Cam Atkinson scored both goals for Springfield.
Springfield's Cam Atkinson and Connecticut's Jeff Woywitka reach for the puck in the first period of the Whale's 3-2 overtime win Friday night at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. SPRINGFIELD – Manny Legace blamed himself, but no one else would.
No goalie has won more games for the Springfield Falcons than Legace, and he nearly stole one for his team Friday night.
But Wojtek Wolski turned a simple dump-in into the game-winning goal, lifting the Connecticut Whale to a 3-2 American Hockey League overtime victory over the Falcons before 3,863 at the MassMutual Center.
“I probably shouldn’t have lost the puck and I thought Manny was going to cover it up,” Wolski said. “He played a great game for them.”
Wolski dumped the puck in and Legace had control. But his clearing pass went awry and ended up on Wolski’s stick.
The Polish-born Wolski deposited the puck past Legace 64 seconds into overtime. He also scored 64 seconds into the game.
“It was a stupid play and I should have froze the puck,” Legace said. “We should have won the game.”
A turnover late in the game resulted in the tying goal by Falcon-killer Jonathan Audy-Marchessault, who has 16 points against Springfield. After forcing the turnover, the Whale center raced up ice on the right side and sailed a shot past Legace with 3:06 remaining to tie the score at 2-2 and force overtime.
Legace (37 saves) was outstanding, and he was responsible for the Falcons getting the overtime point despite being peppered with shots.
The Falcons are playing with a patchwork defense. They anticipated getting defenseman David Savard back from Columbus, but the Blue Jackets lost both Marc Methot and former Falcon Brett Ledba to injury and had to call up Dalton Prout from the Falcons. Springfield had to scramble for a replacement and recalled Brett Motherwell from Chicago of the ECHL.
Motherwell joined newcomers Greg Amadio and Patrick Cullity on the blueline. Incorporating three new players into a crucial unit is never easy, and the defense is going through growing pains.
“That’s the challenge,” coach Rob Riley said. “But they battled hard.”
Having a goalie like Legace can mask the problems of a defense that still plays far too soft. Legace was at his best when Connecticut was on the power play, making several point-blank stops.
Legace, who began his 18-year professional career with the Falcons in 1994, remains tied with former teammate Scott Lankow as the franchise leader in victories by a goalie with 64.
“Manny had a great first period and kept us in the game,” Riley said. “He gave us a chance to win.”
Then there’s Cam Atkinson, who could eclipse the record of goals scored by a Falcons rookie before the season is over.
Atkinson’s two goals in the game gave him 26 in 45 games. The record belongs to Danny Briere, who had 36 as a first-year pro.
The rookie from Boston College, a Hobey Baker finalist last season, has a knack for scoring clutch goals.
None was bigger than his go-ahead goal on the power play at 6:50 of the third period, which provided the Falcons with a 2-1 lead. Chad Johnson made a save off a booming shot from the point by Alexandre Grioux and the rebound bounced right to Atkinson.
Atkinson has been a Whale-killer with five goals and three assists against the team from his home state.
The Greenwich native is one player his teammates know they can count on.
Connecticut took an early 1-0 lead when Wolski, down from the parent New York Rangers on a conditioning assignment, opened the scoring 1:04 into the game with a power-play goal off a pass from Mats Zuccarello.
Atkinson answered 16 seconds later with another helper from Grioux to tie things at one apiece
“Cam can even score when he’s not having his ‘A’ game,” Riley said. “He never disappears.”
The loss ended the Falcons’ three-game winning streak against the Whale.