Falcons prevail over P-Bruins, 3-1
March 27, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release
Springfield, MA â Rookie goaltender David LeNeveu turned aside 30 of 31 shots to backstop the Springfield Falcons to a 3-1 win over the Providence Bruins before a crowd of 4,287 at the Springfield Civic Center on Saturday night. Forwards Goran Bezina, Chris Ferraro, and Nick Lent provided the goal scoring for the Falcons. Springfield defenseman Todd Reirden collected a pair of assists in the win.
With the teams playing at four skaters aside, Providence grabbed a 1-0 lead 4:48 into the game when Kevin Dallman put back the rebound of a shot by Andy Hilbert for the blueliner's sixth goal of the season.
The Falcons responded to tie the contest following a roughing penalty issued to Providence's Colton Orr. Bezina tipped a shot from the right point by defenseman Tom Koivisto past Bruins goaltender Hannu Toivonen for the power-play goal with three minutes remaining in the opening frame. The tally was Bezina's 11th goal of the season to set a new career high for the 24-year-old.
Springfield vaulted to a 3-1 lead following back-to-back goals by forwards Chris Ferraro and Nick Lent 1:37 apart in the second period. Ferraro potted the team's second power-play goal of the night at the 12:05 mark after a shot by Reirden ricocheted off the endboards into the slot. Ferraro one-timed the puck by a surprised Toivonen.
Lent notched his third goal with the Falcons by redirecting a low shot from the point by blueliner Nikos Tselios over the shoulder of Toivonen at 13:42.
LeNeveu made 12 saves during a scoreless third period en route to the Falcons' two-goal win. The 20-year-old netminder evened his record at 16-16-3 with the victory.
Springfield finished two-for-seven with the man advantage while killing off each of the Bruins' five power plays during the game.
With the win, the Falcons snapped a three-game winless streak and improved their record versus the P-Bruins this season to 2-5-1-0.
The Falcons and Bruins will face-off again on Friday at the Dunkin' Donut Center in Providence. Game time is 7:05 p.m. The Falcons will then return to the Springfield Civic Center to host the Manchester Monarchs on Saturday, April 3rd beginning at 7:35 p.m. The Hershey Bears will make their lone appearance of the season at the Civic Center on Sunday, April 4th in a 4:05 p.m. contest. For information on tickets or group discounts, please contact the Falcons team office at (413) 739-3344. To order tickets by phone, please call the Civic Center box office at (413) 787-6600 or (800) 639-8602.
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