FALCONS STYLING IN PINK, WIN 7-5
By: Mike Hopey
March 6, 2010- Springfield and Lowell combined for 12 goals and Chad Wiseman and Chris Minard each scored two goals as the Falcons won a wild one 7-5 during the second annual Pink in the Rink in front of 4,877 at the MassMutual Center.
The Falcons exploded for three goals in the first period. Colin McDonald took a rush behind the goal-line and threw the puck off Devil’s Jeff Frazee to put the Falcons on top with the first shot of the game. The Devils answered back with a power-play goal from Matt Halischuk at the 14:20 mark.
Wiseman took the lead back for Springfield with his own power-play goal at 16:31. Colton Fretter, who got the assist on the goal, took the puck into the Devil’s zone and Wiseman buried the loose puck and lit the lamp for the 16th time this season.
The Falcons added another tally a minute later with Slava Trukhno’s unassisted 10th goal of the year. Trukhno snapped home the goal from the top of the face-off dots with the Falcons on an odd-man rush.
Springfield increased the lead at 3:13 when Minard just tapped in Charles Linglet pass for his 14th goal of the year. Linglet took the puck all the way from the top of the Devils' zone to behind the net where he backhanded a pass to Minard, who slipped behind the napping Lowell D, for the goal.
The Falcons continued to attack the Devils in front of the net but Lowell cut the lead in half with a goal at 6:14. The goal was Halischuk's second of the night. McDonald had his own chance at two with breakaway chance but the puck was poked harmlessly away by Frazee.
The intensity picked up after the second Lowell goal. Linglet was called for roughing when he got into an altercation in front of the Devil's goal. In the ensuing penalty kill the Falcons took the physical play to the Devils, finishing checks and bumping Lowell players in the open ice.
The Devils scored again to make the score 4-3 when Tim Sestito whizzed a wrist shot over Bryan Pitton's glove as he stood wide-open at the top of the slot. Halischuk picked up his third point of the night on the goal that was Sestito's 16th goal of the year.
Wiseman put the Falcons on the board for the first time in the middle frame when he snapped a shot five-hole past a screened Frazee for his second of the game and 17th of the season. Linglet also picked up his second point of the night with the lone assist on the play.
The Devils began the third period with a 1:39 man advantage but could not produce a goal. McDonald had short-handed try but his attempt trickled wide of the cage.
The physical play continued in the third and at the six minute mark Colton Fretter and Brad Snetsinger got into a shoving match in front of the Lowell bench. Fretter went as far as to drop the gloves but Snetsinger skated away to the bench refusing Fretter’s invitation to dance. Both parties still received match penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct as a consolation prize.
As the penalties expired, Lowell cut the Falcon lead to one again with a goal from Nathan Perkovich. Pitton stopped a Lowell chance on the doorstep by Michael Swift but Perkovich slipped the second attempt under Pitton’s pads.
Minard scored his second goal of the game on a power-play to bring the Springfield lead back to two goals. The Falcons were on the power-play after Sestito was called for high-sticking. An infraction that Arsene took exception to, as both players dropped the gloves. Arsene scored the takedown in a flurry of punches.
The new, two-goal lead was again a brief one as the Devils cut the lead to one when Matt Cohen slapped a shot from the point to give Lowell another power-play goal.
With the lead back down to one the Devils began to pull away in their shot advantage. This mounting number of shots put a lot of pressure on Pitton who stepped up and saved some howling shots. Lowell had one final chance but the pass skipped over the stick after Pitton was caught out of position. MacMurchy put the icing on the cake when he scored the empty netter, sealing the win for Springfield.
3 Stars of the Game
1. SPR Chirs Minard
2. SPR Chad Wiseman
3. SPR Charles Linglet
Springfield Falcons Lineup
Charles Linglet (7) - Chad Wiseman (15) - Chris Minard (14)
Liam Reddox (9) - Rob Hisey (13) - Colton Fretter (19)
Ryan MacMurchy (10) - Ryan O'Marra (22) - Colin McDonald (18)
Matt Marquardt (27) - Slava Trukhno (11) - Jason Pitton (39)
Chris Armstrong (32) - Johan Motin (8)
J.F. David (3) - Jordan Bendfeld (33)
Dean Arsene (29) - Jake Taylor (25)
Bryan Pitton (35)
Andrew Perugini (31)
FALCONS SCRATCHES - Matt Marquardt (Healthy), Geoff Paukovich (Healthy), Bryan Lerg (Healthy), Alex Plante (Injured), Kip Brennan (Injured)
Game Setup: The Springfield Falcons today will celebrate their second annual “Pink in the Rink”SM sponsored by TD Bank. Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultants and Sales Directors will be on hand to welcome all guests and offer an opportunity to sign up for a complimentary facial and makeover at the later date!
“Pink in the Rink has become a national event throughout the American Hockey League and we're extremely proud to be joining The Mary Kay Ash Foundation to support the fight against cancer,” said Falcons Vice President of Business Development Chris Thompson. “Thanks to TD Bank for their loyal corporate support.”
As part of this special night, Falcons players will wear pink jerseys during the game, which will be auctioned off during the night as part of a silent auction. Falcons players will present and autograph their respective jersey following the game to winning bidders on the ice.
Margaret Pennell, an Independent Sales Director with Mary Kay Cosmetics, will be singing the National Anthem prior to the game. The team will also recognize breast cancer survivors on the ice prior to the game, including a ceremonial puck drop. The night wouldn’t be complete without a Mary Kay pink Cadillac and Cadillac convertible
parked outside the MassMutual Center prior to the game.
"Mary Kay always taught us to build other women up,” shares Cyndee Gress, an Independent National Sales Director with Mary Kay Cosmetics. “Her legacy of love lives on through The Mary Kay Ash Foundation, its mission is to eliminate cancer and to end the epidemic of violence against women. Partnering with the Falcons for Pink in the Rink will help that vision come closer to a reality.”
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The Falcons and Devils skate for the seventh time this season. The Falcons are 2-2-1-1 against their Atlantic Division rivals. The teams have not met since the beginning of the new year on January 3, a 5-2 Devils win in Lowell. Springfield has mustered 4 of a possible 6 points at home against Lowell.
The Devils are 4th in the Atlantic with 72 points on the season. The Devils entered the week taking 5 of the 6 points up for grabs in the last weekend of February. On Friday, Lowell went on the road to beat the Manchester Monarchs 3-2. The next night, the Adirondack Phantoms beat the Devils by that same score in a shootout. Lowell rounded out the weekend with a 4-3 win over Hartford at home.
Falcons Player Notes
• Team points leader Charles Linglet has a goal and 6 assists against the Devils this season.
• Chris Minard has 4 of his 13 goals this year against Lowell.
• Colton Fretter has 2 goals and 4 assists in games against Lowell this year. Fretter has lit the lamp 12 times on the power-play this year.
• Colin McDonald has also scored a pair of his 9 goals against the Devils.
Devils Player Notes
• Louis Robitallie is second in the AHL with 250 penalty minutes. Robitallie is 13 penalty minutes behind the Falcons’ Kip Brennan.
• Goalie Jeff Frazee is 15th in the league with a 2.55 goals against average in 26 games.
• Rookie Matt Taormina is 7th among rookies with 39 points. Taormina has recorded 5 points against the Falcons this season.
• Alexander Vasyunov has 5 goals and 2 assists against Springfield this season.
• Ben Walter leads the team with 43 points.
Atlantic Division Roundup
All eight teams with the exception of the Manchester Monarchs will be in action tonight. Tonight's slate includes two inter-divisional match-ups. In the first, Lowell is visiting the Falcons for the annual "Pink in the Rink" night. In the other match-up of Atlantic teams Providence travels to the Arena at Harbor Yard to take on the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Both games will drop the puck at 7:00 eastern.
In other action tonight the Wolf Pack will visit the top dogs in the Western Conference, the Hamilton Bulldogs. The Pack enter the night sitting in 7th place, four points behind in-state rival Bridgeport. Elsewhere, the red-hot Pirates will travel to central New York for a go with Syracuse Crunch. And lastly, Worcester will wrap up their western road-trip with their second game against the Abbotsford Heat.
Last night, the first place Sharks fell in Abbotsford, B.C. by a score of 5-4. This gave Portland a chance to take first place, but the Pirates fell by the same score in Bridgeport. In other action last night, Providence was doubled up by Manchester at home in a close 2-1 decision.
Around the League
Besides the Atlantic Divion, the West Division is the next closest race. In that fixture, the Chicago Wolves hold a four point lead over the Rockford Ice Hogs. Both teams were in action last night. Chicago fell to Hamilton 5-4 in a shootout while the Ice Hogs earned a point in an overtime loss to the Texas Stars. The Hogs will look to close the gap tonight when they skate against division rival San Antonio in the first of two games against the Rampage. Chicago will also be in action taking on the Milwaukee Admirals. The old IHL rivals will drop the puck at 8:00 eastern in Milwaukee.
In the Western Conference's other division, the North Division, the Abbostford Heat are playing well at the right time as they are currently on a eight game point-streak. However, first-place Hamilton is riding a seven-game streak entering tonight's action and still hold a 16 point lead on the Heat. Also in the North, Lake Erie is within three points of 4th place Manitoba. The Moose will visit Grand Rapids, and the Monsters will look to gain some ground in Peoria.
The AHL's best team is still the Hershey Bears of the East Division. The Bears are 47-12-0-2 with 96 points. The Bears were idle last night but will get back to it tonight against the rival W-B/Scranton Penguins. The fight for second place in the East is a lot closer. The Albany River Rats hold a one point edge on the Norfolk Admirals. Those teams meet last night with Norfolk taking the win 3-2 in a shootout. The Rats and Admirals will skate again tonight as Norfolk looks to leap frog Albany.
In other action tonight, Toronto and Rochester dropped the puck at 4:00 eastern in Toronto. The Senators and Phantoms will meet up in an East Division tilt. And lastly, the Stars and Aeros will meet-up in a Lone Star State battle at 8:00 eastern just outside Austin in Cedar Park.
In the Show: Edmonton Oilers
The Blue and Bronze came out of the Olympic break with back-to-back losses in Nashville and Chicago. The earned a hard-fought two points last night when they returned home and beat Minnesota 2-1 in a shootout. Mike Comrie scored the Oilers goal in regulation and then netted the game winner in the sixth round of the shootout.
This week saw several Falcons players get the call to Edmonton. Taylor Chorney and Theo Peckham were called up on Monday and are still on the roster as of today. Devan Dubnyk was also recalled on Monday. Dubnyk got the nod in Chicago, he made 42 saves in the 5-2 loss. Johan Motin was another Falcon who was called up alongside Dean Arsene. Motin played in his first NHL game on Wednesday against the 'Hawks before he and Arsene were sent down again.
The Oilers are off tonight but will skate again tomorrow in Rexall Place against the New Jersey Devils. Edmonton will host Ottawa on Tuesday night before hitting the road for four games. Entering tonight's action the Oilers are 20-38-6 and sit in 5th in the Northwest.
On deadline day Wednesday the Oilers made a pair of deals under the 3 p.m. deadline. The first move was acquiring Olympian Ryan Whitney and a sixth-round selection from Anaheim in exchange for Lubomir Visnovsky. Under an hour later the Oilers were busy again making a deal with their bitter Alberta rivals the Calgary Flames. Edmonton acquired blue-liner Aaron Johnson and a third-round pick for Steve Staios.
