Erixon and teammates Jonathan Audy-Marchessault and Curtis McElhinney have been named to the AHL All-Star team.
Springfield's Tim Erixon, right, takes a swing at Adirondack's Marc-Andre Bourdon Oct. 14 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield.
SPRINGFIELD – Tim Erixon, a defenseman of much promise, will be back in the Springfield Falcons lineup Friday night when they host the Connecticut Whale at the MassMutual Center.
Erixon got caught in a numbers crunch Thursday when Springfield’s parent Columbus Blue Jackets reduced their roster to the required 23 for their National Hockey League season opener Saturday at Nashville.
The Jackets also cut Boone Jenner, a highly regarded winger, sending him back to his Canadian junior club, the Oshawa Generals.
“Tough decisions – they both deserve to be here and they both showed they can play here,” Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards told the Columbus Dispatch. “Timmy’s got to go to Springfield and be the best defenseman down there.”
Although the Columbus roster appears to be final, assistant general manager Chris MacFarland said NHL clubs have until 3 p.m. Friday to submit their rosters to league headquarters.
“That’s it for now (with the roster),” he said. “But you never know.”
Erixon was among six Springfield players promoted to an abbreviated training camp when the NHL’s new collective bargaining agreement was finalized. The five who will open the season with the Jackets are forwards Cam Atkinson, Ryan Johansen and Matt Calvert; and defensemen John Moore and David Savard.
While Erixon will have to deal with the disappointment of being sent back, his presence certainly will help the Falcons, who had a shaky defensive performance Tuesday when they gutted out a 7-5 victory at Manchester.
“That was really ugly hockey,” Falcons coach Brad Larsen said. “For us, it was like losing the battle but winning the war. I liked what we did in the offensive zone, but I hated our game from the red line back. We played too loose and made too many mistakes. That’s not what you need to be a consistent winner.”
Erixon, a mobile defenseman at 6-foot-3 and 199 pounds, has been outstanding in his 34 games with the Falcons. A skilled puck-handler, especially at the blue line on the power play, he has contributed four goals and 20 assists.
Also dealing with disappointment is Jonathan Audy-Marchessault, a fiery forward who was passed over at callup time. Rather than sulk about it, he has elevated his game. He had a hat trick against Manchester, putting his season goal total at 16, with a team-leading 40 points.
“I was disappointed a little bit when I didn’t get called up, but I just have to battle and get better, so that one day I will get my chance,” he said. “I’m working to be the most valuable player I can be.”
At 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, Audy-Marchessault brings quickness and a natural scoring touch to Springfield’s offense. But he admits that he has things to work on.
“To be a hockey player, you have to be almost perfect in what you do, and I had some mistakes in the D-zone (at Manchester),” he said.
“Oh, he wasn’t the only one,” Larsen countered. “I’ve got a whole rap sheet of offenders from that game. But we’ve been working on what we need to do tighten up those areas and be ready for an important weekend.”
Erixon and Audy-Marchessault can take some satisfaction in the announcement Thursday that they, along with teammate Curtis McElhinney, were named to the 2013 AHL Eastern Conference All-Star team. Rosters were chosen by a committee of AHL coaches. The game will be played Monday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. in Providence. R.I.
ICE CHIPS: The Falcons head into the three-game weekend leading the American Hockey League’s Northeast Division by eight points ... Connecticut comes to town after one of its best performances this season – a 5-1 victory Tuesday which snapped an eight-game home winning streak for the Portland Pirates ... Members of Springfield’s Hockey Heritage Society will celebrate their third annual “Night at the Nest” at Saturday’s game against Albany ... Audy-Marchessault’s hat trick was the first for a Springfield player since Kyle Wilson did it Feb. 19, 2011, against Worcester ... The Falcons play at Bridgeport Sunday afternoon. Sound Tigers players have been wearing home jerseys bearing the names of the 20 children killed in the Dec. 14 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary of Newtown, Conn.