Falcons Weekly
December 4, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release
WEEK IN REVIEW (2-1-0-0):
NOVEMBER 29 Springfield-3 at Bridgeport-4
NOVEMBER 30 Springfield-3 vs. Binghamton-0
DECEMBER 1 Springfield-2 at Lowell-1
THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
DECEMBER 6 Springfield vs. Syracuse 7:35 PM Springfield Civic Center
DECEMBER 7 Springfield vs. Manitoba 7:35 PM Springfield Civic Center
THIS WEEK'S GAME CAPSULES
---FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2002 VS. SYRACUSE CRUNCH---
The Springfield Falcons and Syracuse Crunch will meet for the first time this season when they face off on Friday at the Springfield Civic Center. The Falcons last met Syracuse on February 9, 2001 at the Springfield Civic Center with the game ending in a 3-3 tie. The Falcons have an all-time record of 11-5-5-1 against the Crunch. Syracuse is currently in fifth place in the Central Division with an 8-10-1 record for 17 points. Syracuse has lost their last three games. David Ling leads the team in scoring with 22 points, four goals and 18 assists. His 18 assists are the third most in the AHL. Mathieu Darche leads the team in goals with nine and power play goals with four. Andrej Nedorost is second in goals with five and tied for third in points with 10 with Duvie Westcott, one goal and nine assists. Ling leads the team in penalty minutes with 57. Trent Cull is second in penalty minutes with 55. Karl Goehring leads the AHL in goaltending with a 1.43 GAA, a .950 save percentage, and four shutouts. Pascal Leclaire has a 4.06 GAA with a .883 save percentage. Syracuse has the 23rd ranked power play in the AHL scoring on 12.9 percent of their power play opportunities. Syracuse is ranked 6th in the AHL in penalty killing, killing 86.7 percent of their shorthanded situations.
---SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2002 VS. MANITOBA MOOSE---
The Springfield Falcons will meet the Manitoba Moose for the third time this season when they face off on Saturday night at the Springfield Civic Center. The Falcons are 1-1 against the Moose this season, with both games being played in Winnipeg. Manitoba is currently in second place in the Canadian Division with a 10-10-3 record for 23 points. Manitoba has dropped their last two games. Ryan Ready leads the team in points with 22, 11 goals and 11 assists, and is third in the AHL in power play goals with seven. Steve Kariya, Zenith Komarniski, and Jason King are tied for second on the team in goals with eight each. King is second on the team and third among AHL Rookies in power play goals with four. Brandon Reid leads the team in assists with 14. Tyler Bouck leads the team in penalty minutes with 60. Nathan Smith is second on the team in penalty minutes with 49. Goaltender Alex Auld has a 3.06 GAA and a .898 save percentage. Goaltender Tyler Moss has a 3.29 GAA and a .891 save percentage. Manitoba is tied for the 14th ranked power play in the AHL, scoring on 16.9 percent of their power play opportunities. Manitoba is 25th in the AHL in penalty killing, killing 80.5 percent of their shorthanded situations. Manitoba won the first ever game between the two teams 6-4 back on October 25, 2002. Brandon Reid scored two early goals in the first period to give the Moose an early 2-0 advantage. Ramzi Abid would score 3:17 after Reid's second goal to make it a 2-1 contest before Ryan Ready and Darrell Hay scored just 2:07 apart to give the Moose a 4-1 lead. Darren Rumble would score with 31 seconds left in the period to make it a 4-2 game after the first period. Zenith Komarniski scored the only goal of the second period for the Moose to give them a 5-2 lead going into the third period. Jeff Taffe and Boyd Kane scored 1:05 apart in the third period to make it a 5-4 game until Jimmy Roy scored an empty net goal to give the Moose a 6-4 win. Springfield would win the following night 3-1 for the teams first road win of the season. Steve Kariya opened the scoring in the first period and Erik Westrum would answer on the power play for the Falcons, making it a 1-1 game after the first period. Westrum would score again on the power play in the second period to give the Falcons a 2-1 lead. Martin Cibak would add an empty net goal to give the Falcons a 3-1 win. Zac Bierk made 48 saves for the Falcons and was named the games first star.
PLAYER/TEAM NOTABLES:
Ramzi Abid leads the Falcons in scoring with 13 goals and nine assists for 22 points.
Ramzi Abid is tied for the AHL lead in power play goals with eight.
Alexander Svitov scored a power play goal on 11/29/02 after being reassigned to the Falcons.
Evgeny Konstantinov made 21 saves in recording his first pro shutout on 11/30/02 against Binghamton.
Evgeny Konstantinov made 21 saves in recording his second straight win on 12/1/02 against Lowell. Konstantinov finished last week with a 1.13 goals against average and .945 save percentage.
Jeff Taffe had a four-game scoring streak snapped on 11/30/02 against Binghamton.
Rob Murray tied a season high with two assists on 11/30/02 against Binghamton. Murray is now tied with Jean-Guy Trudel for the Falcons all-time lead in assists with 152.
Jason Bonsignore has two goals and one assist in his last three games played.
Martin Grenier is sixth in the AHL in penalty minutes with 95.
Darren Rumble is tied for the AHL lead in scoring among defensemen with 21 points, four goals and 17 assists.
TRANSACTIONS:
11-27-02 â Falcons recall defenseman Harlan Pratt from Pensacola of the ECHL.
11-27-02 â Tampa Bay Lightning reassign left wing Ryan Tobler to the Chicago Wolves.
11-27-02 â Tampa Bay Lightning reassign forward Alexander Svitov to Springfield.
11-30-02 â Springfield recalls goaltender Colin Zulianello from Augusta of the ECHL.
NEXT THREE HOME GAMES:
Friday December 6 vs. Syracuse 7:35 PM
Saturday December 7 vs. Manitoba 7:35 PM
Friday December 13 vs. St. John's 7:35 PM
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