Falcons Come from Behind to Win in Shootout

February 26, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Fresno Falcons News Release


ANCHORAGE – Named Player of the Week earlier in the day, Colin Embley lived up to the advance billing by scoring twice in regulation, including with under a minute to play to force a shootout, and again in the extra session as the Fresno Falcons defeated the Anchorage Aces on Tuesday, 4-3, at Sullivan Arena.

Despite getting outshot 5-0 in the early going the Falcons struck first, scoring on their first shot on goal for the second straight game. Kris Porter scooped up a loose puck through center after a shot was blocked in the Fresno zone, and he fed Jason McBain on the resulting two-on-one for McBain's fourth of the season at 7:12. Anchorage managed to even the score with a power play goal at 13:44 from Ryan Moren. The Falcons then got caught in a bad line change, and Kevin McNeill made them pay by scoring on a breakaway at 16:35 to give the Aces a 2-1 lead after one.

Embley notched his first of the evening to tie the game at two as he danced around an Anchorage defenseman before beating Aces goaltender Christian Soucy at 4:28 of the second. The 2-2 tie lasted most of the second period before the Aces took their second one-goal lead on the power play late in the frame. Yvan Corbin took the puck away from Kirk DeWaele in front of Fresno goaltender Mark Gowan and found the back of the net for his league-leading 35th of the year to give the Aces a 3-2 lead heading to the third.

The Falcons remained a goal behind until with 1:58 left they challenged the Aces' Tim Donnelly for having an illegal stick. For the second game in a row, such a challenge was successful, giving Fresno a power play for the remainder of the game. With less than a minute to go and Gowan having gone to the bench, Embley hopped onto the ice as the extra attacker and took a feed from Jason Weaver, which he banged home to tie the game at three with 47 seconds to play.

In the shootout, Gowan stopped all four Aces shooters and McBain and Embley each scored for the Falcons to hand them their league-leading eighth come-from-behind victory of the season when trailing after two periods.

The win moved Fresno to 29-19-5 and 63 points, six points behind both the Bakersfield Condors and the San Diego Gulls, who are tied in second place in the league.

The Falcons continue their current 11-game road trip tomorrow night with their last game of the season at Sullivan Arena. All of the play-by-play action can be heard on 103.1 FM, The Mountain Cat, beginning at 7:50 p.m. PST with the Mail Boxes, Etc. Pre-game Show. Fresno then travels to Boise for three games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday against the first-place Idaho Steelheads.



ECHL Stories from February 26, 2003


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