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Falcons Weekly Notes

November 15, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


THIS WEEK'S GAME PREVIEWS

--TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2010 - SPRINGFIELD FALCONS VS. BRIDGEPORT SOUND TIGERS--

The Springfield Falcons and Bridgeport Sound Tigers meet for the second time this season and first meeting in Springfield. The Falcons traveled to Bridgeport back on November 3 and came away with a point losing 6-5 in a shootout. The Falcons rallied from 3-0 and 5-3 deficits to earn a point in that contest.

Rookie Matt Calvert registered his first two-goal game of his pro career in that contest scoring twice. Michael Ryan collected one goal and one assist in that contest. The Falcons had 11 different players collect at least a point in that contest including goals from Steven Goertzen and Maksim Mayorov as well as Calvert and Ryan.

Jon Sim was the player of the game for Bridgeport in that contest collecting a hat trick and also scoring the clinching goal in the shootout. Former Falcon Rob Hisey added three assists back on November 3. David Ullstrom (1g,1a), Jesse Joensuu (2a) and Rhett Rakhshani (2a) also had multi point games for Bridgeport.

Bridgeport recently snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over Norfolk on Saturday night.

Bridgeport has a record of 6-9-0-0 through 15 games. Jesse Joensuu and Rob Hisey are tied for the team lead in scoring with 11 points each.

--FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2010 - SPRINGFIELD FALCONS VS. CONNECTICUT WHALE--

The Springfield Falcons and Connecticut Whale meet for the first time since the name change from Hartford Wolf Pack to Connecticut Whale. The Falcons are 3-0 against Hartford this season with all three contests being decided by one goal and two of the contests being decided in either overtime or a shootout.

The most recent meeting occurred on November 13 with the Falcons winning that contest 4-3 in a shootout. Former Hartford captain Dane Byers scored the shootout clinching goal for the Falcons. Mike Blunden tied the game late in regulation for Springfield while Matt Calvert and Maksim Mayorov also scored for the Falcons.

Mike Blunden (2g,2a) and John Moore (1g,3a) lead the Falcons in scoring against Hartford this year. Falcons goaltender David LeNeveu is 3-0 with a 1.91 goals against average and .933 save percentage against Hartford this year.

Jeremy Williams leads Hartford in scoring against Springfield this year with two goals and one assist for three points. Kris Newbury is tied with Williams for the team lead in scoring against the Falcons with one goal and two assists.

--SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2010 - SPRINGFIELD FALCONS AT SYRACUSE CRUNCH-

The Springfield Falcons conclude their season series with the Syracuse Crunch when these two teams get together for the second time on Saturday night. The Falcons defeated the Crunch 3-2 in a shootout back on November 5.

This game marks the return of many former Crunch players who played in Syracuse leading up to this season including: Nick Holden, Jonathan Sigalet, Tyler Murovich, Mike Blunden, Grant Clitsome, Tomas Kana, Maksim Mayorov, Steven Goertzen, Trevor Frischmon, Kyle Neuber, Tom Sestito, Michael Ratchuk, and Brent Regner.

Syracuse is currently led in scoring by rookie Nicolas Deschamps with seven goals and three assists for 10 points in 14 games. Syracuse continues to receive solid goaltending from J.P. Levasseur and rookie Timo Pielmeier. Levasseur is 2-3-1 with a 2.31 goals against average and .932 save percentage, while Pielmeier has a record of 4-3-1 with a 2.49 goals against average and .926 save percentage.

Syracuse on the season has a record of 6-5-1-2 good for 15 points and sixth place in the East Division.

--SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2010 - SPRINGFIELD FALCONS AT WORCESTER SHARKS-

The Falcons and Worcester Sharks meet for the first time this season. Worcester is currently playing some very good hockey winning three of their last four games and overall they are 5-1-0-1 in their last seven games heading into this week.

Jonathan Cheechoo leads Worcester in scoring with five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in 14 games. Benn Ferriero leads the Sharks in goals with nine and is second in scoring with 13 points in 12 games. Goaltender Alex Stalock has been the workhorse between the pipes playing in 12 games and posting a mark of 5-5-1 with a 2.86 goals against average and .897 save percentage.

LAST WEEK'S GAME RECAPS

---SPRINGFIELD VS. PORTLAND, NOVEMBER 10 - L - 4-2---

November 10, 2010 - The Springfield Falcons and Portland Pirates once again played a very competitive hockey game with the Pirates skating away with a 4-2 win at the MassMutual Center. Ben Guite, who was named captain earlier in the day, scored his first goal of the year and Tom Sestito also converted for Springfield.

The Falcons came out and played a very strong first period outshooting the Pirates 11-6, including registering the first seven shots on goal in the game. Springfield ended up on a five-on-three power play when Portland's Colin Stuart and Derek Whitmore were whistled for back-to-back tripping penalties midway through the first period, but the Falcons couldn't get one past Portland goaltender David Leggio.

After a scoreless opening frame, the Falcons opened the scoring at 6:08 of the second period when Guite took a perfect pass from Matt Calvert for Guite's first marker of the year. With the Falcons leading 1-0, it was Portland's turn to go one a five-on-three man advantage and Mark Mancari took advantage at 7:38 of the middle frame when he scored his eighth goal of the year.

Later on in the second period, it was Mancari again generating offense as this time he found rookie Luke Adam at the far post and Adam one-timed his 11th goal of the year to the back of the net at 12:25 of the second period putting the Pirates up 2-1.

The Falcons ended up again on the power play at 15:40 of the second period when Portland's Maxime Legault was given a major penalty for a check to the head of Springfield's Matt Calvert. During the major penalty, another scrum broke out around the Pirates goal with Mike Blunden and Travis Turnbull dropping the gloves.

Trailing 2-1 entering the third period, Portland expanded their lead to 3-1 when Jacob Lagace scored his first pro goal, but Springfield's Sestito would cut the Falcons' deficit to 3-2 late in the third period. Turnbull added an empty net goal for Portland giving the Pirates a 4-2 advantage.

FALCONS LINEUP

Tom Sestito - Michael Blunden - Chad Kolarik

Matt Calvert - Ben Guite - Tomas Kubalik

Michael Ryan - Trevor Frischmon - Steven Goertzen

Tomas Kana - Tyler Murovich - Maksim Mayorov

John Moore - Nate Guenin

Grant Clitsome - Nick Holden

Jonathan Sigalet - Cody Goloubef

David LeNeveu

Gustaf Wesslau

Not Dressed: Kyle Neuber (Injured), Michael Ratchuk, Theo Ruth, David Savard, Brent Regner, Steven Delisle

---SPRINGFIELD AT HARTFORD, NOVEMBER 13 - W - 4-3 (SO)---

November 13, 2010 - Newly acquired forward Dane Byers and Tomas Kubalik converted in the shootout, while Falcons goaltender David LeNeveu stopped all four shooters he faced in leading Springfield to a 4-3 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday night. The Falcons improved their record to 8-5-0-1 on the season and have taken over second place in the Atlantic Division standings.

Before the game headed to extra time, the Falcons used a late third period goal to rally from a one-goal deficit in the final frame. The Falcons took a 2-1 lead heading into the final 20 minutes, but former Falcon Chad Kolarik tied the score at 2-2 when he scored his first goal as a member of the Wolf Pack at 7:51 of the third period. The Wolf Pack took their first lead of the game at 13:36 of the final stanza when Jeremy Williams scored his eighth goal of the year, but Springfield's Mike Blunden evened the score at 3-3 with his team leading eighth goal of the year at 15:35 of the final period.

The Falcons took their first lead of the night just 3:38 into the first period when Matt Calvert scored on the power play giving Springfield a 1-0 advantage. Williams scored his first goal of the night just 1:49 into the second period tying the score at 1-1, but Maksim Mayorov's quick wrist shot beat Hartford goaltender Cameron Talbot at 16:23 of the middle period.

GAME NOTES

Like all Springfield and Hartford games, there was some strong physical play by both teams. Late in the second period, Tyler Murovich, Tomas Kana and Nick Tarnasky all got involved with Kris Newbury, Wade Redden and Tomas Kundratek from Hartford. Kundratek and Kana dropped the gloves again late in the second period.

Just 48 hours after the Dane Byers and Chad Kolarik trade, both players had an impact against their former clubs. Byers collected one assist and the clinching goal in the shootout. Kolarik scored a third period goal, but was denied in the shootout.

FALCONS LINEUP

Matt Calvert - Ben Guite - Tomas Kubalik

Dane Byers - Mike Blunden - Maksim Mayorov

Michael Ratchuk - Trevor Frischmon - Steven Goertzen

Nick Tarnasky - Tyler Murovich - Tomas Kana

Grant Clitsome - Theo Ruth

John Moore - Nate Guenin

Nick Holden - David Savard

David LeNeveu

Gustaf Wesslau

NOT DRESSED TONIGHT: Jonathan Sigalet, Kyle Neuber, Tom Sestito, Cody Goloubef, Brent Regner, Michael Ryan

---SPRINGFIELD AT MANCHESTER, NOVEMBER 14 - L - 4-2---

November 14, 2010 - The Springfield Falcons lost to the Manchester Monarchs 4-2 on Sunday afternoon at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, NH. The Monarchs used three third period goals to erase a 2-1 Falcons lead and rally for the victory. The Falcons will now get ready to host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Tuesday night at the MassMutual Center.

The Falcons penalty killing units had a very busy day as they were able to defend nine of 10 shorthanded situations, while the Falcons went 0-2 on the man advantage. Despite being shorthanded five times in the first period, it was the Falcons that had the lead after the opening frame as Matt Calvert scored a shorthanded marker at 12:07 of the first period.

"It was tough, you end up using a lot of the same guys to kill penalties and it caught up with us late in the game," said Falcons head coach Rob Riley. "Matt (Calvert) is a very good player, he was able to jump on a lose puck and made a nice play on his goal."

In the second period, the Falcons built a 2-0 lead when Ben Guite scored his second goal of the year at 8:02. At 11:39 of the second period, Manchester cut into their deficit when Bud Holloway converted making it a 2-1 Springfield lead after two periods.

In the third period, Manchester continued to end up with power play opportunities and at 10:18 of the final frame, Holloway scored his second marker of the game on the man advantage evening the score at 2-2. Manchester took their first lead of the game at 16:42 of the third period when Andrei Loktionov scored his second goal of the game putting the Monarchs on top 3-2.

With Gustaf Wesslau pulled for the extra attacker after stopping 37 of 40 shots, Manchester's Oscar Moller added an empty net goal ending the scoring for the night.

GAME NOTES

Matt Calvert extended his scoring streak to five games having collected five goals and two assists in that span.

FALCONS LINEUP

Matt Calvert - Ben Guite - Tomas Kubalik

Dane Byers - Mike Blunden - Maksim Mayorov

Nick Tarnasky - Trevor Frischmon - Steven Goertzen

Michael Ratchuk - Tyler Murovich

Grant Clitsome - Theo Ruth

John Moore - Nate Guenin

Nick Holden - David Savard

Jonathan Sigalet

Gustaf Wesslau

David LeNeveu

NOT DRESSED TONIGHT: Tomas Kana, Kyle Neuber, Tom Sestito, Cody Goloubef, Brent Regner, Michael Ryan

PLAYER NOTES:

Rookie defenseman

John Moore has collected at least a point in six of his last seven games registering one goal and seven assists for eight points in that span. Moore picked up his first two-assist game on November 14 at Manchester. Moore now leads all Springfield defensemen in scoring with one goal and seven assists for eight points in 15 games.

Matt Calvert extended his scoring streak to five games having collected five goals and two assists in that span. Calvert is now second on the team in goals with seven and overall is third in scoring with 12 points in 15 games.

Ben Guite was named captain on November 10 and he has two goals and one assist in his last three games played. Guite played in his 500th career AHL game on November 10.

Tomas Kubalik has collected at least a point in four of his last six games recording one goal and three assists in that span. Kubalik scored in the shootout on November 13 and is a perfect two for two in the shootout this year.

Dane Byers made his Falcons debut on November 13 at Hartford and collected one assist and scored the game-clinching goal in the shootout win.

Nick Tarnasky made his return to Springfield on November 13 after signing a PTO contract on November 11. Tarnasky is in his seventh professional season and returns to Springfield after having played with the Falcons from 2004-2006 where he collected 21 goals, 19 assists, 40 points and 276 penalty minutes in 148 games.

TRANSACTIONS

11-9-10 - Springfield Falcons release Tom Cavanagh from Professional Tryout Agreement.

11-11-10 - Springfield Falcons sign Nick Tarnasky to a Professional Tryout Agreement.

11-11-10 - Springfield Falcons release goaltender Dan Taylor from Professional Tryout Agreement.

11-11-10 - Columbus Blue Jackets recall Chad Kolarik from the Springfield Falcons.

11-11-10 - Columbus Blue Jackets assign Dane Byers to the Springfield Falcons.

11-11-10 - Columbus Blue Jackets recall Mike Blunden from the Springfield Falcons.

11-12-10 - Columbus Blue Jackets assign Steven Delisle to the Central Hockey League's Fort Wayne Comets.

11-13-10 - Columbus Blue Jackets assign Mike Blunden to the Springfield Falcons.



American Hockey League Stories from November 15, 2010


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