Falcons open campaign with 4-3 win over P-Bruins

Published on October 15, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


Providence, RI – The Springfield Falcons opened their 2004-05 season with a 4-3 win over the Providence Bruins before a crowd of 9,765 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center on Friday evening. Falcons rookie left wing Adam Henrich scored two goals in his first professional game. Forwards Ryan Craig and Evgeni Artukhin also scored for Springfield. Providence's Andy Hilbert registered two assists in the game. Jamie Storr guarded the Falcons' net and collected his first win with the club.

The Falcons grabbed an early lead with two goals in the opening 5:30 of the game. Henrich dragged the puck to the front of the net while skating on a two-on-one rush with linemate Shane Willis before beating Providence goaltender Hannu Toivonen 3:15 into the game. Craig tallied for Springfield 2:15 later. First-year right wing Darren Reid collected his first professional point with an assist on the goal.

Providence narrowed the Falcons' lead to 2-1 when center Brad Boyes put back a rebound during a Bruins' power play with 8:45 remaining in the first period.

The opening frame also saw Artukhin get the best of former Falcon Brent Thompson in a spirited altercation.

Artukhin regained the Falcons' two-goal margin with 2:11 remaining in the second period when the 6-4, 254-pound forward carried the puck from the Springfield blue line to deep into the slot in front of the Providence net where he promptly snapped a shot under the crossbar, knocking Toivonen's water bottle onto the ice.

P-Bruins left wing Martin Samuelsson made the score 3-2 at the 2:38 mark of the third frame. Samuelsson, a former first-round draft selection by Boston, carried the puck across the Springfield blue line to blast a slap shot off the post to the right of Storr and into the net.

The Falcons appeared to seal the game with three minutes remaining to play in a similar fashion to the way they opened scoring. Henrich again finished a two-on-one rush with Willis. Willis stole the puck from a Providence defenseman and, after carrying it to the goal line, flipped a backhand drop pass to Henrich who scored his second goal of the game.

The insurance goal came in handy when Bruins defenseman Pat Aufiero lobbed a shot that caromed through traffic and ended up in the Springfield net with 16.5 seconds remaining to play.

The Falcons and Bruins will match-up in Providence again on Sunday in a 4:05 contest.

For complete box score, click on the following link: http://www.pointstreak.com/framed/prostats/boxscore.html?gameid=139235

The Falcons travel to Worcester on Saturday to face the IceCats at the Centrum Centre. Game time is 7:05 p.m. The contest will not be carried on radio. Worcester will also serve as the opponent when the Falcons open their home schedule at the Springfield Civic Center on Saturday, Oct. 23. Tickets can be purchased through the Civic Center box office. To order by phone, please call (413) 787-6600 or (800) 639-8602. For season ticket information, please contact the Falcons team office at (413) 739-3344.

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American Hockey League Stories from October 15, 2004


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