Falcons Lose 6-3

April 3, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Fresno Falcons News Release


Fresno, Calif. - The Fresno Falcons led by one goal after the first period but gave up four goals in the second en route to a 6-3 loss to the Alaska Aces at Save Mart Center.

The Falcons struck first when Terry Marchant grabbed the puck after a face-off by the goal and shot the puck past Alaska goaltender Matt Underhill for a 1-0 lead 1:37 into the game. Alaska tied the score at 1-1 after Chris Minard knocked in a rebound on a power play at 4:16 of the first for his league-leading 47th goal of the season. Dan Tessier scored his 25th goal to tie Shaun Sutter for the team lead on a two-man advantage for a 2-1 lead 6:34 into the period.

The Falcons would not score another goal for almost forty minutes of playing time. Alaska, meanwhile, put on a scoring display in front of the crowd of 9,280.

Charles Linglet scored two goals within two minutes of each other, the first at 5:18 of the second to tie the game and the other coming on a power play 7:01 into the period for a 3-2 lead.

Former NHL Rookie of the Year Scott Gomez scored a short-handed goal 17:32 into the second after he intercepted a Fresno pass from behind his own blue line and skated past Falcons defenders for a 4-2 Alaska lead.

Linglet picked up a hat trick after he scored his third goal of the period, with 12 seconds left in the second, on yet another power play for a 5-2 lead.

The Falcons had a comeback in mind, and within grasp, after newly acquired Lee Green scored a goal 5:36 into the third for a 5-3 score and most of the period to play. Alaska's defense held its own against Fresno's attack and did not give up another goal. With 25 seconds left in regulation, Alaska's Chris Heisten scored an empty-net goal after Fresno pulled its goalie in favor of an extra attacker. The final score: 6-3.

Despite the loss, the Falcons didn't lose ground to the Bakersfield Condors in the race for the West Division's final playoff spot, because Bakersfield lost tonight to Las Vegas by a score of 2-1. Fresno not only has a game in hand over the Condors, but as it stands tonight, the Falcons would also own the first tie-breaker (total wins) should the clubs finish the regular season with the same number of points.

Fresno finishes the regular season with a three-game home stand against the Long Beach Ice Dogs beginning tomorrow at 5 p.m. The two remaining games will be this Friday, April 8 and Saturday, April 9, with both games beginning at 7 p.m.

Regular-priced tickets for all three games are on sale for as low as $8 per seat and may be purchased directly at Save Mart Center's box office and all Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 485-TIXS (8497), or online at www.ticketmaster.com.



ECHL Stories from April 3, 2005


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