Falcons weekly update

November 22, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


WEEK IN REVIEW

NOVEMBER 18 Springfield 5, Albany 3 at Springfield

NOVEMBER 19 Springfield 4, Bridgeport 3 at Bridgeport

NOVEMBER 20 Binghamton 1, Springfield 0 at Springfield

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE

NOVEMBER 23 Springfield vs. Lowell Lock Monsters 7:05 PM at MassMutual Center

NOVEMBER 25 Springfield at Lowell Lock Monsters 7:35 PM at Tsongas Arena

NOVEMBER 26 Springfield vs. Manchester Monarchs 7:05 PM at MassMutual Center

NOVEMBER 27 Springfield vs. Portland Pirates 4:05 PM at MassMutual Center

*Radio Broadcasts on WMAS 1450AM

*Watch Live on the B-2 Network

THIS WEEK'S GAME PREVIEWS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2OO5 VS. LOWELL LOCK MONSTERS

The Falcons will seek for redemption when they host the Lowell Lock Monsters on Wednesday night. The two teams met earlier in the season at the MassMutual Center on October 28 and the Lock Monsters took home a 7-3 victory. Jim Campbell, Norm Milley and Mitch Fritz scored for the Falcons that night. Brian Eklund was in goal for the Falcons that night and posted 39 saves. The Lock Monsters are coming off a

1-1-0-1 weekend. They defeated the Manchester Monarchs in a 12 round shoot out on Saturday in Manchester. However, the tables were turned when the Lock Monsters were defeated at home by the Monarchs in overtime on Sunday. The Lock Monsters also lost to the Portland Pirates on Friday, November 18. The Lock Monsters are currently 4-4 on the road this season. Keith Aucoin continues to lead Lowell in scoring with nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points in 19 games. Chad Larose is also tied for the team lead in goals, while Colin Forbes is tied for the club lead in assists with 12. Goaltender Vitaly Kolesnik has started 14 of Lowell's 19 games and has a record of 8-6-0 with a 2.77 goals against average and .917 save percentage.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2005 AT LOWELL LOCK MONSTERS

On Friday, the Falcons will travel to Lowell for the first time this season. This will be the third match up of the season and the second in three days. The Lock Monsters are currently third in the Atlantic Division with a record of 9-7-1-2. The Lock Monsters are ranked first in the AHL with a 90.9% penalty killing percentage.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2005 VS. MANCHESTER MONARCHS

The Falcons will host the Monarchs for the second time this season. The last time the Monarchs were in Springfield was on November 10 when the Falcons were defeated 6-5, in a shootout. Scoring for the Falcons in that game were Jason Jaspers, Ryan Craig, Norm Milley, Nick Tarnasky and Adam Henrich. Brian Eklund was in goal for the Falcons and he finished with 29 saves. In the last game, the Falcons had a 4-1 lead heading into the third period and the Monarchs were able to chip away and forced overtime. Noah Clarke scored the only goal in the shootout for Manchester. Veteran Brad Smyth leads Manchester in scoring with seven goals and 13 assists for 20 points in 15 games. Jeff Tambellini, who scored two goals in the first meeting of the season, leads the Monarchs in goals with 11. The Monarchs went 2-0-0-1 this weekend with victories over Lowell and Providence. Their only loss was to the Lock Monsters in a 12-round shootout. The Monarchs are ranked second in the Atlantic Division with a record of 10-3-0-2.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2005 VS. PORTLAND PIRATES

The Falcons will host the Pirates for the second time this season. This is the third match up of the season between these two teams. The Pirates were at Springfield for opening night and were defeated by Springfield 4-2. Ryan Craig, Jim Campbell, Paul Ranger and Evgeny Artyukhin all scored for the Falcons in that victory. In their last match up on November 11, the Pirates defeated the Falcons 5-1. Campbell had the only goal in the game for the Falcons. The Pirates are currently in first place in the Atlantic Division with a 13-4-0-0 record. The Pirates are on a four game winning streak after this weekend's play. Their last win came over the Wolf Pack on Sunday. The Pirates won the game, 5-3, with goals from Zenon Konopka (2), Tim Brent, Dustin Penner and Simon Ferguson. The Pirates last loss came on November 12 when they were shutout, 6-0, by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Rookie goaltender Nathan Marsters is undefeated in seven games for the Pirates and is third in the league with a .937 save percentage.

LAST WEEK'S GAME RECAPS

Game 1 - Albany at Springfield, November 18 - W 5-3

The Falcons rallied twice to defeat the River Rats, 5-3, at the MassMutual Center. Norm Milley had two goals for the Falcons in the game while Zbynek Hrdel, Marek Kvapil and Ryan Craig each added one goal. Kvapil's goal was his first professional goal, as Hrdel's goal was his first in a Falcons uniform. Gerald Coleman had 30 saves on the night. Ryan Vesce added three assists for the Falcons. Milley was named the game's first star while teammates Jason Jaspers and Brad Tiley were named the game's second and third stars. The Falcons were able to score on three power play opportunities and kept the River Rats scoreless on their seven power plays.

Game 2 - Springfield at Bridgeport, November 19 - W 4-3

Ryan Vesce scored twice and assisted once in the Falcons' 4-3 road victory over the Sound Tigers. Gerald Coleman was in goal for the Falcons and earned another victory with 28 saves. Mitch Fritz and Ryan Craig each added a goal for the Falcons. Fritz tied the game at 8:17 of the third period and Vesce scored the game winner less than a minute later. Each team scored one power play goal. Vesce was named the game's first star while Fritz earned the game's third star. The teams are now 1-1 in the season series.

Game 3 - Binghamton at Springfield, November 20 - L 1-0

The Falcons kept the Senators scoreless on five power play opportunities, but the Senators' second period goal was enough for the win. Patrick Eaves scored the game's lone goal at 7:50 of the second period. Brian Eklund was in goal for the Falcons and finished the game with 31 saves earning the game's second star. Jason Jaspers and Ryan Vesce each had four shots on goal, a team high for the Falcons. Binghamton's Kelly Guard finished the game with 21 saves in his second shutout of the season.

PLAYER NOTABLES:

Ryan Vesce had six points in three games for the Falcons this weekend.

Ryan Vesce had two goals and one assist including the game-winner in the Falcons' 4-3 victory over the Sound Tigers.

Norm Milley leads the team in goals with nine after he scored two in the Falcons' 5-3 victory over the River Rats.

Norm Milley is tied for fifth place in the league with seven power play goals in 17 games this season.

Ryan Vesce is tied for the AHL rookie scoring lead with 19 points this season.

Ryan Vesce leads the team in assists with 13 this season.

Marek Kvapil notched his first professional goal of his career in the Falcons' 5-3 victory over the River Rats.

TEAM NOTES:

The Falcons are eighth in the AHL with an 86.1 penalty killing percentage.

17 active players have tallied a point for the Falcons this season.

INJURY REPORT

Falcons forwards Steve McLaren and Jim Campbell missed games due to injury.

TRANSACTIONS

11/15/05: Springfield signs David Spina to a Professional Try-Out Agreement.

11/17/05: Springfield reassigns Jonathan Boutin and Gerard Dicaire to Johnstown.

COMMUNITY

FRIENDLY'S FAMILY FUN NIGHTS RETURN

The Springfield Falcons are pleased to announce Family Fun Nights at Friendly's. Falcons' players and Screech will be meeting with fans at area Friendly's restaurants. A portion of the event's sales will benefit Springfield Falcons Charities, Inc, the Official Charity of the Springfield Falcons. The dates are as follows:

Monday, November 28 65 Sumner Ave., Springfield, MA - Players TBD

Monday, December 12 430 Cooley St., Springfield, MA - Players TBD

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.

USED EQUIPMENT COLLECTION

The Falcons, #28 Brad Tiley, Reminder Publications and Sport-2-Sport have teamed up to collect used athletic equipment and deliver it to local children organizations in need. Please bring any used athletic equipment to the following games: Wednesday, November 23, 2005 vs. Lowell

In appreciation for your donation, the Falcons will give you a discount coupon for the November 28 game. Brad Tiley is the ambassador for this program and will be delivering the equipment and assisting in future collections during the season.

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.

TEDDY BEAR TOSS

Teddy Bear Pools and Spas is proud to sponsor the 2nd annual Teddy Bear Toss on Saturday, Dec. 10 against Manchester. Bring a bear and throw it on the ice during the first intermission. All bears will be donated to the American Red Cross Emergency Services.

HOLIDAY TOY COLLECTION

Kraft is once again sponsoring the Falcons Toy Collection to be collected at the Community Relations table behind Section 31 at the following Falcons games:

Sunday, December 4, 2005 vs. Albany

Friday, December 9, 2005 vs. Hartford

Saturday, December 10, 2005 vs. Manchester

Friday, Decemeber 16, 2005 vs. Portland

ON THE FARM - JOHNSTOWN CHIEFS

The Chiefs found their first two victories of the season this past weekend by defeating South Carolina, 4-1 and Toledo, 5-2. Justin Kelly had three goals and two assists over the weekend. Adam Henrich had two goals and Mike Egener had one during the two games. Jonathan Boutin and Morgan Cey each recorded a win in net for the Chiefs. Boutin had 29 saves against the Stingrays while Cey tallied 29 saves against the Storm. The Chiefs are still leading the league in call ups with seven. Johnstown will play Trenton twice this week (Nov. 23, Nov. 25) and Wheeling once (Nov. 26).



American Hockey League Stories from November 22, 2005


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