Springfield Falcons Go Out In Style / A Game Recap

FALCONS WIN 7-3 IN FINALE

By: Mike Hopey

April 11, 2010- The Springfield Falcons rattled off seven unanswered goals, including two each from Chad Wiseman and Jordan Eberle, as they defeated the Manchester Monarchs 7-3 in the season finale at the MassMutual Center Sunday afternoon in front of 5,678 fans. Chris Minard scored a goal and notched four assists as he, Eberle and Wiseman combined for 12 points in the win.

“We generated offense, scored some pretty goals, and didn’t give up a lot defensively,” said head coach Rob Daum. “We’re a better team then our record would indicate. But it was a nice way to go out.”

Eberle’s two goals came in the second period. The first, at 6:22, was tipped out of the air after a Minard shot was deflected. Eberle’s second goal was a one-timer wrist shot from Wiseman and Minard at the 15:57 mark of the middle frame and made the game 6-1.

Wiseman scored his second of the night at the 2:55 mark of the third period as Minard picked up his fourth assist of the game and Eberle got his third point of the night.

After Thomas Hickey gave the Monarchs the lead with his 1st goal of the season past Olivier Roy at the 2:04 mark of the first period, the Falcons rattled off four un-answered goals in the first frame. The four goals came on only nine shots.

Wiseman tied the game with his 23rd goal of the season roofed past Manchester starter Jean-Francois Berube. Minard picked up his first assist of the game on the goal and Jeff Petry was credited with the second, his third of the season.

The Falcons capitalized with 40 seconds left on a five-minute power-play with Ryan O'Marra's 12th goal of the campaign. Bryan Lerg took the puck to the net and kept his balance as Manchester defenders tried to knock him off the puck as he picked up an assist on the goal. O'Marra took the Lerg rebound and put it back on net as it trickled through Berube's legs.

The Falcons earned the five-minute power-play when Manchester captain Drew Bagnall was given a major penalty for kneeing Geoff Paukovich. In addition to the major, Bagnall was given a game misconduct.

The Falcons added the third goal at the 13:01 mark of the period. Minard snapped a one-timer feed from Liam Reddox, who had two assists, past Berube for the short-handed goal. Reddox picked up his second assist of the night and Las Vegas native Eddie Del Grosso picked up his second assist of the season on the goal.

At the 16:21 mark of the first period, Colton Fretter increased his team-lead in goals and netted the Falcons’ final goal of the period when he put his 26th off the post and into the net. Ryan Donald picked up his first career point on the Falcons' goal that made it 4-1.

The Yale alum, Donald, also mixed up with Monarchs’ players twice. In the second period, Donald and Juraj Mikus received roughing penalties after a pushing and shoving match in front of the Falcons net. In the third, Donald dropped the gloves with heavyweight Kevin Westgarth.

Roy was solid as he picked up his first career AHL win, making 28 saves in the win. The Amqui, Quebec native was appearing in his third game for the Falcons after playing this season with the Cape Brenton Screaming Eagles.

David Kolomatis scored his 8th goal of the season 16:42 and John Zeiler added his 11th goal at 18:23 to cut the Falcons lead to 7-3 and end the Falcons streak of seven unanswered goals.

Three Stars of the Game presented by Springfield College

1. SPR Chris Minard (1 goal, 4 assists, +7)
2. SPR Chad Wiseman (2 goals, 2 assists)
3. SPR Jordan Eberle (2 goals, 1 assist)

Game Night Notes ...

Game Setup: The final game of the season will be the 8th time that the Falcons will meet the Manchester Monarchs. In the previous seven match-ups, the Falcons are 1-5-0-1 against the Monarchs in the previous games. Springfield's lone win came back on October 16 at the MassMutual Center. The Falcons won 4-1 on the strength of goals from Geoff Paukovich, Chad Wiseman, Colin McDonald, and Colton Fretter who picked up the game-winner in the second period.

In the most recent meeting the Monarchs skated away with a 5-2 win over the Falcons on February 24 in Manchester. Springfield fell behind 4-0 before Charles Linglet and Chris Minard cut the Monarchs lead in half in the second period. Unfortunately, the Falcons could not complete a comeback. Devan Dubnyk made 35 saves in the game for the Falcons.

Manchester has already locked up a playoff spot and have clinched at least the third seed in the Atlantic Division.

Falcons Player Notes:

• Chad Wiseman has two goals and two assists in six games against the Monarchs this season.
• Colton Fretter had a goal in the Falcons one win over Manchester this season back on October 16. Fretter has added another goal playing in all seven games. Fretter leads the Falcons with 24 goals on the season.
• Bryan Lerg has a goal and an assist playing in six games against the Monarchs this season.
• Chris Minard has two of his 18 goals this season against Manchester in only four games.

Monarchs Player Notes:

• Manchester goalie Jonathan Bernier was named the Aledge “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award winner for the 2009-10 season. The award is given to the most outstanding goaltender in a season. Bernier has played in 57 games this season for the Monarchs this season going 30-20-6-9 with a 2.03 goals against average and 0.937 save percentage. Bernier leads the league in saves and shutouts with nine. Bernier leads the league in save percentage and is second in GAA.
• Bud Holloway has scored three goals and tallied seven assists while playing in every game against the Falcons.
• Justin Azevedo has six points, two goals and four assists, in just four games this season against the Falcons.
• Marc-Andre Cliche and David Meckler have both scored thee goals against the Falcons this season.

Falcons Player Movement Recap:

Jordan Bendfeld was re-assigned to the Stockton Thunder this week. Bendfeld played in 10 games for the Falcons this season picking up an assist and seven penalty minutes.

The Falcons also signed two players to Amateur Tryout Agreements. The first player was Chris Vande Velde, a 6’2” 204-pound Moorhead, Minnesota native who played four years at the University of North Dakota. Vande Velde was a fourth round selection, 97th overall, by the Oilers in 2005. With the Fighting Sioux, Vande Velde put 18 goals and 17 assist in the 2008-09 season.

Ryan Donald was the second player signed to an ATO this week. Donald, a native of St. Albert, Alberta, is coming off four seasons playing for the Bulldogs at Yale University. While at Yale, Donald scored five goals and notched 19 assists in 123 career games. Donald’s best season game this year when he scored twice and assisted on six other goals.

Monarchs Player Movement Recap:

This week the Monarchs released goalie Dave Wilson from his ATO. Wilson was signed on April 2 to replace Jonathan Bernier who had been on loan to the Los Angles Kings, the Monarchs NHL affiliate. Wilson did not appear in a game during his brief stint with the Monarchs.

Doug Nolan was also released from his Professional Tryout Agreement this week. The Quincy, Mass native played in 19 games for the Monarchs this season picking up three assists and 31 penalty minutes. Nolan played four years for the UMass-Lowell Riverhawks before beginning his professional hockey career that has taken him around the world, including stints in Russia and Finland. Nolan was originally an 11th round selection by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Written by the Springfield Falcons

*Reprinted by Oilers Jambalaya with permission by the Springfield Falcons AHL Hockey Club. The Springfield Falcons are a proud affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers (NHL)*

Falcons Fall To Wolf Pack 7-5 / Eberle With No Points And -4 Rating

FALCONS FALL TO WOLF PACK 7-5

April 10, 2010 - The Springfield Falcons lost to the Hartford Wolf Pack 7-5 on Saturday night at the XL Center in Hartford, CT. Chris Minard scored his 20th and 21st goals of the year for Springfield and rookie Matt Beca tallied his first AHL/pro goal. The Falcons conclude their 2009-10 regular season on Sunday afternoon at the MassMutual Center when they host Manchester starting at 3pm.

LIVE BOX SCORE

With the Falcons leading 1-0 heading into the second period, Hartford exploded for seven goals in the middle frame. Kris Newbury, Corey Locke, Dane Byers, Chris McKelvie and Andres Ambuhl scored for the Wolf Pack within the first 10 minutes of the second period building a 5-1 Hartford lead. Colin McDonald cut Springfield's deficit to 5-2, but Ambuhl and Locke each scored their second markers of the period giving Hartford a 7-2 cushion through 40 minutes.

In the third period, the Falcons battled back and continued to chip away at their deficit. Minard scored his second goal of the game early in the final frame cutting the Wolf Pack advantage to 7-3, followed by Colton Fretter recording his team-leading 25th goal of the year. Beca's first AHL/pro goal pulled Springfield to within 7-5, but that was the end of the scoring for the night.

It was a very chippy second period as Jake Taylor and Jared Nightingale dropped the gloves after Taylor was involved in an earlier altercation after Locke's first goal of the game. Springfield's Ryan Donald and Hartford's Dane Byers dropped the gloves in the opening period.

FALCONS LINEUP

Jesse Gimblett - Rob Hisey - Colton Fretter
Slava Trukhno - Chris Vande Velde - Matt Beca
Liam Reddox - Ryan O'Marra - Colin McDonald
Chris Minard - Chad Wiseman - Jordan Eberle

J.F. David - Johan Motin
Ryan Donald - Jake Taylor
Eddie Del Grosso - Jeff Petry

Bryan Pitton
Olivier Roy

FALCONS SCRATCHES - Chris Armstrong, Matt Nickerson, Ryan MacMurchy, Geoff Paukovich, Bryan Lerg, Alex Plante, Kip Brennan, Tony DeHart, Blair Riley

Game Night Notes ...

Game Setup: The Wolf Pack skated away with a 6-1 win in last Saturday’s meeting between these two teams at the MassMutual Center. The Falcons are 4-4-1-0 against Hartford this season. All four wins for Springfield have come by one goal, including three 2-1 finals. The Falcons went 2-2-1-0 at home this season against the Pack. Hartford is coming of a 9-2 loss to the Worcester Sharks on Wednesday night at the XL Center, where the Falcons are 7-15-1-1 over the past five seasons.


Falcons Player Notes:

• Ryan O’Marra has three goals against the Wolf Pack this season.
• Chad Wiseman leads the Falcons in scoring in the season series with two goals and four assists in seven games.
• Chris Armstrong has picked up five assists in addition to a single goal in six games against Hartford this season.
• Jordan Eberle, who scored the Falcons lone goal last Saturday, has two goals and four assists in two games against the Pack.

Wolf Pack Player Notes:

• Corey Locke leads all players in the season series with 12 points against the Falcons, five goals and seven assists.
• Brodie Dupont had two goals last Saturday and has five in the season series.
• Hartford captain Dane Byers has two goals and three assists against the Falcons this season.
• Derek Couture has scored three goals and notched two assists in seven games against the Falcons this season.

Written by the Springfield Falcons
*Reprinted by Oilers Jambalaya with permission by the Springfield Falcons AHL Hockey Club. The Springfield Falcons are a proud affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers (NHL)*

Jordan Eberle, So Far In Springfield

Now that Jordan Eberle has played more than a handful of games with Springfield, I figured we would look and see how he's doing.

After 8 games played, Eberle has himself 9 points. He's scored 4 goals and has 5 assists in those 8 games. Basically one goal every other game. Not bad, but not great either. I just figure if he's a goal scorer, wouldn't/shouldn't he be scoring more than that?

To answer my own question, no. If you look at the long range of what he is doing, -- and he keeps this pace up -- he would score 41 goals in 82 games. That's pretty good when you look at it that way. Very good.

Out of those 4 goals, only one was scored on the PP. I'm not sure how to feel about that.

In those 8 games he's played, Eberle has taken 17 shots for an average of 2.125 shots per game. If you look at the higher end goal scorer types, they shoot more than 2 shots a game. 2.125 shots per game is not very good.

However his shot percentage is very good at 23.5%. If you look at every other player that has been with the Falcons or the Oilers this year, Jordan is above and beyond the rest and that gives me relief as a fan.

With one last stat to look at, this one doesn't tell us all we need to know about the player. So I really don't know what to think here. After 8 games played, Eberle is a -1. Is that good? Is it bad? I don't know.

So at a quick glance, Jordan Eberle is looking very good for a sad sack organization don't you think?

I do have a few concerns about Eberle. All his points have came in bunches. Will he have the consistency it takes to be a pro? Can he keep his high shooting percentage? Shouldn't he shoot more?

And I guess the big question, will he be with the Oilers next season? Or more like should he be?

I hope so, what about you?

-Smokin' Ray-

Jordan Eberle Scores The Lone Falcons Goal / A Game Recap

FALCONS FALL 6-1 TO THE WOLF PACK

By: Mike Hopey

April 3, 2010- Jordan Eberle scored for the Falcons, but Hartford took an early lead and never looked back as they beat Springfield 6-1 at the MassMutual Center in front of 5,699 on Saturday night.

LIVE BOX SCORE

“We had a lot of opportunities,” said head coach Rob Daum. “We didn’t finish well. The chances in the game were even and maybe we had a little advantage, as far as opportunities are concerned, but you have to capitalize on those opportunities and we didn’t.”

Eberle has been talked about quite extensively since his performance in the World Juniors and his arrival in Springfield, scoring three goals in his first three games. His fourth goal, a power-play goal at 6:52 of the second period, was his first in four games since that impressive debut weekend.

“I was getting chances,” said Eberle. “I found myself passing a lot when I had shooting opportunities. But, I found a way to somehow put that one in the net. It gives you a lot of confidence when you see the puck go in the net.”

After the Eberle goal cut the Pack lead to 2-1, Hartford answered with a breakaway goal from Dale Weise, who also had an assist, at the 10:21 mark of the second period to make it 3-1. Weise’s goal was a wrist shot that went five-hole on Bryan Pitton, who made 25 saves in the game.

Hartford had taken the lead early as, for the second night in a row, the Falcons gave up a goal in the first minute of the game. The crowd wasn’t even settled when Lee Baldwin took a shot from the point that Brodie Dupont tipped five-hole through Pitton’s legs.

Dupont’s goal was his 17th of the season and his first of the game. With the recent call-ups of Corey Locke and Pierre Parenteau to the New York Rangers, Dupont’s five points against the Falcons entering tonight’s game was tied for the team lead.

Dupont picked up his second marker late in the third period. The sixth and final goal of the night for Hartford was an unassisted short-handed goal that Dupont directed off Pitton and into the net.

Baldwin picked up his first point of the season on Dupont’s first period goal in just his third game with the Wolf Pack. Baldwin had joined Hartford after playing this past season for the University of Alaska-Anchorage. Lee scored a goal and picked up nine assists in 32 games.

Justin Soryal found the back of the net for the Wolf Pack’s second goal of the night and the eventual game winner at 2:57 of the opening frame. The goal was just Soryal’s fifth of the season and came from Derek Couture.

The Falcons’ fans were kept in the game by Eberle’s goal and a pair of fights won by the home team. Colin McDonald scored a take down on Ilkka Heikkinen. Minutes later, Jake Taylor dropped the gloves with Weise after Taylor took exception to a hit by Weise on Liam Reddox.

Andres Ambuhl added another insurance goal for Hartford when his sixth goal of the season found it’s way to the back of the net. Ambuhl scored a goal of for his only point of against the Falcons this season before scoring at the 1:58 mark of the third period.

Three Stars of the Game

1. HFD Brodie Dupont (2 goals)
2. HFD Dale Weise (1 goal, +3 rating)
3. HFD Andres Ambuhl (1 goal, 1 assist)

Springfield Falcons Lineup

Chris Minard (14) - Chad Wiseman (15) - Jordan Eberle (17)
Jesse Gimblett (39) - Ryan O'Marra (22) - Colin McDonald (18)
Blair Riley (37) - Rob Hisey (13) - Colton Fretter (19)
Bryan Lerg(16) - Liam Reddox (9) - Matt Beca (38)

Chris Armstrong (32) - Jeff Petry (20)
J.F. David (3) - Johan Motin (8)
Eddie Del Grosso (28) - Jake Taylor (25)

Bryan Pitton (35)
Olivier Roy (30)

Falcons Scratches - Matt Nickerson, Ryan MacMurchy, Geoff Paukovich, Slava Trukhno, Alex Plante, Kip Brennan, Tony DeHart


Game Setup: The Falcons have taken 3 of the last 4 against their rivals from Hartford. Springfield won the last match-up between the teams on March 20 by a score of 4-3 at the XL Center in Hartford. The Falcons have also taken a pair of 2-1 overtime victories from the Wolf Pack recently. Overall, the Falcons are 4-3-1-0 against the Pack this season. The Falcons will look for a close game as all four wins over Hartford this season have been by a single goal. The Pack will be busy before their trip to Springfield, on Wednesday they hosted the division-leading Worcester Sharks and on Friday the Lowell Devils made their way through Hartford.

Falcons Player Notes:

• Chris Minard scored his only goal against Hartford this season in the 2-1 overtime victory on January 23 in Springfield. Minard’s goal was the winner that completed a Falcons’ come-back win.
• Rob Hisey has two of his goals this season against the Wolf Pack including the winner in OT on February 26 in Hartford.
• Ryan O’Marra has three goals against the Pack this season.
• Jordan Eberle picked up a goal and two assists in the 4-3 win over Hartford on March 20.

Wolf Pack Player Notes:

• Corey Locke and Pierre Parenteau have 12 and 10 points against the Falcons this season respectively but both are currently enjoying a stay with the Pack’s NHL affiliate, the New York Rangers.
• Brodie Dupont has 4 of his 16 goals this season against the Falcons. Dupont has also recorded an assist in the season series.
• Dale Weiss is second on the Wolf Pack with 45 points but has only a goal and three assists in seven games against the Falcons.
• Dane Byers has five of his 44 points on the year in the season series between the Falcons and the Wolf Pack. Byers has two goals and three assists while playing in all eight previous match-ups between the teams.

Written by the Springfield Falcons

*Reprinted by Oilers Jambalaya with permission by the Springfield Falcons AHL Hockey Club. The Springfield Falcons are a proud affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers (NHL)*

The Fall For Hall Continues, Edmonton Oilers Style - A Game Recap

This is brief game recap of the Edmonton Oilers vs the St. Louis Blues game on Sportsnet West.

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PRE GAME RECORDS

Edmonton Oilers (24-43-7) at St. Louis Blues (35-30-9)

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FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 1

St. Louis Blues - 2

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TONIGHT'S STARTING LINES

Penner Cogliano Brule
Moreau Horcoff Pisani
Nilsson Potulny O'Sullivan
Comrie Pouliot Stortini

Whitney Gilbert
Chorney Strudwick
Johnson Arsene

Dubnyk
Deslauriers

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VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS



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THE MEAT AND POTATOES

The Good:

- Devan Dubnyk was back between the pipes and he played pretty good. He wasn't knock em' dead, but he played pretty solid. I was glad to see him back. It's too bad the team in front of his sucks.

- The Nilsson/Potulny/O'Sullivan line was the best Oiler line. While Nilsson really didn't so much, the other two were great. They created the Oilers first goal and kept the pressure on the Blues all game.

- I like Dean Arsene, but he really needs to learn to fight.

- Anytime one of the guys drops the gloves I give him props. Pouliot is one of those guys tonight. He laid some good punches to Colaiacovo's helmet. I'm willing to bet his hand hurts after that.

- Gilbert and Whitney both played over 25 minutes again this game. They are leading the Oilers down the stretch in ice time.

- Andrew Cogliano had 4 hits. Too bad he wasn't a big guy to make those hits hurt.

- Potulny and Brule were the best on the Oilers squad for faceoffs with 65% and 67% respectively. Potulny also blocked 5 shots.

- Jason Strudwick played his game with 3 hits and 4 blocked shots.

- O'Sullivan had a team high, 6 shots on net.  He also had 4 missed shots. That's ten in total. Wow!

The Not So Good:

- What's to complain about? 30th place is almost a lock. Now if only the gods don't screw the team with the 2nd overall pick.

The Side Dish:

- The Springfield Falcons lost in a ass kicking to the River Rats 5-1. Jordan Eberle had one assist in the loss. Read the recap here.

- The Stockton Thunder on the other hand had a barn burner of a game. They won a thrilling 6-5 game. The recap is here.
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POST GAME VIDEO



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EVENT SUMMARY
GAME SUMMARY

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NEXT GAME

Edmonton Oilers vs Detroit Red Wings

Tue 30/03/2010

5:30 PM MDT
Sportsnet West

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CLICK HERE TO READ THE LIVE TWEETCAST

-Written by Smokin' Ray-

Falcons Fall To River Rats 5-1 (AHL) / Eberle Has One Assist

FALCONS FALL TO RIVER RATS 5-1

By: Mike Hopey

Chris Minard scored for the Falcons but three third period goals from Jacob Micfliker, Zac Dalpe and Mike Angelidis put Albany over the top 5-1 in a Sunday matinee match-up in front of 5,705 at the MassMutual Center.

“I don’t think it was a 5-1 game,” said head coach Rob Daum. “Based on the territory and the scoring chances. We did didn’t give a lot of chances but when we did they were major and it cost us.”

Chris Terry gave the Rats the lead for good in the second period while trying to set a teammate up on a 2-on-1 rush. Terry tried to saucer a pass over a Falcons stick but the puck hit J.P. Levasseur, who made 29 saves in the loss, and found its way over the goal line. Terry’s 17th goal of the season would be all the River Rats needed to get past the Falcons.

The Falcons had opportunities but Albany goalie Justin Peters was there and made 27 saves in the game. The Falcons power-play which is 16th in the league at 17.3 percent entering the game but were 0-for-4 in the game. The River Rats were 1-for-3 with the lone power-play goal coming late in the third period.

It was Jiri Tlusty who put the River Rats on top with the games first goal at 6:26 of the period after a scoreless first period. Christ Terry found Tlusty parked in front of the net and pushed the puck past a sprawling J.P. Levasseur. The goal was Tlusty's 14th goal of the season.

Crashing the net paid off for Springfield when Minard tied the game up for the Falcons with his 17th goal of the season at 13:59 on a pass from Chad Wiseman and Jordan Eberle. The Falcons had had opportunities earlier with chances from Liam Reddox and Colin McDonald but the Falcons’ chances were all tipped wide or whizzed through the crease.

The River Rats upped the lead to two goals when Jacob Micflikier took a cross-ice pass that he sent off the post and into the net. Micflikier’s goal at 1:48 into the third was his 17th goal of the season. Dalpe added another goal and Angelidis scored the only power-play goal in the third for the River Rats.

3 Stars of the Game

1. ALB Chris Terry
2. SPR Chris Minard
3. ALB Jerome Samson

Springfield Falcons Lineup

Charles Linglet (7) - Rob Hisey (13) - Colton Fretter (19)
Chris Minard (14) - Chad Wiseman (15) - Jordan Eberle (17)
Geoff Paukovich (12) - Ryan O'Marra (22) - Colin McDonald (18)
Slava Trukhno (11) - Liam Reddox (9) - Matt Beca (38)

Chris Armstrong (32) - Jeff Petry (20)
J.F. David (3) - Jordan Bendfeld (33)
Eddie Del Grosso (28) - Jake Taylor (25)

J.P. Levasseur (31)
Bryan Pitton (35)

Game Night Notes...

Game Setup: This will be the fourth and final meeting of the season between the River Rats and the Falcons. Springfield is 2-0-1-0 agaisnt Albany this season. The Falcons won in a shootout, 4-3, in the first meeting on October 30 and rolled over the Rats on November 15 by a score of 6-2. In the latest meeting the Falcons managed to take a point in a wild 7-6 overtime loss. Liam Reddox scored two third period goals, including one with four seconds left on the clock, to tie the game. Drayson Bowman ended up scoring the game winner for the River Rats. The Falcons and River Rats typically play each other evenly, the Falcons are 9-9-1-0 against Albany over the past five seasons.

Falcons Player Notes:

• Team points leader, Charles Linglet, has five points in the season series against Albany. Linglet has two goals and three assists. He scored a goal and notched an assist in the last meeting on February 6.
• Bryan Lerg has three goals against the River Rats this season. Lerg had a goal on February 6 and lit the lamp twice in the Falcons 6-2 win on November 15.
• Slava Trukhno has three of his 12 goals this season versus Albany. Trukhno has notched a goal in each of the three games this season.
• The Falcons’ leading goal scorer, Colton Fretter, has one tally against the River Rats this season. His goal was the first Falcons’ tally in the 7-6 overtime loss on February 6.
• Devan Dubnyk is the only Falcons goalie to face the River Rats this season. Dubnyk went 2-1 with a 3.87 goals against average.
• Jordan Eberle scored three goals in his first three games last weekend after joining the Falcons from Regina in the Western Hockey League.

River Rats Player Notes:

• Jerome Samson has two goals against the Falcons this season. His two goals came 14 seconds apart in the first minute of the River Rats overtime win on February 6.
• Drayson Bowman scored the overtime winner on February 6 for Albany and has 17 goals on the season.
• Jacob Micflikier has a pair of goals this season against the Falcons. He scored both goals in the second period of the 7-6 overtime win.
• Mike Murphy was the goalie of record for that February 6 win. Justin Peters picked up the loss in the first two games that the Falcons won.

Game Day Notebook...

Atlantic Division Roundup

The Worcester Sharks and the Portland Pirates have both clinched playoff berths. The Sharks were idle on Friday and shutout the Norfolk Admirals 2-0 last night in Norfolk and will meet the W-B/Scranton Penguins today. The Pirates earned a 2-0 shutout of their own on Friday against Providence and beat the Falcons 2-1 last night to lock up the playoff berth. The Pirates will host the Hartford Wolf Pack today.

Manchester, Lowell and Bridgeport are only separated by 5 points in the battle for the last two playoff spots in the division. Manchester beat the Devils earlier in the week and currently sit in third. Lowell beat the Falcons in a shootout on Friday and are only 2 points ahead of the Sound Tigers who are 7-2-1-0 in their last 10 games. However is the playoffs started today the 5th place team in the Atlantic Division would earn the 4th spot in the East Division because of a better record than the 4th place team in that division.

Around the League

In the East Division, the Hershey Bears have locked up the best record in the Eastern Conference. Albany, who is in Springfield today, have a seven point lead for second place. The once scorching Norfolk Admirals have faltered of late, losing 3 straight, and falling out of the playoff picture in the division. Three points ahead of the Admirals are the Penguins who are holding onto third with 81 points.

In the North Division, Lake Erie is only 4 points out of a playoff spot with 7 games left on their schedule but the Manitoba Moose have one more game left in the season and the Monsters have only gone 2-5-1-2 in their last ten games. Hamilton locked up the division crown a couple weeks ago and kept up their strong play with a pair of wins over division foe Abbotsford. The Heat are three points back of Rochester for the second spot in the division.

Out in the West Division, the Chicago Wolves have clinched a playoff berth, but not the division title yet. The Wolves have an 8 point lead of the Texas Stars with 7 games left on each of their schedules. The Stars have used an 8-2-0-0 run to leap frog over the Rockford Ice Hogs for second place in the division. Milwaukee is holding onto the last playoff spot by 5 points over the Peoria Rivermen.

Blue and Cooper Hockey: Edmonton Oilers

Last weekend the Oilers went on a 3-game winning streak. The Streak included a win over the Detroit, division leader Vancouver, and the San Jose Sharks. The wins over Detroit and San Jose were the first two NHL wins for former Falcon Devan Dubnyk. Dubnyk began his NHL career 0-8-2 for the Oilers this season. Dubnyk made 31 saves against the Red Wings and stopped 27 of 28 shots against the Sharks.

The streak game to an end on Friday night at Rexall Place when the Anaheim Ducks outlasted the Oilers for a 3-2 win. Corey Perry netted two power-play goals in the third period to give the Ducks a 3-1 lead. Marc Pouliot's power-play goal late in the period proved to not be enough to spark a miraculous come-from-behind victory for the Oilers.

Edmonton will be in action today when they meet the St. Louis Blues in St. Louis at 6 p.m. Eastern

Written by the Springfield Falcons

*Reprinted by Oilers Jambalaya with permission by the Springfield Falcons AHL Hockey Club. The Springfield Falcons are a proud affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers (NHL)*

Jordan Eberle's Streak Ends With A 2-1 Springfield Loss - A Game Recap

FALCONS FALL TO PIRATES 2-1 IN PORTLAND

March 27, 2010 - The Springfield Falcons lost to the Portland Pirates 2-1 on Saturday night at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland. Maine concluding a six-game road trip with a record of 2-1-2-1 as they head home to host the Albany River Rats on Sunday afternoon starting at 3 pm. Geoff Paukovich scored Springfield's lone goal, while goaltender Bryan Pitton stopped 22 of 24 shots on goal.

LIVE BOX SCORE

After 40-plus minutes of scoreless hockey, the Falcons took a lead at 10:03 of the third period when Paukovich scored his fifth goal of the year assisted by Slava Trukhno and Jason Pitton.

Portland rallied at 13:57 of the final frame when Travis Turnbull tied the score at 1-1. The Pirates took their first lead of the night at 18:33 of the third period when Nathan Gerbe scored on the power play to give Portland a come-from-behind win.

Midway through the first period, the Falcons ended up on a five-minute power play when Portland's Cody McCormick took a baseball-style swing at Colin McDonald's legs and was whistled for a major slashing penalty and a game misconduct. McDonald did finish the game, but clearly was in some pain after the incident.

FALCONS LINEUP

Chris Minard - Chad Wiseman - Jordan Eberle
Charles Linglet - Rob Hisey - Colton Fretter
Liam Reddox - Ryan O'Marra - Colin McDonald
Slava Trukhno - Geoff Paukovich - Jason Pitton

Chris Armstrong - Jeff Petry
Eddie Del Gresso - Jake Taylor
J.F. David - Johan Motin

Bryan Pitton
J.P. Levasseur

FALCONS SCRATCHES - Jordan Bendfeld, Bryan Lerg, Matt Beca, Ryan MacMurchy, Alex Plante, Kip Brennan, Matt Nickerson, Tony DeHart

Written by the Springfield Falcons

*Reprinted with permission by the Springfield Falcons AHL Hockey Club. The Springfield Falcons are a proud affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers (NHL)*

GAME RECAP: The Springfield Falcons Lose In A Shootout To The Devils

FALCONS EARN ANOTHER POINT ON THE ROAD

March 26, 2010 - The Springfield Falcons once again earned a point on the road losing to the Lowell Devils 4-3 in a shootout at the Paul Tsongas Arena in Lowell, MA Friday night. The Falcons have now taken 11 of a possible 14 points in their last seven road games going 4-0-2-1 in that span. The Falcons conclude their current five-game road trip in Portland, Maine on Saturday night.

LIVE BOX SCORE

With the game deadlocked at 1-1 entering the third period, the two teams exchanged goals throughout the final frame. Chad Wiseman gave the Falcons a 2-1 lead at 11:57 of the third period with a power play goal, but Lowell's Nathan Perkovich tied the score at 2-2 when he converted on the man advantage.

Springfield took their second lead of the third period at 16:06 of the final frame when Chris Minard scored his 16th goal of the year, but once again Lowell evened the score when David McIntyre scored less than a minute later sending the contest to overtime.

After a scoreless overtime, it took the teams 11 rounds in the shootout before Lowell's Brad Snetsinger ended the contest with the Devils' 11th shooter. Springfield's Slava Trukhno extended the shootout when he scored on Springfield's fifth and final shot. Wiseman and Jordan Eberle also scored for Springfield in the shootout.

In the second period, Stephen Gionta opened the scoring at 12:21 when he scored his 15th goal of the year, but Springfield tied the score at 1-1 when Liam Reddox scored his 18th marker of the campaign at 17:22 of the middle stanza.

FALCONS LINEUP

Chris Minard - Chad Wiseman - Jordan Eberle
Charles Linglet - Rob Hisey - Colton Fretter
Liam Redoox - Ryan O'Marra - Colin McDonald
Jason Pitton - Slava Trukhno - Matt Beca

Chris Armstrong - Jeff Petry
Eddie Del Gresso - Jake Taylor
J.F. David - Jordan Bendfeld

J.P. Levasseur
Bryon Pitton

•The Falcons had 3 guys make their AHL debuts tonight in Jeff Petry, Eddie Del Grosso and Matt Beca.

FALCONS SCRATCHES - Johan Motin (Healthy), Bryan Lerg (Healthy), Geoff Paukovich (Healthy), Ryan MacMurchy (Healthy), Alex Plante (Injured), Kip Brennan (Injured), Matt Nickerson (Healthy), Tony DeHart (Healthy)

Game Night Notes...

Game Setup: The Falcons and Devils will meet for the final time in the 2009-10 season. In the seven previous meetings the Falcons are 3-2-1-1 against Lowell and are 1-2-0-0 at the the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell, the home of the Devils. Springfield is in the midst of a five-game point streak, going 3-0-2-0, and are 6-2-2-0 in their last 10 games. The Devils are only 3-5-0-2 as they fight for the final Atlantic Division playoff spot with the Manchester Monarchs. Lowell is coming off a 2-1 regulation loss at home against Manchester on Wednesday night. In that game, Michael Swift gave the Devils a first period lead of 1-0 but the Monarchs scored two unanswered goals and Monarchs’ goalie Johnathan Bernier made 33 saves in the win.

The Falcons defeated the Devils in the last meeting between the teams on March 6.

Falcons Player Notes:

• New addition Jordan Eberle, reassigned to the Falcons from the Western Hockey League, scored a goal in each of the three games last weekend. Eberle also notched three assists in those games.
• Charles Linglet has 10 points versus the Devils this season, one goal and nine assists. Linglet is fourth in the AHL with 73 points and is third in assists with 54.
• Colton Fretter has a pair of goals and a six-pack of assists in seven games against the Devils. Fretter leads the Falcons with 23 goals. He scored a goal last weekend breaking a 14-game goal drought that stretched back to February 6 in Albany.
• Chris Minard has six goals against the Devils in only three games this season. Minard scored a hat trick on October 25 in Lowell.
• Chad Wiseman and Colin McDonald have each scored three goals against the Devils this season.

Devils Player Notes:

• Alexander Vasyunov leads the Devils with eight points against the Falcons this season. Vasyunov has five goals and three assists while playing in all seven contests against the Falcons.
• Ben Walter leads Lowell with 50 points on the season but Walter has only notched four assists against Springfield in the seven previous meetings.
• Nick Palmieri has the team lead in goals with 21 and has lit the lamp three times against the Falcons.
• Cory Murphy has 6 of his 34 assists against the Falcons this season.
• Matt Halischuk has three goals in two games against Springfield this season. Halischuk scored a pair of goals on March 6 in the Devils 7-5 loss at the MassMutual Center.

Falcon Player Movement Recap:

During the week two players were reassigned to the Stockton Thunder of the ECHL. Matt Marquardt and Bryan Young. Young played in two games during his latest stint in Springfield, that began on March 14 in Portland, and recorded no points. Marquardt joined the Falcons after being traded from Boston to Edmonton and appeared in four games without any points scored.

Also this week Dean Arsene was recalled by the Edmonton Oilers to patrol the blueline north of the boarder. Arsene has has two goals and nine assists in 56 games with the the Falcons this season. Arsene has served six penalty minutes in four games with the Oilers.

The Falcons also signed a trio of former NCAA student-athletes, who’s seasons concluded recently, to Amateur Tryout Contracts this week. On Tuesday, defenseman Eddie Del Grosso and forward Mat Beca were signed. Beca, a native of Mississauga, Ontario played four years for Clarkson University in the NCAA. Beca just wrapped up his senior season, which concluded with Clarkson not making the field of 16 for the Frozen Four Championship, and set a career high with 20 goals. Del Grosso played this season for the University of Nebraska-Omaha and scored seven goals and 23 assists. Defenseman Jeff Petry was signed earlier today after play three seasons for Michigan State. While a Spartan, Petry scored nine goals and notched 58 assists.

Tonight’s Goaltender Match-up:

Springfield
J.P. Levasseur is 0-1-0 against the Devils this season, allowing six goals on December 15. Levasseur is 8-15-0-1 with a 3.57 goals against average and 0.896 save percentage while splitting time between Springfield and Bakersfield in the ECHL.

Bryan Pitton earned a win against the Devils on March 6 giving up 5 goals and making 37 saves in the Falcons 7-5 win. Pitton is 2-2 with the Falcons after spending most of the season in Stockton.

Lowell
Mike McKenna is 21-14-6-3 this season including a 4-1 mark against the Falcons. McKenna a 2.15 goals against average versus Springfield this season.

Jeff Frazee gave up six goals and only made 21 saves on March 6 in Springfield as the Falcons won a wild game 7-5. Frazee is 13-15-0-1 this season for the Devils with a 2.71 goals against average.

Written By The Springield Falcons

*Reprinted with permission by the Springfield Falcons AHL Hockey Club. The Springfield Falcons are a proud affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers (NHL)*

Jordan Eberle and the Springfield Falcons; No Games Till Friday

The Springfield Falcons do not play until Friday and until then, I'm going to be waiting...

Here is the schedule for the Falcons this weekend.

Mar 26 Fri 07:00PM @ Lowell

Mar 27 Sat 07:00PM @ Portland

Mar 28 Sun 03:00PM Albany

Stay tuned to Oilers Jambalaya for all the updates on the Springfield Falcons.

Jordan Eberle Scores Another Clutch Goal- GAME RECAP: Falcons vs Tigers (AHL)

FALCONS EARN POINT IN BRIDGEPORT

March 21, 2010 - For the sixth straight road game, the Springfield Falcons earned a point in the standings losing to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers 2-1 in overtime. Jordan Eberle scored Springfield's lone goal giving him three goals in three straight games and six points in the three games this weekend. The Falcons will be off from game action now until they head to Lowell on Friday night.

LIVE BOX SCORE

In the overtime, Bridgeport ended up on a power play at 1:42 when Chris Armstrong was called for a tripping penalty, and on the following power play, Mike Radja slid the game-winner past J.P. Levasseur. Levasseur was very steady in goal for the Falcons and finished the afternoon with 28 saves.

Trailing 1-0 heading into the third period, the Falcons rallied to even the score and send the contest to the extra session. Eberle scored his third goal of the weekend at 4:42 of the third period tying the score at 1-1. Chris Minard collected the assist on the play and Minard, Eberle and Chad Wiseman generated quality scoring chances throughout the afternoon. The Falcons ended up on a four-minute power play shortly after pulling even when Bridgeport's Brett Motherwell was whistled for a double-minor penalty when he high-sticked Charles Linglet. Springfield generated some scoring chances, but failed to convert on the man advantage.

In the first period, Bridgeport took advantage of their first power play chance of the game when Matt Martin one-timed a rebound off the back boards past Levasseur.

Midway through the opening frame, Springfield's Bryan Young and Bridgeport's Jesse Joensuu collected roughing minors after Young executed a clean body check on Martin.

GAME NOTES

The Falcons played in their 23rd overtime game this year and they are 5-11 in games decided in overtime and 4-3 in games ending in a shootout.

Chris Minard returned to the Falcons lineup on Sunday after playing in five games for the Edmonton Oilers.

The Falcons are 4-0-2-0 in their last six road games.

FALCONS LINEUP

Chris Minard - Chad Wiseman - Jordan Eberle
Charles Linglet - Rob Hisey - Colton Fretter
Liam Redoox - Ryan O'Marra - Colin McDonald
Jason Pitton - Slava Trukhno - Ryan MacMurchy

Chris Armstrong - Johan Motin
Bryan Young - Dean Arsene
J.F. David - Jordan Bendfeld

J.P. Levasseur
Bryon Pitton

FALCONS SCRATCHES - Jake Taylor (Injured), Bryan Lerg (Healthy), Geoff Paukovich (Healthy), Matt Marquardt (Healthy), Alex Plante (Injured), Kip Brennan (Injured), Matt Nickerson (Healthy)

THREE STARS
1. BRI - 25 Mike Radja
2. BRI - 33 Scott Munroe
3. SPR - 17 Jordan Eberle

Written By The Springfield Falcons

*Reprinted with permission by the Springfield Falcons AHL Hockey Club. The Springfield Falcons are a proud affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers (NHL)*

Jordan Eberle, Is There Anything He Can't Do? / Game Recap: Falcons (4) vs Wolf Pack (3)

FALCONS BEAT THE PACK 4-3 IN HARTFORD

March 20, 2010 - The Springfield Falcons continued their strong play on the road beating the Hartford Wolf Pack 4-3 on Saturday night in front of 4,694 at the XL Center in Hartford, CT. The Falcons received goals from Liam Reddox, Jordan Eberle, Chad Wiseman and Dean Arsene, while goaltender Bryan Pitton stopped 33 of 36 shots in earning the win in goal. The Falcons now have points in five straight road games going 4-0-1-0 in that span and overall they have won six of their last nine games.

For the second straight game, the Falcons opened the scoring and built a first period lead heading into the intermission. Reddox opened the scoring with his 17th goal of the year, followed by captain Arsene scoring his second goal of the campaign giving Springfield a two-goal cushion through 20 minutes.

LIVE BOX SCORE

The scoring was fast and furious in the second period with Hartford evening the score at 2-2 when Corey Locke and Derek Couture scored for the Pack less than six minutes into the middle stanza. The Falcons quickly responded when Eberle scored his second goal in as many nights just 21-seconds after Couture tied the score. Springfield regained their two-goal advantage at 12:42 of the second period when Wiseman scored his 21st goal of the year.

Hartford's Brodie Dupont pulled the Wolf Pack to within one goal at 4-3 late in the third period, but the Falcons held on for the victory and pulled to within six points of seventh place Hartford in the standings.

GAME NOTES

Jordan Eberle has two goals and two* three assists in two games with the Falcons. In 11 career AHL games now, Eberle has five goals and eight* nine assists for 13* 14 points. **Oilers Jambalaya Edit**

Rookie defenseman Tony DeHart was celebrating his 20th birthday in Hartford.

Forward Chris Minard arrived back in Springfield tonight and is expected to be available for the Falcons on Sunday in Bridgeport.

FALCONS LINEUP

Charles Linglet - Chad Wiseman - Jordan Eberle
Liam Reddox - Rob Hisey - Colton Fretter
Ryan MacMurchy - Ryan O'Marra - Colin McDonald
Matt Nickerson - Slava Trukhno - Jason Pitton

Chris Armstrong - Jordan Bendfeld
Jake Taylor - Dean Arsene
J.F. David - Tony DeHart

Bryon Pitton
J.P. Levasseur

FALCONS SCRATCHES - Bryan Young (Healthy), Bryan Lerg (Healthy), Geoff Paukovich (Healthy), Matt Marquardt (Healthy), Alex Plante (Injured), Kip Brennan (Injured), Johan Motin (Healthy)

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Oilers assign Chris Minard to Springfield
General Manager Steve Tambellini announced today the Edmonton Oilers have reassigned forward Chris Minard to the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League.

Minard, 28, was called up on March 10 and played in five games for the Oilers recording an assist.

Written By The Springfield Falcons

*Reprinted with permission by the Springfield Falcons AHL Hockey Club. The Springfield Falcons are a proud affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers (NHL)*

Springfield Falcons vs Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Video Highlights (03/19/10)

Here are the video highlights from last night's game vs. the WBS Penguins. Jordan Eberle scores the first goal and then gets an assist on the Falcons 2nd goal. The Falcons go on to lose 5-4 in overtime.

It's a little fuzzy, but it's the best I can find.

Jordan Eberle Makes A Splash / GAME RECAP Falcons vs Penguins (AHL)

SPRINGFIELD FALCONS - 4

vs

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PENGUINS - 5 OT

PENGUINS RALLY PAST FALCONS IN WILKES-BARRE

March 19, 2010 - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are battling for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and they used a relentless third period attack on the Springfield Falcons Friday night to earn a must needed two ponts. The Falcons saw their 4-1 lead disappear in the final period and Deryk Engelland scored in the overtime for Wilkes-Barre giving the Penguins a 5-4 overtime victory at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. The Falcons will next head to Hartford to battle the Wolf Pack on Saturday night.

LIVE BOX SCORE

The Penguins came out fast and furious in the final 20 minutes trying to erase a three-goal deficit. Konstantin Pushkarev started the rally at 3:12 of the third period for the Penguins, followed by Nick Johnson scoring his second goal of the game at 9:09 of the final frame pulling the Penguins to within one at 4-3. Chris Conner evend the score at 4-4 just 31-seconds after Johnson's marker sending the 6,214 into a frenzy.

"I thought we were lucky to have a lead after two periods because we didn't deserve it with how we were playing," said Falcons head coach Rob Daum "They came out and attacked us all period long and we couldn't answer back.".

In the second period, Springfield built a 2-0 lead at 6:19 when Colton Fretter tapped in a Jordan Eberle rebound on the power play. Johnson cut the Falcons' lead to 2-1 just over a minute later when he scored his 14th goal of the year, but the Falcons responded right back with a pair of markers of their own. Liam Reddox tipped in a Dean Arsene shot at 7:57 of the middle period, followed by J.F. David scoring his first AHL goal at 12:31 of the second frame.

Late in the middle period, Jason Pitton and Engelland dropped the gloves for a marathon fight with Pitton holding his own for the Falcons.

Eberle quickly made an impact in the game when he scored his first goal of the year on his first shift of the game. Eberle was set up by Chad Wiseman in front before Eberle made a nice forehand to backhand play to slide a puck past Penguins goaltender Brad Thiessen just one-minute into the first period.

FALCONS LINEUP

Charles Linglet - Chad Wiseman - Jordan Eberle

Liam Reddox - Rob Hisey - Colton Fretter

Ryan MacMurchy - Ryan O'Marra - Colin McDonald

Matt Marquardt - Slava Trukhno - Jason Pitton

Chris Armstrong - Johan Motin

Jake Taylor - Dean Arsene

J.F. David - Tony DeHart

J.P. Levasseur

Bryon Pitton

FALCONS SCRATCHES - Bryan Young (Healthy), Matt Nickerson (Healthy), Geoff Paukovich (Healthy), Bryan Lerg (Healthy), Alex Plante (Injured), Kip Brennan (Injured), Jordan Bendfeld (Healthy)

PRE-GAME NOTES

The Springfield Falcons continue their six-game road trip this weekend as they get set for three games in three days starting on Friday night in Wilkes-Barre, PA at 7:05 pm. The Falcons practiced Thursday morning in Springfield before jumping on the bus to Wilkes-Barre as they get set to meet the Penguins for the second and final time this year. Springfield beat the Penguins on home ice back on January 17 by a score of 6-3. Chad Wiseman led the Falcons offense on that night collecting four goals and two assists in the win. Wiseman tied a Falcons' record in that game for most goals in a game.

The Falcons have not traveled to Wilkes-Barre since the 2007-08 campaign when Springfield dropped a 6-1 decision on April 4, 2008. Springfield has played 13 games against Wilkes-Barre in their franchise history with the Falcons holding a 7-4-2 advantage.

The Falcons continue their road trip having won their last three road games, all one goal games and two that went into overtime. Springfield started their recent hot stretch on the road back on February 26 in Hartford when they rallied in the third period to tie the score and Rob Hisey won the contest in overtime. On February 27 in Syracuse, Chad Wiseman's goal with just seconds remaining in regulation gave the Falcons a 2-1 win, followed by Springfield's most recent road victory this past Sunday when they scored two third period goals to even the score and finally won the contest in a shootout.

Wilkes-Barre has also been playing very well recently as they battle for one of the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins currently sit in fourth place in the East Division with a record of 34-29-2-3 good for 73 points. The top four teams in both the Atlantic Division and East Division make the Calder Cup Playoffs, unless the fifth place team in the Atlantic has a better record than the fourth place team in the East Division. Currently, the fifth place team in the Atlantic is the Bridgeport Sound Tigers with 73 points, tied with the fourth place Penguins in the East.

FALCONS TIDBITS

•The Springfield Falcons have won five of their last seven games, including three straight road games. The Falcons concluded this past weekend with back-to-back 5-4 shootout victories against the AHL’s leading Hershey Bears on Saturday and at Portland on Sunday.

•The Falcons have played 20 games this year that have gone to overtime and they have nine wins, eight overtime losses and three shootout losses in that span. The Falcons are 5-8 in ot games and 4-3 in shootout games.

•Rob Hisey scored the game-winner in the sixth round of the shootout on Saturday night and followed that up with a “Gordie Howe Hat Trick” on Sunday scoring two goals, collecting one assist and adding a first-period fighting major.

•Goaltender J.P. Levasseur was outstanding in the shootout this weekend stopping all six Hershey shooters on Saturday, followed by turning aside all five Portland shooters on Sunday.

•Chad Wiseman collected two goals and two assists in his last two games including being named the game’s first star on Saturday with two goals and one assist against Hershey.

•Dean Arsene scored his first goal of the year on Saturday against Hershey being named the game’s third star.

•Chris Armstrong extended his scoring streak to 10 games with a goal on Sunday in Portland. Armstrong has two goals and nine assists in that span.

Written By The Springfield Falcons

*Reprinted with permission by the Springfield Falcons AHL Hockey Club. The Springfield Falcons are a proud affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers (NHL)*

Reason's for Optimism / Reason's to Cheer

As our collective playoff hopes fade faster then a January sunset, I just wanted to remind people, that the Oilers do have most of the pieces in place for a solid team. Not all is doom and gloom. There's always a bright side to any situation and here's the Oilers silver lining.

The Forwards

The obvious guys are Hemsky, Penner, Horcoff. Yes, Horc makes too much money for his output, but the fact remains, he can be a big part of a winning team. With the emergence of Pens this year, we finally have a big power forward that we have been looking for since we traded Messier and no I don't think they are the same player, other then the power forward part. And then there's Hemsky, that's self explanatory, the guy has mad skills.

The kids that I like on this team are as follows; Gagner, Brule, Stone, Potulny and Stortini. These guys are keepers for sure. Even though they have had "off" games this year, none have been disappointing. In fact I, like most of you, was pleasantly surprised by the play of Stoney, Potsy and Bru, I just didn't see them playing this well for us. I'm not sure guys like Nilsson, Cogliano or J.F.Jacques will be around next season as they could be included in deals during the off season, although the Oilers do need JFJ's size and willingness to hit. And don't forget that guys like Jordan Eberle and Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, who lit up the WJHC over the last couple weeks, are on their way next year too.

The Defence

Of our top six D-men I would only keep three. The guys I would keep to build around are; Visnovsky, Gilbert and Smid. Yes, I would trade Souray. I love the guy as much as anyone, but if this rebuild is going to be done properly, one of Souray or Visnovsky has to be moved. I choose Souray because he is older (by a month) and I think Lubo brings more to this team besides a booming slapshot, it's like choosing between Coffey and MacInnis in my books. Smid is turning into a great defender and Gilbert is still figuring this league out and not playing too badly doing so. Grebeshkov can bring a return in a trade and Staios or Strudwick have to go, as we only need one 7th D-man. With guys like Taylor Chorney, Theo Peckham, Alex Plante and Jeff Petry coming up, we need to make room on the back end.

The Goalies

I, like most in the hockey world, have no idea what is wrong with Khabibulin's back. What I do know is that Deslauriers has some very respectable numbers after 24 starts this season. His save % is basically on par with Khabbi's and his goals against average is better. JDD is getting some extremely valuable playing time with Khabbi out. I don't know enough about Dubnyk to make any assumptions on how he is doing. He has seen some action, but only after sitting on the bench for weeks on end.  So he has been rusty, so to speak, when he has gotten into a game. He does have a short memory though, as he was able to shake off some poor outings for the Oilers and Falcons during the last couple months. The Oilers have to keep JDD in my mind and try to trade or find some kind of loop hole in the CBA to lose Khabbi's salary from the cap hit, before deciding to trade DD.

Final Thoughts

So as you can see here, there are quite a few reasons to remain optimistic about this team. Sure rebuilds take some time, but the Oilers have many of the right pieces already in place. All they need is a season or two of premium draft picks and its off to the races in Oil Country. So as you sit and watch your Oilers lose more often then not for the rest of this season, cheer the little battles being won and the progression of the younger guys as they will carry the load in the next few years, along with *fingers crossed*, *knock on wood* Taylor Hall.

-Paq Twinn-

Beers & Jeers #103 - Oilers vs Coyotes Recap (1/5/10)

Welcome to Oilers Jambalaya - An Edmonton Oilers Hockey Blog. Beers & Jeers is a dual collaboration between Smokin' Ray and Paq Twinn. We hope you enjoy our Edmonton Oilers full game recap.

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- Who's Out? Who's in? Visnovsky and Jacques are not playing. Visnovsky is hurt and Jacques is sitting so Pisani can play.  Pisani is healthy and is back with the Oilers

- The TweetCast by Oilers Jambalaya has both the Oilers vs Coyotes game and the Gold medal game between Canada and USA.  Both games went to overtime.

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Pre-Game Records

Phoenix Coyotes (25-14-4) vs Edmonton Oilers (16-22-4)

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TONIGHT'S STARTING LINES

Edmonton Oilers

Penner-Horcoff-Nilsson
Brule-Potulny-O'Sullivan
Stone-Gagner-Pisani
Moreau-Cogliano-Stortini

Souray-Gilbert
Smid-Staios
Grebeshkov-Strudwick

Deslauriers
Dubnyk
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**These are Re-Tweets of Paq Twinn featuring Smokin' Ray, during the LIVE *TweetCast* at http://twitter.com/OilersJambalaya/edmontonoilerstweetcast You can also join along at our LIVE interactive *TweetCast* right here at Oilers Jambalaya during every Edmonton Oiler game.**

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FINAL SCORE

Phoenix Coyotes - 5


Edmonton Oilers - 4

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GAME VIDEO REPLAY



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BAD TIMING PENALTY

None - Go figure. 

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BEERS

Patrick O'Sullivan - He played a real good game.  His legs were moving and he had a nice breakaway goal that I'm sure will be a highlight for month.  The guy has skill.  No doubt.  But what about the heart?  He had a goal and an assist for 2 point and was a +1.  He also had 5 shots on net.  So for tonight's game, have a frosty cold beer. Cheers!

Sam Gagner - I was glad Quinn switched up the lines and put Gagner with Stone and Pisani.  Both guy are more responsible than Gagner is and it showed.  Gagner played loose and carefree and you know what?  He was good.  He had 7 shots and picked up an assist on the Grebeshkov goal.  One of the better games he's played in a long time.  Good job little dude.  Bud? Cheers!

Gilbert Brule - I really like the way he has been playing lately.  Lots of "jam" and he's consistently trying to make a play.  Gotta love the effort.  I wish more Oilers had it.  He had 4 shots, 2 hits and 2 takeaways.  Oh, and he scored the Oilers opening goal.  For a solid effort, how about a cold Albino Rhino Dark Ale? Cheers!

HONORABLE MENTION(S): Steve Staios (I was impressed by his game. He played a simple game and didn't look as slow tonight.  He even finished +1.), Ladislav Smid (He's turned into a good defensive guy. 3 hits and 3 blocked shots, not too bad Ladi.), Denis Grebeshkov (Even though he's been a train wreck lately, he did find a way to score a goal and add an assist.  But he still finds a way to be -1.),

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JEERS

The 4th Line of (Moreau, Cogliano and Stortini) - Ugh!  What a terrible line.  Sadly, I feel bad for all three of them.  These three just don't mesh and I don't know why the coaching staff keeps going with these guys.  It's just plain ugly when they are on.  Boooooo!

HONORABLE MENTION(S): Dustin Penner (For the sake of being -2, you are in the jeers.  He played pretty good reunited with Horcoff, but was burned far to often.), Robert Nilsson (Same goes for Nilsson.  He was OK, but couldn't keep the puck out of the net and also was a -2.)

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OUR GAME SUMMARIES

Smokin' Ray - That was a meed up night. Cheering my ass of for Team Canada and paying $$$ for the Oilers PPV.  I was honestly entertained by both games - I had the junior game on the computer beside the TV and the Oiler game - but the Junior game was tops.  Entertaining as hell and it had me gripped to my couch.  My mother in law calls during the game and starts bitching about how hockey is stupid - the USA team was up 4-2 at that time - and that it's not fun to watch. WHAT?!? Sure they were losing but it was a good game. BOOM! Eberle scores! and she gets a little excited. By the time she hung up Eberle scores again. WOoOOoOOoo!  Talk about a clutch goal guy. Unbelievable. It's tied up and it's going to overtime.

Then the let down. *sigh* The Canadians played well and it sucks to lose that way. But come on, you had to see it coming. The Americans already played the Canadians to a shootout loss and were not going to lose this time.  Those USA kids are really good and really played as a team.  And I'll tell you, Junior games are way faster than NHL games.  Those kids can fly.

As far as the Oilers game, it was much like the Junior game as it was a back and forth, come from behind and get it to overtime game.  The guys in the beers impressed me while really only the 4th line stunk in my eyes.  I liked the top 3 lines but would still like Brule on the 1st line with Penner.  Nilsson is not Hemsky.  I wish Quinn would stop believing he is.

Paq Twinn - *coming soon*

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POST GAME VIDEO REACTIONS



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GAME STATS

- Scoring Chances (MC79)

- David Staples/Player Grades (Cult of Hockey)

- Game Summary

- Event Summary

- Full NHL Play By Play

- Oilers Time On The Ice

- Opponents Time On The Ice

- Faceoff Report

- Shot Report

- Roster Report

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NEXT GAME

Edmonton Oilers vs Columbus Blue Jackets

Thursday, 07/01/10

7:00 PM

Sportsnet West

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The Glass Half Full - Edmonton Oilers Prospects and the Junior Tournament

Well now that the World Junior tournament is almost over - minus the medal finals and the relegation games - it's time to look at what happened for the sake of the Edmonton Oilers and their prospects.  Not much is really going to change from now till it's over so why not get cracking?

In my opinion, the Oiler kids did great.  Much better than I had anticipated.  I'm thinking glass half full when I say the future looks bright for this hockey club.  Not next year, but I'd say in the next 2-4 years, this team is going to change dramatically and for the better. *fingers crossed*

We seen the dominance/emergence of (F) Jordan Eberle and (F) Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson and that really excited me as an Oiler fan, never mind the other 3 Oiler kids playing in this tournament. 

Before any games are played on Monday, Eberle had registered a point in 16 straight games for Team Canada.  He is also tied for tops on Team Canada with St. Louis Blues prospect (D) Alex Pietrangelo and second in the tournament in points with 11 in total.  In fact, only Derek Stepan has more points in the tournament than Eberle and it's only by one mealy point.  Jordan Eberle has 6 goals and 5 assists for 11 points.  Not bad for a kid who only played 5 games and was slated for the 2nd line on Team Canada. 

"He's (Eberle) not afraid of the big situation," Coach Desjardins said. "He wants the puck. Even the shootout moves and things like that, he makes real strong moves."  Watch out Oiler fans, this kid is going to be a damn good player someday for the Oilers.

Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson has also had a great tournament.  He's been a force and a leader on the Swedish team and he's a very talented hockey player.  I still find it surprising that the Oilers were able to select him with the 10th pick in 2009.  This kid is a gamer and I feel fortunate as an Oiler fan that we have him in our system.  He had 3 goals and 6 assists for 9 points in 5 games and was a +6.  He was a leader for the Sweden team and I'd expect some of the same here in Edmonton when he does finally reach the NHL.  As an 18 year old, he's very impressive and I'm sure, like Eberle and his #14, the Oilers have #21 reserved for Pääjärvi-Svensson.

Also on Team Sweden, is (F) Anton Lander.  He was the Oilers 40th pick in 2009 draft.  He was interesting to keep an eye on because I didn't know much about him before the tournament started.  The first thing I noticed as that he must have some sort of leadership skills as he wore the "A" on his jersey.  That's a good sign.  He is also pretty good at faceoffs as he went 35W 25L for 58.33% and 13th overall in the tournament.  Not exactly a high percentage, but at least it's a starting point and has room to grow.  If he improves on this, then that might be an intangible that he brings to the Oilers and solidifies a spot for himself on the team.  Lord knows the Oilers need better faceoff people. 

After 5 games Lander has scored 4 goals and had 2 assists for 6 points.  Not bad.  He is also sitting at +3 before the Bronze (I wish it was for Gold) medal game.  Again, not bad. 

So far it's looking good for the Oilers don't you think?

Now onto Team Finland.  The Oilers have two players there and they also looked pretty good throughout this tournament.  (F) Tony Rajala and (F) Teemu Hartikainen play on a weaker team than the other Oiler prospects, do but both still had a good tournament. 

Rajala scored 1 goal and had 2 assists for 3 points after 5 games.  He is currently sitting at -1 after those 5 games.  Only scoring once is a little shocking considering it came on the PP and he fired 22 shots in those 5 games.  Is he another Patrick O'Sullivan?  See... that doesn't excite me either.  The bright side here?  He didn't have a single penalty all tournament. Glass half full.

Teemu Hartikainen was a little better than Rajala by scoring 3 goals (same as MPS) and 1 assist for 4 points after 5 games.  He also fired the puck a lot like Rajala did by blasting a team high 27 shots. In comparison, Eberle took 20 shots so far in the tournament and has 6 goals while MPS took 24 shots and had 3 goals.  If anything impressed me it was that Hartikainen did so well in goal scoring department.  I didn't expect him to be in top 20 and he is at 16th place right now.  He just may mature into a better goal scorer then he is now. I'd say Hartikainen is already on his way.

Overall Goals as of the morning of 1/4/10
1st Jordon Eberle (6 goals)
3rd Taylor Hall (5 goals)
9th Anton Lander (4 goals)
16th Teemu Hartikainen (3 goals)
16th Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson (3 goals)
HM Tony Rajala (1 goal)

With the emergence of Eberle and Pääjärvi-Svensson and Lander, I think the Oilers are going to be OK down the road.  I suppose if the two kids from Finland pan out, we can consider it a bonus.  If we show patience, this team will be good once again.  Until then though... it's painful to watch.

Ps. Taylor Hall looked great and needs to be an Oiler.  Don't you think?

-Smokin' Ray-