Falcons Begin 2004 with One-Goal Victory

January 2, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Fresno Falcons News Release


FRESNO, Calif. – In a game that saw both starting goaltenders ejected for fighting one another, the Fresno Falcons used a game-winning goal from Blair Clarance early in the third period to defeat the Long Beach Ice Dogs on New Year's Night, 4-3, at Save Mart Center in front of 3,821.

Fresno's Kory Mullin opened the scoring in the game's first minute before Long Beach's Cameron Breitkreuz tied the contest at 16:44, sending the teams to the second period even at one.

A fluke goal after a crazy carom left a wide open net for the Ice Dogs' Nick Ganga at 7:39 of the second handed the Ice Dogs their only lead of the evening. The Falcons' Greg Bullock quickly tied the game at two at 9:12 off a rebound before giving his club a 3-2 lead with another rebounded effort on the power play for his team-leading 15th of the season at 12:44.

After taking their second lead of the evening, Fresno buzzed right back into the Long Beach zone. Ice Dogs netminder T.J. Aceti stopped a wrap-around effort from the Falcons' John Wroblewski but took exception to the rookie forward's unwillingness to stop digging for the puck until the whistle blew. Aceti jumped Wroblewski, igniting a line brawl that resulted in Fresno goaltender Nolan Schaefer coming the length of the ice to join the fray, eventually squaring off with his Long Beach counterpart. Two players from each team were assessed game misconducts, including both Aceti and Schaefer, as the clubs combined for 162 penalty minutes as a result of the incident.

Emotions stayed high through the end of the second period with Fresno taking several ill-timed penalties. The Ice Dogs made them pay when Darren Partch tied the game at three just as the period-ending buzzer was sounding and his team skating five-on-three.

Back to five-on-five in the third, Michael Kiesman delivered a perfect centering feed to Clarance, who one-timed a bid past Colin Zulianello – on in relief of Aceti – for the game-winner three minutes into the frame. The Ice Dogs were able to pull Zulianello in the game's waning moments but were unable to beat Schaefer's replacement, Terry Friesen, for the equalizer.

The win moves Fresno one-point ahead of Long Beach in the standings and into sixth place in the Pacific Division with a record of 9-18-3 and snaps a five-game winless streak.

The Falcons' next game is Saturday, Jan. 3, at 7:30 p.m. at Save Mart Center versus the Idaho Steelheads. The 7:30 p.m. start is 30 minutes later than originally scheduled due to the Fresno State Women's Basketball-Hawaii match-up taking place earlier in the day also at Save Mart Center. The first 1,000 kids 14 and under will receive a set of three nesting dolls.

Tickets for the Jan. 3 game as well as the second of two straight against Idaho at 5 p.m. on Jan. 4 are still available for as little as $8. They can be purchased at the Save Mart Center box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, which include select Save Mart Supermarkets, Tower Records, Wherehouse Music and Ritmo Latino locations, charged by phone at 485-TIXS or bought online by clicking the Ticketmaster icon throughout www.fresnofalcons.com.



ECHL Stories from January 2, 2004


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