Playoff Push Continues - Falcons Host Sound Tigers Tonight

Published on February 16, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


The Springfield Falcons and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers meet for the eighth time this season when they get together on Wednesday night at the MassMutual Center. The Falcons are 5-1-0-1 this season against the Sound Tigers including a 3-0-0-0 record at The Nest. The Falcons have won the last three meetings against the Sound Tigers dating back to December 17th.

The Falcons currently sit eight points ahead of the seventh place Sound Tigers in the Atlantic Division. The Falcons are seven points out of third place, the last guaranteed playoff spot in the division. Springfield begins a four-game home stand this week. All four games are within the Atlantic Division.

Bridgeport will be looking to snap their nine-game losing streak in Springfield. Falcons forward Dane Byers leads the team with six goals, four assists, and 10 points against Bridgeport this year with eight of those points coming as a member of the Falcons. Goaltender David LeNeveu has started five of the seven games against Bridgeport this season recording a 3.37 goals against average and a .883 save percentage. Gustaf Wesslau has spent two games between the pipes against Bridgeport leaving with two wins, a 2.00 goals against average and a .931 save percentage.

Bridgeport rookie Rhett Rakhshani leads the offense against Springfield this year with two goals and eight assists in five games. Justin DiBenedetto has three goals and one assist this year in just three games against the Falcons.

Rakhshani is tied for second in rookie points with 34 this season, recording 10 goals and 24 assists in 42 games this season, but he has missed the last five games for Bridgeport. DiBenedetto has recorded three goals in his last five games. The Sound Tigers are 11-0-0-0 when they are leading after two periods.

MOORE BACK WITH THE FALCONS: On Tuesday, the Columbus Blue Jackets assigned defenseman John Moore to the Springfield Falcons. Moore, 20, appeared in one game with Columbus after his recall on February 3, making his NHL debut vs. Edmonton on February 5. He has tallied three goals and 15 assists for 18 points and 12 penalty minutes in 47 games with Springfield this season, which is his first as a professional. At the time of his recall, he led all Falcons defensemen in assists and points (tied) and represented the club at the 2011 AHL All-Star Classic.

The 6-3, 200-pound native of Winnetka, Illinois was the Blue Jackets' first pick, 21st overall, in the 2009 Entry Draft. He spent the 2009-10 season with the Ontario Hockey League's Kitchener Rangers, where he led all club defensemen in scoring with 10-37-47 in 61 games and was named to the OHL's Western Conference All-Star Team. He also added 4-12-16 in 20 playoff games to help Kitchener advance to the OHL's Western Conference Final. He played two seasons with Chicago of the United States Hockey League from 2007-09, registering 18-36-54 and 76 penalty minutes in 113 games and was named USHL Defenseman of the Year in 2008-09.

FALCONS PLAYER/TEAM NOTES:

Ben Guite has goals in back to back games entering this week's action.

Dane Byers played in his 300th pro game on February 12.

Trevor Frischmon played in his 300th AHL game on February 13.

Maksim Mayorov collected two goals and two assists in three games last week.

Tom Sestito had four assists in three games last week.

The Falcons scored a season high eight goals on February 12 and it was the franchise's highest goal output in a game since December 30, 1999 when Springfield scored 14 on the same Providence Bruins at the old Springfield Civic Center.

Kyle Wilson added two goals and three assists in three games this past weekend. Wilson has six goals and six assists for 12 points in 10 games.

Trevor Smith scored a pair of goals on February 12 earning the game's second star.

Rookie Tomas Kubalik has taken over the team lead in scoring with 17 goals and 19 assists for 36 points in 52 games. Kubalik also leads the team in shootout goals this year converting on four of five attempts. Kubalik is currently tied for the AHL lead in rookie scoring.

SOUND TIGERS NOTES: The New York Islanders announced Monday that they have returned Mikko Koskinen to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League.

Koskinen, 22, appeared in four games for the Islanders during his first career NHL call-up. The Vantaa, Finland native went 2-1-0 over the four games with a 4.33 goals against average and a .873 save percentage. Koskinen returns to the Sound Tigers where he has five wins on the season with the Sound Tigers.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from February 16, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central