Falcons pummel River Rats 6 to 2 at home

SPRINGFIELD, MA – The Springfield Falcons pummeled the Albany River Rats in a 6 to 2 drubbing at “The Nest” Sunday — part of a weekend during which the Falcons netted three of a possible four points. The Black and Blue’s special teams were sharp, as they killed off six of seven Albany power plays and scored all three times they were a man up. Bryan Lerg stepped up to help fill the Falcons depleted line, scoring his first two goals of the season in the first and third periods.
 
Falcons center Chad Wiseman extended his scoring streak to four goals and three assists in four games by scoring a power play marker in the first period and adding an assist in the second. Left winger Charles Linglet and center Geoff Paukovich both tallied in the second, and left winger Viacheslav Truknow added another goal in the third. Montreal native Linglet’s seventh goal of the season extendred his team-best scoring record to 20 points in 17 games. Albany’s Brett Carson and Pat Dwyer both scored in the third.
 
Carson’s goal 6:56 into the final frame had a “had to be there” quality. River Rats center Nick Dodge won the face off deep in Albany’s zone and tapped the puck to his left where Carson one timed it to clear the zone. At that split second, Falcons’ goalie Devan Dubnyk was momentarily distracted by a referee’s whistle prior to the drop.
“I just turned my head to see what the whistle was about and I looked back and every body was looking at me,” Dubnyk explained later. The netminder moved to his left thinking the puck would rim around the boards but lost sight of the disk as it lifted above the white of the far end boards. “All of a sudden I saw a flash of black whizz by my leg,” he said.  
 
Saturday, Falcons’ team captain and veteran defenseman Dean Arsene was recalled by NHL affiliate Edmonton Oilers to join them in Atlanta to face the Thrashers Sunday. He joined recalled Falcons’ Ryan Potulny, Taylor Chorney and Liam Reddox there. Veterans Chris Armstrong and Chris Minard were out injured. Coach Daum noted Minard had missed six games with “the type of injury you have to be cautious with,” adding, “I anticipate he’ll be back in sooner rather than later…we want to make sure he’s 100 percent”. Armstong’s status is day to day with a bruised ankle from a blocked shot Friday night.
 
Friday night, the Falcons hosted a new Atlantic Division rival, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, and earned a point in an overtime loss. The Falcons came from behind a 2-0 deficit in the second with goals from Charles Linglet and Chad Wiseman to send the game into overtime. Right winger Colton Fetter assisted on both goals. The Falcons have scored at least one point in every home game so far this season and have not been defeated in regulation there.
 
“Being at home is huge for the team” added Falcon Bryan Lerg — Sunday’s first star player with his season first two goals. “Tonight it felt good to get a couple in. We got three out of four points on the weekend, and that’s pretty good stuff for our team.”
 
Contact brad.marr@prohockeynews.com