Here's hoping that everyone had a nice Thanksgiving with family and friends. In this busy world of ours, it is always nice to take a step back and enjoy a day where we give thanks to the many good things we have in life. The Falcons roller coaster ride continues. Exciting shootout wins over defending Calder Cup Champions Hershey Bears and the Toronto Marlies highlighted the week. Unfortunately, a good old fashion shellacking in Rochester ended the week on a sour note. Karri Ramo plays outstanding in the two wins and is almost unbeatable in the shootout (stops 8 of 9) and he certainly has been a bright spot for the Falcons! In ability to generate enough offense continues to frustrate the team. Passing instead of shooting has become the norm and with this a number of potential good scoring chances have gone for naught. A mentality that we must change moving forward. New addition Daniel Corso did not play against Toronto or Rochester and his absence was sorely missed because he brings to the table some much needed speed, tenacity and offensive ability. A badly bruised heel/achilles has set him a back a few days more than we anticipated. Although we have some good young prospects, we are still trying to figure out as a team, that to be successful, we must be working together on all cylinders. We struggle as a team when some of the parts (simple passes, getting pucks through to the net, staying out of the penalty box, and in general just playing smart, fundamental hockey) are missing. We will go back to basics more often and practice the fundamentals...skate, pass, shoot, coupled with good old fashioned hard work. It is a remedy that has worked over time, so we will test it in the coming weeks. As the holiday season approaches, we are thinking of how to give back to our fans, SO MARK THOSE CALENDARS for: Saturday, December 10th from 6-8 pm at Toys "R" Us at 1686 Boston Rd., Springfield as its Falcons Shopping Night. We'll be there with FREE raffles, Food, Gift Wrapping Services, and other great surprises. Please join us! Our hard working Falcons wives and girlfriends are busy making holiday ornaments that your hockey fan will love. The ornaments will be on display starting on Nov. 25-Dec. 15th and will be auctioned off on Saturday, December 16th. Proceeds from both events will benefit Springfield Falcons Charities, Inc. Hope to see you there! Steve Stirling, Head Coach, Springfield Falcons |