Sports stats



Wolf Pack and B-Sens visit Falcons this weekend

November 16, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release


Springfield, Mass. – Home games against the Hartford Wolf Pack and Binghamton Senators highlight Week 6 for the Springfield Falcons (3-9-1-1, 8 pts). The Falcons begin the upcoming three-game weekend with a visit to face the Providence Bruins on Friday. The club will host the second-place Wolf Pack in the third meeting between the I-91 rivals this season, the first in Springfield. The Falcons will play their first interdivisional game of the season on Sunday when the Senators make their only appearance of the 2004-05 campaign.

A 4-2 win over a red-hot Worcester IceCats' team on Saturday evening highlighted last weekend for the Falcons. RW Shane Willis scored two goals as the Falcons became the first team to beat the IceCats in regulation in the club's last nine games. Springfield also came out on the short end of a pair of games against the Manchester Monarchs, who lead the entire American Hockey League with an 11-1-0-0 record this season.

Week in Review (1-2-0-0):

Falcons – 0 vs. Manchester – 2

Friday, November 12

The Falcons outshot the Monarchs, 32-19, but were not able to score on Manchester G Mathieu Garon. C Michael Cammalleri and RW Tom Kostopoulos each scored in the first period to provide the goals for the Monarchs. G Jamie Storr made 17 saves in the Springfield net. The Falcons posted 17 shots in the third period while limiting the Monarchs to three. The game marked the third shutout of the season for Garon to take over the AHL lead.

SOG: 32 SOGA: 19 PP: 0-for-5 PK: 5-for-5

Falcons – 4 at Worcester – 2

Saturday, November 13

Goals by forwards Nikita Alexeev, Shane Willis, and Evgeni Artukhin in the first period pushed the Falcons to a 3-0 lead. LW Erkki Rajamaki's second goal of the season cut the Springfield lead to 3-2 with 8:29 remaining to play. However, Willis sealed the game with an empty net goal with seven second left to play. Storr stopped 40 of 42 shots to collect his third win of the season. Falcons D Brian Chapman registered two assists in the win.

SOG: 23 SOGA: 42 PP: 1-for-5 PK: 5-for-5

Falcons – 1 at Manchester – 6

Sunday, November 14

C Yannick Lehoux took over the lead in the AHL scoring race with two goals in the Monarchs' victory. Linemates Dustin Brown and Cammalleri recorded a goal and an assist apiece for Manchester. D Andreas Holmqvist scored the sole Falcons' goal in the third period. G Brian Eklund stopped 14 of 16 shots after replacing Storr in the Springfield net in the second frame. The win was Manchester's 11th in 12 games this season and improved the Monarchs' home record to 6-0.

SOG: 22 SOGA: 28 PP: 0-for-4 PK: 6-for-7

Team Notes: Willis's two goals in Saturday's win marked his second multi-goal game of the season.... Artukhin scored his fourth goal of the season on Saturday to surpass his total as an AHL rookie with Hershey last season.... Holmqvist's goal at Manchester on Sunday was the first of his AHL career.... Goaltender Jamie Storr leads the AHL in saves with 342 this season.... Center Jarrod Skalde's next point will be the 450th of his AHL career.... Chapman registered three assists over the weekend for his first points as a Falcon.... C Craig Darby leads Springfield in assists with eight for the campaign.... The Falcons leading goal-scorer C Ryan Craig has scored four of his five goals in the first period of games this season.... The Falcons are now 2-1-1-1 on Fridays this season following the 2-0 home loss to Manchester that began last weekend.

Roster Update: RW Nikita Alexeev returned to the Falcons' lineup on Friday against Manchester after missing seven games due to an injury suffered in Portland on Oct. 22. Alexeev scored his first goal of the season on Saturday to open scoring versus Worcester.... LW Mitch Fritz remains out of the Falcons' lineup with an injury.... D Gerard Dicaire is moving closer to returning to the team's lineup as he continues to rehabilitate from off-season surgery.

Upcoming Opponents:

Falcons at Providence Bruins

Friday, Nov. 19

The Falcons face the P-Bruins in the third of ten encounters this season between the clubs.... The teams have split their previous two meetings both of which have been at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence.... The Falcons carry an all-time record of 44-57-5 against the Bruins.... The P-Bruins won two out of three one-goal games last weekend. The team split a home-and-home series with Hartford.... Providence C Brad Boyes is tied for eighth in AHL scoring with 16 points (6g, 10a).... LW Andy Hilbert shares the league lead in power-play goals with five. Hilbert ranks second in the AHL with 58 shots on goal.... Bruins G Hannu Toivonen made 47 saves in a 3-2 loss to Hartford on Saturday to match Storr for the most in an AHL game this season. Storr stopped 47 of 50 shots in a 3-1 loss to the Wolf Pack on Oct. 24.... Toivonen ranks eighth in the league in save percentage (SV%) at .937 and is tied for 10th in goals against average (GAA) at 2.06.... The Bruins acquired D Darrel Scoville from Hershey in exchange for RW Carl Corazzini yesterday.... Providence ranks third in the AHL in overall power-play success (22.2%) and second in the league in home games (25.9%).

Falcons vs. Hartford Wolf Pack

Saturday, Nov. 20

The Falcons meet the Wolf Pack for the first Springfield match-up of the campaign.... The clubs have squared-off twice in Hartford this season with the Wolf Pack winning both contests.... The Falcons own a record of 28-40-6 in the all-time series.... The Wolf Pack have dropped three of their last four games after winning their first nine games of the season.... Hartford is 3-1-0-0 on the road.... Wolf Pack goaltenders Steve Valiquette (1.42) and Jason LaBarbera (1.49) rank second and third in the AHL in GAA.... Hartford blue liner Craig Weller has scored all four of his goals since Nov. 6 and now shares the league lead in goals by defensemen.... The Wolf Pack assigned defensemen Fedor Tyutin and Maxim Kondratiev to Russian teams on Saturday. The club also assigned D Steve MacIntyre to the Charlotte Checkers and recalled blue liners Jake Taylor and David Liffiton from the ECHL club over the weekend.... Second-year center Dominic Moore leads Hartford in points (11) and plus/minus (+7).

Falcons vs. Binghamton Senators

Sunday, Nov. 21

The Falcons will host the B-Sens in the first of two meetings this season.... The Senators provide the first non-Atlantic Division opponent of the season for the Falcons.... Springfield is 5-5-0 all-time against the third-year Senators.... Binghamton collected victories in a shootout and in overtime while winning two of three games last weekend.... The Senators are 1-3-0-0 in road games this season.... C Jason Spezza, the second overall selection in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, leads Binghamton and is tied for sixth in the AHL in scoring with 17 points (6g, 11a). Spezza is riding a six-game point streak, posting nine points over that span.... The Sens have outshot their opponents in 10 of their 14 games this season.... Binghamton LW Brandon Bochenski is tied for fifth in scoring among league rookies with nine points (4g, 5a).... Binghamton goaltenders Ray Emery and Billy Thompson have each recorded a GAA of 2.98 this season.

Upcoming Promotions:

Big Y Thanksgiving Celebration – Saturday, Nov. 20: Fans can receive a $3 discount on a ticket to Saturday's game against Hartford at the Civic Center box office with a Big Y Express Savings Card.

Holiday Inn $99 Deal – The Holiday Inn in downtown Springfield is offering an overnight room along with two tickets to any Falcons' game for just $99. The Holiday Inn in Downtown Springfield offers its guests a full-service restaurant and lounge, an indoor heated pool, bakery express, a business center, a fitness center, free parking, and Kids Eat Free! For further information on the terrific $99 special, please contact the Holiday Inn at (413) 781-0900 or click on the Holiday Inn banner on the Falcons official team web site, www.falconsahl.com.

Radio Broadcasts: Tune into The ZONE – Sports Radio 640 to hear all three Falcons' games this weekend. Voice of the Falcons Marc Shelanski calls the action. The pregame show begins 30 minutes prior to the opening face-off. Sunday's contest will be broadcast its entirety following NFL football. Fans can also listen to broadcasted games live on the Internet by clicking on the MassLive.com Cybercast icon on the Falcons official web site, www.falconsahl.com.

Tickets:

Tickets for all Falcons' home games can be ordered in person or by phone through the Springfield Civic Center box office located along East Court Street. To order by phone, please call (413) 787-6600 or (800) 639-8602. Tickets can also be ordered online by visiting the Falcons' official web site, www.falconsahl.com. Groups of 15 or more can receive discount savings by contacting the Falcons' team office at (413) 739-3344. Group tickets must be ordered in advance.

This Week's Game Schedule:

Fri., Nov. 19 Falcons at Providence Bruins 7:05 PM Dunkin' Donuts Center The ZONE

Sat., Nov. 20 Falcons vs. Hartford Wolf Pack 7:05 PM Springfield Civic Center The ZONE

Sun., Nov. 21 Falcons vs. Binghamton Senators 4:05 PM Springfield Civic Center The ZONE

• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...

American Hockey League Stories from November 16, 2004


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.

Other Recent Springfield Falcons Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central