Farm Almanac - Nov 14

It's a busy weekend for the Springfield Falcons who will play 3 games in as many nights this weekend starting tonight against Syracuse.

The Crunch will be tough opponents; they share top spot in their division and have only lost 3 times in regulation so far this year. Their young Russian duo has been hot and as a whole, Syracuse currently dresses 5 players with 10 points or more while Springfield has just one (Schremp with 10).

In net the Crunch are also strong. Dan LaCosta (a 3rd round pick of the Blue Jackets in 2004 and someone the Oilers also had high on their radar that year) has been exceptional. Back Up Sebastien Dahm, another Dane worth watching, doesn't have a great GAA but his .916 SV% is even better than LaCosta's. However, Devan Dubnyk's numbers are even better thanks to the quality of his recent performances.

Mike York, yes... that Mike York, is leading the Crunch in scoring. Tonight is also a Sestito family reunion as big brother Tim faces younger brother Tom. Will we see Hans "Calibos" Benson chuck knuckles with Jon "Nasty" Mirasty?

I personally really like the Columbus Blue Jackets and the way they have drafted (mostly) for the last four or five years. I'm still a believer in Kris Russell, always liked Derek Dorsett, Adam Pineault and now Alex Picard is on the farm too looking for a kick start. In chatting with a Columbus scout recetnly, they're looking at the the Brule experience and seeing that some of the prospects they've drafted need time on the farm... the guys I listed will benefit from this.

Saturday and Sunday the Falcons are scheduled to play a home-and-home with Worchester, the AHL affiliate of the San Jose Sharks. That's a sub-.500 team so the Falcons could (perhaps should) have a successful series.

Farm Fodder: After much debate on whether the first forward recalled by the Oilers would be Rob Schremp or Gilbert Brule it turns out that Liam Reddox wins the race... Going the opposite direction are forwards Stephane Goulet and Bryan Lerg who both were reassigned to Stockton for some playing time... Devan Dubnyk's recent 46-save shutout has been a long time in coming. DD's last perfect game was in 2006-07 as a member of the Stockton Thunder, he had two that year.

Dubnyk will appear on The Pipeline Show this coming Tuesday night and maybe we can ask him about the St. Patty's Day gear (picture) they wear in Stockton. Thor with a top hat and shamrock, pretty spiffy if you ask me.

I have a couple calls in to the club but being game day... not expecting a call back. If I get some more info, I'll let you know.