If you recall, the Baby B’s came to Springfield for the Falcons home opener on October 15th, and beat the Falcons 4-1.
Friday night was the first time the teams met since then, and the Falcons played as well as I’ve seen a Springfield team play in a long time, as the Falcons crushed the Bruins 7-2 in Providence.
Khudobin, who absolutely stood on his head here five weeks ago, wasn’t a factor in this one. The Falcons abused him early and often, right from the start.
Things got off to a big start when Alexandre Giroux was sent in on a breakaway early in the game. This really set the pace for the rest of the game, as the Bruins simply couldn’t compete with the Falcons speed.
Nick Drazenovic got the Falcons power play juggernaut underway when he notched his fourth goal of the season, assisted by Cody Goloubef and Dane Byers
With former Blue Jacket Chris Clark in the box for a cross check, Cam Atkinson brought the PP to 2 for 2 on the night when he picked up his sixth goal of the season, making the game 3-0 for Springfield. St. Pierre collected his second assist of the night and Alexandre Giroux got the other.
Toward the end of the period, Mike Thomas and Lane MacDermid squared off in a nice tussle. Check it out:
The rest of the recap and the barrage of goals on video, after the jump…
This first period was as close to “perfect”, as you will see in the “A”. The Falcons outperformed the Bruins in every aspect of the game.
drew the starting nod from coach Rob Riley. Manny wasn’t severely tested in the opening frame, but was equal to the task, turning aside all 7 shots he faced.
The Bruins came to play in the second period, opening up the ice a bit more. Once again however, their overexuberance came up and bit them. This time with
serving a hooking minor, the lethal Falcons power play claimed another victim. Giroux, another player who has been completely unreal since his return to the Falcons, netted his fifth goal on an assist from, you guessed it…Martin St. Pierre.
Throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Legace, the Bruins finally connected at 16:14 when
(do they call him “Happy”?) got the B’s on the board, making it a 4-1 game.
Legace stood tall for the Falcons in the second, stopping 20 of 21 Providence attempts.
Here is the Falcons scoring parade:
The third period started quickly, and the Falcons collectively put their foot right back on Providence’s throat when Atkinson connected from an Andrew Joudrey pass at 1:06, increasing the lead to 5-1 and chasing Khudobin from the Providence cage. Michael Hutchinson came on in relief for the B’s.
The Bruins wouldn’t go down without a fight however. With Cam Atkinson serving a delay of game minor, the Bruins Jamie Tardif lit the lamp after just 8 seconds elapsed, bringing the Bruins back within three goals.
Content to play a little more defensively, the Falcons kept their hosts at bay until late in the period when once more the Falcons scored on the power play, making it a 4 for 4 night with the extra man. Nick Holden picked up his third tally of the season, assisted by Byers and Drazenovic at 18:36.
With the game at 6-2, Aaron Bogosian rubbed some salt in the wound when he connected on a Ryan Garlock feed at 19:18 to close out the scoring, giving the Falcons a 7-2 victory.
Legace’s efforts in the second period were crucial to keeping the three goal cushion. He really played well.
Other than Danny Taylor’s struggle in the first period last Saturday night against Bridgeport, the Falcons goaltending has really performed well. Especially when you consider that the intended duo was to be Curtis Sanford and Allen York!
The Falcons are back on the bus tonight, when they head to Bridgeport, CT to take on the Sound Tigers in a rematch from last Saturday in Springfield. Game time is 7PM. This one should be a barn burner, as Dane Byers blew a gasket after his skirmish with Michael Haley last week. Also, mix in Trevor Gillies and anything can happen.