FALCONS DROP PUCK ON 2012-2013 WITH 4-2 VICTORY OVER ICECAPS
Springfield, Mass. - The Springfield Falcons (1-0-0-0) celebrated the start of the 2012-2013 campaign with a 4-2 win over the St. John's IceCaps (0-1-0-0) in front of 6,151 fans at the MassMutual Center on Saturday night. The victory gave the Falcons two points in their first game under new head coach Brad Larsen.
Click here Falcons postgame video.
Click here for the box score.
With the IceCaps on their opening power play of the season, Carl Klinberg walked in from the right circle and jammed the puck past Falcons netminder Curtis McElhinney, connecting on St. John's first shot of the season at 8:03 of the first period to make it 1-0.
Undaunted by the IceCaps opening tally, the Falcons retaliated with a power-play strike of their own. Ryan Craig gained position in front of the net at 16:03 and redirected a Tim Erixon one-timer into the net for the Falcons' first goal of the year, tying the game, 1-1.
Just 19 seconds into the middle frame, Matt Calvert pushed in a centering feed from Tomas Kubalik, taking advantage of the set-up to give Springfield its initial lead of 2012-2013, 2-1.
The Falcons continued to pressure the IceCaps, holding over a 2-1 shots advantage past the midway point of the second. Dalton Smith capitalized on Springfield's aggressiveness, sneaking in from the left goal line and backhanding a puck in past St. John's goaltender Eddie Pasquale for his first professional goal at 13:24.
Hunter Tremblay drilled a pass from Spencer Machacek into the net from the slot at 8:57 of the third, reducing Springfield's lead to 3-2.
The Falcons responded though, as Kubalik slid in a rebound from an Erixon blast with Springfield on the man advantage, increasing the lead back to two goals, 4-2, at 15:15.
McElhinney (1-0-0-0) made 23 saves on 25 shots as Springfield prevailed with two points. Pasquale (0-1-0-0) stopped 29 of 33 Falcon bids.
Springfield hosts the Adirondack Phantoms on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. at the MassMutual Center.
Single-game tickets to see the Falcons in 2012-2013 can be purchased at the MassMutual Center Box Office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. through game time on Saturday home dates, and starting four hours prior to Sunday home contests. Fans can also purchase tickets by logging onto Ticketmaster.com.
Notes:
Springfield's win improved its record on opening night to 9-8-2...Springfield has won eight of its last nine season-opening games...The Falcons have won six-straight home games and have taken points in nine of their last 10 at the MassMutual Center dating back to the end of the 2011-2012 season...Springfield now owns a 4-1-0-0 record all-time against the IceCaps...Craig's goal was his 40th as a Falcon...He entered the game tied for 13th on the club's all-time goal-scoring list
