Stronso

By:_ Damon Markiewicz



There is no secret within the Phoenix Coyotes organization that good team defense is the key to success for both the Coyotes and the Springfield Falcons, their top minor league affiliate in the American Hockey League.



The Falcons entered week three of the AHL season with a record of 3-3-0-0 and were not as sound defensively as Springfield head coach Marty McSorley would have liked at times._ The second year head coach challenged his players to tighten up the coverage in their defensive zone and his team has responded.



And just how did the Falcons react?



Well, how about a four game unbeaten streak (3-0-1-0) in which the Falcons have only allowed six goals over that span.



The momentum started for Springfield with a 2-1 win over the Albany River Rats on Saturday, October 25, followed by the team’s first shutout of the season against the Norfolk Admirals on Wednesday, October 29.__ After a 3-3 tie against the Hartford Wolf Pack this past Saturday, the Falcons defeated the Providence Bruins 3-2 on Sunday afternoon.



“We never win easily, but the guys have continued to battle hard," said McSorley, who along with assistant coaches Gord Dineen and Gary Shuchuk are pleased with the improvement. "I still want to see us battle better along the boards and in front of the net. We're reaching for pucks, but right now we’re not giving up many goals and we are improving defensively."



Although good team defense requires all five skaters on the same page acting as a cohesive unit, the defensemen must set the tone and take care of the defensive zone first._ McSorley wants his blueliners to keep the game simple and stay within their limits._ The Falcons have a solid defensive group including:_ Nikos Tselios, Igor Knyazev, Michael Schutte, Mike Wilson and Goran Bezina._



"I think a lot of times, defensemen provide offense at the expense of defense," said McSorley, who played in 961 National Hockey League games as a defenseman throughout his 17-year career. "If our six guys back on the blueline can be sound defensively and make that first pass, which we haven't always done, we'll be in good shape and have continued success."



With the emphasis on solid defense, the forwards also have to be held accountable._ Leading scorer Jeff Taffe understands that the best way to generate quality offense, is to play very good defense.



"I'm trying to work on a improving my play in the defensive zone," said Taffe, who leads the Falcons in scoring with 7-6-13 totals in nine games. "You must have the mentality that you need to take care of your own zone first._ It has been well documented that solid defense wins championships."



The Falcons are off to the best start since the 1997-98 season and their goals against are a strong reason why, especially in the third period._ Springfield has only allowed 27 goals through nine games and have outscored their opponents 10-5 in the final period._ It maybe too early to think about the post-season, but if the Falcons continue to execute their strong defensive play, triumph will continue to be in the team’s future.
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GAME RECAPS



WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29
--TAFFE NETS OVERTIME GAME-WINNER--



Jeff Taffe scored the game’s only goal with 53 seconds remaining in the overtime period as the Springfield Falcons overcame the Norfolk Admirals, 1-0, at the Springfield Civic Center on Wednesday evening._ Falcons netminder Jean-Marc Pelletier made 27 saves to register the 15th shutout of his career._ Frederik Sjostrom and Igor Knyazev collected assists on Taffe’s game-winner._ Norfolk goaltender Craig Anderson turned aside 22 of 23 shots in the hard-luck loss._ The Falcons’ record on the season improved to 4-3 with the victory._



Knyazev’s block of a slap shot in the Falcons’ defensive zone began an odd-man rush for the club on the lone tally of the game._ Sjostrom carried the puck down the right wing after collecting it near the Springfield blue line._ With one Norfolk defender back, Sjostrom fed Taffe who one-timed the game-ending shot from between the face-off circles.



Each team came close to connecting prior to Taffe’s marker._ Springfield center Chris Ferraro hit the post with a wrist shot from the high slot with 11:00 remaining in regulation._ Admirals defenseman Anton Babchuk’s slap shot 1:30 into overtime glanced off the post to Pelletier’s glove side.



The Falcons finished the game 0-for-7 on the power play including a five-on-three man advantage that lasted 1:45 in the first period._ The Admirals, who entered the game with the most power-play goals in the AHL (11), failed to score on four chances.



With the goal, Taffe grabbed a share of the AHL’s scoring lead along with Manitoba right wing Fedor Fedorov at 11 points._ Taffe is also tied with Fedorov for second-place on the league’s goal-scoring rankings with six markers this season.



SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1
--FALCONS SKATE TO 3-3 DEADLOCK IN HARTFORD--
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Right wing Peter Ferraro scored two goals as the Springfield Falcons skated to a 3-3 overtime tie with the Hartford Wolf Pack before a crowd of 4,886 at the Hartford Civic Center on Saturday evening._ Defenseman Nikos Tselios pulled Springfield even in the third period with his first marker in a Falcons uniform._ Rookie netminder David LeNeveu made 35 saves - the most for a game during his young professional career._ The Falcons found themselves with a short bench after the first period due to losing Chris Ferraro to a game misconduct and Jason Jaspers to an injury._ Forwards Ken Gernander, Chad Wiseman and defenseman Lawrence Nycholat scored for Hartford.__
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After the Falcons trailed 3-2 entering the third period, Tselios tied the game 1:18 into the frame with a wrist shot from the slot after receiving a drop pass from rookie left wing Mike Stutzel.
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With both teams failing to score again in regulation, the clubs played five minutes of nearly continuous up-and-down hockey during overtime._ Forwards Jeff Taffe and Martin Podlesak each shot wide of the net on scoring opportunities for the Falcons._ Hartford right wing Jed Ortmeyer hit the outside of the post on a slap shot._ Springfield outshot the Wolf Pack, 6-4, during the extra session.______
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Following a goal 3:20 into the game by Wolf Pack right wing Ken Gernander, Peter Ferraro provided Springfield with a 2-1 lead with back-to-back goals._ Ferraro collected a pass from Fredrik Sjostrom before beating Hartford netminder Jason LaBarbera with a snap shot from the edge of the left wing face-off circle at 11:41 of the first period._ The Port Jefferson native tallied again 4:40 later by finishing an odd-man rush_ with a backhand from a sharp angle that found the top corner of the net._ Ferraro’s second goal of the game marked his sixth of the season to tie Taffe for the team lead.
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The Wolf Pack scored a pair of special team goals in the second period to take a one-goal lead._ After being the first to reach a loose puck in the Falcons zone, Wiseman stickhandled around a sliding Mike Wilson to shoot from between the face-off circles into the top corner of the net for a shorthanded goal at 9:25.
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Nycholat scored a power-play goal for Hartford off a drop pass from Ortmeyer in the high slot 2:30 later.
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Chris Ferraro was issued the game misconduct in the first period following a fight with Nycholat for not having his jersey tied down._
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The Falcons are unbeaten in their last three games (2-0-1) and share the Atlantic Division’s second-best winning percentage (.563) with the Lowell Lock Monsters._ Hartford leads the division with a record of 6-0-3-1.
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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2
--TAFFE NETS GAME-WINNER AGAIN—
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Jeff Taffe scored with seven seconds remaining in regulation to lift the Springfield Falcons to a 3-2 win over the Providence Bruins at the Springfield Civic Center on Sunday._ Taffe’s goal came 37 seconds after Bruins right wing Pat Leahy had tied the game for Providence with his second goal of the contest._ Falcons goaltender Jean-Marc Pelletier stopped 32 of 34 shots as Springfield defeated Providence for the first time in three tries this season._ Peter Ferraro and Erik Westrum also scored for Springfield._ The Falcons are unbeaten in the club’s last four games.
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Taffe’s goal marked his third game-winning tally of the season._ The center is currently tied for the AHL lead in points (13) and goals (7)._ Ferraro and rookie forward Fredrik Sjostrom collected assists on the game-winner.
Westrum provided the Falcons a 2-1 lead 32 seconds into the third period with an unassisted goal that he lifted over the shoulder of Providence goaltender Hannu Toivonen._

Springfield protected the lead until Leahy redirected a shot past Pelletier with 44 seconds remaining to play after Toivonen had left the Bruins’ net for an extra attacker._

The Falcons took a 1-0 lead in the first period when Peter Ferraro one-timed a pass from his twin brother Chris during a five-on-three power play at the 7:35 mark.
At 14:05 of the opening frame, Leahy evened the contest by deflecting a shot from the point by defenseman Peter Metcalf four seconds into a Providence power play.
With the win, the Falcons grabbed a share of second-place in the Atlantic Division._ Only the Hartford Wolf Pack own a better winning percentage among teams in the division than Springfield (.611).

The Falcons return to the home ice of the Springfield Civic Center on Friday, November 7th to face the Norfolk Admirals._ Game time is 7:35 pm._ Please contact the Falcons team office at (413) 739-3344 for information on tickets and group discounts.

NEWS AND NOTES

STILL AT THE TOP – Springfield center Jeff Taffe continues to be among the AHL’s scoring leaders._ The second year pro is tied for the AHL in scoring with 7-6-13 totals in 13 games._ Taffe scored the game-winning goal twice for the Falcons this past week, including the overtime winner on Wednesday, October 29 and the go-ahead marker with seven seconds remaining on regulation on Sunday, November 2.

MOVING ON UP – The Falcons are currently in second place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 5-3-1-0._ Springfield is unbeaten in their last four games (3-0-1-0) and 4-1-0-0 on home ice.

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