FALCONS HOME FOR TWO GAMES THIS WEEKEND

WEEK IN REVIEW

FEBRUARY 27           Springfield-1 vs. Worcester -4           (Reddox)   
FEBRUARY 29           Springfield-3 vs. Albany-4                  (Trukhno, Potulny, Goulet)
MARCH 1                    Springfield-4 vs. Portland-2                (Potulny, Simon, Werner, Pouliot)
MARCH 2                    Springfield-2 at Manchester-5             (Schremp, Trukhno)

THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE

MARCH 7        Springfield vs. Lowell               7:30 PM MassMutual Center
MARCH 8        Springfield vs. Hershey            7:00 PM MassMutual Center

                *Radio Broadcasts on WHYN AM 560
                *Watch Live on the B-2 Network

THIS WEEK’S GAME PREVIEWS

--FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 2008 – SPRINGFIELD FALCONS vs. LOWELL DEVILS—

The Springfield Falcons host the Lowell Devils Friday night at 7:30, the Falcons and Devils will meet for the tenth time this season.  Springfield is 8-1-0-0 against Lowell, and they have a four game winning streak against their in-state rivals.  The Falcons come into the contest trying to bounce back from a loss to the Manchester Monarchs, who trail Springfield by only two points for the final Atlantic Division playoff spot.  Lowell will have some relief in seeing that Jean- Francois Jacques will not be in action Friday night. Jacques is the statistical leader in offense for Springfield against Lowell, netting six goals and handing out five assists in seven games. Rob Schremp, who scored a goal in Sunday’s defeat to Manchester, has put in three goals and had six assists against Lowell this year.  Noah Clarke has found success this season against Springfield, he has scored five goals and added four assists for the Devils. Lowell Devils center Benoit Mondou stretched his point streak to six games with an assist in the Devils loss to Bridgeport.  Falcons goaltender Jeff Deslauriers is unbeaten against the Devils this year; he is 5-0-0 with a 1.94 goals against average.  Springfield defenseman Theo Peckham has registered a point in each of the previous two games. 

--SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 2008 – SPRINGFIELD FALCONS vs. HERSHEY BEARS—

The Falcons will welcome the Hershey Bears for the first time this season to the MassMutual Center.  Springfield looks to improve upon the last encounter with the Bears, a 5-1 loss in Hershey back on January 19.  Saturday night marks a reunion for the Falcons Stephen Werner and Grant Potulny and the Bears Danny Syvret.  It is the first game between the two teams since Werner and Potulny joined the Falcons and Syvret was reassigned to Hershey.  Bears winger Andrew Gordon had a great month of February, he was awarded AHL Player of the Week honors on February 11, and the rookie finished with four goals and six assists in the month. Gordon is also 10th among rookie point getters in the AHL with 35.  The last time Springfield and Hershey met, Hershey’s Kyle Wilson walked away from the contest with three goals and an assist.  This current road trip for Hershey has not faired well, the Bears are 1-3 in their first four away games, Springfield marks the seventh stop on their nine game trip away from the Giant Center.  The Falcons only trail the Bears by six points in the Eastern Conference standings.  Hershey Bears defenseman Sam Lepisto is 9th among all AHL defensemen in total points, with 38.

LAST WEEK’S GAME RECAPS

---SPRINGFIELD at WORCESTER FEBRUARY 27, 2008-L-4-1---

February 27, 2008 - The Springfield Falcons lost to the Worcester Sharks 4-1 on Wednesday night at the DCU Center.  Special teams played a factor in Wednesday's game with Worcester scoring three power play goals and one shorthanded marker on their way to victory.

The Sharks opened the scoring at 1:24 of the first period when Devin Setoguchi scored a shorthanded marker, followed by Worcester's Tom Cavanagh scoring on the man advantage at 7:57 of the opening period giving the Sharks a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes of play.

In the second period, Graham Mink gave Worcester a 3-0 lead when he scored on the power play at 5:17.  The Falcons cut their deficit to 3-1 when Liam Reddox scored his 13th goal of the season at 12:28 of the middle frame.  Worcester regained a three-goal lead at 13:06 of the second period when Cavanagh tallied his second marker of the contest.

---SPRINGFIELD vs. ALBANY FEBRUARY 29, 2008-L-4-3--

February 29, 2008 - The Springfield Falcons lost to the Albany River Rats 4-3 on Friday night at the MassMutual Center.  In a second period swing of momentum, the Falcons saw their two-goal lead erased as the River Rats scored three unanswered markers in earning their fifth straight win.

With the Falcons leading 2-0 midway through the second period, Tim Sestito was awarded a penalty shot, but the Falcons failed to convert and the Rats gained momentum after the missed opportunity for Springfield. Kiel McLeod cut Albany's deficit to 2-1 at 9:52 of the second period, followed by Jamie Johnson tying the score at 2-2 at 13:10 of the middle period.  Marc Cavosie gave Albany a 3-2 advantage at 14:02 of the middle stanza giving the Rats their first lead of the night.

Springfield battled back in the third period as Sestito took a high stick from Albany's Joe Jensen sending the Falcons on a five-minute power play.  Stephane Goulet evened the score at 3-3 for the home team at 4:32 of the final farme on the power play, but less than two minutes later, Pat Dwyer tallied a shorthanded marker, the eventual game-winner.

The night started well for the Falcons as they opened the scoring at 4:35 of the first period when Viacheslav Trukhno converted on the power play assisted by Rob Schremp and T.J. Kemp.  The Falcons expanded their advantage to 2-0 when Grant Potulny scored his fifth goal in five games with Springfield at 12:23 of the opening frame also on the man advantage.

---SPRINGFIELD vs. PORTLAND MARCH 1, 2008-W-4-2---

March 1, 2008 - The Springfield Falcons beat the Portland Pirates 4-2 on Saturday night at the MassMutual Center.  With the win, the Falcons remain four points ahead of Manchester for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division heading into Manchester on Sunday.  In a very intense contest that featured several occasions in which players battled back and forth, the game's first fight took place midway through the opening frame as Springfield's Troy Bodie and Providence's Sean Curry received fighting majors. 

For the second straight game, the Falcons struck first when Grant Potulny opened the scoring with his 25th goal of the season at 17:26 of the first period.  For Potulny, it was his sixth goal in six games with the Falcons.

In the second period, the Pirates evened the score at 1-1 when Geoff Platt scored on the power play.  The Falcons regained their lead at 11:12 of the middle frame when Ben Simon scored his 10th marker of the season, followed by Stephen Werner scoring his sixth goal of the year at 16:20 of the second period giving the home team a 3-1 lead through 40 minutes.

In the third period, Portland cut their deficit to 3-2 when Bobby Ryan scored on the power play at 1:05 of the final frame.  The Falcons played solid defense the remainder of regulation protecting their one-goal advantage and with just 34-seconds remaining in regulation, Marc Pouliot sealed the victory with an empty net marker.

---SPRINGFIELD at MANCHESTER MARCH 2, 2008-L-5-2---

March 2, 2008 - The Springfield Falcons lost to the Manchester Monarchs 5-2 on Sunday afternoon at the Verizon Wireless Arena.  The Falcons now lead the Monarchs by just two points in the Atlantic Division standings.   Rob Schremp opened the scoring at 8:01 of the first period when he capitalized on a fortunate bounce off the water bottle that was lying on the ice behind the net and tucked a quick shot past Manchester goaltender Jonathan Quick. Manchester tied the score at 15:36 of the opening frame when Matt Ryan picked the pocket of Springfield's Stephen Werner behind the Falcons goal and tucked a shot past Springfield goaltender Jeff Deslauriers.

In the second period, Manchester's Gabe Gauthier helped build a 3-1 Monarchs lead when he scored his 22nd goal of the season at 2:56, followed by his second marker of the contest at 4:51 of the middle period.  Springfield cut their deficit to 3-2 when Viacheslav Trukhno scored on the power play at 17:05 of the second period.

The Falcons started the third period on a five-on-three penalty kill, and Manchester took advantage as Matt Moulson scored just 30-seconds into the final frame giving the Monarchs a 4-2 advantage.  Brady Murray added a power play goal at 5:32 of the third period giving Manchester a 5-2 win.

PLAYER NOTES:

Viacheslav Trukhno is currently on a three-game scoring streak collecting two goals and one assist in that span.

Defenseman Brad Farynuk played in his 100th career pro game on February 29 against the Albany River Rats.

T.J. Kemp played in his 200th career pro game on March 2 at Manchester.

Jacob Micflikier returned to the Falcons lineup on March 1 after missing 26 games with a broken leg.  Micflikier was hurt back on December 29 in a morning skate.

Defenseman Kenny Smith made his Falcons debut on March 1 against Portland after signing a PTO contract on February 28.

INJURY REPORT

Sebastien Bisaillon , Tyler Spurgeon, T.J. Reynolds, Ryan O’Marra, and Jean-Francois Jacques all missed games due to injury.

TRANSACTIONS

February 28, 2008 – Springfield Falcons release defenseman Chris Murray from his PTO contract.

February 28, 2008 – Springfield Falcons sign defenseman Kenny Smith to PTO contract.

March 3, 2008 – Edmonton Oilers recall center Marc Pouliot from the Springfield Falcons.