FALCONS END HOME SCHEDULE WITH 3-2 OT WIN

April 12, 2008 - The Springfield Falcons home season ended exactly the same way it started, with an overtime win and the game-winner scored by Rob Schremp. Schremp's game-winner at 3:46 of the extra session lifted the Falcons to a 3-2 victory over the Portland Pirates in front of 6,012 at the MassMutual Center.


In the second period, the two teams exchanged goals as Stephen Dixon gave Portland a 2-1 lead at 6:12 of the middle stanza, followed by Springfield's Troy Bodie tying the score at 2-2 at 18:16 of the second period on the power play.

Geoff Peters opened the scoring for the Pirates at 5:57 of the first period when he scored his second goal of the season, but the Falcons tied the score at 1-1 when Cody Wild tallied his first marker as a pro at 9:25 of the opening frame.

GAME NOTES

The Falcons handed out their end-of-season awards and they went to the following:

True Grit Award - Allan Rourke

Unsung Hero - Bryan Young

Community Service Award - Troy Bodie

Best Defensive Player - Theo Peckham

Players' Player - Rick Berry

Friendly's Player of the Year - Rob Schremp

Booster Club MVP - Jeff Deslauriers

FALCONS LINEUP

Potulny - Pouliot - Schremp
Trukhno - Reddox - McDonald
Simon - Sestito - Bodie
Lerg - Chwedoruk

Kemp - Young
Peckham - Anderson
Wild - Henley

Deslauriers
Dubnyk

FALCONS SCRATCHES - T.J. Reynolds (Injured), Rick Berry (Injured), Allan Rourke (Injured), Tyler Spurgeon (Injured)

GAME NIGHT NOTES………………

GAME SETUP:  The Springfield Falcons and the Portland Pirates conclude their season series Saturday night at the MassMutual Center.  The Falcons are 5-2-1-1 against the Pirates this season.  Liam Reddox and Rob Schremp lead the Falcons in scoring against the Pirates this season with six points each.  Andrew Ebbett leads the Pirates in scoring against the Falcons this year with nine points in seven games. 

STOCKTON UPDATE:  Jonas Almtorp’s shorthanded goal with 4:19 left in regulation snapped a 2-2 tie, highlighting a four-goal rally in the third period to help lift the eighth-seed Stockton Thunder to a stunning 4-2 comeback victory over the first-seed Las Vegas Wranglers in game 1 of the National Conference Quarterfinal round of the 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs, before a crowd of 3,442 at Orleans Arena on Friday night.

FALCONS PLAYER TRANSACTIONS:  The Springfield Falcons have had a very busy week of player transactions as they prepare for the final weekend of the regular season.  Forwards Ryan O’Marra, Jonas Almtorp, Stephane Goulet and defenseman Brad Farynuk have all joined the Falcons’ ECHL affiliate, the Stockton Thunder for the 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs. 

O’Marra has seen time with the Thunder this season collecting 11 goals and nine assists for 20 points in 24 games while being named an ECHL All-Star.  In 31 games with the Falcons this year, O’Marra totaled two goals and seven assists for nine points and 31 penalty minutes.  Farynuk was the Thunder’s captain this season and the Enderby, British Columbia native also represented Stockton in the 2008 ECHL All-Star Game.  In 28 games with the Thunder this season, Farynuk collected three goals and 12 assists for 15 points and 41 penalty minutes.  Farynuk also played in 20 games with the Falcons this campaign picking up four assists and 18 penalty minutes. 

Goulet, who is in his second professional season, has split time between Springfield and Stockton this year.  The 6-foot-3, 208-pound native of Levis, Quebec recorded four goals and 10 assists for 14 points and 10 penalty minutes in 12 games with the Thunder this campaign.  In 36 games with Springfield this season, Goulet recorded nine goals and five assists for 14 points and 22 penalty minutes.  Almtorp has also shared time in Springfield and Stockton during his first season of professional hockey in North America.  Almtorp has registered seven goals and 10 assists for 17 points in 27 games with the Thunder this year, while also totaling two goals and two assists for four points in 37 games with Springfield. 

FALCONS SIGN PAIR TO PTO’S:  The Falcons announced this week that they have signed defenseman Brent Henley and forward Justin Chwedoruk to Professional Tryout Agreements.  Chwedoruk, who made his AHL debut last night, started the 2007-08 season with Springfield participating in their training camp and preseason games.  The St. Albert, Alberta native split the 2007-08 campaign between Bakersfield and Wheeling of the ECHL.  In 63 games combined between the Condors and Nailers, Chwedoruk collected 17 goals and 13 assists for 30 points and 109 penalty minutes.  Henley has spent the 2007-08 season with the Fort Wayne Komets of the IHL collecting four assists and 108 penalty minutes in 26 games.  The 6-foot-7, 250-pound native of Coquitlam, British Columbia has played in 43 career AHL games seeing time with the Lowell Lock Monsters (2002-03), Rochester Americans (2002-03), Toronto Roadrunners (2003-04) and Edmonton Road Runners (2004-05).

PIRATES GAME RECAP:  The Worcester Sharks claimed a 3-2 victory in overtime over the Portland Pirates on Friday night in front of 6,640 fans at the Cumberland County Civic Center.  The Pirates broke open the scoring early in the first period when Stephen Dixon netted his 16th goal of the season at the 3:26 mark. Forward Geoff Platt sent a pass to the left of the net to Dixon who redirected past Worcester's goalie Taylor Dakers to give Portland the early 1-0 lead. 

Just a short time later Brendan Mikkelson extended the Portland lead at the 8:53 mark of the first period. Mikkelson carried the puck in the zone and ripped a shot off the pads of Dakers. Mikkelson quickly grabbed his own rebound and backhanded a shot through the legs of Dakers and into the cage for his 6th goal of the season. Andrew Ebbett and Matt Caruana were credited with assists. The assist gave Caruana his first professional point of his career.

Worcester got on the board late in the first as Riley Armstrong scored to make it 2-1 at the 19:52 mark of the first period.  After a scoreless second, Worcester forward Steven Zalewski tied the game as he scored his first professional goal of his career. Zalewski took a pass from Lukas Kaspar and slapped the one-timer past Portland netminder J.S. Aubin to bring the game into overtime.  With just 20 seconds left to play in the overtime session, Zalewski scored his second goal of the night. Zalewski took the pass from Dan Spang and beat Aubin to earn the victory.  Aubin made¬¬¬ 32 saves in the loss and Dakers turned aside 30 shots for the win.