Falcons Set To Host Wolf Pack Tonight

Published on January 23, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


The Springfield Falcons and Hartford Wolf Pack meet for the fifth time this season when they continue their "I-91" rivalry tonight at the MassMutual Center starting at 7:30 pm.

The Falcons are 1-2-1-0 against the Wolf Pack this year, including 1-0-1-0 at The Nest. The last time these two teams met was back on December 30 with the Pack winning that night in Hartford by a score of 5-3.

The Falcons head into Saturday's game having won two of their last three games and overall they have points in four of their last six contests going 3-2-1-0 in that span.

Springfield lost a tight contest last night falling to the Norfolk Admirals 3-2. Colton Fretter scored his team-leading 17th goal in that game, while Rick Cleaver scored his first goal in his first game with the Falcons after signing a PTO on Thursday. The Falcons conclude their weekend in Providence on Sunday afternoon.

The Wolf Pack head into Springfield having won three of their last four games after defeating the Manchester Monarchs last night on home ice by a score of 3-2 in overtime.

Dane Byers scored the game-winning goal for the Pack. Hartford will head to Manchester on Sunday to conclude their weekend. Hartford is currently in fourth place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 23-16-1-4.

FALCONS PLAYER NOTES

. Falcons all-star representative Charles Linglet has collected one goal and seven assists for eight points in his last five games. Linglet scored one goal and added one

assist in the AHL All-Star Classic in Portland, Maine on Tuesday night. Linglet is currently fourth in the AHL in scoring with 10 goals and 37 assists for 47 points in 47 games.

Linglet also leads the league in assists entering this weekend.

. Liam Reddox is currently on a five-game scoring streak having collected four goals and three assists in that span. He has scored a goal in four of his last five games entering

tonight's contest and overall he has six markers in his last nine games played.

. Chris Minard returned to the Falcons lineup on Friday night after being out since October 30 due to injury.

. Colton Fretter scored his team-leading 17th goal last night and he has points in three of his last four games.

. Goaltender J.P. Levasseur has won three of his last four starts posting a.927 save percentage in that span.

WOLF PACK PLAYER NOTES

. Evgeny Grachev is on a three-game scoring streak having collected two goals and two assists in that span.

. Corey Locke is currently third in the AHL in scoring with 17 goals and 31 assists for 48 points in 44 games.

. Defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti is 10th in the league in scoring among defensemen with six goals and 21 assists for 27 points in 39 games.

FALCONS PLAYER MOVEMENT RECAP: The Springfield Falcons announced Thursday that they signed forwards Thomas Beauregard, Jason Pitton and defenseman Sasha Pokulok to Professional Tryout Agreements. Beauregard, who made his Falcons debut on Friday night, has played in 41 games with the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers this year collecting a team-leading 26 goals, 15 assists and 41 points. His 26 goals also leads the entire ECHL in that category. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound native of Montreal, Quebec made his AHL debut as a member of the Hamilton Bulldogs last season collecting two goals and one assist in eight games.

Pokulok has played in 36 games with the ECHL's Bakersfield Condors this season totaling 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound native of Vaud-Dorion, Quebec currently leads all Condors defensemen in scoring. Pokulok was originally drafted by the Washington Capitals in the first round (14th overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

He split his first three pro seasons between the AHL's Hershey Bears and ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays. In 53 career AHL games, Pokulok has collected one goal and six assists for seven points.

Pitton has played in 34 games for the Falcons' ECHL affiliate, the Stockton Thunder.

The Falcons also announced Thursday that they have signed forward Rick Cleaver and defenseman Zach Tarkir to Professional Tryout Agreements. Bill Thomas was also released from his PTO contract to pursue an opportunity to play in Europe.

Cleaver made his Falcons debut on Friday scoring one goal against Norfolk. Cleaver played the majority of this season with the ECHL's Kalamazoo Wings where he was leading the team in scoring with 17 goals and 23 assists for 40 points in 32 games. The 6-foot, 190-pound native of Parksville, British Columbia has also spent some time with the AHL's Hershey Bears and Syracuse Crunch this year. Prior to turning pro, Cleaver spent four seasons with Norwich University from 2004-2008 where he scored 92 goals and added 66 assists for 158 points in 102 games played.

Tarkir also made his Falcons debut on Friday night and he has split time this season wit the AHL's Lake Erie Monsters and ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays. In 29 games with the Stingrays this season, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound blueliner has four goals and 13 assists for 17 points and 28 penalty minutes. He currently leads all South Carolina defensemen in assists.

LOCKE BECOMES ALL-STAR LEADING SCORER

Wolf Pack center Corey Locke's second-period assist in Tuesday night's 2010 AHL All-Star game at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, ME was his ninth career All-Star game point, making him the event's all-time leading scorer.

Locke's Canadian All-Star squad defeated the Planet USA team, which also included Locke's Wolf Pack teammate, defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti.

Sanguinetti, who won the fastest skating competition on Monday, contributed an assist for Planet USA, in his first All-Star game appearance.

This year's trip to the All-Star Classic was the fourth of Locke's six-year career, and the Wolf Pack's leading scorer (17-31-48 in 44 GP) has now collected five goals and four assists in All-Star Game competition.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 23, 2010


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