FALCONS GAME PREVIEW: SPRINGFIELD AT ST. JOHN'S, GAME #21
Springfield Falcons (12-4-1-3) at St. John's IceCaps (11-10-0-1)
Friday, December 7, 2012
6:00 p.m. (ET)/7:30 p.m. (NST)
Mile One Centre
RADIO: WHYN NewsTalk 560 AM/WHYN.com
WEBCAST: AHLLive.com
Falcons Game Notes (PDF)
IN JUST A FEW HOURS...
The Springfield Falcons and the St. John's IceCaps meet at the Mile One Centre at 6:00 p.m. (ET), kicking off a two-game weekend series between the clubs. The Falcons are tied for first place in the Eastern Conference entering tonight's game with the Syracuse Crunch at 28 points after shutting out the Connecticut Whale on the road this past Sunday, 5-0. St. John's has won three of its last four games and heads into tonight's action tied for sixth in the conference with the Manchester Monarchs at 23 points.
Falcons fans can access live coverage of tonight's contest beginning at 5:58 p.m. on WHYN NewsTalk 560 AM, WHYN.com, the iHeartRadio App, or AHLLive.com.
After playing each of the next three games on the road, the Falcons return home on Saturday, Dec. 15 to host the IceCaps at the MassMutual Center, with a special start time that night of 7:30 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).
COVERING THE CAGE
Curtis McElhinney is atop the AHL with 11 wins and five shutouts, is third with a .940 save percentage and, is fifth with a 1.85 goals-against average. McElhinney tied Manny Legace for the most shutouts by a Falcons goaltender in a season on Sunday, making 34 saves to silence the Whale. His career high for shutouts in a season is seven, set in his second pro campaign of 2006-2007 with the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights. He has 18 shutouts in his AHL career and two more at the NHL level.
RULING THE ROAD
Springfield has the best road record in the AHL of 6-1-1-0 (.812), having taken points in seven of eight away contests this season. The Falcons have scored five goals in four-straight road appearances.
BIG DIFFERENCE
Springfield has outscored its opponents by a total of 28 goals, the highest in the league and nine better than second-place Syracuse. The Falcons rank second in the league in both offense and defense, scoring 3.50 goals/game while allowing 2.10 goals/game. Springfield has limited its opponents to two goals or less in 13 of 20 contests.
