HANSEN SCORES FIRST PRO GOAL AS FALCONS RALLY TO EARN POINT
Springfield, Mass. - Jake Hansen registered his first professional goal on Saturday night at the MassMutual Center, helping the Springfield Falcons (10-2-1-3) rally to earn a point in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Manchester Monarchs (9-6-1-1).
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The Falcons drew first blood in an opening period that saw four power-play goals scored between the two teams, as Ryan Johansen took a backhand feed from Jonathan Audy-Marchessault and snapped the puck past Manchester goaltender Peter Mannino 4:32 into the game, giving Springfield a 1-0 lead.
The Monarchs fought right back with a trio of man-advantage tallies to grab a 3-1 edge through the initial 20 minutes. Tanner Pearson lifted a puck over Falcons netminder Curtis McElhinney's blocker from the left circle at 8:47 to tie the game. Nick Deslauriers then lofted a puck in from the middle point through a screen at 9:31 to give Manchester the advantage. Tyler Toffoli chipped a puck past McElhinney's stick from the slot at 16:14, as the Monarchs exited the first period with a two-goal cushion.
Hansen's goal sparked Springfield's comeback at 8:21 of the second. Dalton Smith crashed into a Monarch in the left corner, allowing Michael Chaput to take possession of the puck. Chaput turned and fed the puck to the slot for Hansen, who fired it through Mannino's pads, narrowing Manchester's lead to 3-2 with the only even-strength marker of the game.
In the third period, Springfield received its fourth power-play chance of the game and capitalized to send the contest to overtime. Cam Atkinson blew a one-timer from the left circle by Mannino at 13:12, knotting the action, 3-3.
Following a scoreless ovetime session, the teams skated to a shootout. Jordan Weal, Toffoli, and Marc-Andre Cliche scored for Manchester, while Springfield received a goal from Nick Drazenovic, as the Monarchs prevailed with the victory.
McElhinney (9-2-2) stopped 33 of 36 shots, including all 15 Manchester bids in the final two regulation periods and three in overtime. Mannino (2-1-0) allowed three goals on 21 Falcons attempts.
In securing the point, the Falcons maintained first place in the Eastern Conference standings. They are now tied for the top spot with the Syracuse Crunch.
Springfield closes out the weekend on Sunday at home against the Connecticut Whale at 3:00 p.m.
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).
Notes:
The Falcons were able to surpass their Movember donation goal of $1,000 through cash contributions in the concourse on "Movember Night presented by Baystate Health"...Springfield has scored power-play goals in 13 of 16 games this season...The Falcons have gone back-to-back contests without a victory for the first time this season after falling in overtime on Friday in Portland...Springfield is 0-3 in shootouts and 0-1 in sudden-death overtime...The Falcons' last shootout win was Mar. 23, 2012 against Bridgeport...David Savard extended his point streak to a team-best six games (2g-5a) with an assist on Atkinson's goal...Atkinson's tally was his club-leading eighth of the season...Hansen became the 18th Falcon to score in 2012-2013...Springfield was 0-2-0-0 when trailing after two periods entering Saturday's game
