Falcons Visit Albany Wed., Return to Nest For Weekend Match-ups

Published on February 8, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


Springfield, Mass. – Like last week, the Springfield Falcons will play a Wednesday game on the road before returning to The Nest to host division rivals on Friday and Saturday night this week. The Falcons make their second trip of the season to Albany to challenge the River Rats on Wednesday. The Worcester IceCats will make their second to last ever visit to the Civic Center on Friday. The Falcons will then meet the Providence Bruins at The Nest for the second consecutive Saturday.

The Falcons will look to build on Saturday's 3-2 overtime win over the P-Bruins at the Civic Center. RW Shane Willis tied the contest, 2-2, with a third-period marker and later redirected a shot by D Nikos Tselios for the game-winner in overtime. LW Ryan Craig assisted on both of Willis's goals while G Brian Eklund stopped 26 of 28 shots to earn his seventh win of the season.

Earlier last week, the Falcons fell in Worcester, 4-2, on Wednesday and were shutout by the Manchester Monarchs, 3-0, at home on Friday.

Team Notes: The Falcons have won their last three games decided in overtime and are 4-2 in OT overall this season. Springfield is 3-2 in shootouts this season to give the club a record of 7-4 when tied at the end of regulation.... Nine of Willis's 16 goals this season have come in the third period (7) or overtime (2).... Saturday marked the fourth multi-goal game of the season for Willis – the most on the Falcons.... The Falcons have come back to win five games when trailing after the second period this season. Only the Hershey Bears have won more games (8) when trailing at the second intermission.... Eklund has started in the Springfield net in each of the last four games – his most consecutive starts this season.... LW Derek Bekar is one point shy of 250 for his AHL career.... Tselios skated in his 250th AHL game on Saturday.... D Harlan Pratt played in his 400th pro game on Wednesday at Worcester.

Roster Update: RW Evgeni Artukhin has been issued a three-game suspension by the AHL due to a check on Providence RW Pat Leahy for which the Falcons forward received a match penalty on Saturday night. Artukhin will sit out Springfield's three games this week.... C Jason Jaspers has missed the last five games and seven of the last eight contests with an injury.... D Brian Chapman returned to the Falcons lineup on Friday after missing eight games with an injury.

Upcoming Opponents:

Falcons at Albany River Rats

Pepsi Arena

Wednesday, Feb. 9

The Falcons face the River Rats (13-25-5-5, 36 pts) in the fourth of six scheduled meetings between the teams this season. Springfield is 2-1-0-0 against the Rats this season including a 3-1 victory in the last encounter on Dec. 18 at The Nest. Former Albany C Craig Darby and Craig each posted a goal and an assist in the game for the Falcons.... The Falcons are 25-23-9 in the all-time series.... Willis, Darby, and LW Nikita Alexeev have each registered a goal and two assists against the Rats this season to lead the Falcons.... Eklund has been in net for each game versus Albany this season, recording a 2.01 GAA and .938 SV%.... Albany LW Ilkka Pikkarainen (2g, 1a) and D Ray Schultz (1g, 2a) lead the Rats against Springfield this season with three points each.... The River Rats are 6-13-2-2 at home this season.... The Falcons are 3-6-0-1 versus East Division opponents this season.... Albany is 6-5-0-1 against Atlantic Division foes.... River Rats C Zach Parise, selected in the first round (17th overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, shares the AHL lead for assists among rookies (22)..... Albany RW Cam Janssen has received the second-most major penalties in the league this season.... NHL veteran Dean McAmmond has posted 10 points (5g, 5a) over the River Rats' last 10 games.

Falcons vs. Worcester IceCats

Springfield Civic Center

Friday, Feb. 11

The Falcons take on the IceCats (27-18-3-2, 59 pts) at the Civic Center on Friday in the eighth season encounter between the division rivals.... Springfield is 3-4-0-0 against the ‘Cats this season including a 2-1-0-0 mark at The Nest.... The Falcons are 40-51-14 all-time versus Worcester.... The IceCats won the last meeting by a score of 4-2 at the DCU Center last Wednesday. Falcons rookie C Dennis Packard and Worcester LW Peter Sejna, a former Hobey Baker Award winner, each registered a goal and an assist in the game.... Rookie forward Nick Tarnasky leads Springfield in scoring against the ‘Cats with six points (1g, 5a) this season.... Sejna (3g, 5a) and rookie D Dennis Wideman (2g, 6a) pace Worcester versus the Falcons with eight points apiece.... The ‘Cats have lost their last three games.... Worcester currently holds the fourth and final playoff position in the Atlantic Division with a two-point margin over Providence.... The IceCats are 17-1-1-1 when scoring the first goal of the game this season.... Worcester ranks seventh in the AHL in penalty killing (86.3%) and is tied for second in the league in shorthanded goals (11).... C Blake Evans, the IceCats co-leader in scoring, has notched 18 of his 30 points this season in road games.... Wideman has collected 22 assists this season to share the league lead for rookies.

Falcons vs. Providence Bruins

Springfield Civic Center

Saturday, Feb. 12

The Falcons challenge the P-Bruins (24-18-3-6, 57 pts) in the fifth and final meeting of the season at the Civic Center and the ninth of ten match-ups overall.... Springfield has won the last two games versus Providence including last Saturday's 3-2 overtime victory. Willis has scored the game-winner in each of the last two encounters.... The Falcons are 3-5-0-0 against the Bruins this season and 46-61-5 all-time.... The clubs will meet for the final time this season on Feb. 20 in Providence.... Falcons LW Adam Henrich has collected five points (3g, 2a) against the Bruins to lead the team.... Providence C Brad Boyes has recorded 10 points (3g, 7a) to pace his club versus the Falcons.... The Bruins are 9-13-1-5 on the road this season.... Providence shares the AHL lead in power-play success at 21.3%. The team scored an AHL season-high five power-play goals in a 6-2 win over Hershey on Dec. 5.... Boyes has scored a goal in each of his last three games and is riding a six-game point streak (5g, 3a, 8p).... Bruins LW Andy Hilbert is tied for third in the AHL in goals (26) and is tied for fourth in points (57). With three assists versus the Hartford Wolf Pack on Friday, Hilbert surpassed the late Sergei Zholtok as the P-Bruins' all-time leading scorer. Hilbert has posted 188 points (90g, 98a) in 206 games with Providence. Zholtok registered 186 points (83g, 103a) during his 196-game career with the P-Bruins.... Current Bruins and former Falcons D Brent Thompson shares the league lead in minor penalties (48).... G Hannu Toivonen is tied for the AHL lead with six shutouts this season.

Upcoming Promotions:

AAA Night – Friday, Feb. 11: Fans can receive a $3 discount on tickets to Friday's game against Worcester by presenting their AAA Card at the Springfield Civic Center box office.

Thundersticks Give-a-way – Friday, Feb. 11: Youths in attendance at Friday's game versus Worcester will receive Thundersticks.

Stevens Jewelers Ladies Night – Friday, Feb. 11: The first 300 ladies in attendance to Friday's game will receive a "diamond" from Stevens Jewelers. One will be a real diamond. The ladies are invited to Stevens to see if their diamond is the precious one! There will also be gift certificate giveaways throughout the night from Stevens and weekend getaways from the Radisson of Enfield.

Radio Broadcasts: Tune into The ZONE – Sports Radio 640 to hear each Falcons' game this week. The Voice of the Falcons, Marc Shelanski, calls the action. The pre-game show begins 30 minutes prior to the opening face-off. Fans can also listen via 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 Weekend's Game Schedule:

Wed., Feb. 9 Falcons at Albany River Rats 7:00 PM Pepsi Arena The ZONE

Fri., Feb. 11 Falcons vs. Worcester IceCats 7:35 PM Springfield Civic Center The ZONE

Sat., Feb. 12 Falcons vs. Providence Bruins 7:05 PM Springfield Civic Center The ZONE

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American Hockey League Stories from February 8, 2005


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