Falcons Host Pirates Tonight
October 12, 2007 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Falcons News Release
The Springfield Falcons and Portland Pirates will get together for the second time in a week when they face-off at the MassMutual Center on Friday night starting at 7:30 pm. The Falcons and Pirates opened the 2007-08 regular season against each other last Friday, October 5 with Springfield skating out of Portland with a 3-2 win. Stephane Goulet, Zack Stortini and Viacheslav Trukhno scored for the Falcons, while Portland center Jason King scored a pair goals for the Pirates. Falcons goaltender Jeff Deslauriers made 34 saves in goal for Springfield, while Gerald Coleman stopped 21 of the 24 shots he faced between the pipes for the Pirates.
The Falcons enter tonight's game with a record of 2-1 on the young season, including a 3-2 overtime win over the Manchester Monarchs this past Sunday afternoon at the MassMutual Center. Springfield center Rob Schremp netted the game-winning goal in overtime against the Monarchs, while goaltender Devan Dubnyk was the game's second star making 35 saves. Springfield is in first-place in the Atlantic Division entering the weekend. The Falcons will once again play three games this weekend when they head to Manchester on Saturday and host the Norfolk Admirals on Sunday afternoon.
Portland heads into Springfield for their first road game of the season with a record of 1-1 splitting a pair of home games last weekend. The Pirates beat the Lowell Devils 4-1 last Saturday using four third period goals on their way to victory. Stephen Dixon scored two goals, while Mike Hoffman and Andrew Ebbett also tallied for the Pirates. Portland outshot Lowell 40-18 in the game. The Pirates will play three road games this weekend all within the state of Massachusetts stopping in Worcester on Saturday and Lowell on Sunday.
FALCONS NOTES: Falcons forward Zack Stortini scored a goal in two of three games last week leading Springfield in goals through two games. Stephane Goulet scored his first goal in the AHL on Friday, October 5 in Portland.
Viacheslav Trukhno scored his first goal in his first AHL contest on Friday, October 5 in Portland. His third period marker held up as the game-winning goal.
Left wing Jean-Francois Jacques made his Falcons debut on Saturday, October 6 after being reassigned to Springfield by their NHL affiliate, the Edmonton Oilers, on Friday, October 5. In his Falcons debut, Jacques scored one goal, had one assist and collected a fighting major. Jacques was recalled by the Oilers on Tuesday, October 9.
Goaltender Devan Dubnyk recorded his first win of the year and earned the game's second star on Sunday, October 7 making 35 saves in a 3-2 overtime win over the Manchester Monarchs. Fellow netminder Jeff Deslauriers also earned the game's second star on Friday, October 5 making 34 saves in a 3-2 win at Portland.
Rob Schremp scored his first goal of the season, the game-winner in overtime, on Sunday, October 7 earning the game's first star.
Rookie Colin McDonald made his AHL and pro debut on Saturday, October 6 against the Worcester Sharks. McDonald spent the previous four seasons with Providence College.
PIRATES NOTES: The Anaheim Ducks announced Wednesday that they have assigned center Ryan Carter to the Portland Pirates. Carter was scoreless in four regular season games with the Ducks. He made his season debut with Anaheim on Sept. 30 against the Los Angeles Kings at the O2 Arena in London, England. Carter also appeared in four preseason games with the Ducks last month, going scoreless.
Portland center Andrew Ebbett leads the Pirates in scoring with one goal and two assists for three points in three games played. Jason King and Stephen Dixon lead Portland in goals in the early season with two markers each. Ryan Dingle also has a pair of assists in two games played.
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