Falcons Lose To Senators 5-3

March 5, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


Bryan Pitton made 37 saves but the Binghamton Senators skated away with a 5-3 victory at the MassMutual Center on Friday night in front of 3,484 fans. The Falcons had goals from Chad Wiseman, Charles Linglet and Liam Reddox and held the lead twice but it proved to be not enough as the Sens scored three times in the final frame to win.

"We gave it away," said coach Rob Daum. "We didn't manage the puck properly in the final three minutes of the game and it cost us."

Going into the game, the goaltender shuffle continued for the Falcons. J.P. Levasseur was reassigned by the Anaheim Ducks to Bakersfield in the ECHL on Thursday. Andrew Perugini was called up from Stockton to replace Levasseur but did not arrive in time for the game. So for the second consecutive weekend, Bryon Lewis donned a Falcons jersey on an emergency basis. As a result of all the movement, Pitton got the nod in goal, his first game in the AHL since the end of the 2007-2008 season.

Pitton was tested early when he had to make a kick save on a redirect by Johnathan Cheechoo. The pace was fast early in the period with both teams moving the puck through the neutral zone quickly. Reddox had a chance at the three-minute mark but could not stuff it past goalie Chris Holt. The newest Falcon, Matt Marquardt, made his presence known to the Senators early on by mixing it up in front of the net.

The Falcons jumped on the board first when Wiseman scored on a rebound at 11:55. Linglet fed Chris Minard with a pass that sent Minard on a breakaway. Holt made the save but let the rebound come out too far and Wiseman snapped the goal home five-hole on Holt.

The Sens evened up the score 1:04 into the period with Cheechoo's 4th goal redirected past Pitton. Drew Bannister took the shot from the point at a screened Pitton and was credited with an assist.

Cheechoo, the former Rocket Richard Award winner for most goals in an NHL season, was playing in just his 8th game for the Senators after he was reassigned by Binghamton's parent club, Ottawa. Cheechoo was dealt from San Jose to Ottawa in September as part of the Dany Heatly trade. In his best season, 2006-07, he scored 56 goals for the Sharks.

The game would not stay tied for long as the Falcons answered back with a Linglet goal roofed past Holt at 4:18 on a Falcons power-play. Linglet, who is 4th in the league with 62 points, also had an assist on the Falcons' first goal.

The Falcons' lead was not safe. The Senators earned a 5-on-3 power-play late in the period and tied the game with Zach Smith's 13th goal of the season. Smith stuffed home a rebound that Pitton lost track of for the goal. The Senators still had 40 seconds left on the power-play as the teams headed to the dressing room but could not convert when the third began.

Despite the goal, Pitton continued to play well, getting good looks at shots and keeping the Falcons in the game as they were out-shot 42-27. Pitton's highlight save came on a Binghamton odd man rush when he robbed Ryan Keller with a low glove save. Pitton's counterpart, Holt, would not be outdone as he took away a few Falcons scoring chances with some fancy leather, adding to his own highlight reel.

The third period almost passed without any action but at 16:29 the Senators put a puck past Pitton to take the 3-2 lead. The goal scored by Martin St. Pierre was his 19th of the season. The lead would only last for 21 seconds as Reddox knotted the game at three with his 15th goal of the season.

Reddox's goal seemed to give the Falcons some new energy and the game looked to be heading to overtime but Binghamton snatched a point away from the Falcons as Kaspars Daugavins snapped a goal past Pitton, who thought he had been interfered with. The Senators added an empty-net goal at the 19-minute mark from Cody Bass to seal the victory.



American Hockey League Stories from March 5, 2010


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