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Falcons turned back
Thursday, April 07, 2005
By MIKE SCANDURA

LOWELL - Springfield Falcons coach Dirk Graham wasn't inclined to hang last night's 4-2 loss to the Lowell Lock Monsters on goaltender Brian Eklund.

Lowell outshot Springfield 46-34 and, even though the Lock Monsters rattled off three unanswered goals in the second period to overcome a 2-1 deficit, Eklund kept the Falcons in contention.

"I thought Brian was good, he battled really hard," Graham said. "He had flu-type symptoms and ended up throwing up on the bench toward the end of the game when we pulled him (with 1:50 left in regulation). But he's a warrior, and he played well. He made some key stops when we needed them."

Perhaps the best of Eklund's 42 stops came early in the second period after Lowell's Mike Zigomanis scored to tie it at 2-2. Brant Myhres and Colin Forbes broke in on a 2-on-1 rush, and Eklund held the short side and robbed Myhres.

Eklund, a 23-year-old native of Braintree, joined Springfield this season as a backup to veteran Jamie Storr. But Eklund's play persuaded Springfield to trade Storr and install the Brown University goalie as their number one.

"Jamie was our number one guy, but, in our opinion, Brian overtook Storr and had the number one job, so we moved Jamie on," Graham said. "And Eklund's continued to grow. I think he did the exactly the same thing last year when he was in the East Coast League (with Pensacola). He came in there and earned his job and really grew a lot.

"So, he continues to get better and better and better. He's had a chance this year to work a lot with Jeff Reese, the goaltending coach from Tampa Bay, which has been huge. To an extent, (Storr's trade) was a vote of confidence. That's the way our organization's run. People come and earn things. It doesn't matter if you're a first-round pick. If people come to this organization and work hard and earn things, they'll be given those opportunities. And Brian's certainly earned his."

The Falcons gave an early indication that they might end their rough luck against the Lock Monsters (Lowell's now 7-1-0-1 versus Springfield) when Ryan Craig scored 42 seconds after the opening faceoff by knocking in the rebound of a Jason Jaspers' shot.

Then, after Lowell's Mark Girodano scored from the high slot at 1:59, Jaspers scored a rare (for Springfield) power-play goal, at 2:02 of the second period. Jaspers' goal gave Springfield a 2-1 lead - a lead that was buried amidst a flurry of Lowell shots. In fact, the Lock Monsters out shot Springfield 22-10 in that period and scored three times for a 4-2 lead heading into intermission.

Springfield turned on the jets in the third period and frequently penned the Lock Monsters in their end. In fact the Falcons outshot the Lock Monsters 19-12, but goalie Brent Krahn was equal to the task with a series of highlight-show saves.

"I'd say the roof collapsed for them in the third period," Graham said. "I thought they're goaltender played every well. He made some great stops, especially right at the end on Ryan Craig with his stick.

"Overall, I thought our guys played hard. Lowell's a very skilled hockey team, and they have some players who can put the puck in the net."

Ironically, Lowell's top line of Eric Staal, Chuck Kobasew and Colin Forbes - which is arguably one of the AHL's very best lines - came up empty. Instead the damage was done by Lowell's third and fourth lines.

"When you have a deep hockey team and you have those type of players (on the first line), the other team has to pay attention to those type of players and it opens up things for other guys," Graham said.

Lightning bullish on defensive prospects
By John McGourty | NHL.com
April 7, 2005

The upside of winning the Stanley Cup is the great personal and team satisfaction that you enjoy, plus having your name inscribed on the Stanley Cup for all eternity. The downside is rather small, the last selection in the first round of the Entry Draft.

That's the position the Tampa Bay Lightning were in last summer when they took Calgary Hitmen defenseman Andy Rogers, a 6-foot-2, 206-pound left-hand shot, with the final selection of the first round.

But the Lightning were happy with the selection as Rogers moved up from the 34th top prospect to 24, according to the NHL's Central Scouting Service. Strength, speed and good puckhandling skills recommended Rogers and he has continued to improve this season after a trade to the WHL's Prince George Cougars.

"Andy had a phenomenal rookie camp at Traverse City last summer," Lightning General Manager Jay Feaster said. "He looked very poised, not like a kid coming to his first NHL camp. He looked very smooth back there. We could be set for a long time when we add Andy and Mike Egener to our blue line. We don't have to rush those guys. There was a time, four or five years ago, the kids would have been asked to come up right away. Now, we have the luxury where we don't have to do that."

"Head Scout Jake Goertzen liked Andy quite a bit," Feaster said. "Both Mike and Andy are very good skaters and that's one of the thing we like most about them. Andy has good mobility, quickness and a high top end. Both are already legitimate NHL skaters. Andy has very hard, accurate shot. We began at Traverse City to encourage him to use it more. Egener doesn't realize how hard a shot he has. We don't view either player as a rushing offensive defenseman, but both bring that good shot.

"Both Andy and Mike fit the mold of blue-chip 'stud' defenders that play a lot of minutes and play for a long time," Feaster said. "Those defensemen are worth their weight in gold and when other teams realize they have them, you can't get them from them. We have to acquire them ourselves through the draft."

And now they will be educated in the Tampa system.

"We like to bring in a player who wants to learn, grow and get better and isn't full of himself at age 19 or 20," Feaster said. "With our coaching staffs, John Tortorella and Craig Ramsay here in Tampa Bay, and Dirk Graham, Phil Russell and Darren Rumble at Springfield, we can teach them how to play at the NHL level. Mike and Andy hate to lose and are team-first guys. They can grow into leadership roles in our organization."

Gerard Dicaire was the Lightning's fourth pick, 162nd overall, in 2002. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound left-handed shot is expected to develop into a good offensive defenseman. He had 15 goals and 44 assists for Kootenay two years ago.

"Last year, his first pro season, was a bit of a lost year," Feaster said. "We had only one player there on the Utah Grizzlies. We were the orphans, so it wasn't a great year for development. Then this season, before training camp, he developed a boil on his back so bad that it required surgery. He came back and was getting in a groove when there was death in his family. We've seen flashes of his offensive ability in training camp and some this season. It's a developing situation. We haven't seen it over an 80-game stretch. We have to find out what he's capable of. He's a good skater who needs to work on his strength. He has good mobility, quickness and a good top-end. He gets the shot through. He can carry the puck end-to-end, but he has to get better in his own zone."

Defenseman Matt Smaby was taken in the second round, 41st overall, in 2003. A graduate of St. Mary's-Shattuck in Faribault, Minn., Smaby was plus-20 last year in his freshman season at the University of North Dakota. He's been a key cog in the Fighting Sioux's march to the Frozen Four. Feaster would like to see him turn pro soon.

"He went the college route. With the NCAA crackdown on obstruction, physical play and play along the boards, I don't know that college is the best place for a physical player like Smaby to develop into a pro. We're still high on him, but we have to get him playing North American pro hockey, not college."

Feaster likes a couple of defenseman playing in Springfield. Doug O'Brien, the team's fourth pick, 192nd overall in 2003, and Paul Ranger, the seventh pick, 183rd overall in 2002, are making steady progress toward the NHL.

"O'Brien struggled a bit in December when Darren Rumble had to retire due to a back injury and we traded another veteran. That put a lot on Doug's shoulders and I think we overwhelmed him. We sent him down to Johnstown in the ECHL and he quickly got right. Since he's been back, he's been the most consistent of our defensive prospects. He moves the puck well, can skate it end-to-end and knows when to jump in and pinch to keep an offensive opportunity going. He has a good shot. We're projecting he will play for us. We think we rushed him earlier this year so we don't want to rush him again. We'll give him a chance to build a good foundation in Springfield.

"Ranger is our most gifted offensive defenseman. He sees the ice well and has good offensive instincts. He demonstrated that at the junior level. But, we don't know from shift to shift and game to game what we are going to get in terms of consistency. I think at first Paul didn't respect how much work it takes to succeed. Guys have no idea what Marty St. Louis and Dave Andreychuk do every day to be NHL players. That work ethic you do on your own, not as part of the organization. That's the area Paul Ranger has to work on. Is he prepared to put in that work on a daily basis to get NHL success? He's a decent first-year pro yet he leaves us wanting more."

One of the Lightning's top prospects is a player who came from far back to be one job away from the NHL. Goalie Brian Eklund was the 226th overall selection in 2002. Somebody obviously looked past the statistics because Eklund had a 7-27-4 record in four years at Brown University. He spent two seasons with Pensacola (ECHL) and set league records for wins, saves and minutes played. Eklund had 83 saves in a triple-overtime playoff loss last year.

"The guy who has done the most to help his cause is goalie Brian Eklund," Feaster said. "We told him we wanted him to be the go-to guy in Pensacola and he did just that. He led the league in shots faced and was one of the top goalies in save percentage and led the league in wins. He had a phenomenal season. We brought him in as our standby goalie during last year's Stanley Cup Playoffs. When we met with him before this season, we told him we were going to find a veteran goalie for Springfield. But by Christmas, he had wrested the job away from Jamie Storr. So, we loaned Storr to Utah and got Jean-Marc Pelletier in return, to go with Brian.

"Eklund quietly gets the job done. He's not a vocal guy and he's very low maintenance. Wherever he plays, he's quietly accepted and he rises to every challenge. He may be the legit third guy in our system and may move himself into backup status in the next few years. He's done a great job. Every time goalie coach Jeff Reese comes back from seeing him, he comments on how impressively Brian is developing."

Feaster would love to know why Ryan Craig, the team's 10th pick, 255th overall, in 2002 is getting the organizational message better than Adam Heinrich, their first pick, 60th overall, that year. And, he's not too happy with the decision of Alexander Polushin, Tampa Bay's second pick, 47th overall, in 2001 to play another year in Russia.

Feaster says that prospect Ryan Craig "is the epitome of a Tampa Bay Lightning player."

"Ryan Craig is the epitome of a Tampa Bay Lightning player, which is all about team, leadership, being coachable and caring about what happens from a team standpoint." Feaster said. "If you told Ryan that if he gave back his 21 goals, his team could have 20 more wins, he'd ask how many wins if he gave up his assists too. Ryan doesn't have the same hands and pure natural ability that Henrich has, but he hasn't scored from outside the hash marks, either. If you saw a head go rolling from in front of the net into the corner, that would be Ryan's because someone knocked it off. Ryan pays the price night after night, shift after shift. He goes where angels fear to tread and produces points.

"That's in contrast with Henrich, who has all kinds of ability, but he's still trying toe drags and dipsy-doodle stuff that worked against inferior talent in juniors, but doesn't work in a men's league. It sure doesn't work in the NHL. We thought Adam would produce more this year. That's because he totally underestimated how tough the AHL was going to be. Now, he's hurt. He's had several injuries this season. I trust he's been learning these lessons. I'm long past my desire to sugarcoat things for Adam. Brutal honesty is the way to go. He's heard this from me, John Tortorella and Dirk Graham. When we have our exit meeting after the last game, he'll hear it again. Nothing happened this year to vault Adam ahead of anyone.

"We need to find out what kind of North American player Polushin will be," Feaster continued. "He took a step back this year. There are so many NHL players in Russia, his opportunities have been limited. I don't get too excited about what guys do in Europe. I want to see them play North American hockey. We took Evgeni Artukhin with the 94th pick that year and he took it upon himself to play junior in Moncton two years ago. Last year, he played in Hershey and he's having a good year in Springfield. He took his lumps last year when we had no AHL affiliate, but he's gotten acclimated. Polushin has to come over to learn the language and not only the North American style but our style.

"Three years ago, we were salivating over him. Now, we're the Stanley Cup champions. There aren't as many opportunities here as there were. He needs to get over here. He's fallen behind guys we have in Springfield. Polushin has great hands, good offensive ability and he skates very well. We projected him on one of our top two lines. We still believe it but we have to see it in North America.

"Artukhin is going to be a monster in the NHL. He gets high marks because he worked hard to become a player. He has NHL size and more than NHL strength and he possesses NHL skating ability. He needs a little better understanding of the game and our system. He projects as a third- or fourth-line energy and character player. We have a couple of players like that in Springfield, Darren Reid and Nick Tarnasky. Andre Deveaux is a good faceoff man. Reid, Deveaux and Craig need to work on quickness. There may come a time when we have Reid, Deveaux and Tarnasky on the same line in Tampa."

Feaster is also watching a couple of late-pick left wings in Justin Keller, 245th in 2004, and Dennis Packard, 219th in 2001. Keller was the second-leading scorer on the Kelowna Rockets this season with 31 goals and 22 assists while 225-pound Packard, who spent four years at Harvard, worked his way up from Johnstown to Springfield this year in his first pro season.

"Lately, we've had success with our seventh, eighth and ninth picks while 2-3-4, we're saying, 'We think so.' We'd like to think some of those highly regarded draft picks will work harder and get better," Feaster said.

Goalie sparks Springfield to shootout win
By DOUG MANNERS, Special to Portland Press Herald

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The tables were turned on the Portland Pirates Friday night. One night after goalie Kirk Daubenspeck won a game for the Pirates, Springfield goalie Brian Eklund robbed Portland of a victory. Eklund turned aside 22 shots in the third period and nine in overtime, then stopped all four Portland shooters in the shootout as the Pirates dropped a 3-2 decision before a crowd of 2,908 at the Springfield Civic Center.

The Pirates are 3-5 in shootouts this season.

This one ended with Eklund stacking his pads to stop a backhand bid by Jakub Klepis. He also denied Brooks Laich and Tomas Fleischmann with pad saves and made a glove save on Brian Willsie.

"It's fun to win in a shootout, but it really stinks to lose in a shootout," Pirates Coach Tim Army said. "All we can control is how we play, and I thought we did everything we needed to do to get a win."

Daubenspeck had the difficult task of playing in the shootout after replacing starter Maxime Ouellet with seven minutes remaining in the third period. He stopped Springfield's first shooter, but then allowed goals to Adam Henrich and Nikita Alexeev.

"Mentally, it's tough to come (off the bench) and have that intense focus that you really need," Daubenspeck said. "But that's part of the game."

Ouellet, making his first appearance since Jan. 29, provided the Pirates with sharp goaltending. He made 25 saves before a Springfield player fell on him, causing an apparent ankle injury.

"He needed to play, and I was very happy with the way he responded," Army said.

The Pirates forced overtime when Trent Whitfield scored a power-play goal with 1:54 remaining in regulation. With Portland buzzing around Eklund, who finished with 42 saves, Whitfield tipped in a slap shot from the point for his first goal in almost a month.

In overtime, Portland held a 9-1 advantage in shots and had several quality chances during a four-on-three power play.

"That was the best four-on-three we've had all year," Army said. "We played well on the road and gave ourselves a chance."

Springfield, which has the league's worst power play, opened the scoring seven minutes into the second period on its second power play of the night. Defenseman Doug O'Brien ripped a slap shot from the left post that was redirected by Ryan Craig and clanked off the crossbar before ending up in the net.

The Pirates tied the game just over four minutes later on Boyd Gordon's team-leading 14th goal of the season. Fleischmann feathered a pass across the slot to a wide-open Gordon, who beat Eklund with a low wrist shot.

Falcons win in shootout style
Saturday, February 19, 2005
By GARRY BROWN

SPRINGFIELD - A shootout maynot be the purist's way to decide a hockey game, but when it works out as it did for the Springfield Falcons last night, it can be a lot of fun, and pure entertainment.

Scores by Adam Henrich and Nikita Alexeev in the shootout round settled last night's duel at the Civic Center as the Falcons came away with a 3-2 victory over the Portland Pirates.

A crowd of 2,908 groaned when Portland tied the game with only 1:54 remaining, but turned to rousing cheers after the teams battled through overtime and into the shootout round.

Much of the cheering was directed to Springfield goaltender Brian Eklund, who had a sensational game right up to the last shot of the night, which he blocked with a split save.

Springfield had scored on two of its first three shootout chances (each team gets five), while Portland had gone 0 for 3 against Eklund. When he stopped a deking effort by Jakub Klepis, that clinched the game.

"I'm an old-time hockey guy, and I don't really like to see an issue settled by a shootout after two teams battle and claw the way these guys did tonight, but, heck, we're in the entertainment business, and I have to admit that this was real entertainment for our fans," said Springfield coach Dirk Graham.

"The shootout's a whole different aspect to hockey, and I love it - the chance to be the hero. Every save was big tonight, especially at the end. The main thing is, we came out of it with a win," Eklund said.

"I was so proud of him tonight. Both our guys, Brian and Jean-Marc (Pelletier) give you everything they have. They battle and dig deep, just the way Brian did on that last shot," Graham said.

For Alexeev, netting the decisive shot it was a matter of doing his job.'

"I'm supposed to score in that (shootout) situation," he said. "It's very important for our team. The goalie came out more than I thought he would, so I went low and got it by him."

After a scoreless first period in which they outshot the Pirates 11-3, the Falcons grabbed the lead seven minutes into the second.

They turned a power-play opportunity into a goal when defenseman Dan O'Brien unloaded a blistering slap shot from the point. Centerman Ryan Craig, Springfield's leading goal-scorer, tipped O'Brien's shot off the post and past goaltender Maxime Ouellet. It was Craig's 19th goal.

At 11:20 of the second period, Portland made it 1-1 on a goal by Boyd Gordon.

Derek Bekar's goal 15 seconds into the third period gave the Falcons a 2-1 lead, but the Pirates got a power play chance with 2:33 to play, and tied the game on a tip-in goal by Trent Whitfield with 1:54 to go.

Falcons lose to River Rats
Thursday, February 10, 2005
By FRAN SYPEK

ALBANY, N.Y. - Both teams entered the game more than 20 points out of a possible playoff spot, but neither the Albany River Rats nor the Springfield Falcons played like a last place team last night.

They staged a wide-open, up-tempo game that was dominated by the goaltenders. The River Rats used another strong effort from Ari Ahonen to earn a 3-1 American Hockey League victory over the Springfield Falcons.

The crowd at Pepsi Arena was announced as 2,787, but less than 1,000 fans were in the house. Like Springfield, Albany has not been a productive team in recent years, and that has hurt the River Rats at the gate.

"I thought the guys played hard, but we made a couple of mistakes that cost us," Falcons coach Dirk Graham said.

Brian Eklund, who played in his fifth straight game for the first time this season, deserved a better fate - he stopped 38 of the 40 shots he faced.

Late in the second period, he rejected successive point blank bids by Albany's Ivan Khomutov. Early in the first period, he stood his ground and prevented Dean McAmmond from getting a shot on goal during a breakaway after the Albany left wing darted right through a seam in the Falcons defense.

"Brian gave us a chance to win," Graham said.

As good as Eklund was, Ahonen - fresh off a career-high 53-save effort against Worcester - was better as he won his fourth straight game. He foiled a bid by Shane Willis in the second period, and was especially sharp when the Falcons came up empty during their two power plays.

His best save may have come during the waning seconds when he foiled a wraparound bid by Adam Henrich. Then Pascal Rheaume scored an empty net goal - his 100th as a River Rat - with 35.2 seconds left to put the game out of reach.

Ahonen even had an assist on Zach Parise's short-handed goal during the third period that gave the River Rats a 2-0 edge. Ahonen flipped the puck out of zone off Gerard Dicare's arm and right to Parise, who raced in alone and scored.

"That short-handed goal really hurt us," Graham said.

The Falcons got that one back following a delay when Nikos Tselios scored unassisted at 6:40. Play continued without a goal being awarded, but following a whistle, linesman Frank Murphy called for a discussion with referee Bob Langdon, and the Falcons were awarded a goal that they rightfully earned.

The Falcons were probably fortunate to come out of the first period trailing only 1-0. They were once again held to single digit shots on goal (Albany had a 16-9 advantage), and they allowed 12 straight River Rats shots on Eklund over the second half of the period before they got two attempts on Ahonen during the waning seconds.

Eklund was given no help on Albany's first goal. Ryan Murphy scored at 11:22 of the first period to stake the River Rats to a 1-0 lead.

After Eklund made successive pad saves off Parise (son of former NHL player J.P.) and Pascal Rheaume - two players who would likely be in the NHL if not for the lockout - Murphy collected the rebound and slid in a backhander for his sixth goal.

Eklund comes up big
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
By GARRY BROWN

SPRINGFIELD - At 6 feet 5 inches, 205 pounds, Brian Eklund serves as a shining example of a 21st century goaltender.

Long gone are the days of the little guys without masks, like Marcel Paille and Emile "The Cat" Francis. Today's goaltenders are much bigger, much better equipped - and much better skaters - than those stars of yesteryear.

"It's all part of what they want from us these days," Eklund said. "They want us to be big and mobile, and they want us to look even bigger when we get in that net in full equipment."

It works for Eklund, who is playing well for a young hockey club that has trouble scoring goals.

"I don't think about the goals for, I think about the goals-against. I have to concentrate on keeping the team in the the game and giving us a chance to win," he said.

Because he has been doing that so well lately, Eklund has emerged as Springfield's goaltender du jour. He has started the last four games, and will be in there tonight when the Falcons play at Albany (Pepsi Arena, 7) in an American Hockey League game.

He has played all three of Springfield's previous games against Albany, posting two victories and a 2.01 goals-against average.

Will Eklund be playing again Friday, when the Falcons face Worcester at the Civic Center?

"Don't know. It depends on how he does (against Albany)," coach Dirk Graham said.

"Saturday night (when the Falcons beat Providence in overtime), I think Brian had one of his best games as a pro. He has the size, and he moves extremely well," Graham said.

Veteran Jamie Storr has started 30 games for the Falcons to Eklund's 22. While there's a built-in competition between them, there's also camaraderie.

"Storrsie has been great to me," Eklund said. "When I came into this league, it didn't take me long to realize that you have to do a lot more preparation before a game at this level, and he has been very helpful there.

"I've also learned a lot from him about putting the last game behind you and concentrating on the next one. It's sort of like being a relief pitcher in baseball. If you have a bad game, you have to let it go."

Eklund, 24, turned pro with the Tampa Bay Lightning organization in 2002-03 after playing four years at Brown University.

"My goal is to play in the National Hockey League, but I don't look too far down the line. I'm proud to be here in Springfield, and I'm committed to working hard every moment I'm here to help the team and improve myself," he said.

Eklund said he "fell in love with goaltending" as a youth hockey player in Braintree.

"My dad wasn't thrilled, because a goaltender's equipment is the most expensive, but he went along with me," Eklund said. "I was attracted to the position, even back then, because of the pressure.

"As a goaltender, you're right on the fine line between winning and losing, and I've always liked that."

There's no better example of that "fine line" than the shootout, which the AHL adopted this year as a way of breaking ties. The shootout pits the goaltenders against the snipers in one-on-one confrontations.

"I love it," Eklund said. "I'm a firm believer that no professional game should end in a tie. The shootout gives you the opportunity to rise to the occasion and win one for the team. It's a great challenge - and it's actually fun."

Eklund Finds His Way
December 31, 2004: Brian Breseman - tbl.commetator

A busy 2003-04 season helped Lightning goaltending
prospect Brian Eklund prepare for his current position with the Springfield Falcons.

The Braintree, Massachusetts native began the 2003-04 season with the Pensacola Ice Pilots, where he set an ECHL record for saves in a season with 2,194.  He also managed to lead the ECHL in wins, minutes, and overtime wins and made his first professional playoff appearance.  To top it off, he also scored his first professional goal.

Following the ECHL playoffs Eklund joined the Lightning for their run to the Stanley Cup, where he skated with the team daily as the third goalie.

This season he finds himself backing up NHL veteran Jamie Storr with the Lightning’s AHL affiliate in Springfield, Massachusetts.  He is coming off three consecutive wins and an AHL Player of the Week nomination.

A card-carrying member of the “Red Sox Nation”, Eklund was close enough to home to appreciate Boston’s first World Series Championship in 86 years.  It has even altered his appearance.

The goaltender took a minute to talk about that and more with tampabaylightning.com.

TBL.com:  You recently saw a stretch of three consecutive wins and four appearances.  How has playing more often affected your game?

Brian Eklund:  Playing more definitely gives you confidence when you have success playing at this level.  It gives you confidence that you know you can do it again.  Every little bit that you get, obviously you build on it.  I got to play a little bit in the first game versus Providence and had a little bit of success.  You build upon that into the next game, and into the next game, and everyone around you just becomes more confident in you and things just get easier.

TBL.com:  Do you think you’ll get more playing time after your recent success?

Eklund:  I really hope so.  That’s all I can ask for.  I know my role on this team, I know I have a 9/10-year NHL vet playing in front of me in Jamie [Storr] and he’s been a great learning tool and teaching tool for me at this point.  But I want to challenge him and push him because I want to play as well.  That’s the biggest thing.  I hope that by showing that I can go out there and do that on a day-by-day basis, and I can show that I have the consistency, the coach will have the confidence to put me out there again.

TBL.com:  Are you seeing the puck better now than you were earlier in the season?  Has anything changed?

Eklund:  I think I’ve been learning a lot by having goalie coach Jeff Reese in here as much as I have compared to years past.  I’ve been able to learn a lot from him and also from having a goalie like Jamie here.  He’s taught me quite a bit also.  So I’ve made little subtle changes to my game and it seems like every time Reeser comes in we’re working on something different and we keep fine-tuning my game.  So, yeah, I feel like I’ve changed some things, but as time goes on its getting better and better.

TBL.com:  What have you and Jeff Reese been working on in your game? 

Eklund:  Well, positioning in the net.  He wants me to play a little bit deeper in the net.  That allows me to be able to get to the rebounds and the second shots.  He’s having me play a little bit more with my hands in front of my body.  We’ve also implemented “paddle-down” in tight, in close situations.  So we’ve been adding little things, nothing major, but just little subtle things that make the game easier.

TBL.com:  You spent last year with Pensacola of the ECHL, did that prepare you for playing in the AHL this season? 

Eklund:  Oh for sure.  Mentally it helps you prepare for it.  Like I said before, you have a little bit of success and you build upon it.  In the years prior to that I hadn’t had that much success so you have that doubt in your mind whether or not you can actually do it.  When you’re able to go out and play day in and day out and show you can do it, even show to yourself you can do it, you gain confidence in yourself.  From there you can build upon it and move forward.

TBL.com:  You were challenged by the Lightning and by yourself to become the No. 1 goaltender in Pensacola last year and you accomplished it. How are you challenging yourself this year?

Eklund:  Pretty much the same thing.  You never want to set your goals too low.  My biggest thing when I sat down with coach at the beginning of the season was that I understand my role.  That I’m going to be a guy that’s here and is the backup to Jamie to start the season.  But at the same time, I’m not going to sit back and watch him play 70 games this season and me only play 10.  I’m going to push him in practice, I’m going to push him in games and when I do get my opportunity I’m going to be ready.  So the goal of mine was to play as much as possible.  When I first started I was hoping to get 35 to 40 games.  Do I still think that’s attainable?  Absolutely.  I mean you never know what what’s going to happen with this game, things change so fast, but at the same time I know my role and I’m going to go out and do it to the best of my ability.

TBL.com:  You even scored a goal last season.  How did that happen?

Eklund:  I got off the ice and had no idea I scored it until somebody came up to me and told me.  I laughed and was like ‘sure’, I mean I thought everyone was kidding with me.  Pretty much what happened was it was a shot from the point on a delayed penalty so their goalie left the ice for the extra guy and they took a shot from the point where I made the save on it.  A guy right on the side of the net grabbed the rebound and looked to throw it right back in front of the net.  Well he missed the guy in front of the net and it went all the way down the rink to the net.  So I got credit for the goal because I was the last person on our team to touch it.  It was actually a big goal in the game.  I think it made the game 2-0 and we ended up losing the game 3-2 in a shootout.  So without that goal I don’t think we would have had a chance to win.  It was almost the game-winner.

TBL.com:  How have you benefited from starting the season backing up Jamie Storr?  Have you been able to use his experience?

Eklund:  Oh absolutely.  It shows where I need to get to everyday when I see how consistent he is in practice and how consistent he is in the games and his demeanor in the locker room.  I see what I have to do in order to become a goalie at the next level because he’s been there and he’s done that.  At the same time, every day we’re out there before practice working on different things in both of our games.  Its funny that two different goalies can work on the same things and still come out with great results.  So, he fine tunes a little bit of my game and I sit down and watch him and see what he’s doing in order to make changes in his game and see how that would effect mine.  Its all like a see and tell type thing.  You sit there, you watch and you learn more than you actually are talking about it.

TBL.com:  How you do you think your tandem in Springfield stacks up to others in the AHL?

Eklund:  When you have a 10-year NHL vet you really can’t get anything better than that.  With him we get a ton of experience and with me I hope that I can go in there and get the job done when asked.  I think in time we both have the potential to be great in this league.  Not to toot my own horn, but at the same time I don’t see any limitations on either one of us.  We can both go out there and do it day-in and day-out and you can’t do it any better than that.  We’re going to push each other and force each other to be better.

TBl.com:  How has the recent winning streak helped things in the Falcons locker room?

Eklund:  It’s night and day in the locker room.  I mean we were finally able to get a day off because we started winning again.  It was trying.  When you lose six and seven in a row and you’re dropping 11, 12 games below .500, all of a sudden your teammates start questioning a lot of things.  Whether or not the system is going to work.  Whether or not we have the right personnel.  It becomes tough in the locker room because everyone is looking at each other for answers.  I think the one thing that Dirk [Graham] really instilled in us was accountability for ourselves.  We all talked about it, we have to be accountable for our own actions both on and off the ice.  It’s made a windfall of difference.  Everyone has big smiles on the faces now and we’re walking around the locker room with a whole bunch of strut.

TBL.com:  Unlike the other black aces, you were actually on the ice with the Lightning for practices during the playoffs.  What did you learn from that experience?

Eklund:  As soon as it was over with I stopped and looked around the locker room and I couldn’t believe that two months before this I was in the East Coast League playing in Pensacola.  Then all of a sudden I’m sitting in the locker room and I’m on the ice with the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning.  It just seemed like everything happened so fast I was overwhelmed by it.  It’s an experience you can never take back.  I was able to be there, I had pictures taken with the cup, we hung out together, we did everything.  It was great to be able to have all the aces be together.  I got to know Ryan [Craig] real well and I played all year with [J.F.] Soucy and Gerard [Dicaire].  I mean, these guys are now the core of the team here in Springfield so we were able to get that bond together.  Also, just being on the ice with the Lightning guys was just phenomenal.  I mean, being out there and taking shots from Marty St. Louis who was the MVP of the league and being able to make a stop here and there on him.  It was like ‘maybe I can do this, this is something I possibly can do.’

TBl.com:  You’ve talked about confidence.  Do you think that helped your confidence level?

Eklund:  Absolutely.  I mean it can’t do anything but.  When you’re out there and facing these guys and you see how much success they have and you go out there and sort of stop them.  I mean, I can’t say I stopped them every time, it was far from it, but I was able to go out and work with them.  It was a great opportunity to be able to say, ‘yeah, I can do this.  This is something that is attainable, this is something I can do some day.’  It just sets that goal, you have a goal always so high above you, and now all of a sudden that goal seems attainable versus something like when you’re growing up and watching it growing up on TV it’s like, ‘there’s no way I could ever be that good.’

TBL.com:  How has that helped you this season?

Eklund:  It’s been great.  When I went through that stretch when I wasn’t playing for the six or seven games in a row I was like ‘wow,’ but I stopped and I looked back at it and I was like ‘well, just a few months ago I was on this ice and in the locker room with the Tampa Bay Lightning.’  I mean, you never know what’s going to happen, things change and you just have to keep pushing forward.  I’m sure there were people on that team going through the same situation that I did and they had to battle through it.  It’s the same for me, I just have to put my head down and keep working hard and make sure I get the job done.

TBL.com:  You are a big Boston fan, what did it mean to you for the Red Sox to win the Championship?

Eklund:  Oh man, you can’t doubt Red Sox Nation.  It was awesome, especially being able to be up here.  I got to go to Game 7 in New York when they finally defeated the Yankees.  I was able to be there for that and I still have the ticket and I had it framed.  It was unbelievable to be a part of that.  It had the same feeling as when Tampa won the cup down there.  For us up here from the Boston area, and I mean us as in Bostonians, this is something that it’s been 86 years of hearing your grandfather and your grandmother cry about it all the time.  All they want to do is see the Red Sox win, and we finally got it.  It was awesome just being able to see everyones faces when they finally won it. It was unbelievable.

TBL.com:  Can you use any of that in your own career?

Eklund:  I’m growing my hair out like Johnny Damon, I guess that would probably be the only thing I’m using right now.

TBL.COM PROSPECT PERFORMER OF THE WEEK: BRIAN EKLUND
12/26/2004

Springfield Falcons goaltender Brian Eklund has been named tampabaylightning.com Prospect Performer of the Week for the period ending December 21, 2004.

The Braintree, Massachusetts native was 2-0 during the weekend including stopping all four shootout attempts on Sunday as the Falcons defeated the Lowell Lockmonsters, 3-2. He posted a 1.10 goals-against average, a .996 save percentage and made 85 saves in three appearances.

This was the first time Eklund appeared in three consecutive games this season, and also the first time he has made two consecutive starts. He made 18 saves on 18 shots Friday night in relief of Jamie Storr as the Falcons fell, 3-2, against the Providence Bruins.
   
The third-year pro carried his shutout streak until 13:05 of the third period against the Albany River Rats on Saturday when Pascal Rheaume notched a power play goal. The tally ended Eklund's shutout streak at 121 minutes and six seconds. Springfield won the contest, 3-1, on home ice.

Eklund made 36 saves Sunday as the Falcons found themselves in a shootout with the Lockmosters following a scoreless overtime. Eklund foiled Chad Larose, Eric Staal, Justin Taylor and former Lightning player Colin Forbes in his first shootout appearance of the season. Shootout goals from Nikita Alexeev and Adam Henrich secured the 3-2 win for Eklund and the Falcons.

Eklund has is 4-4 this season with a 2.81 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. He spent last season with the Pensacola Ice Pilots of the East Coast Hockey League, posting a 38-17-7 record with a 3.01 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. He led the ECHL in wins, minutes, saves, and overtime wins during the 2003-04 season and set a new ECHL record for saves in a season with 2,194.

Falcons Goalie Big Help
By Fran Sypek - From the Springfield Republican - December 20, 2004

Falcons 3 Lock Monsters 2

LOWELL - He uses his size to cover the net much like Ken Dryden used to do for the Montreal Canadiens.

Like Dryden, Brian Eklund has an Ivy League education (Brown) on his resume. While it may be much too early to compare Eklund to a Hockey Hall of Famer, the Springfield Falcons couldn't be any more pleased with the progress he's made or his stellar play this week.

Eklund made 36 saves and was perfect in the shootout yesterday to spark the Falcons to their second straight victory, a 3-2 American Hockey League decision over the Lowell Lock Monsters before 3,066 at the Paul Tsongas Arena.

"When you're in a shootout, either you get lucky or you don't," said Eklund. "I had quite a few last year in the ECHL and I was about .500. Shooters really have the advantage and all I try to do is take away as much net as I can."

That's when being 6-foot-5, 205 pounds can be an advantage for a goalie.

"I hope I look big," said Eklund.

Adam Henrich and Nikita Aleexev scored during the shootout off Lowell netminder Cam Ward, who frustrated the Falcons by making 40 saves prior to the shootout. Eklund denied Chad Larose, Eric Staal, Justin Taylor and Colin Forbes in the shootout.

"Those saves he made in the shootout were just awesome," Graham said. "He's a big kid and when those shooters looked at him, they saw nothing."

It was only the second time this season the Falcons have won consecutive games. They beat the Albany River Rats, 3-1 Saturday behind Eklund.

Eklund, who sat for six straight games while Jamie Storr received the bulk of the playing time, came on in relief of Storr on Friday and shut out the Providence Bruins for two periods. In his last 181 minutes, 41 seconds, Eklund has allowed only three goals.

But two of those goals came in the third period yesterday as Lowell forced overtime. Colin Forbes converted a Staal rebound at 11:56 before Chuck Kobasew forced overtime when he scored with 63 seconds remaining.

Things looked good for the Falcons when Craig Darby picked up a loose puck in the slot and jammed it past Ward at 7:13 of the third period for an unassisted goal that gave the Falcons a 2-0 lead.

Until then, the only goal of the game had been scored by Aleexev. Unlike previous games, the Falcons played well with a lead and did not sit back.

"That was a good sign," Graham said. "It's been a process, but we're getting used to playing with a lead. When they got those two late goals, we worked through it and didn't panic."

Alexeev broke out of his slump with his goal. The only mention of Aleexev in the box scores the previous 10 games was for penalties. He did not produce a point in the 10 games since getting a goal and two assists against Albany on Nov. 26.

"The whole team played well," Aleexev said. "We really needed this game and now we want to keep winning."

The Falcons dominated a fast-paced first period. They outshot the Lock Monsters 15-7, but could only manage one goal.

It came with 4:25 remaining in the period when Alexeev struck. Aleexev was in the left circle when he received a cross ice pass from Harlan Pratt and snapped a shot past Ward to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead.

"That was a great pass," Alexeev said.

Earlier in the period, Ward stopped a close-range bid by Derek Bekar and Eklund denied Staal. Ryan Bayda had a good chance to pull Lowell even, but he missed the net on a clean breakaway late in the first period.

Eklund is #1 Star
FALCONS WIN IN SHOOTOUT IN LOWELL, 3-2

December 19, 2004

Lowell, MA – The Springfield Falcons collected their second straight win with a 3-2 shootout victory over the Lowell Lock Monsters at Tsongas Arena on Sunday. Falcons goaltender Brian Eklund, appearing in his third consecutive game, stopped 36 of 38 shots to improve his record on the season to 4-4-0. Forwards Nikita Alexeev and Craig Darby provided the scoring for Springfield.

Alexeev and rookie Adam Henrich each connected for the Falcons in the shootout, while Eklund prevented any of Lowell’s four shooters from scoring.

Springfield outshot the Lock Monsters, 42-38, during regulation and overtime.

In three games over the weekend, Eklund won both his decisions and stopped 85 of 88 shots (96.6%). His goals against average for the three games was 1.10.

The Falcons struck first on Sunday when Alexeev scored with 4:25 remaining in the opening period. Alexeev redirected a cross-ice pass by left wing Derek Bekar into the net from the edge of the crease for his fourth goal of the campaign.

Springfield posted 15 shots while limiting the Lock Monsters to seven during the game’s first twenty minutes.

The Falcons maintained the 1-0 lead through the second as Eklund turned aside all 14 shots from the Lock Monsters in the period.

Darby scored at the 7:13 mark of the final frame to make the score 2-0. With linemate Shane Willis positioned in front of the net, Darby centered a feed from the endboards which caromed off the backside of Lowell goaltender Cam Ward.

However, the Lock Monsters rallied with two goals in the final 8:04 of the period to extend the game to overtime.

Lowell left wing Colin Forbes knocked in a rebound after Eklund made an initial save on a chance by 20-year-old center Eric Staal, the second overall pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. The Monsters tied the game with 1:03 left in regulation when right wing Chuck Kobasew scored his 15th goal of the season just as Ward reached the Lowell bench for an extra attacker.

In overtime, each team was credited with four shots, but neither scored. Darby nearly won the game with three seconds left in the extra session, but Ward robbed the center on a point blank chance.

The Falcons killed off both Lowell power plays in the game. The club did not receive a single power play as the Lock Monsters were not whistled for any penalties in the contest.

The game marked just the fourth loss in 14 games at home for the Lock Monsters.

The Falcons will visit the Portland Pirates at the Cumberland County Civic Center on Thursday. Game time is 7:05 p.m. Tune into The ZONE – Sports Radio 640 or click on the MassLive.com CyberCast link on the Falcons’ official web site, www.falconsahl.com, to hear the live play-by-play action. The broadcast begins with the pre-game show at 6:35 p.m. The Falcons’ next home game is Dec. 30 when the Providence Bruins make their first trip of the season to Springfield. To purchase tickets, visit the Civic Center box office, or call (413) 787-6600 or (800) 639-8602 to order by phone. Tickets can also be ordered online by visiting the Falcons’ official web site.

Three Stars of the Game:
1. Brian Eklund – Springfield
2. Craig Darby – Springfield
3. Colin Forbes – Lowell

Big guys step up for Falcons
November 27, 2004
By Fran Sypek - The Springfield Republican

Falcons 4 River Rats 3 Six-foot-five Nikita Alexeev notched a goal and two assists, and 6-8 Mitch Fritz also scored to spark Springfield.

ALBANY, N.Y. - Two players who were saddled with injuries earlier this season teamed up to make an impact for the Springfield Falcons.

Nikita Alexeev scored one goal and set up two others, while Mitch Fritz scored once and flexed his muscles during a pair of altercations last night to spark the Falcons to a 4-3 American Hockey League victory over the Albany River Rats.

A crowd of 3,249 at the Pepsi Arena saw the Falcons snap a nine-game (0-8-1-0) road winless streak. The improving Falcons have won three of their last four games.

The Falcons faithful only caught a glimpse of Alexeev's potential when he made a 36-game stop in Springfield two seasons ago. He's added bulk to his 6-foot-5, 227-pound frame after spending the off-season in Montreal working out with Tampa Bay Lightning star Vincent Lecavalier.

"Vinny taught me a lot about the game during the summer," Alexeev said. "We worked on a lot of things and now it's up to me to be mentally strong."

Alexeev was limited to 14 games with the Hershey Bears last season after undergoing shoulder surgery. He missed seven games this season when he reinjured the shoulder.

"When he's healthy, he can bring a lot to the table," coach Dirk Graham said. "He's got a rocket for a shot."

Fritz, who missed the first 16 games of the season after breaking his hand during training camp, is the biggest member of the Falcons at 6-foot-8, 258 pounds.

In addition to recording his second career AHL point with a second period goal, Fritz easily won decisions against Albany's Steven Spencer and Brett Clouthier.

"It was frustrating not being able to play earlier and you never know what's going to happen," said Fritz, who played on a line with Adam Henrich and newcomer Derek Bekar. "I just want to do what I can to help this team."

Shane Willis and Jason Jaspers also scored for the Falcons and Brian Eklund stopped 36 shots to win his second straight decision. Eklund made a key save off Aaron Voros with a clutch right pad stop with 1 minute, 24 seconds remaining in the second period.

Eklund and the Falcons survived a late goal by Pascal Rheaume with 1:48 left in the game. Albany pulled Scott Clemmensen to create a 6-on-4 advantage after a late penalty to Ryan Craig, but the Falcons held on.

"That shows the character we have on this team," Graham said. "It was nice to get an early power-play goal and our penalty killers did a good job."

After Willis (power play) and Ray Schultz traded first period goals, Alexeev scored unassisted following a turnover by Dean McAmmond. Ilkka Pikkarainen knotted the score at two at 3:36 of the second period, but Jaspers and Fritz struck 17 seconds apart midway through the period to give the Falcons a 4-2 edge.

Falcons tumble to Wolf Pack
November 08, 2004
By Fran Sypek - The Springfield Republican

Wolf Pack 4 Falcons 1

HARTFORD - Only one American Hockey League team is without a blemish on its record, yet some fans of the Hartford Wolf Pack are actually lamenting the team's lack of goal production.

It all starts with defense for the Wolf Pack and that's the reason they have opened the season with nine straight victories. Their latest victim was the Springfield Falcons, who dropped a 4-1 decision to the Wolf Pack yesterday at the Hartford Civic Center.