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.
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“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.
*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)*
