FALCONS GAME PREVIEW: SPRINGFIELD AT ALBANY, GAME #32
Springfield Falcons (18-8-2-3) at Albany Devils (11-11-1-6)
Saturday, January 5, 2013
5:00 p.m.
Times Union Center
RADIO: (presented by FalconsWireless.com) WHYN NewsTalk 560 AM/WHYN.com
WEBCAST: AHLLive.com
Falcons Game Notes (PDF)
IN JUST A FEW HOURS...
The Springfield Falcons head to New York's Capital District, taking on the Albany Devils at 5:00 p.m. at the Times Union Center. The Falcons kicked off their three-in-three stretch last night with a 5-4 victory at home against Bridgeport to extend their division lead over the Sound Tigers to four points with two games in hand. Five different players scored for the Falcons including Ryan Craig, who now has goals in three-straight games. Craig tied Cam Atkinson for ninth in team history with his 48th goal in a Springfield sweater, connecting with under three seconds left in the opening frame on Friday. Curtis McElhinney made 16 saves to post his 16th victory, which ties him for the league lead. The Falcons fell to Albany in the first of six meetings of the season on Dec. 27 at the MassMutual Center, 4-3. Springfield closes out the weekend on Sunday in Providence, battling the Bruins at 3:05 p.m.
Each broadcast this weekend is presented by FalconsWireless.com and starts 15 minutes before the opening face-off on WHYN NewsTalk 560 AM, WHYN.com, the iHeartRadio App, and AHLLive.com.
Springfield returns home on Saturday, Jan. 12 at 7:00 p.m., hosting Providence. Comcast is the presenting sponsor. 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 (GusAutoRepair.net).
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).
THREE FOR TIM
Tim Erixon had three assists in Friday's win to jump into a tie for seventh among AHL defensemen with 22 points. His scoring total is the highest by a Springfield blue-liner this season, one point in front of David Savard.
CRUISE CONTROL
Cam Atkinson is third in the AHL with 37 points after tying Jonathan Audy-Marchessault for the club lead at 21 assists with a pair of helpers on Friday. Atkinson, who has points in four-consecutive games (1g-6a), has registered a goal or an assist in 13 of the last 14 contests (8g-13a).
DRAZENOVIC DOES IT AGAIN
Nick Drazenovic potted his fifth game-winning goal of the season, tying Cam Atkinson for the team and league lead in that department. Drazenovic has the game-winning goal in each of the last two contests and is on a three-game point streak (2g-1a).
TWO FOR CHAPUT
Michael Chaput had a goal and an assist on Friday, recording the first multi-point night of his professional career. Chaput’s first-period strike was the first since he scored in Springfield’s 10-2 rout of Connecticut on Nov. 4.
DEFENDING THE NEST
After going winless in six tries since Nov. 11, the Falcons have collected home victories in consecutive outings. Springfield is 8-5-1-3 at The Nest this season.
HEATING UP
The Falcons have increased their offensive and power-play productivity recently. After tallying four goals for the first time since Dec. 8 last Sunday, the Falcons scored five goals for the first time since Dec. 7 last night. The Falcons have power-play goals in three-straight games, following a four-game scoreless stretch on the man advantage. Springfield’s two-goal power-play output on Friday tied a season high and was its first since Dec. 2 at Connecticut. The Falcons are 17-3-1-1 when scoring a power-play goal, and are 1-5-1-2 when failing to convert on the man advantage this year.
MURKY MIDDLE
Springfield is 0-1-1-2 in the middle game of its three-in-three stretches to this point in 2012-2013.
