Falcons Weekly Notes

Published on January 10, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


THIS WEEK'S GAME PREVIEWS

--WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2006 VS. HERSHEY BEARS--

The Hershey Bears will visit the MassMutual Center for the first and only time this season on Wednesday night. The two teams last met in Hershey on November 5th when the Bears beat Springfield 3-2 in a shootout. A tough-luck loss went to Falcons goaltender Jonathan Boutin who had 50 saves in the game. The Bears' Eric Fehr ranks fourth in the league in rookie scoring with 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points in 37 games, one point ahead of Springfield's Ryan Vesce. Chris Bourque, son of Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque, has five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in 21 games with Hershey. Goaltender Frederic Cassivi ranks seventh in the AHL in goals against average at 2.39. Cassivi is also second in the AHL in wins with a record of 16-8-4 on the season. Hershey is currently in second place in the East Division with a record of 22-8-2-6 good for 52 points.

--FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2006 AT BINGHAMTON SENATORS--

The Falcons will make their only trip of the year to Binghamton on Friday evening to face the Senators for the second time this season. The teams last met on November 20 when Binghamton shutout Springfield 1-0 at the MassMutual Center. The only goal of the game was scored by Patrick Eaves, who has since been recalled by the Ottawa Senators. Binghamton's Denis Hamel is currently ranked sixth in the league in scoring with 20 goals and 22 assists for 42 points in 34 games. Hamel is second in the AHL in power play goals this year with 11. Binghamton currently has a record of 15-19-2-2 good for 34 points in the East Division.

--SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2006 AT SYRACUSE CRUNCH--

The Falcons will visit Syracuse for the only time this season on Saturday. The Falcons last faced the Crunch last Saturday, losing in a shootout 5-4. Defenseman Andy Delmore enters this week on a 13-game point streak, one game shy of tying the franchise mark for most consecutive games with a point at 14. He has a chance to tie that mark on Friday against Hamilton. Syracuse currently has a record of 21-13-2-1 good for 45 points and third place within the Western Conference's North Division.

LAST WEEK'S GAME RECAPS

---Game 1 - Springfield at Albany, January 4 - L 4-1---

The Springfield Falcons lost to the Albany River Rats, 4-1, Wednesday night at the Pepsi Arena. Albany's Barry Tallackson opened the scoring midway through the second period. Aleksander Suglobov had a goal and two assists on the night. Marek Kvapil scored the lone goal for the Falcons.

---Game 2 - Springfield vs. Syracuse, January 7 - L 5-4 (SO) ---

The Springfield Falcons lost to the Syracuse Crunch in a shootout, 5-4, Saturday night at the MassMutual Center. Mark Hartigan led Syracuse with a pair of goals, including the game-winner in the shootout. The Falcons rallied from an early first period deficit, scoring three second period goals, including two from left winger Chris Dingman, his first two goals as a member of the Falcons.

---Game 3 - Springfield vs. Manchester, January 8 - L 5-3---

The Springfield Falcons lost to the Manchester Monarchs 5-3 Sunday afternoon at the Verizon Wireless Arena. Yanick Lehoux converted on a two-on-one breakout at 3:21 of the opening period, followed by Jeff Tambellini's 18th marker of the year giving Manchester a 2-0 lead. Springfield responded in the second period when Marek Kvapil scored his seventh goal of the season at 7:31, followed by Jason Jaspers' 16th marker of the year at 8:57. Marty Wilford regained the lead for Manchester at 12:17 of the middle period on the power play. Manchester took a 4-2 lead early in the third period, only to see Nick Tarnasky pull the Falcons within 4-3 at 13:48 of the final period.

PLAYER / TEAM NOTES:

Left winger Chris Dingman made his Falcons debut on January 4 at Albany after being reassigned to Springfield by the Tampa Bay Lightning on December 30. Dingman scored his first two goals of the season on Saturday, January 7 against Syracuse and earned the game's third star. Dingman, who was a member of the Lightning's 2004 Stanley Cup Championship team, also collected an assist on Sunday, January 8 giving him points in back-to-back games.

Falcons center Jason Jaspers scored his team leading 16th goal of the season on Sunday, January 8 giving him goals in back-to-back games. Jaspers leads the team in scoring with 16 goals and 19 assists for 35 points in 37 games played.

Falcons right winger Jim Campbell returned to the Falcons lineup on Saturday, January 7 scoring one goal and adding two assists earning the game's first star. Campbell has points in three straight games collecting two goals and five assists for seven points in that span. Campbell was in the lineup for the Lightning's 1-0 overtime win on January 3 at Madison Square Garden.

INJURY REPORT

Falcons forward Steve McLaren, Zbynek Hrdel, and Darren Reid missed games due to injury.

TRANSACTION REPORT

1-6-06 - Tampa Bay Lightning reassign Jim Campbell to Springfield.

1-9-06 - Springfield Falcons reassign Justin Kelly to Johnstown.

1-9-06 - Springfield Falcons trade D Brad Tiley to the San Antonio Rampage in return for future considerations. Springfield will receive D Ray Schultz on loan from the Phoenix Coyotes.

ON THE FARM - JOHNSTOWN CHIEFS

The Johnstown Chiefs (12-13-8) went 1-1-1 last week. The Chiefs opened the weekend, Friday night, with a 4-3 loss to Reading, then lost in a shootout to Dayton on Saturday, before winning in Dayton on Sunday afternoon. The Chiefs resume their jam packed schedule this week with a home and home against Dayton, which caps off four in a row with the Bombers. The Chiefs return home for a rematch with Reading on Friday, then Toledo on Saturday.

COMMUNITY SPRINGFIELD SLIDERS HOCKEY TEAM HITS THE ICE! - Starting Tuesday, October 18th, Assistant Coach Phil Russell and players will be attending the Springfield Sliders Sled Hockey Practice at Amelia Park in Westfield from 6-7 p.m. every Tuesday. The Sliders Hockey Team is a program through Shriners Hospital that allows children with orthopedic issues the opportunity to experience the game of hockey.

SOUPY'S KITCHEN CUPBOARD - #10 Jim Campbell, whose nickname is "Soupy," is proud to announce a unique food collection program for the 2005-06 season. The program which is called "Soupy's Kitchen Cupboard" encourages fans to bring a canned good or non-perishable food item to any Falcons home game. Those who donate will receive a raffle ticket to win autographed items from Campbell and the rest of the Falcons. One lucky grand prize winner will receive lunch with Campbell in March. Campbell will donate all food to local area food banks.

GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE - The Springfield Falcons would like to remind fans that Gift Certificates remain on sale through the Falcons Office. Flex Packs also remain available for the 2005-06 season and can be purchased by calling 413-739-3344.

PINK RIBBON POWER PLAY: This program was brought to our attention by #9 Ryan Vesce, whose mother is a breast cancer survivor. For each power play goal scored by the Falcons starting with the December 9th game, sponsors will donate funds that will benefit area breast cancer centers. We are looking for sponsors, both from an individual level and corporate level, to pledge any amount. For example, if Screech pledged $1 for each power play goal and the Falcons score 20 power play goals for the rest of the season, Screech will donate $20 to the breast cancer cause.

OPEN PRACTICE AT FITZPATRICK ARENA, HOLYOKE - In celebration of Martin Luther King Day, the Falcons are hosting an open practice at Fitzpatrick Arena on Monday, January 16th from 10:30 to noon. A player autograph session will take place following the practice.

WEEK IN REVIEW

JANUARY 4 Springfield-1, Albany-4

JANUARY 7 Springfield-4, Syracuse-5 (SO)

JANUARY 8 Springfield-3, Manchester-5

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE

JANUARY 11 Springfield Vs. Hershey Bears 7:05 PM MassMutual Center

JANUARY 13 Springfield At Binghamton Senators 7:05 PM Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena

JANUARY 14 Springfield At Syracuse Crunch 7:30 PM War Memorial at Oncenter

*Radio Broadcasts on WMAS 1450AM

*Watch Live on the B-2 Network

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American Hockey League Stories from January 10, 2006


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