GIROUX AND BASS SCORE IN SEASON OPENER
October 7, 2011 - The Springfield Falcons opened their 2011-12 regular season on Friday night in Manchester, NH and dropped a 5-2 decision to the Monarchs. Alexandre Giroux and Cody Bass both scored for the Falcons, while goaltender Paul Dainton made 24 saves between the pipes. The Falcons will travel to Albany, NY on Saturday to take on the Devils.
The first ten minutes of the games was very evenly played with the two teams exchanging power play opportunities, but it was Manchester that used the man advantage to open the scoring. Justin Azevedo converted on the power play at 9:57 of the first period giving the Monarchs a 1-0 lead. At 12:20 of the opening frame, Marc-Andre Cliche scored his first goal of the night giving Manchester a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
“They are a good hockey club and they took advantage of our mistakes,” said Falcons head coach Rob Riley. “We are trying to mold our team quickly, we told the players that, we have a lot of new faces that are learning each other, but we know we have to come together as a group and we will continue that tomorrow in Albany.”
Just 14-seconds into the second period, Cliche would strike again when his slap shot from the right wing boards beat Dainton expanding the Monarchs' advantage to 3-0. Cliche would conclude the natural hat trick at 6:45 of the second period giving Manchester a four goal cushion.
“You obviously want to win every game, but we will get back to work right away on Saturday,” said Riley.
The Falcons would battle back at 18:11 of the middle frame when Giroux tallied his first marker of the year assisted by Martin St. Pierre and Tomas Kubalik.
Springfield continued their momentum from Giroux's goal into the third period as Bass was set up by John Moore and Nick Drazenovic just 1:02 into the final period cutting the Falcons' deficit to 5-2.
GAME NOTES
The Falcons didn't have anyone wear the “C” on Friday night, instead Martin St. Pierre, Nick Holden and Dane Byers all wore the “A”s.
The Falcons had three players making their AHL/pro debuts on Friday night including: Dalton Prout, Oliver Gabriel and Mike Thomas.
Springfield Falcons 2 at Manchester Monarchs 5 - Status: Final
Friday, October 7, 2011 - Verizon Wireless Arena
Springfield 0 1 1 - 2
Manchester 2 3 0 - 5
1st Period-1, Manchester, Azevedo 1 (Mullen, Jones), 9:57 (PP). 2, Manchester, Cliche 1 (Loktionov, Nolan), 12:20. Penalties-Johnson Mch (interference), 4:36; Kaunisto Mch (delay of game), 6:58; Kubalik Spr (hooking), 8:24; Bogosian Spr (fighting), 14:32; Clune Mch (fighting), 14:32; Kubalik Spr (boarding), 14:41.
2nd Period-3, Manchester, Cliche 2 (Loktionov, Campbell), 0:14. 4, Manchester, Cliche 3 (Mullen, Loktionov), 6:45. 5, Manchester, Meckler 1 (Kaunisto, Paddock), 16:43. 6, Springfield, Giroux 1 (St. Pierre, Kubalik), 18:11. Penalties-Deslauriers Mch (holding), 1:35; Goloubef Spr (holding), 9:45.
3rd Period-7, Springfield, Bass 1 (Moore, Drazenovic), 1:02. Penalties-Prout Spr (roughing), 7:56; Clune Mch (goaltender interference, roughing), 7:56; Kolomatis Mch (hooking), 9:14; Drazenovic Spr (tripping), 14:00; Kaunisto Mch (slashing), 17:25; Byers Spr (fighting), 18:05; Campbell Mch (fighting), 18:05; Clune Mch (misconduct - unsportsmanlike conduct), 18:05.
Shots on Goal-Springfield 9-11-5-25. Manchester 12-11-6-29.
Power Play Opportunities-Springfield 0 / 6; Manchester 1 / 4.
Goalies-Springfield, Dainton 0-1-0 (29 shots-24 saves). Manchester, Jones 1-0-0 (25 shots-23 saves).
A-6,266
Referees-Ryan Hersey (46), Geno Binda (22).
Linesmen-Jeremy Lovett (78), Joe Ross (92).
The first ten minutes of the games was very evenly played with the two teams exchanging power play opportunities, but it was Manchester that used the man advantage to open the scoring. Justin Azevedo converted on the power play at 9:57 of the first period giving the Monarchs a 1-0 lead. At 12:20 of the opening frame, Marc-Andre Cliche scored his first goal of the night giving Manchester a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
“They are a good hockey club and they took advantage of our mistakes,” said Falcons head coach Rob Riley. “We are trying to mold our team quickly, we told the players that, we have a lot of new faces that are learning each other, but we know we have to come together as a group and we will continue that tomorrow in Albany.”
Just 14-seconds into the second period, Cliche would strike again when his slap shot from the right wing boards beat Dainton expanding the Monarchs' advantage to 3-0. Cliche would conclude the natural hat trick at 6:45 of the second period giving Manchester a four goal cushion.
“You obviously want to win every game, but we will get back to work right away on Saturday,” said Riley.
The Falcons would battle back at 18:11 of the middle frame when Giroux tallied his first marker of the year assisted by Martin St. Pierre and Tomas Kubalik.
Springfield continued their momentum from Giroux's goal into the third period as Bass was set up by John Moore and Nick Drazenovic just 1:02 into the final period cutting the Falcons' deficit to 5-2.
GAME NOTES
The Falcons didn't have anyone wear the “C” on Friday night, instead Martin St. Pierre, Nick Holden and Dane Byers all wore the “A”s.
The Falcons had three players making their AHL/pro debuts on Friday night including: Dalton Prout, Oliver Gabriel and Mike Thomas.
Springfield Falcons 2 at Manchester Monarchs 5 - Status: Final
Friday, October 7, 2011 - Verizon Wireless Arena
Springfield 0 1 1 - 2
Manchester 2 3 0 - 5
1st Period-1, Manchester, Azevedo 1 (Mullen, Jones), 9:57 (PP). 2, Manchester, Cliche 1 (Loktionov, Nolan), 12:20. Penalties-Johnson Mch (interference), 4:36; Kaunisto Mch (delay of game), 6:58; Kubalik Spr (hooking), 8:24; Bogosian Spr (fighting), 14:32; Clune Mch (fighting), 14:32; Kubalik Spr (boarding), 14:41.
2nd Period-3, Manchester, Cliche 2 (Loktionov, Campbell), 0:14. 4, Manchester, Cliche 3 (Mullen, Loktionov), 6:45. 5, Manchester, Meckler 1 (Kaunisto, Paddock), 16:43. 6, Springfield, Giroux 1 (St. Pierre, Kubalik), 18:11. Penalties-Deslauriers Mch (holding), 1:35; Goloubef Spr (holding), 9:45.
3rd Period-7, Springfield, Bass 1 (Moore, Drazenovic), 1:02. Penalties-Prout Spr (roughing), 7:56; Clune Mch (goaltender interference, roughing), 7:56; Kolomatis Mch (hooking), 9:14; Drazenovic Spr (tripping), 14:00; Kaunisto Mch (slashing), 17:25; Byers Spr (fighting), 18:05; Campbell Mch (fighting), 18:05; Clune Mch (misconduct - unsportsmanlike conduct), 18:05.
Shots on Goal-Springfield 9-11-5-25. Manchester 12-11-6-29.
Power Play Opportunities-Springfield 0 / 6; Manchester 1 / 4.
Goalies-Springfield, Dainton 0-1-0 (29 shots-24 saves). Manchester, Jones 1-0-0 (25 shots-23 saves).
A-6,266
Referees-Ryan Hersey (46), Geno Binda (22).
Linesmen-Jeremy Lovett (78), Joe Ross (92).
Tonight's Lines
Alexandre Giroux - Martin St. Pierre - Tomas Kubalik
Dane Byers - Nick Drazenovic - Cody Bass
Oliver Gabriel - Andrew Joudrey - Adam Mair
Aaron Bogosian - Ryan Garlock - Mike Thomas
Dane Byers - Nick Drazenovic - Cody Bass
Oliver Gabriel - Andrew Joudrey - Adam Mair
Aaron Bogosian - Ryan Garlock - Mike Thomas
Cody Goloubef - Nick Holden
John Moore - Dalton Prout
Brent Regner - Anton Blomqvist
John Moore - Dalton Prout
Brent Regner - Anton Blomqvist
Paul Dainton
Allen York
Not dressed: Ryan Russell, Steven Delisle, Wade MacLeod
PRE-GAME
By: Sean Seifert
Springfield, MA – The Springfield Falcons drop the puck on their regular season tonight as they make the trip north to face off against the Manchester Monarchs for the first game of their 2011-2012 campaign. After a three-game preseason that brought them toward their current roster, the Falcons look to start a winning season against a Monarchs team that bested them in 7 of 10 meetings last season.
With the preseason in the books, the Falcons look forward to a final roster that head coach Rob Riley says is full of leadership. “Everyone is excited, everyone is ready to go,” said Riley. “We’ve put together a leadership group of veterans. We’re going to be in great shape with leadership.”
The Falcons NHL affiliate, the Columbus Blue Jackets, have sent down forwards like Alexandre Giroux and Martin St. Pierre that Riley says will make a big impact this year. The solid duo of Nick Holden and Cody Goloubef look to hold down the defense for the Falcons as goaltenders Paul Dainton and Allen York still vie for the number one spot in net.
Riley says the depth of the Monarchs will be a good test for his team on Friday. “They’re a very experienced team. It’ll be a very good barometer to see exactly where we are,” said Riley.
The MassMutual Center comes to life on Saturday, October 15th as the Falcons play their home opener against the Providence Bruins at 7:00 PM. The Falcons split 5-5 against the Bruins in 2010-2011 competition. Springfield’s most goals in one game came against the Bruins last season when the Falcons downed the Bruins 8-2 on Feb. 12, on MassMutual Center ice.
Listed below is the Falcons current roster:
Goaltenders – Paul Dainton, Allen York (2)
Defensemen – Steven Delisle, Dalton Prout, Nick Holden, John Moore, Cody Goloubef, Brent Regner, Anton Blomqvist (7)
Forwards – Alexandre Giroux, Nick Drazenovic, Adam Mair, Ryan Garlock, Mike Thomas, Tomas Kubalik, Wade MacLeod, Oliver Gabriel, Andrew Joudrey, Cody Bass, Aaron Bogosian, Dane Byers, Martin St. Pierre, Ryan Russell (14)
Injured - Theo Ruth
