FALCONS DEFEAT WHALE 4-2
By: Sean Seifert
January 8, 2012 – The Springfield Falcons remain undefeated in the new year, thrashing the Connecticut Whale 4-2 at the MassMutual Center on Sunday afternoon. The Falcons winning streak climbs to three as Springfield rounded out the weekend having collected six points in the past three days.
“Just and awesome weekend, it couldn’t have come at a better time,” said Falcons’ head coach Rob Riley of his team’s early January success. “I am proud of the effort and I am proud of the will to win.”
In the first period, the Falcons were denied by the post twice, and Connecticut goaltender Cameron Talbot turned aside 13 shots on goal to keep Springfield off the board. Dane Byers and Cam Atkinson beat Talbot but could not beat the iron, giving the Whale enough room to score the first goal of the game.
Connecticut’s Andre Deveaux scored on the power play at 12:48 to give the Whale a 1-0 lead after the first 20 minutes of play.
The Falcons wasted little time in the second period, collecting two goals in a span of 29 seconds to deal the Whale a 2-1 deficit. At 1:45, Matt Calvert batted home a rebound off a shot from Dalton Prout to tie the game. Half a minute later, Andrew Joudrey notched a goal from a Maksim Mayorov assist to give the Falcons a 2-1 advantage at 2:14. The Whale managed to tie the game at 4:04 on the power play when Jonathan Audy-Marchessault snuck one past Manny Legace to bring the scoring to two apiece.
In the final minute of the second period, Atkinson redirected a shot from Brent Regner to push the Falcons ahead of the Whale at 19:34, ending the stanza with the Falcons in control 3-2. The Falcons out-shot the Whale 21-9 in the second period.
In the third period, the Falcons built a 4-2 cushion to finish off the Whale. Atkinson scored his second goal of the game at 14:17 to lift the Falcons to their second win over the Whale in two days. Legace shut down a penalty shot bid from Deveaux at 18:51 to finish off the game. Legace posted 26 saves as the Falcons out-shot the Whale 47-28.
Atkinson says the locker room is coming together in a big way. “This weekend just shows that our leaders are leading and we are following right behind them and coming together as a team,” said Atkinson. “It feels great. This is what we should have been doing all along.”
The Falcons get back to work next week on Friday, January 13 against the Portland Pirates for a 7:30 pm puck drop at the MassMutual Center. The Falcons are 2-0 against the Pirates this season and last defeated Portland at home on Dec 4, by a 2-1 decision.
Sunday's Lines
Alexandre Giroux - Martin St. Pierre - Cam Atkinson
Dane Byers - Ryan Garlock - Matt Calvert
Maksim Mayorov - Andrew Joudrey - Wade MacLeod
Mike Thomas - Aaron Bogosian - Tim Spencer
Brett Lebda - Theo Ruth
Dalton Prout - Brent Regner
Patrick Cullity - Anton Blomqvist
Manny Legace
Mark Dekanich
Not dressed: Adam Mair (Injured), Nick Holden (Injured), Nick Drazenovic (Injured), Cody Bass (Injured), Cody Goloubef (Injured), Tomas Kubalik (Columbus), Steven Delisle
Connecticut Whale 2 at Springfield Falcons 4 - Status: Final
Sunday, January 8, 2012 - MassMutual Center
Connecticut 1 1 0 - 2
Springfield 0 3 1 - 4
1st Period-1, Connecticut, Deveaux 11 (Newbury, Audy-Marchessault), 12:48 (PP). Penalties-Byers Spr (hooking), 1:10; Giroux Spr (holding), 11:28; Tessier Ct (slashing), 13:27; Nightingale Ct (unsportsmanlike conduct), 14:31; Byers Spr (unsportsmanlike conduct), 14:31; Newbury Ct (holding), 16:18.
2nd Period-2, Springfield, Calvert 6 (Prout, Lebda), 1:45 (PP). 3, Springfield, Joudrey 4 (Prout, Mayorov), 2:14. 4, Connecticut, Audy-Marchessault 14 (Deveaux, Erixon), 4:04 (PP). 5, Springfield, Atkinson 18 (Regner, Giroux), 19:34. Penalties-Klassen Ct (high-sticking), 0:48; Lebda Spr (interference), 3:13; Nightingale Ct (interference), 6:59; Thuresson Ct (holding), 10:16; St. Pierre Spr (hooking), 17:03.
3rd Period-6, Springfield, Atkinson 19 (Giroux, Lebda), 14:17. Penalties-Ruth Spr (tripping), 7:02; Prout Spr (boarding), 11:33; Deveaux Ct (holding), 12:11; Bell Ct (misconduct - unsportsmanlike conduct), 16:57; Deveaux Ct (boarding), 19:19; Tessier Ct (slashing), 20:00.
Shots on Goal-Connecticut 13-9-6-28. Springfield 13-21-13-47.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 2 / 6; Springfield 1 / 7.
Goalies-Connecticut, Talbot 9-8-0 (47 shots-43 saves). Springfield, Legace 9-11-1 (28 shots-26 saves).
A-2,888
Referees-Ryan Murphy (5), Ryan Fraser (14).
Linesmen-Robert St. Lawrence (10), Frank Murphy (29).
