OT GOAL BY REDDOX LEADS FALCONS TO 3-2 WIN
By: Mike Hopey
January 29, 2010 - At 1:32 of overtime Liam Reddox worked his way to the front of the net and slid the puck five-hole past Norfolk goalie Jaroslav Janus for his 11th goal of the season that lifted Springfield to a 3-2 overtime victory over the Admirals Friday night in front of 3,092 fans at the MasssMutual Center.
LIVE BOX SCORE Pre-Game Night Notes...
The Admirals skated into The Nest having won four straight games, including a 3-2 win last Friday in Springfield. The Falcons came out of the locker room and played physical with the Admirals. However, the Admirals took the advantage in shots in the first, testing J.P. Levasseur 17 times.
The Admirals broke the scoreless tie when Juraj Simek scored his 12th goal of the season from Radek Smolenak and Scott Jackson at 11:02 of the second period. The lead would not last long as two minutes later Colton Fretter scored the equalizer on a rebound that was kicked aside by Janus. The Falcons kept up the momentum and took the lead three minutes later at 16:15 when Alex Plante slapped home a shot from the point for his second goal of the season.
The Falcons took the one goal lead into the third, but the Admirals started the period with a 4-on-3 power-play. Matt Fornataro scored with 15-seconds left on the first Falcons’ penalty to tie the game at two. Both teams kept up the pressure for the rest of the period, but neither could manage to take the lead.
In overtime, Reddox took a pass from Zach Tarkir and Chris Minard to the front of the net and slipped it past Janus. The loss is Norfolk’s first on their current 7-game road trip that concludes on Sunday in Bridgeport against the Sound Tigers.
The Falcons, who rebounded from a shutout loss last Sunday in Providence, will skate again tomorrow night at 7:30 at the MassMutual Center against the Bruins in the first leg of a home-and-home.
3 Stars of the Game:
1. SPR - Liam Reddox
2. SPR - J.P. Levasseur
3. NOR - Jaroslav Janus
Notes From the Game:
- Jean-Francois David scored his first point of the season, an assist on the Alex Plante's goal
- Chad Wiseman collected his 20th assist of the season.
- Colton Fretter's goal was his team leading 18th goal of the season.
- J.P. Levasseur turned away 33 shots in the game.
Falcons Lineup
Geoff Paukovich - Ryan O'Marra - Colin McDonald
Chris Minard - Chad Wiseman - Charles Linglet
Colton Fretter - Liam Reddox - Slava Trukhno
Kip Brennan - Rick Cleaver - Jason Pitton
J.F. David - Alex Plante
Jake Taylor - Sasha Pokulok
Cody Wild - Zach Tarkir
J.P. Levasseur
Andrew Penner
FALCONS SCRATCHES - Matt Nickerson (Injured), Johan Motin (Healthy), Ryan MacMurchy (Healthy), Rob Hisey (Injured), Bryan Lerg (Family Reasons), Theo Peckham (Injured), Dean Arsene (Injured), Chris Armstrong (Injured), Kelly Czuy (Injured), Bryan Ewing (Healthy)
Game Setup: The Springfield Falcons and the Norfolk Admirals will meet for the second time in a week. The second of four meetings on the season will take place tonight at 7:30 pm at the MassMutual Center. The Admirals won last week’s game with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory.
The Falcons will go into the game with a record of 3-2-0-0 in their last five games. Last weekend they picked up a 2-1 overtime victory against the Hartford Wolf Pack. Charles Linglet scored his 11th goal of the season to tie the game in third period. Chris Minard scored 1:52 into overtime to earn the victory for Springfield. On Sunday, the Falcons were blanked 3-0 by the Providence Bruins, who they will meet in a home-and-home series this weekend.
The Admirals are swinging back through Springfield as they conclude a seven-game road trip that concludes this weekend with games against Adirondack and Bridgeport. The Admirals won their fourth straight contest on Wednesday night in Hartford beating the Wolf Pack 5-4. Norfolk has improved their record to 21-23-2-0 on the season, good for a fourth place tie in the East Division.
Norfolk went a perfect 3-0-0-0 last weekend to start their road trip. Norfolk defeated Manchester 5-3 on Saturday night. The Admirals shutout Lowell 1-0 on Sunday. Right Winger Mark Parrish led the team last weekend with four points and scored the game-winner this past Wednesday in Hartford.
Falcons Player Notes
• Rick Cleaver scored a goal in his first game on Friday, January 22 after being signed to a PTO on Thursday, January 21.
• Charles Linglet leads the team with 49 points. He has recorded six points in his last four games.
• Chris Minard’s 10th goal of the season was his first since returning to the lineup last Friday. He had missed the previous 35 games due to injury.
• Goaltender J.P. Levasseur has won four of his last five games. In that span he has 0.920 save percentage.
Admirals Player Notes
• Goaltender Jaroslav Janus won his first game of the season last Friday against the Falcons. He had started the season 0-5.
• Former Falcon Ryan Craig leads the Admirals with 24 points.
Newest Falcon: The Falcons announced Thursday they have signed forward Bryan Ewing to a Professional Tryout Agreement (PTO).
Ewing is in his second season of professional hockey and has split time this year between the ECHL’s Reading Royals, Toledo Walleye and AHL’s Rockford IceHogs. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound native of Wheeling, West Virginia was the 2008-09 ECHL Rookie of the Year when he collected 43 goals and 48 assists for 91 points in 67 games with the Wheeling Nailers.
Prior to turning pro, Ewing spent four seasons at Boston University from 2004-2008. He had his most success during his senior season when he led the team in assists, finished second in goals and points, and was named an NCAA Second Team All-American.
Falcons Player Movement Recap: Taylor Chorney was recalled to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday, January 26. Chorney has played 23 games for the Falcons this season recording four goals and five assists. He rejoins the Falcons’ National Hockey League affiliate where he has played in 15 games and recorded one assist.
Also on Tuesday, the Falcons released Thomas Beauregard from his Professional Tryout Agreement. Beauregard scored one assist in two games with the Falcons. Beauregard returns to the Wheeling Nailers where he had a team leading 26 goals in 42 games.
Admirals Player Movement Recap: Defenseman David Hale has been assigned by the Tampa Bay Lightning to Norfolk on a conditioning assignment. Hale has played in 35 games for the Lightning and recorded four assists.
On Tuesday, the Admirals announced they had signed Ryan Cruthers to a Professional Tryout Contract. Cruthers has appeared in 36 games for the ECHL’s Reading Royals. He has recorded 11 goals and 27 assists on the season which is good enough for second on the team with 38 points.
