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Falcons Weekly Notes

March 30, 2006 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


THIS WEEK'S GAME PREVIEWS

--FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2006 VS. HARTFORD WOLF PACK & SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 2006 AT HARTFORD WOLF PACK --

The Springfield Falcons and the Hartford Wolf Pack will play back-to-back games this weekend, first in Springfield on Friday and then Saturday night in Hartford. The two teams last met when the Falcons traveled to the Hartford Civic Center on March 24. The Wolf Pack won 6-1 on goals from Brad Smyth, Craig Weller, Chad Wiseman, Colby Genoway and Dwight Helminen. The Falcons lone goal came unassisted from Zdenek Blatny. Hartford has already clinched a playoff spot and has a record of 42-21-2-6, good for second place in the Atlantic Division standings. One of the Wolf Pack's leading scorers, center Alexandre Giroux, was recalled by the New York Rangers on Saturday. Nigel Dawes, Brad Smyth, and Jarkko Immonen are ranked 13th, 14th and 15th in the league for goals with 31, 30 and 30. Right wing Brad Smyth leads the teams in assists and is ranked 12th for assists and 11th in the league for points with 30 goals and 45 assists for 75 points in 71 games. Defenseman Martin Grenier is 7th in the league with 261 penalty minutes in 67 games. The Falcons are 3-4-0-1 against the Wolf Pack this season.

--SUNDAY, APRIL 2, 2006 AT PROVIDENCE BRUINS--

The Falcons third and final game of the week will take place at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence on Sunday afternoon. The P-Bruins were in Springfield on March 18 and took home a 7-1 victory with goals from Jordan Sigalet, Eric Healey, Nathan Robinson, Ben Walter, David Lundbohm, and Scott Ford. Brian Eklund earned his first win with the Bruins making 21 saves. Timo Helbling scored Springfield's only goal that night and Morgan Cey made his AHL debut when he replaced Jonathan Boutin in goal after the first period. Center Eric Healey leads the Bruins in goals (29), assists (39), and points (68) and is ranked 17th in the league for goals, 16th in the league for points, and 8th in the league with six game-winning goals. Falcons right wing Marek Kvapil is ranked 18th in the league with five game-winning goals. Providence left wing Jeremy Reich is 14th in the league with 216 penalty minutes in 67 games. Ryan Vesce is ranked 11th in the league for rookie scoring with 53 points (15g, 38a) while P-Bruins Tyler Redenbach is ranked 14th with 48 points (18g, 30a). The Providence Bruins currently reside in fourth place in the AHL's Atlantic Division with a record of 36-27-1-5.

LAST WEEK'S GAME RECAPS

---Game 1 - Springfield at Hartford, March 24 - L 6-1---

The Springfield Falcons lost to the Hartford Wolf Pack 6-1 Friday night at the Hartford Civic Center. Brad Smyth gave the Wolf Pack a one-goal lead at 2:11 of the opening period. Hartford's Craig Weller gave the Wolf Pack a 2-0 lead at 8:42 of the first period, but Springfield's Zdenek Blatny cut the Falcons' deficit to 2-1 at 15:22 of the opening period with a breakaway marker. In the second period, Hartford's Chad Wiseman scored his 17th goal of the year at 4:07, followed by Colby Genoway recording his 24th goal of the season at 18:56 assisted by Nigel Dawes. Alexandre Giroux added his 34th marker of the year at 1:06 of the third period giving Hartford a 5-1 advantage. Dwight Helminen added on another one for Hartford, making it a 6-1 game.

---Game 2 - Springfield at Lowell, March 25 - W 3-0---

The Springfield Falcons shut out the Lowell Lock Monsters 3-0 Saturday night at the Paul Tsongas Arena. Norm Milley gave Springfield a 1-0 lead at 12:05 of the first period with his 14th goal of the season. In the second period, Doug Andress scored his first AHL goal at 14:01 when he slapped home a Ryan Vesce rebound. Gerard Dicaire scored his first goal of the year at 17:01 of the third period giving Springfield a 3-0 cushion. Goaltender Morgan Cey recorded the shutout making 37 saves in his first American Hockey League start between the pipes for the Falcons and earned the game's first star. This was the Falcons second straight shutout against Lowell and third against the Lock Monsters this year. The Lock Monsters were in Springfield on March 17 and fell to the Falcons 4-0. Goals that night came from Ryan Vesce, Jason Jaspers, David Spina, and Darren Reid. Ryan Vesce and Norm Milley earned the game's second and third stars, respectively.

---Game 3 - Springfield vs. Bridgeport, March 26 - L 5-2---

The Springfield Falcons lost to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers 5-2 on Sunday afternoon at the MassMutual Center concluding their season series with the Sound Tigers with each team winning three games. Bridgeport's David Masse scored the opening goal of the game at 16:55 of the first period on a 4-on-3 power play giving the Sound Tigers a 1-0 lead. Just 43 seconds later, Masi Marjamaki made it a 2-0 lead for Bridgeport when he slid a one-timer past Falcons goaltender Jonathan Boutin. Jason Jaspers cut the Falcons deficit in half when he scored his 24th goal of the season just 1:14 into the second period when he redirected Todd Rohloff's slap shot. Marek Kvapil was able to tie the game at 2-2 before the end of the

period when he converted on the man advantage. Mike Omicioli, Allan Rourke, and Chris Tompson added third period goals for Bridgeport giving the Sound Tigers a 5-2 win.

PLAYER / TEAM NOTES:

Falcons defenseman Doug O'Brien was recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday. The second-year pro, who has already played in two games with the Lightning this season, is the Falcons leading scoring defenseman.

Rookie goaltender Morgan Cey earned his first American Hockey League shutout in his first AHL start on Saturday night when the Falcons defeated the Lowell Lock Monsters 3-0.

Falcons center Dan Cavanaugh earned two points in three games this week. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Springfield, Massachusetts native had an assist in both Saturday's 3-0 win in Lowell and Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Right wing Norm Milley also earned two points in three games this week. The Toronto, Ontario veteran scored a goal on Saturday night in Lowell and had an assist in Sunday's game at home.

Falcons defenseman Ray Schultz played his 600th career professional game on Saturday night in Lowell. The veteran from Edmonton, Alberta has collected one goal and two assists since joining the Falcons and posts two goals and eight assists for ten points in the AHL this season.

Defenseman Gerard Dicaire scored his first goal of the season on Saturday night in the Falcons' 3-0 win over Lowell.

Forward Ryan Vesce had two assists on Saturday night in Lowell earning the game's second star. He continues to lead the team in assists with 38 and is the only Springfield player to have played in all 70 games this year.

The Falcons recalled defenseman Doug Andress from their ECHL affiliate on March 23. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Ontario native was leading all Chiefs' defensemen in scoring at the time of his recall. Andress scored his first AHL goal on Saturday night in Lowell.

The Falcons also signed right wing Kevin Croxton to an Amateur Tryout Agreement on Friday, March 24. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Calgary, Alberta native was among the leaders on the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's hockey team for four seasons.

The Springfield Falcons went 1-2-0-0 last week as they continue to remain in sixth place in the AHL's Atlantic Division.

INJURY REPORT

Falcons forward Steve McLaren and defensemen Todd Rohloff and Jay Rosehill missed games due to injury.

TRANSACTION REPORT

3-23-06 - Springfield Falcons sign Doug Andress to Professional Tryout Agreement.

3-24-06 - Springfield Falcons sign Kevin Croxton to Amateur Tryout Agreement.

3-25-06 - Tampa Bay Lightning recall defenseman Doug O'Brien.

3-27-06 - Tampa Bay Lightning recall defenseman Timo Helbling.

3-27-06 - Springfield Falcons sign P.J. Atherton to Amateur Tryout Agreement.

3-27-06 - Springfield Falcons sign Jared Nightingale to Amateur Tryout Agreement.

3-27-06 - Springfield Falcons release Doug Andress from his Professional Tryout Agreement.

3-27-06 - Springfield Falcons reassign goaltender Morgan Cey to the Johnstown Chiefs.

ON THE FARM - JOHNSTOWN CHIEFS

The Johnstown Chiefs (29-24-14) went 0-3-1 last week. They were shut out by the Wheeling Nailers 4-0 on Wednesday night at the Cambia County War Memorial. Friday night in Reading they lost to the Royals 5-4 in overtime, with two goals each from Jean Desrochers and Justin Kelly. Dmitri Tarabrin, Brandon Elliott and Adam Henrich all tallied in Saturday's game at Toledo, but the Storm outdid them 4-3. In their final game of the way and the third road game in a row, the Chiefs fell to the Wheeling Nailers once again as goals from Adam Henrich and Andre Deveaux were not enough to match Wheeling's five goals. Johnstown has already clinched a playoff spot and resides in fourth place in the ECHL's North Division of the American Conference.

COMMUNITY

HOMETOWN HEROES: #29 Mitch Fritz represented the Falcons and the American Hockey League at the American Red Cross Hometown Heroes Breakfast on Wednesday morning, March 29th, at the Basketball Hall of Fame.

"WEAR YOUR RED SOX FOR THE RED CROSS": The Springfield Falcons have teamed up with the American Red Cross Pioneer Valley to bring you "Wear Your Red Sox for the Red Cross". You can meet Wally the Green Monster at the Friday, March 31st game vs. Hartford at 7:35 p.m. Fans who dress like Red Sox fanatics at the game will have the chance to win a 4 pack of tickets to the Red Sox vs. Devil Rays on April 19th at Fenway. Tickets are just $12 each for juniors and adults and a portion will benefit the American Red Cross Pioneer Valley but this offer is not available at the box office. Visit www.redcrosspioneervalley.org for more information.

PINK RIBBON POWER PLAY: This program was started 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 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. To join the Pink Ribbon Power Play, contact Carole Appleton at 413-739-3344 x.112.

WEEK IN REVIEW

MARCH 24 Springfield-1, Hartford-6

MARCH 25 Springfield-3, Lowell-0

MARCH 26 Springfield-2, Bridgeport-5

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE

MARCH 31 Springfield vs. Hartford 7:35 PM MassMutual Center

APRIL 1 Springfield @ Hartford 7:00 PM Hartford Civic Center

APRIL 2 Springfield @ Providence 4:05 PM Dunkin' Donuts Center

*Radio Broadcasts on WMAS 1450 AM

*Watch Live on the B-2 Network

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