Sports stats



Falcons Set To Host Phantoms Tonight

February 8, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


The Springfield Falcons and Philadelphia Phantoms meet for the second and final time this season when they get together on Friday night at the MassMutual Center. The Falcons and Phantoms met back on October 27 in Philadelphia with Springfield losing 4-3. The Falcons received a pair of goals from defenseman Allan Rourke in that contest, along with one from Troy Bodie. The Phantoms received a hat trick from Jared Ross and one marker from Pete Zingoni. Tonight will be the 22nd all-time meeting between the Falcons and Phantoms with Springfield posting a record of 6-13-2 in the previous meetings.

The Falcons head into Friday's action having beat the Lowell Devils in overtime by a score of 3-2 in their last contest played back on February 2. Springfield's Ben Simon scored the game-winning goal, while Stephane Goulet's marker with 1:50 remaining in regulation sent the contest to the extra session. Goaltender Devan Dubnyk earned the win between the pipes for the Falcons. The Falcons have now earned at least a point in four of their last five games collecting a mark of 1-1-1-2 in that span. Springfield enters tonight's game in fifth place in the Atlantic Division, one point behind fourth place Manchester. Starting tonight, Springfield will play seven of their next eight games on home ice, including a rematch against the Lowell Devils on Saturday.

The Phantoms head into Springfield having lost to the Binghamton Senators on Wednesday night by a score of

4-2. Philadelphia remains in first place in the East Division with a record of 31-16-1-2 good for 65 points. The Phantoms have gone 3-1-0-1 in their last five games and they continue a five-game road trip tonight. Philadelphia will conclude their trip in Manchester on Saturday and Providence on Sunday.

FALCONS TRANSACTIONS: The Falcons announced Wednesday that they have signed left wing Daniel Sparre and defenseman Mike Gabinet to Professional Tryout Agreements. The Falcons also announced they have reassigned forward David Rohlfs to their ECHL affiliate, the Stockton Thunder.

Sparre is in his third professional season and has played in 45 games for the Columbia Inferno in the ECHL this season collecting 19 goals and 14 assists for 33 points and 40 penalty minutes. Sparre currently leads Columbia in goals and is third on the team in scoring. Sparre has played in 37 career AHL games, all with the Hartford Wolf Pack during the 2005-06 season, registering six goals and seven assists for 13 points.

Gabinet has spent this season with the South Carolina Stingrays in the ECHL registering two goals and 12 assists for 14 points and 18 penalty minutes in 22 games. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound native of Edmonton, Alberta has played in 18 career AHL games collecting two assists while with the Iowa Stars during the 2005-06 campaign.

Rohlfs was recalled by the Falcons on January 30 and made his AHL debut on February 1 at Hartford. In two games with Springfield, Rohlfs didn't register a point.

THORESEN BACK WITH FALCONS: The Falcons also announced Wednesday that center Patrick Thoresen has been assigned to Springfield by the Edmonton Oilers on a conditioning assignment. Thoresen was recalled by the Oilers on December 1 after the 5-foot-11, 188-pound native of Hamar, Norway collected 12 goals and eight assists for 20 points in 23 games with Springfield. Thoresen remains second on the Falcons in goals with 12 and also remains sixth in scoring. In 17 games with Edmonton this season, Thoresen has collected two goals and one assist for three points and six penalty minutes.

Thoresen was named the RBK / AHL Player of the Week for the week ending on Sunday, October 14, 2007. Thoresen is in his second season of professional hockey after splitting last year between Wilkes-Barre and Edmonton. He scored his first NHL goal on October 12, 2006 against the San Jose Sharks and he collected four goals and 12 assists for 16 points in 68 games with the Oilers last year.

FALCONS TEAM NOTES: Forward Ryan O'Marra has points in five straight games collecting two goals and three assists in that span. O'Marra, who returned to the Falcons on December 28 after being named an ECHL All-Star with the Stockton Thunder, scored his first goal as a member of the Falcons on January 21 against the Worcester Sharks.

Defenseman T.J. Kemp has registered a point in four straight games collecting two goals and three assists in that span. Kemp had his first two-goal game of the season on February 1 at Hartford. Kemp leads all Falcons defensemen in scoring with six goals and 24 assists for 30 points in 42 games. Kemp also ranks 10th in the league in scoring among defensemen.

FALCONS TEAM NOTES (CONT): Goaltender Devan Dubnyk earned his third win of the season on February 2 at Lowell. It was Dubnyk's first win of the season since December 5, which was also at Lowell.

The Falcons finished a perfect 5-0 in their season series at Lowell this year, including two wins in the shootout and one victory in overtime at Paul Tsongas Arena.

The Falcons are 3-4 in overtime this season with Rob Schremp netting two overtime winners and Ben Simon collecting one.

Stephane Goulet, who has split time this season between Springfield and Stockton, scored the game tying goal on Saturday night at Lowell with 1:50 remaining in regulation. It was Goulet's second goal of the year with the Falcons and his first since opening night, October 5 at Lowell. Goulet scored Springfield's first marker of the season. Goulet played in his 100th career pro game on February 2 at Lowell.

Brad Farynuk's next game will be 100 for his pro career.

Marc Pouliot is two games shy of 200 for his pro career.

Allan Rourke's next game is 500 for his pro career.

Tim Sestito's next game is 200 for his pro career.

PHILADELPHIA TEAM NOTES: The Philadelphia Phantoms have a pair of rookies in the top 10 in rookie scoring. Kyle Greentree is fifth in the league in rookie scoring with 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points in 45 games played, while Jonathan Matsumoto is eighth in rookie scoring with 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points in 47 games.

Greentree is second on Philadelphia in scoring and is tied for the team lead in power play goals with seven. Greentree has registered at least a point in five straight games collecting four goals and four assists in that span. Matsumoto has collected at least a point in four of his last five games collecting two goals and four assists in that span.

Center Jared Ross leads Philadelphia in scoring with 12 goals and 24 assists for 36 points in 39 games.

The Phantoms currently have seven players with 10 or more goals on the campaign. Philadelphia also has eight players with five or more power play markers this season.

• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...

American Hockey League Stories from February 8, 2008


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.

Other Recent Springfield Falcons Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central