FALCONS BLANK DEVILS 6-0
April 8, 2011 - The Springfield Falcons used a 30-save shutout from rookie goaltender Allen York and a two-goal night from captain Ben Guite to cruise to a 6-0 win over the Albany Devils at the MassMutual Center on Friday night. The Falcons have now won three of their last four games and they will conclude their 2010-11 home schedule on Saturday night when they host the Providence Bruins.
York has now won three of his first four starts as a pro since concluding his collegiate career with R.P.I. last month. York is undefeated at the MassMutual Center going a perfect 3-0 in his first three starts on home ice. York, who had several friends and family in the stands, now has a 2.04 goals against average and .926 save percentage in four games this year.
"The guys played so well in front of me since I have been here," said York. "The guys have made me feel really comfortable and it's been great. It feels nice to win games, but overall it's been a team effort all the way around."
Guite helped set the tone offensively for the Falcons as he opened the scoring with his 16th goal of the year at 14:58 of the first period giving Springfield a one-goal lead through 20 minutes.
The Falcons took complete control of the game in the second period when they scored three times in a span of just over four minutes. David Savard gave the Falcons a 2-0 lead when he riffled his 11th goal of the year at 9:15 of the middle frame, followed by Guite adding his second marker of the night at 12:35 of the second period expanding the Falcons' advantage to 3-0. Less than a minute later, Tomas Kubalik scored his 23rd goal of the year tying him with Jeff Taffe for the third most goals in a season by a Falcons rookie.
Late in the second period, Falcons rookie Aaron Bogosian and Albany's Brad Mills dropped the gloves with each player earning a fighting major.
In the third period, the Falcons kept their foot on the gas pedal as Trevor Smith converted on the power play just 4:42 into the final frame giving Springfield a 5-0 lead. With the Falcons holding onto a five goal cushion, Springfield's Kyle Neuber and Albany's Pierre-Luc Leblond exchanged some words with Leblond picking up an extra slashing penalty and a misconduct.
Nick Tarnasky added one more late goal for the Falcons, who have now scored 12 goals in their last two home games heading into Saturday night.
The Falcons played Friday's game without rookie Cam Atkinson, who was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, and was at the ceremony at the Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minnesota.
TONIGHT'S LINEUP
Wade MacLeod - Trevor Smith - Tomas Kubalik
Nikita Filatov - Ben Guite - Maksim Mayorov
Denny Kearney - Trevor Frischmon - Steven Goertzen
Aaron Bogosian - Nick Tarnasky - Kyle Neuber
John Moore - David Savard
Jonathan Sigalet - Brent Regner
Anton Blomqvist - Theo Ruth
Allen York
David LeNeveu
NOT IN THE LINEUP - Petr Kalus, Chris D'Alvise (Injured), Mike Commodore, Cody Goloubef (Injured), Kyle Wilson (Injured), Nick Holden (Injured), Mike Blunden (Injured), Greg Moore, Gustaf Wesslau, Tomas Kana, Cam Atkinson, Paul Dainton
Albany Devils 0 at Springfield Falcons 6 - Status: Final
Friday, April 8, 2011 - MassMutual Center
Albany 0 0 0 - 0
Springfield 1 3 2 - 6
1st Period-1, Springfield, Guite 16 (MacLeod, Kubalik), 14:58. Penalties-Frischmon Spr (goaltender interference), 0:34; Ruth Spr (holding), 17:16.
2nd Period-2, Springfield, Savard 11 9:15. 3, Springfield, Guite 17 (Filatov, Mayorov), 12:35. 4, Springfield, Kubalik 23 (Ruth, MacLeod), 13:40. Penalties-Mills Alb (fighting), 13:14; Bogosian Spr (fighting), 13:14; Wiseman Alb (hooking), 15:46; Davison Alb (roughing), 20:00.
3rd Period-5, Springfield, Smith 20 (Regner, Savard), 4:42 (PP). 6, Springfield, Tarnasky 7 (Goertzen, Savard), 19:46. Penalties-Davison Alb (roughing), 3:48; Savard Spr (cross-checking), 7:15; Letourneau-Leblond Alb (slashing, roughing, misconduct - unsportsmanlike conduct), 10:09; Neuber Spr (slashing), 10:09; Kelly Alb (slashing), 12:16; Sigalet Spr (roughing), 14:46.
Shots on Goal-Albany 13-9-8-30. Springfield 9-10-9-28.
Power Play Opportunities-Albany 0 / 4; Springfield 1 / 4.
Goalies-Albany, Caruso 7-8-0 (19 shots-15 saves); McKenna 14-20-1 (9 shots-7 saves). Springfield, York 3-1-0 (30 shots-30 saves).
A-3,444
Referees-Jean Hebert (43).
Linesmen-Frank Murphy (29), Rich Patry (52).
PRE-GAME NOTES
GAME SET-UP: The Springfield Falcons and the Albany Devils will end their season series on Friday night in Springfield. The Devils have a 2-1 record against the Falcons, but have yet to win at The Nest. Their last meeting was on March 12th when Springfield lost to Albany 2-1.
Tomas Kana has scored two goals in two games against the Devils this season. Falcons captain Ben Guite has one goal and one assist in three games versus Albany. Trevor Smith has seen Albany quite a few times this season from his time in Syracuse. Smith has four goals and three assists, good for seven points in just six games against Albany this year.
Defenseman Alexander Urbom has one goal and two assists for Albany this season against Springfield. Adam Henrique and Brad Mills both have two goals apiece against the Falcons this year.
LENEVEU BACK WITH FALCONS: The Blue Jackets assigned goaltender David LeNeveu back to the Falcons on Thursday.
LeNeveu, 27, appeared in one game for Columbus after being added to the roster on emergency recall on April 1. He stopped 10-of-12 shots in relief of Mathieu Garon against St. Louis on April 3. He has gone 16-20-2 with a 2.97 goals-against average and .896 save percentage in 41 games with the Falcons this season. He has a record of 103-136-23 with a 2.84 GAA, .908 SV% and seven shutouts in 272 career AHL games with Springfield, Utah, San Antonio, Hartford and Iowa.
He appeared in 67 games for Salzburg of the Austrian League in 2009-10, posting a 2.58 goals-against average, .906 save percentage and two shutouts. He was 6-2 with a 2.17 GAA in nine playoff games to lead Salzburg to the Austrian Championship. He signed with the Blue Jackets as a free agent on July 7, 2010.
A native of Fernie, British Columbia, LeNeveu was Phoenix’s third pick, 46th overall, in the 2002 Entry Draft. He went 5-9-2 with a 3.38 GAA and .888 SV% in 21 games with the Coyotes from 2005-07.
Prior to his professional career, he played two seasons at Cornell University from 2001-03 and went 39-5-2 with a 1.29 GAA and seven shutouts in 46 games. In 2002-03, he was 28-3-1 with a 1.20 GAA and nine shutouts in 32 games as Cornell reached the Frozen Four.
He was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, was named the ECAC Co-Player of the Year, ECAC Goaltender of the Year, NCAA East First All-American Team, ECAC First All-Star Team and ECAC Tournament MVP that season. He owns the NCAA Division I record for career GAA (1.29) and helped Canada to a silver medal at the 2003 World Junior Championships.
KUBALIK RETURNS FROM COLUMBUS: Also on Thursday, Columbus assigned right wing Tomas Kubalik to the Falcons.
Kubalik, 20, collected two assists for two points in three games with the Blue Jackets after being added to the roster on emergency recall March 31. He became just the third player in franchise history to record a multi-point game while making his NHL debut with the club when he had two assists at Washington on March 31. He has registered 22 goals and 28 assists for 50 points and 43 penalty minutes in 73 games for Springfield, ranking fourth among AHL rookies in points and sixth (tied) in goals.
Kubalik became the first Falcons rookie to score 20 goals in a season since Jeff Taffe scored 23 in 2002-03. Daniel Briere holds the Falcons rookie record for goals in a season with 36, followed by Jason Jaspers with 25 in 2001-02 and Taffe's 23 in 2002-03.
The Blue Jackets’ sixth pick, 135th overall in the 2008 Entry Draft, he is playing his first professional season and leads the Falcons in goals, points and power play goals (6), while ranking second (tied) in assists.
DEVILS SIGN SISLO: The Albany Devils signed forward Mike Sislo to an amateur tryout contract this week after finishing a four-year career at the University of New Hampshire (Hockey East).
Sislo, 23, played 154 games for the Wildcats and registered 116 points with 51 goals and 65 assists. The 5-11, 188-pound, right-shooting forward played 39 games this past season, totaling 48 points with 15 goals and a career-high 33 assists. He served as team captain and led UNH to their 10th-consecutive NCAA appearance and into the Regional Finals for the third-straight year.
Prior to his collegiate career, Sislo played two seasons for Green Bay of the USHL. He totaled 55 points, including 26 goals and 29 assists. During the 2006-07 campaign, he had career-high marks for points (49), goals (23) and assists (26).
WISEMAN HONORED BY LEAGUE: The American Hockey League announced that Devils left winger Chad Wiseman has been selected the winner of the reGen™ Muscle Recovery Beverage/AHL Performance of the Month award for March.
With his team trailing Bridgeport by three goals on Mar. 9, Wiseman led the Devils’ recovery by scoring four times in the final 9:25 of regulation, tying an American Hockey League record for goals scored in a single period and lifting Albany to an improbable 5-4 victory.
In recognition of his reGen™/AHL Performance of the Month award, Wiseman will be honored at an upcoming Devils home game.
Wiseman has scored 15 goals and added 26 assists for 41 points in 44 games for Albany this season. The 10th-year pro from Burlington, Ont., has played in 526 AHL games in his career, totaling 162 goals and 234 assists for 396 points.
Wiseman spent the 2009-10 season with Springfield and on January 17, 2010, he tied a Falcons record for most goals in a game collecting four markers.
