FALCONS COMPLETE SEASON SWEEP OF ADMIRALS

Springfield, Mass. - The Springfield Falcons (17-8-2-3) finished off a four-game season sweep of the Norfolk Admirals (14-15-1-0) on Sunday evening at the MassMutual Center, scoring three times in the first period en route to a 4-1 victory.

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Falcons netminder Allen York made 25 saves for his first AHL victory of the season as Springfield snapped a six-game winless skid on home ice.

Ryan Johansen's goal 10:13 into the opening period paved the way for Springfield, which registered the initial tally for the first time in three games. David Savard's point shot was stopped by Admirals goaltender Igor Bobkov, but Johansen was on the doorstep to drive the puck in and give the Falcons the 1-0 advantage.

Nick Drazenovic corralled a pass from Cam Atkinson at the Norfolk blue line, skated in on Bobkov, and snapped a puck off his left pad and in at 13:22 for a 2-0 edge.

Off of an offensive-zone draw, Matt Calvert collected a puck in the left corner, flipped it off of Bobkov from the right side of the net, spotted the rebound, and wristed a shot in from the slot at 16:06, extending the lead to 3-0 through the opening frame.

Ryan Craig buried a centering feed from Atkinson at 4:57 of the middle stanza, taking the setup in the low slot and tapping it by Bobkov with the Falcons on their second power play to make it 4-0.

Emerson Etem finished off a two-on-one rush with Norfolk shorthanded at 2:47 of the third period, blasting in the follow-up attempt after York stopped Nate Guenin's initial shot, giving the Admirals their lone goal, 4-1.

York (1-2-0) notched his first win with the Falcons since Oct. 8, 2011. Bobkov (7-9-0) stopped 23 of 27 shots through two periods and was replaced by Frederik Andersen for the third. Andersen set aside all nine of the Falcons' attempts in the final period.

The victory was Springfield's first at the MassMutual Center since Nov. 11, when the Falcons blanked the Admirals, 5-0. Springfield had gone 0-4-1-1 at home since that date.

The Falcons increased their Northeast Division lead to four points over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Springfield hosts the Sound Tigers on Friday night at the MassMutual Center, with the drop of the puck set for 7:00 p.m. Fans in attendance have the opportunity to win a brand new, high-definition television courtesy of Manny's TV & Appliances (MannysTV.com) as part of Flat-Screen Fridays.

The Falcons finish off the weekend in Albany on Saturday and Providence on Sunday.

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:

Springfield went 4-0-0-0 against Norfolk this season and outscored the Admirals 17-5 in the four games, including 9-1 at home...Craig's goal was his 47th as a Falcon, putting him one shy of Atkinson for ninth in team history...The four-goal output was the highest by Springfield in eight games and was the first time it scored four times since Dec. 8 in St. John's (4-2)...The Falcons finished off the 2012 calendar year with a 39-26-4-5 record...With two assists, Atkinson moved into sole possession of third place in the AHL in scoring at 35 points (16g-19a)...The Falcons improved to 7-1-0-0 in Sunday contests...Springfield was 1/7 on the power play, while Norfolk was 0/4