FALCONS BEAT DEVILS IN SHOOTOUT
December 17, 2011 - The Springfield Falcons used the longest shootout in their franchise history to beat the Albany Devils by a score of 2-1 on Saturday night in Albany, NY. Brett Lebda scored in the 11th round of the shootout while goaltender Manny Legace turned aside eight of 11 shooters in the extra frame in earning a well-deserved two points.
This was Springfield's first shootout of the year and it certainly was a memorable extra session. Cam Atkinson and Chad Wiseman exchanged goals in the first round of the shootout before Albany's Matt Anderson scored in round three giving the Devils a 2-1 shootout lead. The Falcons were down to their final shooter trailing 2-1 when Maksim Mayorov converted in round five to extend the game. Ryan Garlock and Eric Gelinas exchanged goals in round nine before Lebda was the deciding factor in round 11.
Before the game headed to extra time, the two teams played a scoreless first period that featured six minor penalties, four on the Falcons and two on the Devils. Garlock and Darcy Zajac also dropped the gloves in the opening period, but in the end, the game was scoreless heading into the second period.
In the middle frame, Atkinson took a perfect pass from Cody Bass at the back post to convert his team-leading 14th goal of the year giving Springfield a 1-0 lead.
The Falcons took a one goal lead into the third period, but Albany's Zajac tied the game at 4:11 of the final frame with a power play goal.
The Falcons penalty killers did a tremendous job defending five of six shorthanded situations.
Defenseman Patrick Cullity made his Falcons debut after signing a PTO contract on Thursday.
Saturday's Lines
Alexandre Giroux - Martin St. Pierre - Maksim Mayorov
Matt Calvert - Cody Bass - Cam Atkinson
Ryan Russell - Andrew Joudrey - Tomas Kubalik
Aaron Bogosian - Ryan Garlock - Tim Spencer
Brett Lebda - David Savard
Dalton Prout - Brent Regner
Theo Ruth - Patrick Cullity
Manny Legace
Paul Dainton
Not dressed: Anton Blomqvist (Injured), Adam Mair, Nick Holden (Injured), Nick Drazenovic (Injured), Mike Thomas, Wade MacLeod (Injured), Cody Goloubef (Injured), Darcy Campbell
Springfield Falcons 2 (SO) at Albany Devils 1 - Status: Final SO
Saturday, December 17, 2011 - Times Union Center
Springfield 0 1 0 0 - 2
Albany 0 0 1 0 - 1
1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Young Alb (cross-checking), 0:54; Harrold Alb (delay of game), 1:05; Savard Spr (interference), 1:45; Garlock Spr (fighting), 5:02; Zajac Alb (fighting), 5:02; Giroux Spr (tripping), 9:18; Atkinson Spr (slashing), 15:17; Giroux Spr (goaltender interference), 17:46.
2nd Period-1, Springfield, Atkinson 14 (Bass, Calvert), 9:12. Penalties-Young Alb (hooking), 10:33.
3rd Period-2, Albany, Zajac 6 (Zharkov, Harrold), 4:11 (PP). Penalties-Cullity Spr (tripping), 2:12; Palmieri Alb (tripping), 6:17; Mills Alb (boarding), 10:20; Savard Spr (roughing), 11:25; Palmieri Alb (interference), 12:49.
OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties
Shootout - Springfield 4 (Atkinson G, Calvert NG, Giroux NG, St. Pierre NG, Mayorov G, Regner NG, Kubalik NG, Russell NG, Garlock G, Bass NG, Lebda G), Albany 3 (Wiseman G, Sislo NG, Anderson G, Zalewski NG, Gionta NG, Palmieri NG, Mills NG, Zharkov NG, Gelinas G, Zajac NG, Harrold NG).
Shots on Goal-Springfield 7-13-5-1-1-27. Albany 11-9-6-1-0-27.
Power Play Opportunities-Springfield 0 / 5; Albany 1 / 6.
Goalies-Springfield, Legace 6-9-0 (27 shots-26 saves). Albany, Frazee 4-8-2 (26 shots-25 saves).
A-3,455
Referees-Terry Koharski (10).
Linesmen-Frank Murphy (29), Chris Low (88).
Random Game Notes Heading Into Saturday.................
The Falcons have lost two straight games, the most recent setback on Friday night when they dropped a 2-1 decision against the Providence Bruins in Providence, RI. Springfield remains in the thick of things in the Northeast Division with a record of 12-14-1-0. The Falcons are only five points behind second place Adirondack, three points behind third place Albany, and one point behind fourth place Bridgeport.
With his assist last night, Cam Atkinson extended his scoring streak to four straight games and he has also moved into 6th in the AHL in rookie scoring. Atkinson has 13 goals and eight assists for 21 points in 25 games and he continues to lead the Falcons in goals. He has scored a goal in three of his last four contests.
Manny Legace has started the last five straight games for the Falcons posting a .936 save percentage stopping 131 of 140 shots on goal in that stretch. Legace has moved into 13th in the leage with a 2.37 goals against average and for the season he has a .920 save percentage.
Not that these type of stats always mean alot with affiliation changes and things like that, but Springfield is 20-11-1-2 against Albany over the last five seasons, including 10-6-0-1 in Albany.
Eight of Springfield's last nine games have been decided by one goal. To go one step further, 11 of Springfield's last 16 games have been one goal games.
