DESLAURIERS AND POULIOT LEAD FALCONS IN WIN

April 5, 2008 - The Springfield Falcons kept their playoff hopes alive on Saturday night beating the Binghamton Senators 5-2 at the Broome County Arena.  The Falcons conclude their road trip in Worcester on Sunday remaining seven points behind the Manchester Monarchs. 

The Falcons were led by a pair of players who didn't arrive in Binghamton until about four hours prior to game time.  Both goaltender Jeff Deslauriers and center Marc Pouliot checked into the team hotel around 3 PM on Saturday, but both players stepped up in a big way for Springfield.  Deslauriers was the third star making 38 saves, while Pouliot was the first star collecting three points.

The Falcons started strong when they opened the scoring at 1:40 of the first period when Viacheslav Trukhno converted on a perfect pass from Pouliot.  The Falcons expanded their lead to 2-0 at 17:10 of the opening frame when Tim Sestito scored his seventh goal of the season, followed by Pouliot's 21st marker of the year just 34-seconds after Sestito's goal putting Springfield on top 3-0 through 20 minutes.

The two teams exchanged goals in the second period as Rob Schremp converted on the power play at 13:17 of the middle frame giving Springfield a 4-0 lead, but the Senators answered back at 15:37 of the second period when Greg Mauldin scored a shorthanded marker.

The Falcons expanded their lead to 5-1 when Stephen Werner tallied a shorthanded marker at 4:23 of the third period, but Binghamton center Josh Hennessy got one back for the Senators at 8:55 of the final frame.

GAME NOTES

Rookie Bryan Lerg made his pro debut Saturday night.

Viacheslav Trukhno left the game late in the first period and didn't return.

Springfield's Tim Sestito and Binghamton's Denis Hamel each received fighting majors and game misconducts late in the second period.

The game featured a combined 119 penalty minutes with the Falcons receiving 13 power play opportunities.

The Falcons set franchise records for most shots in a game with 51 and most shots in a period when they took 24 shots in the third period.

FALCONS LINEUP

Schremp - Pouliot - Trukhno
Potulny - Reddox - McDonald
Werner - Sestito - Bodie
Simon - Lerg

Peckham - Anderson
Young - Wild
Kemp - Rourke

Deslauriers
Dubnyk

FALCONS SCRATCHES - Bryan Pitton (Healthy), T.J. Reynolds (Injured), Rick Berry (Injured), Mike Gabinet (Injured), Brad Farynuk (Healthy), Jonas Almtorp (Healthy), Stephane Goulet (Healthy), Ryan O'Marra (Healthy), Jean-Francois Jacques (Injured), Bryan Ewing (Healthy)

PRE-GAME NOTES

The Springfield Falcons arrived in Binghamton late Friday night following their game in Wilkes-Barre looking to rebound from a tough defeat suffered against the Penguins.  The Falcons did receive some good news on Saturday as it was announced that both Marc Pouliot and Jeff Deslauriers are expected to join the Falcons in Binghamton.

The Falcons continue to need wins to keep their playoff hopes alive.  They are now seven points behind the Manchester Monarchs with just five games remaining in the regular season.  The team skated at the Broome County Arena on Saturday morning and the focus remains simple for the guys in blue and that message is to just find ways to get victories.

The Falcons will be facing a Senators team on Saturday that is also fighting for playoff positioning as Binghamton remains two points behind the Hershey Bears for fourth place in the East Division.  The Senators are 5-2-2-1 in their last 10 games and Binghamton will be looking to even the season series with the Falcons at one win apiece. 

PRE-GAME NOTES

Grant Potulny said hello to some familiar faces around the Broome County Arena on Saturday.  Potulny played three seasons with the Senators from 2004-2007.

The Frozen Four, which continues next weekend, was open for discussion during the morning skate.  Recently signed rookie Bryan Lerg was a member of the National Championship team at Michigan State last year and he just recently finished his college career.  Boston University is also represented on the Falcons roster by Bryan Ewing, while Colin McDonald and Cody Wild represent Providence College.  Brad Farynuk played college hockey at R.P.I. and Stephen Werner is a UMass-Amherst Alumni.  Falcons veteran Ben Simon played his college hockey at Notre Dame, who is in the Frozen Four this year.  Before turning pro Grant Potulny played at the University of Minnesota, while Harlan Anderson recently concluded an impressive career at the University of Alberta.