FALCONS BEAT PIRATES 5-1
March 16, 2012 - Friday's game between the Springfield Falcons and Portland Pirates was previewed as a playoff-type game and it certainly didn't disappoint the 3,769 at the MassMutual Center as the Falcons scored four third period goals on their way to a 5-1 victory over the Pirates. The Falcons improved their record to 29-28-3-3 good for 64 points, one point away from the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
With the game deadlocked at 1-1 heading into the third period, the Falcons offense exploded taking complete control of the game in the final 20 minutes. The Falcons were on the penalty kill when Adam Mair made a nice play to breakaway down the leftwing side and snap a wrist shot past Portland goaltender Peter Mannino for a shorthanded marker and giving the Falcons a 2-1 lead at 2:25 of the final frame.
After Mair's goal, the Falcons continued to apply the attack on Mannino and at 4:19 of the third period, Dalton Prout fired a slap shot through traffic that found the back of the net putting Springfield up by two at 3-1. The Falcons used a strong penalty kill just four minutes later and Matt Calvert took a feed from Nick Drazenovic and Calvert executed a beautiful backhand to forehand finish, giving the Birds a 4-1 cushion. Tomas Kubalik added a late power play marker for the Falcons concluding a strong 20 minutes of hockey for the hometown team.
After a scoreless first period, the Falcons and Pirates exchanged goals in the second period. Portland's Brett Sterling gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead at 4:36 of the middle frame, but Drazenovic tied the score at 1-1 just over a minute later when he one timed a Greg Amadio rebound past Mennino.
The Falcons started the first period strong and recorded the first 11 shots on goal. Falcons rookie goaltender Mike Clemente stopped 24 of 25 shots in his AHL debut after signing an Amateur Tryout Agreement on Tuesday.
The Falcons are 6-1-0-1 against the Pirates this year. Springfield is 4-0-0-1 in their last five home games and 7-1-1-1 in their last 10 games at The Nest.
FRIDAY'S LINEUP
Alexandre Giroux - Martin St. Pierre - Tomas Kubalik
Matt Calvert - Nick Drazenovic - Wade MacLeod
Andrew Joudrey - Nate Longpre - Maksim Mayorov
Adam Mair - Ryan Garlock - Jake Morley
Patrick Cullity - David Savard
Cody Goloubef - Greg Amadio
Brent Regner- Dalton Prout
Mike Clemente
Allen York
Not dressed: Anton Blomqvist, Nick Holden (Injured), Mark Dekanich (Injured), Aaron Bogosian, Tim Spencer, Theo Ruth, Cody Bass (Injured), Manny Legace (Injured), Paul Dainton (Personal reasons)
Portland Pirates 1 at Springfield Falcons 5 - Status: Final
Friday, March 16, 2012 - MassMutual Center
Portland 0 1 0 - 1
Springfield 0 1 4 - 5
1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Rome Por (double minor - high-sticking), 18:13.
2nd Period-1, Portland, Sterling 25 (Miele, Beaudoin), 4:36. 2, Springfield, Drazenovic 7 (Amadio, Calvert), 5:50. Penalties-Beaudoin Por (delay of game), 7:55; Hextall Por (holding), 12:01; Calvert Spr (slashing), 15:38; Regner Spr (hooking), 18:02.
3rd Period-3, Springfield, Mair 3 2:25 (SH). 4, Springfield, Prout 4 (St. Pierre), 4:19. 5, Springfield, Calvert 14 (Drazenovic), 8:19 (SH). 6, Springfield, Kubalik 11 (Giroux, St. Pierre), 18:23 (PP). Penalties-Regner Spr (delay of game), 0:43; Kubalik Spr (unsportsmanlike conduct), 7:46; Louis Por (boarding, fighting), 17:53; Mair Spr (fighting), 17:53; Eckford Por (slashing, fighting), 19:25; McArdle Por (misconduct - unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:25; Garlock Spr (fighting), 19:25.
Shots on Goal-Portland 4-11-10-25. Springfield 15-12-11-38.
Power Play Opportunities-Portland 0 / 4; Springfield 1 / 5.
Goalies-Portland, Mannino 5-7-0 (38 shots-33 saves). Springfield, Clemente 1-0-0 (25 shots-24 saves).
A-3,697
Referees-Terry Koharski (10).
Linesmen-Frank Murphy (29), Luke Galvin (2).
GAME PREVIEW – The Springfield Falcons and Portland Pirates meet for the 8th and final time this season when they drop the puck on Friday night at the MassMutual Center starting at 7:30 pm. The Falcons are 5-1-0-1 against the Pirates this year.
Alexandre Giroux (4-3-7), Maksim Mayorov (3-4-7) and Martin St. Pierre (2-5-7) lead the Falcons in scoring against the Pirates this year with 7 points each. Jordan Szwarz (3-1-4), Nathan Oystrick (1-3-4) and Andy Miele (0-4-4) lead the Pirates in scoring against the Falcons this year.
The Falcons and Pirates are currently tied with 62 points in the standings heading into tonight’s action. Springfield is 3-0-0-1 in their last four home games and 6-1-1-1 in their last nine games at The Nest.
The Springfield Falcons have 14 games remaining in the regular season as they post a record of 28-28-3-3 through 62 games heading into the final five weeks of the regular season. The following is a breakdown of opponents for the Falcons’ remaining 14 regular season contests: St. John’s (3), Bridgeport (3), Providence (2), Adirondack (2), Portland (1), Connecticut (1), Wilkes-Barre (1), Worcester (1).
The Falcons remain just two points out of the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Eastern Conference Standings
1. Norfolk – 89 pts – 12 games remaining
2. St. John’s – 83 pts – 15 games remaining
3. Bridgeport – 72 pts – 16 games remaining
4. Wilkes-Barre – 79 pts – 13 games remaining
5. Hershey – 72 pts – 15 games remaining
6. CT Whale – 72 pts – 15 games remaining
7. Manchester – 65 pts – 13 games remaining
8. Albany – 64 pts – 15 games remaining
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9. Worcester – 63 pts – 16 games remaining
10. Adirondack – 63 pts – 14 games remaining
11. Portland – 62 pts – 15 games remaining
12. Springfield – 62 pts – 14 games remaining
13. Syracuse – 62 pts – 14 games remaining
14. Providence – 61 pts – 13 games remaining
15. Binghamton – 52 pts – 14 games remaining
Alexandre Giroux collected two goals on Sunday, March 11, his 362 and 363 goals of his AHL career, earning the game’s top star. Giroux is now one goal shy of Mitch Lamoureux for 7th on the AHL’s All-Time Goals list with 364 markers….Nathan Longpre scored his first goal as a member of the Falcons on Sunday, March 11…..Martin St. Pierre is currently 8th in the AHL in scoring with 10 goals and 46 assists for 56 points in 60 games played. St. Pierre is currently third in the league in assists and he continues to lead the Falcons in assists and scoring. (Most assists in a season by a Falcons player: Jean-Guy Trudel (65, 2000-01), Daniel Briere (56, 1997-1998), Charles Linglet (55, 2009-10), Brad Tiley (54, 1999-00), Rob Schremp (53, 2007-08), Robert Petrovicky (52, 1994-1995)……Goaltender Mike Clemente signed an ATO with the Falcons on Wednesday after completing his college career with Brown University.
Phoenix Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney announced Tuesday that the Coyotes have assigned defenseman David Rundblad to the Portland Pirates. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Rundblad has appeared in six games with the Coyotes, collecting three assists. In 15 games with the Pirates this season, he has registered 6-4-10. Rundblad posted 1-3-4 in 24 games with the Ottawa Senators before being acquired by the Coyotes on Dec. 17, 2011.
The 21-year-old native of Lycksele, Sweden played four seasons with Skelleftea HC from 2007-08 through 2010-11 registering 12-61-73 and 36 penalty minutes in 153 regular season games. In 40 career postseason games, Rundblad recorded 4-9-13.
Rundblad was originally drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the first round (17th overall) in the 2009 Entry Draft.
