FALCONS FALL SHORT IN THE SHOOTOUT
March 13, 2009 - The Springfield Falcons once again faced one of the top teams in the American Hockey League and skated away with at least a point in the standings in a very competitive hockey game. The Falcons fell short losing 3-2 in a shootout to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Friday night in front of 3,101 at the MassMutual Center. Springfield has now taken three of a possible four points against the Eastern Conference's top two teams in back-to-back contests.
For the second straight game, the Falcons opened the scoring when Charles Linglet scored on the power play at 14:05 of the first period giving Springfield a 1-0 lead.
FALCONS AUDIO - Head Coach Rob Daum Recaps The Point
FALCONS AUDIO - Charles Linglet Recaps 2-Goal Night
The Falcons advantage help up until midway through the second period when Junior Lessard converted on the man advantage at 12:38 of the middle period tying the score at 1-1.
The game remained deadlocked into the third period until Jon Sim gave Bridgeport their first lead of the night when he scored his sixth marker of the year just 1:36 into the final stanza. Trailing late into the final period, Linglet struck again when he one-timed a perfect Gilbert Brule pass right past Sound Tigers goaltender Kris Mayotte evening the score at 2-2.
After a scoreless overtime, Brule opened the scoring in the shootout, but Bridgeport's Trevor Smith pulled the Sound Tigers even in round two. On Bridgeport's fifth and final shot in the shootout, Lessard wristed a shot past Falcons goaltender Dany Sabourin giving the Sound Tigers the extra point in the standings.
Sabourin was very steady in goal for the Falcons stopping 32 of 34 shots in 65 minutes of action.
THREE STARS
1. Sim - BGPT - 1 goal
2. Linglet - SPF - 2 goals
3. Sabourin - SPF - 32 saves
GAME NOTES
Shane Willis played in his 600th career pro game on Friday.
The Falcons are now 4-1 in the shootout at home this year and 6-3 overall.
FALCONS LINEUP
Schremp - Spurgeon - Trukhno
Huddy - Potulny - Willis
Stone - Brule - Linglet
Lefebvre - Paukovich - McDonald
Roy - Young
Wild - Chorney
Gabinet - Bina
Sabourin
Dubnyk
FALCONS SCRATCHES - Jake Taylor (Injured), Bryan Lerg (Injured), Tim Sestito (Injured), Stephane Goulet (Injured), Ryan O'Marra (Injured), Ryan Constant (Healthy), Hans Benson (Healthy)
GAME NIGHT NOTES………………
GAME SETUP: The Springfield Falcons and Bridgeport Sound Tigers meet for the third time this season when they go head-to-head at the MassMutual Center on Friday night. Tonight will also be the second and final time the Sound Tigers visit Springfield this year. Springfield beat Bridgeport in a shootout by a score of 3-2 back on February 21 at The Nest evening the season series at 1-1. The Sound Tigers defeated the Falcons 4-1 back on December 19 in the first meeting of the year between these two teams. Springfield heads to Bridgeport for the final time this year on April 10.
Ryan Stone has averaged a-point-a-game against the Sound Tigers this season collecting four assists in three games against Bridgeport while he was with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Stone picked up one assist against the Sound Tigers as a member of the Falcons on February 21. Rob Schremp has scored in each of the two games against Bridgeport this season leading the team with two goals against the Sound Tigers this campaign. Goaltender Dany Sabourin has a record of 1-0 with a 1.85 goals against average and .913 save percentage in one start against the Sound Tigers this year.
Bridgeport’s Trevor Smith is the club’s active leader in scoring against the Falcons this year with four assists in two games. Jeremy Colliton is next in line with a pair of assists in two games against Springfield.
The Falcons head into tonight’s action with momentum after recording an impressive 3-2 shootout win over the Hershey Bears on Wednesday night in Hershey. Shane Willis, Gilbert Brule and Charles Linglet all converted in the shootout, while goaltender Devan Dubnyk stopped three of the four shooters he faced. Brule and Ryan Potulny both scored in regulation time. For Potulny, he collected his team-leading 27th goal of the season.
The Sound Tigers head into Springfield as one of the American Hockey League’s hottest teams right now as they have gone 8-1-0-1 in their last 10 games to take over first place in both the Eastern Conference and East Division. Bridgeport is currently on a four-game winning streak after beating the Lowell Devils by a score of 2-1 on March 10. Junior Lessard scored the game-winning goal, while goaltender Peter Mannino stopped 30 of 31 shots he faced. The Sound Tigers head to Hartford on Saturday before traveling to Hershey for a Sunday matinee against the Bears.
FALCONS TRANSACTIONS: The Falcons announced Thursday that they have recalled forward Ryan Huddy from their ECHL affiliate, the Stockton Thunder.
Huddy continues to lead the Thunder in scoring this year with 31 goals and 32 assists for 63 points in 60 games. In three games with the Falcons this season, the 5-foot-9, 180-pound native of Stony Plain, Alberta hasn’t registered a point. Huddy made his AHL debut on December 3, 2008 against the Lowell Devils.
On Wednesday, the Edmonton Oilers recalled defenseman Theo Peckham from the Falcons. This is the fifth time this season that the 6-foot-2, 223-pound defenseman has been recalled from the Oilers’ AHL affiliate, as he was previously recalled on October 23rd, November 6th, February 6th and February 13th. Peckham is scoreless with 43 penalty minutes and has averaged 11:10 minutes of ice time in his nine games with Edmonton this season. With Springfield, Peckham has scored six goals and 13 assists for 19 points with 107 penalty minutes in 47 games.
SOUND TIGERS BEAT DEVILS: Junior Lessard's goal with under three minutes to play in the third period would break a 1-1 tie and give the Sound Tigers a 2-1 victory over the Lowell Devils on Tuesday.
Jon Sim extended his goal-scoring streak to four games with his fifth tally of the season coming in the second period. Rosario Ruggeri had the lone goal for the Devils.
Peter Mannino was named the game's first star making 29 saves for his 13th win of the season. In the middle frame, Sim would find himself in the perfect position to tie the score when he slammed the puck into an open net after it took a friendly bounce off the glass. Lessard would win the game in the third period on his eighth goal of the season with just under three minutes to play in the frame.
Call-ups: Michael Mole and James Sixsmith arrived from Utah last night and are expected to dress for tonight’s game. This is Mole’s first trip to the Sound Tigers this season after serving as the Grizzlies’ starting goalie this season. For Sixsmith he returns to the Sound Tigers after playing the last two months with the Milwaukee Admirals.
