Falcons Visit Philly on Friday and Albany on Saturday

Published on March 24, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


Springfield, Mass. – Following back-to-back busy four-game weeks for the Springfield Falcons (19-42-2-3, 43 pts.) the upcoming two-game weekend encompasses the team's schedule for this week. The club will visit the East Division-leading Philadelphia Phantoms at the Wachovia Spectrum on Friday and the Albany River Rats at Pepsi Arena in a 4:00 p.m. game on Saturday.

The Falcons previously met the Phantoms at the St. Pete Times Forum, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning, on Dec. 15th. RW Shane Willis scored twice and added an assist, but the Falcons fell to Philadelphia, 5-4, before a crowd of 13,424. Friday's game will complete Springfield's two-game season series with the Phantoms.

The Falcons will look to even up their six-game season series with the Albany River Rats in Saturday's final match-up between the teams. The Falcons were clipped, 1-0, by the Rats on Saturday at the Civic Center. Springfield is 1-1-0-0 in two meetings in Albany this season.

Team Notes: Falcons G Jean-Marc Pelletier is seven regular season appearances shy of 300 for his pro career (NHL, AHL, and IHL).... RW Jim Campbell is 17 points away from reaching 500 as a professional .... Willis needs seven points to reach 200 for his AHL career (NHL, AHL, and IHL).... The Falcons are 5-0-0-0 when D Mike Egener records a point this season.... The team's wins against the Hershey Bears and Bridgeport Sound Tigers last week marked the first time the Falcons have scored four or more goals in back-to-back games this season.... RW Darren Reid is tied for 13th among AHL rookies with 18 assists.... The Falcons will look to end their franchise-record 13 game road losing streak in Philadelphia on Friday.... The team's 4-0 loss to the Lowell Lock Monsters on Sunday was the Falcons' 15th shutout against of the season to set a new AHL record previously held by the Norfolk Admirals who were shutout 14 times last season.... The Falcons have lost 215 man games due to injury this season.

Roster Update: Willis posted a goal and an assist in Friday's 4-3 win over Bridgeport in his return to the lineup after missing 13 games with an injury.... LW Derek Bekar missed ten games to injury before collecting two assists in his return on Friday.... The Falcons reassigned RW Justin Kelly to Adirondack of the UHL on Wednesday. The forward registered two goals and an assist in four games with Springfield.... D Andreas Holmqvist has sat out the last nine contests due to injury.... LW Adam Henrich has missed the last five games with an injury.... LW Mitch Fritz has been unavailable in the last four games due to an injury.

Upcoming Opponents:

Falcons at Philadelphia Phantoms

Wachovia Spectrum

Friday, Mar. 25

The Falcons make their lone season appearance in Philadelphia against the Phantoms (39-21-3-4, 85 pts) on Friday.... The Falcons are 5-8-2 all-time against the Phantoms.... C Patrick Sharp assisted on all four

Philadelphia goals when the club's met in Tampa on Dec. 15. Former Falcon LW Boyd Kane notched a goal and two assists for the Phantoms in the game.... The Falcons converted two of five power plays in the previous season match-up.... Philadelphia is 5-1-1-0 over the team's last seven games.... Philadelphia LW Jon Sim is tied for third in the AHL with 32 goals this season. Sim has scored 13 goals among 18 points and is +14 over his last 11 games. The former third-round draft selection of the Dallas Stars has scored 30 of his 32 goals this season after being loaned to the Phantoms from the Utah Grizzlies on Nov. 14. C Peter White was sent to Utah in the deal.... Phantoms G Antero Niittymaki ranks fourth in the league in goals against average (1.99).... Rookie C R.J. Umberger leads Philadelphia in scoring with 50 points (17g, 33a). His 33 assists are the second-most among AHL rookies. He also ranks fifth among first-year players in both goals and points.... D Dennis Seidenberg is +15 over his last 11 contests.... Current Falcons C Craig Darby, LW Steve McLaren, and Pelletier each spent multiple seasons with the Phantoms in the late 90's. Darby posted 146 points (68g, 78a) in 136 games with the Phantoms in 1996-97 and 1998-99 and won a Calder Cup with the team in 1998. Pelletier holds the Philadelphia team record for consecutive starts (19 from Nov. 15 to Dec. 28, 1998).... Campbell owns the record for most goals in a game against the Phantoms set when he scored four for the Quebec Citadelles on Feb. 16, 2001.... The Phantoms are giving away bobblehead dolls of former Phantoms head coach and current Lightning Director of Player Personnel Bill Barber to the first 4,000 fans at Friday's game.

Falcons vs. Albany River Rats

Pepsi Arena

Saturday, Mar. 26

In the sixth game of their six-game season series with the River Rats (21-34-6-6, 54 pts), the Falcons visit Albany on Saturday.... Willis, Darby, and LW Nikita Alexeev have each recorded a goal and two assists versus the Rats this season. Eight Falcons have scored against Albany this season and 13 different players have collected points. LW Mitch Fritz leads the Falcons in goals (2), plus/minus (+3) and penalty minutes (34) in the season series.... Albany C Pascal Rheume (3g, 2a) and LW Ryan Murphy (2g, 3a) have recorded five points each for the Rats against Springfield. River Rats G Ari Ahonen has stopped 51 of 52 shots (98.1%) in two games versus the Falcons this season.... The Falcons have killed off 17 of 18 Albany power plays this season.... The River Rats have won their last two games, 1-0. The club edged the Falcons at The Nest on Saturday and downed Bridgeport in overtime on Sunday. Albany allowed only 11 shots on goal to the Sound Tigers including just one in the third period. Rats LW Ahren Nittel scored the game-winner on the power play with 59 seconds remaining in overtime. G Scott Clemmensen collected his second shutout of the season.... Nittel has scored five goals in his last five games.... River Rats C Zach Parise leads AHL rookies with 36 assists – 25 have come at home.... RW Brian Gionta, a three-year veteran of the New Jersey Devils and former Hockey East Player of the Year (2001), has collected two assists in two games since signing with Albany on Mar. 15.... Darby tallied 143 points (44g, 99a) in 153 games while leading the River Rats in scoring in both 2002-03 and 2003-04.

Radio Broadcasts: Tune into The ZONE – Sports Radio 640 to hear both Falcons' games this weekend. The Voice of the Falcons, Marc Shelanski, calls the action. The pre-game show begins thirty 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.

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American Hockey League Stories from March 24, 2005


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