Falcons' Rally Falls Short In Providence

December 14, 2012 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


Providence, R.I. - The Springfield Falcons (14-5-1-3) dropped their only contest of a four-game road stretch on Friday night at the Dunkin Donuts Center, scoring three times in the third period but eventually dropping a 6-3 decision to the Providence Bruins (13-8-0-2). Jamie Tardif registered a hat trick for the Bruins in the victory, while Springfield fell in regulation on the road for just the second time this season.

Springfield's seven-game away points streak and four-game road winning streak each came to an end in the defeat. The Falcons also fell in their 12th attempt at earning their first four-game winning streak within the same season since Dec. 23 to 30, 2006.

The Bruins burst through in the second period with a trio of tallies to take a commanding lead through 40 minutes.

The Falcons allowed a shorthanded goal for the first time in 2012-2013 following a neutral zone turnover in the waning moments of a power play. Lane MacDermid stole a puck, skated to the left wing circle, and blasted a shot by Springfield netminder Curtis McElhinney at 3:35 for a 1-0 Providence lead.

The Bruins increased their advantage with another special teams tally at 11:43, as Tardif backhanded a rebound off a Chris Bourque shot with Providence on the power play for a 2-0 edge.

Off the ensuing face-off, Craig Cunningham took a feed from Carter Camper, escaped to the right-wing circle, and snapped the puck by McElhinney at 11:56, as Providence upped its advantage to 3-0.

The Falcons responded in the third period with a pair of early, quick goals to draw to within one.

Positioned on the doorstep, Tomas Kubalik tipped in a centering feed from Matt Calvert at 2:46, as Springfield beat Providence goaltender Niklas Svedberg to reduce the Bruins' margin to 3-1.

Nick Drazenovic corralled a feed from Jonathan Audy-Marchessault at 3:04 and rocketed a shot by Svedberg from the left circle, as Springfield in a matter of moments reduced the Bruins' bubble to 3-2.

The Bruins grabbed the momentum back at 7:46, as Tardif in the right circle rerouted a Zach Trotman shot by McElhinney to put Providence up by two again, 4-2.

The Falcons answered, however, as Cam Atkinson deflected a heavy John Moore blue-line shot by Svedberg at 9:34, making it a one-goal game again, 4-3.

Providence pulled away in the final half of the third, as Ryan Spooner took a Maxime Sauve pass, embarked on a breakaway, and fired the puck by McElhinney's glove at 12:54, extending the Bruins' lead to 5-3.

With McElhinney pulled for an extra attacker late, Tardif finished off the hat trick by flicking in a shot from center ice at 19:37, closing out the game, 6-3.

McElhinney (13-3-2) saw his personal four-game winning streak end, making 27 saves on 32 shots. Svedberg (11-4-1) set aside 30 of Springfield's 33 attempts.

Springfield returns to the MassMutual Center on Saturday, welcoming the St. John's IceCaps to town with a special start time of 7:30 p.m. Fans can win a free bicycle courtesy of Gus Coelho Auto Repair at 442 Holyoke St. in Ludlow as part of "Cycle Saturday" at the MassMutual Center. Santa Claus will also be venturing down from the North Pole to meet and greet Falcons fans at the game.

Single-game tickets to see the Falcons in 2012-2013 can be purchased at the MassMutual Center Box Office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. through game time on Saturday home dates, and starting four hours prior to Sunday home contests. Fans can also purchase tickets by logging onto Ticketmaster.com. For information about discounted group packages to Falcons home games, call (413) 739-GOAL (4625).



American Hockey League Stories from December 14, 2012


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central