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Date: 10/23/2015
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Hockey League announced on Oct. 13 that Providence Bruins center Frank Vatrano was selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 11.
Vatrano scored five goals in the first two games of the season, helping the Bruins earn three of a possible four points to begin the 2015-16 campaign. In
Providence’s opener against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Friday night, Vatrano scored with 1:49 remaining in regulation, forcing overtime in a game eventually won by the Penguins, 2-1. He also tied a team-high with five shots on goal. Then on Sunday afternoon, Vatrano scored four times on six shots in the Bruins’ 6-4 win over Portland, becoming the first AHL player with a four-goal game in exactly one year. Vatrano’s first goal of the game came just seven seconds after the opening faceoff, and his third goal was the game-winner in the third period.
A 21-year-old native of East Longmeadow, Vatrano made his professional debut last season following his sophomore season at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, where he tallied 18 goals and 10 assists in 36 games in 2014-15. Vatrano signed as a free agent with the Boston Bruins on Mar. 13, 2015, and tallied one goal in five games with Providence last spring.
In recognition of his achievement, Vatrano received an etched crystal award.
Vatrano continued his hot play on Oct. 16 as Providence had three goals on the power play, including Vatrano’s third of the season, against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers Friday night at the Dunkin Donuts Center, but they were unable to score with an extra skater in a 5-4 loss. The team scored three power play goals in a game for the second time this season.
At 13:06, Vatrano scored to tie the game at 2-2. Khokhlachev screened Bridgeport Sound Tigers goaltender Christopher Gibson to make it happen. It was the first time all season that Providence scored multiple game-tying goals.
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TRENTON, N.J. – Area native Barry Almeida of the Utah Grizzlies is the Sher-Wood Hockey ECHL Player of the Week for Oct. 16 to 18.
Almeida scored five goals and was a plus-5 in two games last week as Utah swept an opening-weekend series at Colorado.
The 26-year-old had one goal in a 4-3 overtime win on?Oct. 16 then scored four times, including a shorthanded tally and the game-winning goal, in a 5-2 victory on?Oct. 17.
A native of Ludlow, Almeida leads the ECHL in goals, is tied for the league lead in points and is tied for second in plus-minus.
Almeida has 95 points (43goals, 52 assists) in 131 career ECHL games with Utah, Reading and Cincinnati. He captured a Kelly Cup title with the Royals in 2013. He has added 15 points (7 goals, 8 assists) in 36 career games with Hershey of the American Hockey League.
Prior to turning pro, Almeida recorded 92 points (45g-47a) in 159 career games at Boston?College and was part of the Eagles’ National Championship teams in 2010 and 2012.
On behalf of Almeida, a case of pucks will be donated to a Utah youth hockey organization.
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The Falcons power play clicked but could not overcome a late push by the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, falling by a score of 5-3 on Oct. 13.
The Sound Tigers jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a power play tally from Kevin Czuczman 8:33 into the first period. Ryan Pulock connected a pass to Joe Whitney who quickly crossed ice to Czuczman for the period’s lone goal. Springfield sustained pressure in the closing minutes of the frame but could not solve goaltender Christopher Gibson.
The penalty-filled second period scoring opened with a Falcons power play goal from Alex Grant. The defenseman tied the game with a slap shot assisted by Lucas Lessio and former Sound Tiger, Dustin Jeffrey.
The Sound Tigers responded with another power play goal just 3:38 later to grab a 2-1 lead. Bracken Kearns scored in his third consecutive game with assists credited to James Wright and Jesse Graham. Yet another penalty was converted upon just 2:18 later. Jeffrey potted his first of the season and second point of the night to tie the game at two. Philip Samuelsson assisted as well as Grant for another Falcon two-point night. The period concluded with a 2-2 tie.
The game reminded tied until late in the third when Bridgeport would once again grab the lead. Jesse Graham scored his second of the season with 5:06 remaining in regulation. Alan Quine and Kirill Petrov collected the helpers on the goal. The Falcons would pull netminder Tyler Beskorowany for the extra attacker in an effort to tie the game in the last two minutes. Ben Holmstrom scored on the empty net with 1:28 left, seemingly ending the game. Brendan Shinninmin would respond however to bring the game to a 4-3 score with just 51 seconds remaining. Jeffrey and Grant assisted on the goal to give them three-point nights. The Falcons pulled Beskorowany once again in an effort to tie the game. This time, Justin Florek would score with three seconds to end the game at a 5-3 score. Both teams finished 2-6 on the power play.
The Springfield Falcons successfully killed ten penalties but could not fend off the Phantoms offense in a 4-1 loss on Oct. 16.
The Phantoms got the scoring started early when forward Chris Connor captured a rebound and buried it top shelf at the 6:25 mark of the opening period.
The play was started with a nice feed by Nick Cousins to the streaking defenseman Mark Alt but after Springfield goaltender Louis Domingue made the initial save, Connor was there to take advantage of the rebound.
The Falcons struggled to generate many shots on goal in the first period despite having three power play opportunities. Lehigh Valley’s penalty killing unit kept the game scoreless in the first as the Falcons had a brief four-on-three man advantage, followed by a short five-on-three power play chance.
In the second period, it was Springfield that got into early penalty trouble. They collected a pair of penalties less than a minute into the frame. After killing off the majority of a lengthy five-on-three penalty, rookie Danick Martel scored his second goal in as many games to give the Phantoms a 2-0 lead. Martel’s goal was set-up by a cross-crease pass from Petr Straka. Connor got the secondary assist on the play for his second point of the night.
After the Falcons were forced to kill another penalty just minutes later, they began to get an offensive surge midway through the second period. Eventually, at the 14:42 mark of the period, defenseman Steven Delisle was able to get one by Anthony Stolarz to cut the Phantoms lead in half. The goal was set up by Ross Mauermann and Laurent Dauphin.
Despite outshooting Lehigh Valley 14-6 in the period, the Falcons headed to the dressing room trailing 2-1.
The Phantoms controlled a majority of the third period as they were able to build on their lead early with a goal from Petr Straka. Lehigh Valley added another tally eight and a half minutes later from rookie Tyrell Goulbourne to make the score 4-1. The Falcons never sustained any offense in the period, registering just three shots on goal. Domingue stopped 29 shots in the loss while Stolarz made 19 saves for his first win of the season.
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The Falcons will present Military Appreciation night Oct. 23, sponsored by Smith & Wesson, Securitas USA, and Firearm Professionals.
The night will be dedicated to all active military and veterans and gives an opportunity thank those who are serving or have served in our nation’s military. In addition, military vehicles will be present with special honorees and a unique national anthem will be performed.
Smith & Wesson, a resident of Springfield since 1982, supports veterans through a number of programs. “At Smith & Wesson, we have a special place in our hearts for our veterans, who have sacrificed so much for our freedoms,” said Anne Bruce, Smith & Wesson’s Vice President of Human Resources. “We are honored to have the opportunity to share our thanks by serving as a sponsor for the Falcons Military appreciation game.”
Securitas USA, along with many other companies, has been inspired to seek new ways to strengthen their support of veterans and honor their commitment to our country. Not only do service members have specialized training that can be an asset in the workplace, but they are also driven by the same values that lead our company. For these reasons, Securitas is proud to make an active effort in the hiring and acknowledgement of military service members.
Firearm Professional is a family-owned, family-run gun shop located in Agawam, specializing in tactical gear for personal defense, competition shooting, rare firearms, and accessories for collectors.
Located at 396 Main St., Firearm is the home of The Marksman Club, the original subscription box for shooting enthusiasts.