The Falcons played three games this week, winning two and losing one. On the young season, the Falcons are 3-2-0-0.
The Falcons experienced a change in personnel on Thursday when Alexandre Giroux was recalled by the Columbus Blue Jackets and Cam Atkinson was sent to Springfield.
Atkinson paid an immediate dividend for the Falcons, when he scored his first AHL goal of the season (at the end of the same week in which he scored his first NHL goal) in a 7-4 victory at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
A pure team win, the Falcons had seven goals from seven different players.
Joining Atkinson in the barrage against the Penguins were: Martin St. Pierre, Nick Drazenovic, Mike Thomas (his first pro goal), John Moore, Ryan Russell and Oliver Gabriel (his first pro goal).
In the Penguin game, Allen York was hurt by Paul Thompson of the Pens. York came out of the game and spent the rest of the weekend on the shelf.
After the game, it was back on the bus to Springfield. The weary Falcons arrived home after 2:30AM on Saturday.
Saturday afternoon, Falcons broadcaster Mike Kelly tweeted that the Falcons had signed netminder Danny Taylor to a PTO. Taylor backed up Paul Dainton for the home opener Saturday night, when the Providence Bruins came to town.
The Falcons hosted their first of three special Calder Cup nights on Saturday. Carolina Hurricanes/Versus broadcaster John Forslund (Springfield native, and former Springfield Indians broadcaster) was on hand as the Master of Ceremonies. Several players were on hand for a very well done tribute to Springfield’s last two Calder Cup champions, the 1990 and 1991 Indians.
Despite all that, and the Calder Cup being prominently displayed during the ceremonies, the Baby B’s came out and skated their best game of the season. Providence had come into the game with an 0-3 record, scoring just three goals in the three games, while allowing 15.
Bruins netminder Anton Khudobin stymied the Falcons at every opportunity. He was unbeatable on the glove side and from point blank range, robbed three separate Falcons with great scoring bids.
The Bruins went on to win the game by a score of 4-1, with the only Falcons goal being a nice power play conversion by Dane Byers.
Also during the game, John Moore limped off the ice in the third period, not to return.
In the hectic life of an AHL team, the Falcons were back on the MassMutual Center ice for a Sunday afternoon game against the Manchester Monarchs. Manchester took it to the Falcons in the season opener, beating the Birds 5-2.
Sunday’s contest was also the third game in three days for the Monarchs. Neither team showed fatigue, however Manchester put up the first two goals of the afternoon on power play opportunities, taking a 2-0 lead.
The Falcons went on to score the next four consecutive goals. Scoring for Springfield were Dane Byers, Martin St. Pierre, Ryan Russell (first as a Falcon) and Dalton Prout (first pro goal).
The teams exchanged third period goals as the Falcons evened the season series with Manchester with a well deserved 5-3 win. Newly signed Danny Taylor played a solid game in goal for the Falcons.
AHL NORTHEAST DIVISION STANDINGS (as of 10/17/11):
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | PTS | GF | GA |
| Adirondack (PHI) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 19 | 13 |
| Springfield (CBJ) | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 21 | 19 |
| Connecticut (NYR) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 14 |
| Bridgeport (NYI) | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 21 |
| Albany (NJD) | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 22 |
The Falcons six points in five games ranks them tied for second (with four other teams), one point behind the conference leading Hershey Bears.
Goal Scorers this week:
Dane Byers 2
Ryan Russell 2
Martin St. Pierre 2
Nick Drazenovic
Mike Thomas
John Moore
Ryan Russell
Oliver Gabriel
Cam Atkinson
Dalton Prout
Falcons Individual Stats:
| Player | Pos. | GP | G | A | Pts. | +/- | PIM |
| Nick Drazenovic | LW | 5 | 2 | 7 | 9 | +2 | 2 |
| Martin St. Pierre | C | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 0 |
| Ryan Garlock | C | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | +3 | 0 |
| Dane Byers | LW | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 11 |
| Cody Bass | C | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -1 | 13 |
| Ryan Russell | C | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | +1 | 0 |
| Nick Holden | D | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -3 | 2 |
| Brent Regner | D | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 0 |
| Mike Thomas | RW | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | +2 | 0 |
| Cody Goloubef | D | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 12 |
| Adam Mair | C | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | +2 | 8 |
| Alexandre Giroux | LW | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
| Cam Atkinson | RW | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 2 |
| John Moore | D | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 |
| Wade MacLeod | LW | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 0 |
| Aaron Bogosian | LW | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 7 |
| Oliver Gabriel | LW | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| Dalton Prout | D | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +4 | 8 |
| Tomas Kubalik | RW | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 4 |
| Andrew Joudrey | C | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| Danny Taylor | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Allen York | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Anton Blomqvist | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 7 |
| Paul Dainton | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steven Delisle | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 6 |
Nick Drazenovic is currently tied for the AHL scoring lead with Jon Matsumoto of the Charlotte Checkers.
Allen York is currently ranked 23rd in the league with a 2.87 GAA and a .907 save percentage.
Danny Taylor is ranked 28th, with a 3.01 GAA and a .927 save percentage.
Paul Dainton is ranked 45th in the AHL, with a 4.30 GAA and a .836 save percentage.
The Falcons embark on another three games in three days this coming weekend. Friday, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins visit Springfield. Saturday, the Falcons host the Connecticut Whale in the opener of a home and home series. The second half takes place Sunday afternoon in Hartford.