FALCONS GAME PREVIEW: SPRINGFIELD AT PROVIDENCE, GAME #23
Springfield Falcons (14-4-1-3) at Providence Bruins (12-8-0-2)
Friday, December 14, 2012
7:05 p.m.
Dunkin Donuts Center
RADIO: WHYN NewsTalk 560 AM/WHYN.com
WEBCAST: AHLLive.com
Falcons Game Notes (PDF)
IN JUST A FEW HOURS...
The Springfield Falcons head to Providence to close out their four-game road stretch, meeting the Bruins at the Dunkin Donuts Center at 7:05 p.m. Springfield takes the league's best record of 14-4-1-3 (.727) into tonight's game, sits just one point behind the Syracuse Crunch for first place in the Eastern Conference, and leads the Connecticut Whale and Bridgeport Sound Tigers by eight points for the Northeast Division's top spot. The Falcons and Bruins are each on three-game winning streaks heading into Friday's action. Springfield shut out Providence, 3-0, in the last meeting between the clubs on Oct. 26 behind 33 saves from Curtis McElhinney.
Falcons fans can access live coverage of tonight's contest beginning at 6:58 p.m. on WHYN NewsTalk 560 AM, WHYN.com, the iHeartRadio App, or AHLLive.com.
Springfield returns to the MassMutual Center on Saturday, welcoming the St. John's IceCaps to town with a special start time of 7:30 p.m. Fans can win a free bicycle courtesy of Gus Coelho Auto Repair at 442 Holyoke St. in Ludlow as part of "Cycle Saturday" at the MassMutual Center. Santa Claus will also be venturing down from the North Pole to meet and greet Falcons fans at the game.
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).
POTENTIAL MILESTONE NIGHT
The Falcons, who have won four-straight road games and have taken points in seven-consecutive away contests (6-0-1-0), can tie franchise records in those departments tonight. Springfield's longest away winning streak is five games, set from Nov. 19 to Dec. 7, 2005. The Falcons' longest road points streak is eight contests, accomplished from Apr. 10 to Nov. 5, 2005 (5-0-3) and also from Jan. 19 to Feb. 18, 1996 (5-0-3). Springfield, which has six points in its last three games, can also post its first four-game winning streak within the same season since Dec. 23 to 30, 2006. The Falcons have lost in each of their previous 11 attempts at posting a fourth-straight victory since Dec. 2006.
HANGING TEN
The Falcons are 10 games over .500 for the first time since they ended the 1997-1998 season with a 45-26-9 record.
SUCCEEDING AT BOTH ENDS
The Falcons remain second in the league in offense and defense, scoring at 3.59 goals/game while allowing 2.14 goals/game. Springfield's +32 goal differential (79 to 47) is the highest in the league, nearly twice better than Syracuse, which checks in second at +18.
