FALCONS BLANKED BY DEVILS 2-0

December 29, 2007 - The Springfield Falcons lost to the Lowell Devils 2-0 on Saturday night at the MassMutual Center extending their winless streak to six games (0-5-1-0).  Springfield will host the Providence Bruins on Monday starting at 1:00 pm at "The Nest."

After two-plus periods of scoreless hockey, Lowell's Benoit Mondou scored on a breakaway at 7:28 of the third period putting the Devils on top 1-0.  Barry Tallackson gave Lowell a 2-0 advantage at 15:57 of the final frame giving the Devils a two-goal cushion.

There were a pair of altercations on the evening as Springfield's Viacheslav Trukhno and Lowell's Pierre-Luc Leblond squared off in the second period, followed by Troy Bodie and Mark Fraser dropping the gloves early in the third period.

Springfield goaltender Devan Dubnyk was steady in goal for the Falcons stopping 33 of 35 shots, while Lowell netminder Frank Doyle stopped all 23 Springfield shots he faced in earning the shutout.

FALCONS LINEUP

Schremp - Pouliot - Jacques
Johansson - Sestito - O'Marra
Trukhno - Simon - McDonald
Flinn - Bodie

Berry - Kemp
Peckham - Rourke
Young - Bisaillon

Dubnyk
Deslauriers

FALCONS SCRATCHES - T.J. Reynolds (Injured), Brad Farynuk (Healthy), Liam Reddox (Injured), Tyler Spurgeon (Injured), Mathieu Roy (Immigration), Jacob Micflikier (Injured)

GAME NOTES

*  Jacob Micflikier suffered a fracture in his leg when his skate hit a rut in the ice during Saturday's morning skate.

 

GAME NIGHT NOTES………………

GAME SETUP: The Springfield Falcons and Lowell Devils meet for the fifth time this season when they go head-to-head on Saturday night at the MassMutual Center.  The Falcons are 4-0 against the Devils this season with Springfield beating Lowell 5-2 in their most recent meeting back on December 8. 

Left wing Jean-Francois Jacques leads Springfield in scoring against Lowell this season with four goals and four assists for eight points in four games with a +3 rating.  Center Marc Pouliot is second on the team in points against the Devils this season with three goals and four assists for seven points in four games.  Springfield goaltenders have been very solid between the pipes against the Devils in the season series with Jeff Deslauriers posting a record of 3-0 with a 1.67 goals against average and .949 save percentage, while Devan Dubnyk has a record of 1-0 with a 2.00 goals against average and .955 save percentage. 

            Lowell forward Petr Vrana leads the Devils in scoring against the Falcons this year with one goal and five assists for six points in four games played.  Noah Clarke has registered three goals in four games against Springfield in the season series, while goaltender Frank Doyle has played in three of the four match-ups. 

            The Falcons head into tonight’s game looking to snap a five-game winless streak (0-4-1-0) with their last win occurring back on December 14 against Houston.  Springfield battled back from a 3-0 third period deficit last night falling just short to the Hartford Wolf Pack by a score of 3-2.  Sebastien Bisaillon and Marc Pouliot scored power play goals just over two-minutes apart in the final frame last night inching the Falcons to within a single goal.  Springfield outshot Hartford 37-29, including 15-4 in the third period.  Springfield is 10-5 on home ice this season and including tonight’s game, they will play four of their next five games on home ice.  The Falcons will also play seven of their next eight games against Atlantic Division foes.  Springfield is 10-7-2-3 against divisional rivals this year.  The Falcons will conclude 2007 with a New Year’s Eve matinee starting at 1:00 pm against the Providence Bruins at “The Nest.”

            Lowell heads into Springfield having won two straight games, including a 4-3 overtime victory in their last game on Thursday, December 27 against the Worcester Sharks.  Nicklas Bergfors netted the game-winner in the extra frame, while goaltender Frank Doyle earned the win stopping 27 of 30 shots.  Lowell starts a three-game in three-day stretch tonight with road games in Springfield Saturday, Worcester on Sunday and Portland on Monday. 

BUSY WEEK OF TRANSACTIONS:  The Springfield Falcons announced Thursday that forwards Ryan O’Marra, Jacob Micflikier and defenseman Brad Farynuk have been recalled from their ECHL affiliate, the Stockton Thunder.   

In 24 games with the Thunder this season, O’Marra recorded 11 goals and nine assists for 20 points and 45 penalty minutes.  O’Marra was currently leading Stockton in goals and third on the team in scoring at the time of his recall to Springfield.  On December 21, 2007, O’Marra was named to participate in the 2008 Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Game, which will be played in Stockton this season.  O’Marra started the season in Springfield and has played in four games with the Falcons not registering a point and collecting two penalty minutes.  The 6-foot-1, 193-pound center is in his first season of professional hockey and was originally the New York Islanders’ first selection (15th overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.  He was acquired by the Oilers on February 27, 2007 as part of the trade that sent Ryan Smyth from Edmonton to New York. 

This is Farynuk’s second recall of the season and the Enderby, British Columbia native has played in two games for Springfield this season not registering a point.  In 24 games with the Thunder this season, the Stockton captain has two goals and 10 assists for 12 points and was named to participate in the 2008 Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Game, which will be played in Stockton this season.  Farynuk leads all Thunder defensemen in scoring.

Micflikier is currently leading Stockton in scoring this season with 10 goals and 23 assists for 33 points in 27 games and he was also named to participate in the 2008 Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Game.  Micflikier made his pro debut as a member of the Falcons last year playing in a total of nine games collecting three goals and one assist.
 

LOWELL PLAYER NOTES:  Lowell leading scorer Petr Vrana has points in two straight games collecting one goal and two assists in that span.  Vrana leads the Devils in scoring with six goals and 24 assists for 30 points in 32 games…Left wing Stephen Gionta has goals in two straight games.  Gionta is second on Lowell in goals with 11, only behind Noah Clarke’s team-leading 12 markers….Noah Clarke has points in two straight games collecting two assists in that span.