FALCONS FALL TO SHARKS 2-1
December 13, 2011 - The Springfield Falcons outshot the Worcester Sharks 24-15 through the final 40 minutes of play and had chances right up until the final buzzer to tie the game, but in the end it was the Sharks who held on for a 2-1 win at the MassMutual Center on Tuesday night.
The Falcons fell behind 2-0 in the first period, a session that saw Worcester outshoot the Falcons 16-4 in the opening 20 minutes. Worcester used a power play goal at 17:35 of the first period by Benn Ferriero to take a 1-0 lead. The Sharks built a 2-0 advantage at 19:21 of the opening frame when Tommy Wingels converted on a shorthanded situation giving Worcester a two-goal advantage heading into the second period.
In the middle frame, the Falcons cut their deficit to 2-1 when Cam Atkinson was awarded a penalty shot and he converted beating Worcester goaltender Tyson Sexsmith with a beautiful backhand to forehand move.
Falcons goaltender Manny Legace was steady between the pipes for the Falcons stopping 29 of 31 shots on goal. Legace was especially solid in the first period keeping Springfield within striking distance. Matt Calvert also chipped in with some goaltending duties in the first period as he stopped a puck from crossing the red line late in the opening period.
The game also had a physical tone as Tim Spencer dropped the gloves with Jimmy Bonneau just two minutes into the first period. Cody Bass had a pair of scraps for the Falcons as he tangled with Curt Gogol in the first period and dropped the gloves with Matt Pelech in the middle session.
The Falcons and Sharks combined for 60 minutes in penalties.
Springfield now gets ready for back-to-back road games this weekend as they head to Providence on Friday and Albany on Saturday.
Tuesday's Lines
Alexandre Giroux - Martin St. Pierre - Cam Atkinson
Matt Calvert - Ryan Russell - Tomas Kubalik
Adam Mair - Andrew Joudrey - Cody Bass
Tim Spencer - Ryan Garlock - Mike Thomas
Darcy Campbell - David Savard
Dalton Prout - Brett Lebda
Brent Regner - Theo Ruth
Manny Legace
Paul Dainton
Not dressed: Anton Blomqvist (Injured), Maksim Mayorov, Nick Holden (Injured), Nick Drazenovic (Injured), Aaron Bogosian, Wade MacLeod (Injured), Cody Goloubef (Injured)
Worcester Sharks 2 at Springfield Falcons 1 - Status: Final
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 - MassMutual Center
Worcester 2 0 0 - 2
Springfield 0 1 0 - 1
1st Period-1, Worcester, Ferriero 9 (McCarthy, Sullivan), 17:35 (PP). 2, Worcester, Wingels 8 (Lucia), 19:21 (SH). Penalties-Bonneau Wor (fighting), 2:06; Spencer Spr (fighting), 2:06; Russell Spr (hooking), 8:50; Savard Spr (hooking), 10:18; Savard Spr (double minor - high-sticking), 14:30; Livingston Wor (roughing), 17:51; Gogol Wor (fighting), 19:31; Bass Spr (instigating, fighting, misconduct - instigating), 19:31.
2nd Period-3, Springfield, Atkinson 13 1:40 (TXT_PS). Penalties-Del Monte Wor (hooking), 5:42; Pelech Wor (cross-checking), 7:47; Pelech Wor (fighting), 17:15; Bass Spr (fighting), 17:15.
3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-served by Thomas Spr (bench minor - too many men), 10:44; Acolatse Wor (tripping), 11:34.
Shots on Goal-Worcester 16-8-7-31. Springfield 4-12-12-28.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 1 / 5; Springfield 0 / 4.
Goalies-Worcester, Sexsmith 6-5-3 (28 shots-27 saves). Springfield, Legace 5-8-0 (31 shots-29 saves).
A-2,165
Referees-Mark Lemelin (41), Geno Binda (22).
Linesmen-Robert St. Lawrence (10), Rich Patry (52).
GAME PREVIEW – The Springfield Falcons and Worcester Sharks meet for the third time this season when they drop the puck on Tuesday night at the MassMutual Center starting at 6 pm. The Falcons and Sharks have split their first two games with the home team winning each contest in overtime. The Falcons beat the Sharks in the extra session back on November 16 by a score of 3-2 with Alexandre Giroux netting the game-winning goal. Worcester came back and beat Springfield in overtime on December 2 by a score of 4-3 with Matt Irwin netting the goal in the extra session.
Tomas Kubalik leads the Falcons in scoring against Worcester this year with two goals and one assist in two games, including a two-goal effort on November 16. Martin St. Pierre has three assists in two games against the Sharks this year. Manny Legace has appeared in both games against Worcester this year posting a 2.89 goals against average and .909 save percentage.
Matt Irwin leads the Sharks in scoring against the Falcons this year with two goals and two assists for four points in two games. Worcester goaltenders Tyson Sexsmith and Harri Sateri have shared the goaltending duties in two games against Springfield with each netminder posting a 2.89 goals against average.
The Falcons enter tonight’s game having won two of their last three games and currently have a record of
12-12-1-0. Springfield beat the Bridgeport Sound Tigers 5-1 this past Sunday with David Savard scoring two goals leading the offense. Cam Atkinson, Alexandre Giroux and Matt Calvert also each scored one goal, while Martin St. Pierre added three assists. Manny Legace was steady in goal stopping 29 of 30 shots.
The Sharks enter tonight’s contest having earned a point in five straight games going 4-0-0-1 in that span. Worcester most recently swept a two-game road trip in St. John’s, Newfoundland last weekend beating the IceCaps by a score of 4-3 on December 9 and 5-3 on December 11. Worcester has improved their record to 10-6-3-3 on the season good for 26 points.
BYERS RECALLED BY BLUE JACKETS - The Columbus Blue Jackets recalled forward Dane Byers to the roster on emergency recall from the Falcons on Monday. Byers, 25, has registered seven goals and eight assists for 15 points and has 63 penalty minutes in 23 games with Springfield this season. He ranks second on the club in power play goals (four), is fourth in goals and points and tops in penalty minutes. He has appeared in six career NHL games, all with the New York Rangers, and has 1-0-1 and 31 penalty minutes. He scored his first NHL goal at Minnesota on October 30, 2009.
A native of Nipawin, Saskatchewan, Byers was the Rangers’ fourth pick, 48th overall, in the 2004 Entry Draft. He made his professional debut with Hartford (AHL) in 2005-06 and has collected 91-124-215, 745 penalty minutes in 347 career AHL games with Hartford/Connecticut, Springfield and San Antonio.
FALCONS PLAYER NOTES – Martin St. Pierre has moved into 7th in the AHL in scoring with six goals and 22 assists for 28 points in 23 games. St. Pierre is 4th in the league in assists and he is currently on a five-game scoring streak collecting one goal and six assists. St. Pierre has recorded at least a point in 15 of his last 16 games….Cam Atkinson is currently 6th in the AHL in rookie scoring with 12 goals and seven assists for 19 points in 23 games. Atkinson leads Springfield in goals….Manny Legace has appeared in 10 of Springfield’s last 12 games.
SHARKS PLAYER NOTES – Worcester forward John McCarthy has points in four of his last five games collecting two goals and five assists for seven points in that span. McCarthy has one goal and four assists in his last two games including three assists on December 11….Worcester forward Tony Lucia is on a five-game scoring streak having posted two goals and three assists in that span…..Tommy Wingels has three goals and one assist in his last two games….Benn Ferriero has two goals and two assists in his last two games.
