FALCONS BEAT SOUND TIGERS 4-1

November 19, 2011 - The Springfield Falcons completed a perfect weekend on Saturday night beating the Bridgeport Sound Tigers 4-1 at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, CT.  The Falcons used a pair of goals from Ryan Russell and a 23-save effort from goaltender Manny Legace on their way to their sixth win in their last eight contests, including three straight victories this week.  Springfield is currently in a first place tie with the Albany Devils in the Northeast Division.

For the second straight night, the Falcons came out of the gates and had a quick start in the first period.  Just 3:33 into the opening frame, Russell scored his seventh goal of the year just as Springfield's power play expired giving the Falcons a 1-0 lead.  Russell added his second goal of the period at 17:29 of the first frame giving the birds a 2-0 advantage through 20 minutes of play.

"Ryan is a very good player for us," said Falcons head coach Rob Riley.  "He can do so many things, he can score, he can block shots, I think now he is leading our team in goals, so he has been very solid for us.  We put him in every situation, even strength, power play and penalty kill."

Early in the first period, the game had a physical element with Springfield's Theo Ruth and Bridgeport's Brett Gallant dropping the gloves.  Later on in the opening session, captain Dane Byers demonstrated a perfectly legal hit on Bridgeport's Benn Olson, who in return dropped his gloves and went after a surprised Byers.  The Falcons ended up with a four-minute power play as a result of their disciplined play.

In the second period, Bridgeport cut their deficit to 2-1 when Tim Wallace scored his fifth goal of the year at 4:17 of the middle frame.  The game's second fight occurred midway through the second period as Springfield's Tim Spencer dropped the gloves with Gallant.

The two teams exchanged scoring chances for the first 10 minutes of the third period with Legace coming up big for the Falcons, while Bridgeport's Kevin Poulin also made several nice saves to keep it a one goal contest.

Finally at 13:21 of the third period, Cam Atkinson added his eighth marker on the campaign as he took a nice pass from Martin St. Pierre to give the Falcons a cushion at 3-1.  Alexandre Giroux added an empty net goal in the game's closing seconds to complete a 4-1 Springfield win.

GAME NOTES

Martin St. Pierre has points in ten straight games collecting three goals and 13 assists for 16 points in that span. He leads the Falcons in scoring with five goals and 16 assists for 21 points in 17 games and he has also moved into 4th in the league in scoring and 3rd in assists.

Manny Legace has won his last three starts posting a .935 save percentage and 1.90 goals against average.  In his last four appearances, he has a .944 save percentage and a 1.75 save percentage in 231 minutes of action.

Cam Atkinson has collected at least a point in seven of his last eight games collecting seven goals and one assist in that span.  Atkinson is tied with Ryan Russell for the team lead in goals with eight.  

Alexandre Giroux has points in five straight games since returning to the Falcons from the Columbus Blue Jackets.  Giroux has goals in four straight games and overall has five goals and two assists in his last five contests.

Saturday's Lines

Not dressed:    Anton Blomqvist, Maksim Mayorov (Injured), Oliver Gabriel, Dalton Prout, Andrew Joudrey, Ryan Garlock

Springfield Falcons 4 at Bridgeport Sound Tigers 1 - Status: Final
Saturday, November 19, 2011 - Webster Bank Arena

Springfield 2 0 2 - 4
Bridgeport 0 1 0 - 1

1st Period-1, Springfield, Russell 7 (Lebda, Goloubef), 3:33. 2, Springfield, Russell 8 (Mair), 17:29. Penalties-Ruth Spr (fighting), 1:31; Gallant Bri (hooking, fighting), 1:31; Olson Bri (roughing, roughing, game misconduct - continuing altercation), 8:02; Savard Spr (holding), 15:22.

2nd Period-3, Bridgeport, Wallace 5 (McNeely, Donovan), 4:17. Penalties-Reese Bri (delay of game), 5:49; Spencer Spr (fighting), 8:27; Gallant Bri (fighting), 8:27; Lebda Spr (interference), 10:37; Kubalik Spr (roughing), 18:09.

3rd Period-4, Springfield, Atkinson 8 (St. Pierre), 13:21. 5, Springfield, Giroux 6 (St. Pierre, Holden), 18:28 (EN). Penalties-Giroux Spr (double minor - high-sticking), 3:36; Cizikas Bri (hooking), 10:05; McNeely Bri (high-sticking), 14:27.

Shots on Goal-Springfield 9-8-9-26. Bridgeport 7-7-10-24.
Power Play Opportunities-Springfield 0 / 6; Bridgeport 0 / 5.
Goalies-Springfield, Legace 3-3-0 (24 shots-23 saves). Bridgeport, Poulin 3-5-0 (25 shots-22 saves).
A-3,382
Referees-Ryan Fraser (14).
Linesmen-Kevin Redding (16), Luke Galvin (2).