FALCONS BEAT PIRATES 4-1
January 11, 2009 - The Springfield Falcons entered Sunday's game desperate for a win and they received just what they needed beating the Portland Pirates 4-1 at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine. The Falcons used an early shorthanded goal from Tyler Spurgeon and a steady 33-save effort from goaltender Devan Dubnyk in earning the two points.
The Falcons gained momentum in the first period when Spurgeon opened the scoring for the Falcons at 13:14 of the opening frame with a shorthanded goal, followed by Mike Gabinet's first marker of the year at 15:06 of the first period giving the Falcons a two-goal lead after 20 minutes of play.
After a scoreless second period, Carl Corazzini expanded Springfield's advantage to 3-0 just 15-seconds into the third period. Portland snapped Dubnyk's bid for a shutout at 8:22 of the final frame when Derek Whitmore scored his sixth goal of the year, but captain Tim Sestito added an empty net marker late in the third period capping off Springfield's win.
FALCONS AUDIO - Head Coach Jeff Truitt Recaps The Win
GAME NOTES
Colin McDonald played center on Sunday afternoon, the first time this year he has played center full-time in a game.
The Falcons scored four goals in a game for the first time since December 13.
Tim Sestito recorded his first goal since October 19.
Mike Gabinet's goal was his first AHL goal.
FALCONS LINEUP
Urquhart - O'Marra - Schremp
Lefebvre - Spurgeon - Lerg
Sestito - Paukovich - Bordeleau
Bekar - McDonald - Corazzini
Young - Roy
Peckham - Wild
Chorney - Gabinet
Dubnyk
Deslauriers
FALCONS SCRATCHES - Jake Taylor (Injured), Adam Huxley (Healthy), Viachelsav Trukhno (Injured), Stephane Goulet (Healthy), Sebastien Bisaillon (Healthy), Josef Hrabal (Healthy), Hans Benson (Injured)
ZACK STORTINI PLACED ON NHL INJURED RESERVE
RYAN POTULNY RECALLED FROM SPRINGFIELD
General Manager Steve Tambellini announced today the Edmonton Oilers have placed forward Zack Stortini on the NHL Injured Reserve List and recalled centre Ryan Potulny from the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League.
Stortini suffered a lower body injury in the Oilers’ January 9th game versus San Jose. The 6’3”, 228 pound right winger has scored a goal and two assists in 28 games this season and leads the Oilers with 111 penalty minutes.
Potulny, who was signed to a one-year contract by the Oilers on June 14, 2008, currently leads the Falcons in scoring with 17 goals and 14 assists for 31 points in 36 games with Edmonton’s AHL affiliate. The 6-foot, 190-pound native of Grand Forks, North Dakota also leads Springfield in goals and multi-point games with nine.
The centreman was named to the PlanetUSA roster for the upcoming 2009 AHL All-Star Game to be played at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts on Monday, January 26th.
Potulny made his NHL debut with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2005-06 and has scored 7-7-14 with 26 PIM in 44 career NHL games. In his last NHL appearance, he scored one assist in seven games with the Flyers during the 2007-08 season.
The Edmonton Oilers 30th Anniversary Season is presented in part by the Rexall Family of Pharmacies, Bell, Molson Canadian, ATB Financial and Ford.
URQUHART RECALLED FROM STOCKTON
The Springfield Falcons, proud members of the American Hockey League, announced today that they have recalled forward Cory Urquhart from their ECHL affiliate, the Stockton Thunder. Urquhart is expected to join the Falcons in Portland on Sunday for their game against the Pirates starting at 4:00 pm.
This will be Urquhart’s second recall to Springfield this year as the 6-foot-3, 196-pound native of Halifax, Nova Scotia has played in five games with the Falcons this year totaling one assist. Urquhart is currently second on Stockton in scoring with 15 goals and 17 assists for 32 points in 30 games with the Thunder.
The Falcons are in Portland, Maine on Sunday to take on the Pirates starting at 4:00 pm.
