Falcons Fall to Steelheads
November 23, 2002 - ECHL (ECHL)
Fresno Falcons News Release
BOISE, Idaho. â The Fresno Falcons played a hard fought game Saturday night but came up on the wrong end of the scoreboard, falling, 2-1, to the Idaho Steelheads at the Bank of America Centre. Mike Mathers netted the lone goal for the Falcons, who dropped their second straight game to the Steelheads and are now winless in seven of their last nine games.
Idaho got all the scoring they would need in the first period as Cory Morgan and Joe Rybar each tallied goals to give the Steelheads the 2-0 advantage. After a scoreless second period, Mathers brought the Falcons back within a goal midway through the third period when he put the puck into the upper right hand corner of the net for his fifth goal of the season. Fresno made a late rush, pulling goaltender Terry Friesen for an extra attacker in the final minute of the game, but was unable to get the puck in the net to send the game to a shootout.
Friesen turned in another solid performance in net for his team, stopping 35 of the 37 shots that the Steelheads fired at him. Jason Cugnet made 28 saves between the pipes for Idaho in the win. Neither team accomplished anything on the power play, as the Falcons penalty killers killed all three of the Steelheads chances while Idaho stopped both of Fresno's opportunities.
The loss drops the Falcons record below the .500 mark for the first time this season at 7-8-1 with 15 points. At the moment, they remain tied for third place in the WCHL standings with the idle San Diego Gulls. The loss also dropped heir road record to 1-4, as the Steelheads inched closer to evening the season series, where the Falcons still hold a 3-2 edge.
The team will return to the Golden State to take on the Gulls at the San Diego Sports Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 26, at 7 p.m. The game can be heard live on 103.1 FM, The Mountain Cat, beginning at 6:50 p.m. with the Mail Boxes, Etc. Pre-Game Show. The Falcons will return home on Friday, Dec. 7, to take on the Long Beach Ice Dogs at 7:30 p.m. The game will be the team's 3rd Annual Teddy Bear Toss and the first 5,000 fans will receive a free team photo, courtesy of Baja Fresh and ValPrint. Tickets are available at the Selland Arena box office, all Ticketmaster outlets or by going on-line at www.ticketmaster.com.
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