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Falcons Fall to Salmon Kings in Shootout

January 19, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Fresno Falcons News Release


Victoria, British Columbia - The Victoria Salmon Kings rallied three separate times in the third period, and came back to defeat the Fresno Falcons 6-5 in a shootout on Friday in front of 4,913 fans at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.

Fresno scored twice in the final 2:49 of the first period to take a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. Brady Leisenring broke a scoreless tie at 17:11, snapping a shot past Julien Ellis from the right-wing circle for his 10th goal of the season.

Just 1:28 later, Oren Eizenman tallied a power-play goal to double the Falcons lead to two. Eizenman sent a shot to the front of the net from the right-wing circle which eluded Ellis' reach for his team-leading 20th goal of the year.

The Salmon Kings got on the board with a power-play goal 1:13 into the second period. Jordan Krestanovich gathered in a loose puck in the right-wing circle, and beat Jake Moreland to the short side to cut Fresno's lead in half.

Victoria added its second power-play goal of the period at 6:44 to pull even after 40 minutes of play. Paul Ballantyne pinched in from the blue line, and was able to poke the puck past Moreland for his third goal of the season..

Fresno regained its lead just 20 seconds into the third period. On a delayed penalty, Moreland came off for an extra attacker, and the Falcons capitalized. Leisenring moved the puck to John Morlang in the right-wing circle, and he redirected it into the net for his ninth of the season.

The Salmon Kings again tied the game at 4:18,a s Darryl Lloyd beat Moreland with a quick shot from the right-wing circle.

But, the Falcons came right back and regained the lead just 33 seconds later. Leisenring moved into the slot and blasted a shot past Ellis for his second goal of the night.

The back-and-forth nature continued as the Salmon Kings again pulled even at 12:03. Ballantyne intercepted a Fresno clearing pass and beat Moreland with a quick shot for his second of the night and fourth of the season.

Fresno came right back to go on top at 13:52. Matt Stefanishion skated into the right-wing circle and beat Ellis with a wrister for his ninth of the season.

Ballantyne pulled the Salmon Kings even again, and forced overtime, at 15:38, taking an outlet pass from Jordan Krestanovich and skating in alone on Moreland, beating him with a wrist shot to complete his hat trick.

After a scoreless overtime, the game went to the shootout, where the Salmon Kings outscored the Falcons 2-1 to pick up the extra point.

The Falcons and Salmon Kings continue their three-game series on Saturday, with face-off set for 7:00 p.m. Catch all of the action on 790 ESPN Radio, The Deuce, starting with the Port of Subs Pre-Game Show at 6:45

Fresno returns home on Friday, January 25, hosting the Idaho Steelheads at 7:30 p.m. The first 2,000 fans in attendance receive a Falcons All-Star Poster courtesy of Dumont Printing, ABC 30, 95.7 The Fox, and the Central California Business Incubator. Following the game, join the Falcons for a post-game party at Logan's Roadhouse, located at 7507 N. Blackstone Avenue.

Tickets for all Falcons' home games can be purchased at the Save Mart Center Box Office, or through TicketMaster at (559) 485-TIXS or www.ticketmaster.com. All Falcons games air on 790 ESPN Radio, The Deuce, starting with the Port of Subs Pre-Game Show 15 minutes prior to face off.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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