FALCONS COLLECT ONE POINT AGAINST BRUINS

• Head Coach Rob Daum Recaps The Point
  
• Rob Hisey Talks About His AHL/Falcons Debut

December 29, 2009 - In a game that featured a strong effort by both teams, the Springfield Falcons were defeated by the Providence Bruins in overtime on Tuesday night in front of 3,456 at the MassMutual Center. Andy Wozniewski scored the game winning goal which was assisted by Trent Whitfield, who had two assists on the night. A bright spot for the Falcons was Rob Hisey, who recorded his first goal and assist as a Falcon. The second Springfield goal was scored by Charles Linglet and assisted by Hisey. The Falcons will be back in action on Wednesday night when the team travels to the XL Center in Hartford, CT to take on the Wolf Pack at 7 pm.

LIVE BOX SCORE

Following a flurry of shots including one hitting the crossbar by Providence center Whitfield, the Bruins were able to strike first as Kirk MacDonald tallied his eighth goal of the season at 15:09 of the first period. Whitfield and Yannick Riendeau each had an assist on the goal.  The Bruins took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission outshooting the Falcons 14-7 in the opening 20 minutes.

The Bruins opened the second period taking advantage of a prolonged power play, as defenseman Jeff Penner caught a pass from Mikko Lehtonen and netted his third goal of the season at 3:07 of the second period. The Falcons refused to give in as Hisey took advantage of a two-on-one and scored his first goal in his AHL debut. The goal was unassisted and was scored just 44-seconds after Providence’s second goal.

With 3:39 left in the second period, the Falcons drew their first power play of the game, as Providence defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk got two minutes for boarding. The Falcons were not able to capitalize on the man advantage, but they got close as defenseman Cody Wild fired a hard shot at Providence goaltender Dany Sabourin that went just wide of the net. The Falcons out shot Providence in the second 14-5, as Jean-Philippe Lavasseur tallied four saves, while Sabourin stopped 14 shots.

The final period of regulation opened with a Providence penalty to Jeff LoVecchio for tripping. The Falcons wasted no time by scoring just seven-seconds into the power play, as Linglet scored his eighth goal of the season at 2:42 of the third period. Linglet received a crisp pass from Hisey who was directly behind the net to put the puck past Sabourin, tying the game at 2-2.

In the overtime, Jake Taylor was whistled for hooking and Wozniewski netted his seventh goal of the season on the power play. Lehtonen and Whitfield each added an assist on the game winner.

THREE STARS

1.  Wozniewski - Pro - GWG

2.  Hisey - Spf - 1goal, 1 assist

3. Penner - Pro - 1 goal

FALCONS LINEUP

Charles Linglet - Nikita Kashirsky - Colton Fretter
Liam Reddox - Rob Hisey - Bill Thomas
Ryan MacMurchy - Ryan O'Marra - Colin McDonald
Kip Brennan - Geoff Paukovich - Slava Trukhno

Johan Motin - Cody Wild
Dean Arsene - Alex Plante
Taylor Chorney - Jake Taylor

J.P. Levasseur
Aaron Sorochan

FALCONS SCRATCHES - J.F. David (Injured), Bryan Young (Healthy), Matt Nickerson (Healthy), Chris Minard (Injured), Chad Wiseman (Injured), Bryan Lerg (Healthy), Theo Peckham (Injured), Chris Armstrong (Injured)
 

GAME NIGHT NOTES.....................

12/29: Springfield vs Providence

9:35: Andy Wozniewski scores game winner as Falcons are defeated in OT 3-2.

9:18 : With a tie score, the game will head into an over-time period.

9:08: Providence penalty, two minutes for interference.

9:04: Game tied at 2, as Falcons are now 4-1 on the penalty kill for the game so far.

9:00: #20 for Springfield, Bill Thomas, gets called for hooking at 8:03.

8:55: Falcons take advantage of the power play as #7 Charles Linglet nets his eighth goal of the season to tie things up at two a piece.

8:49: The third period opens up with a great scoring opportunity by the Falcons.

8:27: End of second period-Falcons 1, Providence 2

8:24: Falcons first power play as #2 Bodnarchuk gets called for boarding with 3:39 left in second.

8:19: Springfield now 3-1 on the Penalty-Kill on the night.

8:13: Shots are 6-3 in favor of Springfield with about ten minutes left in the second period.

8:03: Falcons strike back at 16:09 as #13 Rob Hisey nets his first goal as a Falcon.

8:01: Providence opens second period with powerplay goal scored by #6 Jeff Penner

7:46: Providence leads 1-0 after one period of play. Shots 14-7 in favor of the Bruins.

7:32: Providence strikes first as #13 Kirk MacDonald scores his eighth goal of the season. Credit the assists to #23 Trent Whitfield and #26 Yannick Riendeau.

7:25 pm: Falcons Penalty-Kill unit will be tested again as Brennan draws his second penatly of the night.

7:16 pm: Springfield successfully able to kill its first penalty of the night.

7:08: We're set to go here at the MassMutual Center for tonight's showdown

6:50 pm: Both teams have just finished warm-ups as fans continue to pile in for tonight's game.

6:28 pm: About 30 minutes until game time: Falcons come in 6-5-5-2 at home while Providence is 8-9-0-0 on the road.

Game Setup:  The Springfield Falcons and Providence Bruins meet for the fourth time this season when they get together at the MassMutual Center on Tuesday night.  The Falcons are 0-2-1-0 against the Bruins this year, including the two teams needing overtime to determine the outcome in their last game played back on December 19 at The Nest.  The Falcons had a 2-1 lead late in that contest, but Providence rallied to even the score and Zach Hamill netted the game-winner in overtime. 

The Falcons are in the middle of a four-game in five-day stretch as they most recently earned a point with a 4-3 overtime loss suffered Sunday afternoon against the Hartford Wolf Pack.  Chad Wiseman, Nikita Kashirsky and Colton Fretter scored for the Falcons.  Springfield will conclude 2009 in Hartford on Wednesday night against the Wolf Pack.

FALCONS NOTES
•    Bill Thomas was the game’s second star on 12-27-09 against Hartford collecting two assists.  Thomas now has points in five of his last seven games collecting four goals and two assists in that span.
•    Both Chad Wiseman and Taylor Chorney each collected one goal and one assist over the weekend.
•    Colton Fretter scored his team-leading 14th goal of the year on 12-27-09 against Hartford.

Providence enters Tuesday’s action looking to snap a three-game losing streak.  The Bruins have a record of
16-17-1-0 on the season good for seventh place in the Atlantic Division standings. 

FALCONS TRANSACTIONS:  The Springfield Falcons announced Monday they have signed forward Rob Hisey to a Professional Tryout Agreement (PTO).  

Hisey has been playing for the Central Hockey League’s Tulsa Oilers this year where he is currently leading the CHL in goals with 19, while adding 22 assists and 41 points in just 24 games.  The Oakville, Ontario native spent the 2008-09 season playing in Germany where he collected 19 goals and 39 assists for 58 points in 34 games with the Hannover Indians.

The Falcons announced Saturday they signed forward Nikita Kashirsky to a Professional Tryout Agreement (PTO).  Kashirsky made his AHL debut against the Worcester Sharks on December 26 and he scored his first AHL/Falcons goal on December 27 against the Hartford Wolf Pack. 

The 6-foot, 190-pound native of Moscow, Russia made his pro debut last season with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays helping South Carolina to a Kelly Cup Championship scoring six goals and 12 assists for 18 points in 21 post-season games.  In 33 games with the Stingrays this season, he is leading the team in goals with 17, while adding 13 assists for 30 points.

Before joining the pro ranks, Kashirsky played four seasons of college hockey at Norwich University from 2005-2009 where he totaled 73 goals and 71 assists for 144 points in 110 career games.  He led Norwich in goals (17), assists (17) and points (34) in 25 games during his senior season last year.

BRUINS TRANSACTIONS:  The Providence Bruins announced Monday that the Boston Bruins have assigned forward Yannick Riendeau to the P-Bruins.  Riendeau, 21, has yet to play this season due to injury. The right wing enters his professional career following a standout junior season in 2008-09 with the Drummondville Voltigeurs, where he led the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in scoring during both the regular season and the playoffs. In 64 regular season games, Riendeau scored 58 goals and tallied 68 assists for 126 points before adding 52 points, including 29 goals, in just 19 postseason contests. His playoff totals set Voltigeurs franchise records, while his 16 postseason power play goals set a QMJHL record. His postseason performance earned him the league's Guy Lafleur Trophy as the Playoff Most Valuable Player.

Riendeau's 2008-09 totals included 40 power play goals between the regular season and playoffs, a plus-57 rating and 49 multiple-point games, featuring 26 contests with at least three points. He was named the QMJHL's Player of the Week on five occasions and the league's Player of the Month in both December and February. In 13 February outings, Riendeau compiled 19 goals, 33 points and plus-19 rating.