a scoreless third period, the Pirates took advantage of Ranger losing his stick to score the game-winner in overtime. After Portland defenseman Michel Periard held the Falcons' clearing attempt in the zone, Bourque collected a loose puck from Ranger's skates and swept a shot past goaltender Jean-Marc Pelletier 2:06 into the extra session.
Pelletier stopped 26 of 28 shots in the hard-luck loss while Portland's Kirk Daubenspeck made 18 saves to post his 14th win of the season.
Each team had four chances on the power play with Portland scoring the only goal with the man advantage.
The Falcons finished the season series with the Pirates with a record of 6-1-2-1.
Springfield is 4-2-4-0 over the team's last 10 games.
The Falcons will face the Hartford Wolf Pack in their 2004-05 home finale at the Springfield Civic Center on Saturday evening. It will be Banknorth Fan Appreciation Night. The Falcons' Banknorth warm-up jerseys will be individually raffled off and presented to winners on the ice by the players following the game. Raffle tickets are just $5 and will benefit Springfield Falcons Charities, Inc. Fans will also have the opportunity to win backstage passes to pop star Ryan Cabrera's concert on Sunday at Six Flags New England. To order tickets for the game, please visit the Civic Center box office or call (413) 787-6600 or (800) 639-8602. Ticket can also be ordered online through www.falconsahl.com.
For a complete box score of Friday's game, please click on the following link: http://www.theahl.com/AHLBoxscores0405/140320.html
Three Stars of the Game:
1. Trent Whitfield â Portland
2. Nolan Yonkman â Portland
3. Chris Bourque - Portland
American Hockey League Stories from April 15, 2005
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