FALCONS GAME PREVIEW: SPRINGFIELD VS. PORTLAND, GAME #45
Springfield Falcons (27-11-3-3) vs. Portland Pirates (27-16-1-1)
Sunday, February 10, 2013
3:00 p.m.
MassMutual Center
TICKETS: (413) 739-GOAL/MassMutual Center Box Office/Ticketmaster.com
RADIO: (presented by FalconsWireless.com) WHYN NewsTalk 560 AM/WHYN.com
WEBCAST: AHLLive.com
Falcons Game Notes (PDF)
IN JUST A FEW HOURS...
The Springfield Falcons return to the ice for their first game since Feb. 2 when they open, and close, the weekend against the Portland Pirates at the MassMutual Center, with the opening face-off set for 3:00 p.m. The Falcons, winners of back-to-back games, were scheduled to host the Albany Devils this past Friday, but the game was postponed until Apr. 2 because of Winter Storm Nemo. Springfield enters today's game tied for first place in the Eastern Conference at 60 points with the Binghamton Senators. The Falcons' .682 points percentage is the highest in the AHL. Springfield battles Portland for the fourth of six times this season, and first at The Nest since Oct. 28, when the Falcons defeated the Pirates, 3-2. The Pirates have won each of the last two matchups, taking down Springfield in overtime on Nov. 23, 6-5, and also beating the Falcons on Dec. 19, 3-2. Portland heads into today's action on a three-game winning streak.
The first 1,000 fans in attendance receive a Falcons baseball hat.
Falcons owner Charlie Pompea will hold a press conference at 2:00 p.m. today in Meeting Room 3 of the MassMutual Center's convention wing. Fans and media are invited to attend.
Today's broadcast is presented by FalconsWireless.com and starts at 2:45 p.m. on WHYN 560 AM, WHYN.com, the iHeartRadio App, or AHLLive.com.
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. For information about discounted group packages to Falcons home games, call (413) 739-GOAL (4625).
BLISTERING PACE
The Falcons are on pace to earn 104 points this season, which would break their team record of 100, set in 1995-1996. Springfield is on pace to compile 47 wins, which would beat the club mark of 45 victories, accomplished in 1997-1998.
THREE ASSIGNED BY BLUE JACKETS
Jonathan Audy-Marchessault, Ryan Johansen, and David Savard were assigned to the Falcons by the Columbus Blue Jackets earlier this week.Audy-Marchessault will see his first action with Springfield since participating in the AHL All-Star Classic and then making his NHL debut. He was named the CCM/AHL Player of the Month for January and paces the Falcons with 45 points (16g-29a), placing him in a tie for third in the league in that department. Johansen had scored goals in consecutive games for Springfield prior to his recall at the start of the 2012-2013 NHL season last month. He posted two assists in 10 games with the Blue Jackets. Savard has 21 points (3g-18a) with Springfield and was scoreless in three outings with Columbus. Cody Goloubef and Nick Holden were recalled by Columbus for the first time this season within the last week.
‘ZEN’ MASTER
Nick Drazenovic had five points (1g-4a) last weekend, moving him to two points shy of Jonathan Audy-Marchessault’s team-leading 45 points. Drazenovic posted his sixth game-winning goal of the year last Saturday and is tied for first in the AHL in that category. He also has a share of the league lead with 25 points on the power play (9g-16a).
STEERING THE SHIP
Captain Ryan Craig scored twice last weekend to jump over Scott Levins into eighth in Falcons history with 53 goals in a Springfield sweater. The 10th-year pro is tied with Tavis Hansen for fourth in Falcons history with 25 power-play goals and is just four off of the all-time record of 29 man-advantage conversions, set by both Danny Briere and Jean-Guy Trudel.
‘TWO’ GOOD OF A POWER PLAY
Springfield has two man-advantage conversions in each of the last three contests, and the Falcons’ power play is now second in the AHL at 21.8%.
SUNDAY STRUT
Springfield is 9-1-0-0 in Sunday competition this season.
STAYING DISCIPLINED
The Falcons are the only team in the league that has not taken a 10-minute misconduct this season and are one of three clubs without a game misconduct.
