Falcons to Challenge Portland, Lowell, and Hartford in Week Four

Published on November 2, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


Springfield, Mass. – The Springfield Falcons (1-5-1-1, 4 pts) face three Atlantic Division foes this weekend including a Friday contest against the Portland Pirates at the Springfield Civic Center. Approximately 600 tickets remain available for the game. The Falcons will visit the Lowell Lock Monsters on Saturday and Hartford Wolf Pack on Sunday.

This week will mark the third consecutive Friday that the Falcons and Pirates will meet. Following a deadlocked 60 minutes of regulation and a scoreless overtime period, the teams settled this past Friday's match-up in a shootout that gave Portland a 2-1 win at the Civic Center. The Falcons fell to the undefeated Manchester Monarchs, 4-2, in Springfield on Saturday.

Week in Review (0-1-0-1):

Falcons – 1 vs. Portland – 2 (Shootout)

Friday, October 29

C Ryan Craig tied the game for Springfield with his second goal of the campaign in the closing minute of the second period. Veterans Craig Darby and Shane Willis assisted on the goal. RW Graham Mink scored for the Pirates as their second power-play of the night expired during the first period. Falcons G Jamie Storr turned aside 31 of 32 shots in 65 minutes of action. Portland outscored Springfield, 3-0, during the shootout.

SOG: 14 SOGA: 33 PP: 0-for-5 PK: 7-for-7

Falcons – 2 vs. Manchester – 4

Saturday, October 30

Craig combined with Darby and Willis for the second straight night for his third goal of the season. Rookie C Nick Tarnasky also scored for the Falcons with a marker in the final frame. However, former Falcon RW Brad Smyth picked the top corner of the net for a goal and added two assists while C Michael Cammalleri collected three helpers to lead the Monarchs to their sixth straight win to begin the season. Manchester blanked Portland, 3-0, on Sunday to improve the team's record to 7-0-0-0.

SOG: 28 SOGA: 31 PP: 0-for-5 PK: 5-for-6

Team Notes: Darby and Willis each reached career milestones with assists on Craig's goal versus Portland on Friday. Darby notched his 400th career assist as a professional while Willis registered his 300th pro point with the helper.... Willis has collected an assist in each of the last three games.... D Brian Chapman made his Falcons debut on Saturday and finished the game +2 in the 4-2 loss to Manchester.... The two goals scored by the Falcons against Manchester on Saturday are the only two goals the Monarchs have yielded in their last four games.... With three goals in eight games, Craig is one goal shy of his AHL total of four with the Hershey Bears as a rookie last season.... LW Adam Henrich is tied for 10th in scoring among AHL rookies with four points (2g, 2a) this season.... D Mike Egener leads AHL defensemen and ranks second among rookies in penalty minutes (PIM) with 55. Falcons RW Andre Deveaux has collected the third most PIM (40) among league rookies.... Storr's 215 saves this season rank third in the AHL.... Darby, Willis, and rookie D Paul Ranger were tabbed by Falcons head coach Dirk Graham to take part in the club's first shootout on Friday.... The Falcons have killed off 20 of their opponents' last 21 power plays.

Roster Update: RW Nikita Alexeev and LW Mitch Fritz are currently out of the Falcons' lineup with injuries .... D Gerard Dicaire continues to rehab following off-season surgery.

Upcoming Opponents:

Falcons vs. Portland Pirates

Friday, Nov. 5

The Falcons meet the Pirates (5-3-0-0, 10 pts) for the third consecutive Friday this week. Both previous encounters have been tied at the end of regulation. Portland downed the Falcons, 3-2 in overtime, in Maine on Oct. 22. The Pirates claimed a 2-1 shootout victory over Springfield this past Friday at The Nest.... The Falcons carry an all-time record of 42-32-10 versus Portland.... The Pirates benefit this season from deals made near last season's trade deadline by their NHL affiliate, Washington Capitals. D Shaone Morrisonn (from Boston as part of trade for D Sergei Gonchar), RW Jared Aulin (from Los Angeles for RW Anson Carter), C Jakub Klepis (from Buffalo for RW Mike Grier), Tomas Fleichmann (from Detroit as part of trade for C Robert Lang) and C Brooks Laich (for RW Peter Bondra) were each acquired by Washington late last season and are currently on the Portland roster.... The Pirates rank seventh in the AHL in power-play success (19.1%) and fifth in penalty killing (91.7%). Portland has scored three shorthanded tallies this season to share the league lead.

Falcons at Lowell Lock Monsters

Saturday, Nov. 6

The Falcons visit Lowell (3-3-1-0, 7 pts) for the first of ten match-ups with the Lock Monsters this season and the 45th meeting all-time between the teams. Springfield is 19-21-4 versus the seventh-year Lock Monsters.... Lowell is 3-1-0-0 at Tsongas Arena this season. The club is winless in its last four games (0-3-1-0) overall.... C Eric Staal, the 2nd overall selection in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, leads the Monsters in scoring with 10 points (4g, 6a) this season. Staal posted 31 points (11g, 20a) in 81 NHL games with Carolina last season.... D Mike Commodore, who played 20 Stanley Cup Playoff games and became a cult hero with Calgary last season, has registered two assists in four games for Lowell this campaign.... The Lock Monsters have surrendered three shorthanded goals to their opponents this season.... Lowell accumulated an AHL season-high 78 PIM during a 6-2 loss at Providence on Oct. 22.... Former Portland Pirates LW Colin Forbes has posted seven points (3g, 4a) in seven games.

Falcons at Hartford Wolf Pack

Sunday, Nov. 7

The Falcons face the Wolf Pack (7-0-0-0, 14 pts) for the second time this season. Hartford downed the Falcons, 3-1, on Oct. 24. D Terry Virtue scored for Springfield. Hartford C Dominic Moore collected two assists.... The Falcons are 28-39-6 all-time against the Wolf Pack.... Hartford, along with Manchester, is one of two AHL teams with an unblemished record.... The Wolf Pack have given up a league low seven goals to their opponents this season.... Hartford goaltenders Jason LaBarbera and Steve Valiquette have combined for a 1.00 goals against average and .965 save percentage. The team has allowed more than one goal in a game only once this season – two to Bridgeport in a 3-2 win on Oct. 23.... Team captain and long-time member of the Wolf Pack Ken Gernander has just one point (0g, 1a) this season.... Hartford's 17 goals this season have been spread out among 12 different goal scorers.... The Wolf Pack will make their first trip to Springfield on Saturday, Nov. 20 for a 7:05 contest.

Radio Broadcasts:

Friday's Falcons game will not be carried on radio. Saturday's contest at Lowell and Sunday's game in Hartford will be broadcast on The ZONE – Sports Radio 640. Voice of the Falcons Marc Shelanski calls the action. Fans can also listen live on the Internet by clicking on the MassLive.com Cybercast icon on the Falcons official web site, www.falconsahl.com.

Tickets:

Tickets for all Falcons' home games can be ordered in person or by phone through the Springfield Civic Center box office located along East Court Street. To order by phone, please call (413) 787-6600 or (800) 639-8602. Tickets can also be ordered online by visiting the Falcons' official web site, www.falconsahl.com. Groups of 15 or more can receive discount savings by contacting the Falcons' team office at (413) 739-3344. Group tickets must be ordered in advance.

This Week's Game Schedule:

Fri., Nov. 5 Falcons vs. Portland Pirates 7:35 PM Springfield Civic Center No Radio

Sat., Nov. 6 Falcons at Lowell Lock Monsters 7:00 PM Tsongas Arena The ZONE

Sun., Nov. 7 Falcons at Hartford Wolf Pack 4:05 PM Hartford Civic Center The ZONE

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from November 2, 2004


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