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Falcons Sink Pirates' Ship

March 12, 2016 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


Springfield, MA - The Springfield Falcons rallied back on Saturday night to beat the Portland Pirates by a score of 3-2 in the shootout at the MassMutual Center.

Springfield got the game's first solid chance while killing a penalty in the opening minutes as Ross Mauermann broke up the boards to fire a scoring chance. The shot was denied by Mike McKenna, who tipped the puck into the netting out of play. The Pirates would parlay that stop into some momentum and take the lead shortly after. Rocco Grimaldi gained the offensive zone and dropped a pass back for Shane Harper, who blistered a one-timer past Niklas Treutle for his seventh goal of the season. Connor Brickley added a helper on the goal, scored at 16:24.

The Falcons turned on the pressure in the opening moments of the middle frame, testing McKenna with numerous chances. Finally, the Falcons tied the game midway through the period. Justin Hache found Dylan Reese at the point who fired a shot wide of the net. The puck would bounce to Laurent Dauphin, who backhanded it past McKenna for his eighth goal of the season at 9:29. Seconds after the goal, Eric Selleck and Rob Flick dropped the gloves for a heavyweight bout at center ice that set the tone for the rest of the game. Portland finished the seesaw of momentum at 10:25 when Harper picked the pocket of Tyler Gaudet deep in Falcons territory and beat Treutle to make it a 2-1 game via his second goal of the night.

In the final 90 seconds of the game, Portland took a penalty that pushed the momentum to the Falcons. Thanks to pulling the goalie, Springfield had a six-on-four advantage in the final minute, which set up a few good chances. The last look was from Alex Grant, who blasted a shot from the point past McKenna to tie the game. Dauphin and Craig Cunningham assisted on Grant's eleventh of the season, which was scored at 19:38 and forced overtime. The five minute overtime solved nothing, which pushed the game to a shootout. In the shootout, the goaltenders stopped the first 14 shooters, seven aside. The tie was snapped when Domenic Monardo beat McKenna with a nifty backhander that held up as the game winning goal. Treutle made 21 saves in the win, which upped his record to 10-13-5 on the year. McKenna stopped 31 shots in the loss, which moved his record to 25-13-4 on the season.

The Falcons will conclude their weekend tomorrow night when they host the Syracuse Crunch at 5:00 p.m. for Six Flags Night. Fans have the opportunity to be gifted Six Flags memorabilia, day passes and Front of the Line access passes with a donation to Square One. Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and Agawam Mayor Richard Cohen compete in a shootout in efforts to donate Six Flags tickets the children and families affiliated with Square One. In addition, Famous Looney Tunes characters will be in attendance.

To reserve your group seats for any home game, call 413-739-GOAL (4625) or visit the team office inside the MassMutual Center Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. To receive all the latest Falcons information and updates, follow the Birds at www.falconsahl.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/falconsahl and on Twitter (@TheFalconsAHL) using #YourTownYourTeam.

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