Falcons Game 53: Remember Andrew Murray?

The Worcester Sharks made two first period goals stand up as they defeated the Springfield Falcons 2-1 on Sunday afternoon in Springfield.

Former Blue Jacket Andrew Murray picked up his second goal of the season for the Sharks at 7:56 of the first period. Ten minutes later, Murray was briefly credited with the Sharks second marker. Eventually the goal was awarded to Worcester defenseman Nick Petrecki, giving the Sharks a 2-0 lead after one period. Shots on goal in the frame were 12-4 in favor of the Sharks and were indicative of the flow of play in the period.

Manny Legace was back in goal for Springfield. Legace’s win on Saturday night over Providence gave him 64 career wins in a Falcons uniform, good for #1 all time wins by a Falcons goalie. Manny’s opponent was Alex Stalock in the Sharks net. Stalock was labelled as a can’t miss goaltending prospect for the San Jose Sharks and had it all going on in Worcester until a freak injury in a game against the Manchester Monarchs over a year ago nearly cost him his career. In that game, Stalock had the back of his right leg stepped on by one of the Monarchs, severing tendons and ligaments and putting his career in jeopardy. Immobilized for four months, it’s been a long road back for Stalock.

The red hot Dane Byers pulled the Falcons within a goal at 9:35 of the second period. Byers finished off a sweet passing play initiated by Alexandre Giroux and Cam Atkinson on the power play. At this point, it looked like there was some life in the Birds. The goal was the only marker of the second period, while the Falcons outshot the Sharks 10-6 in the frame.

The third period saw the Sharks simply not allow the Falcons any pressure in their end of the ice. The biggest opportunity of the period came when Giroux was awarded a penalty shot at 6:01. This was another of the current crop of penalty shots that really shouldn’t have been called. Giroux barely split the Worcester defense at the blueline, while the puck was still about 12 feet in front of him. He was hooked at that point, and awarded the penalty shot. Giroux got in deep on the shot and he wanted to go high glove on Stalock, and just managed to go too high and put the puck over the corner of the cage.

The period ended up goalless, with the Sharks outshooting the Falcons 11-2 in the period, and having an advantage of 29-16 for the game.

The Falcons return to action on Friday night when the Bridgeport Sound Tigers come to Springfield for a 7:30PM faceoff.