Falcons Lose First to Long Beach
January 29, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Fresno Falcons News Release
FRESNO, Calif. â For the second straight game the Fresno Falcons were forced to dress two emergency skaters in order to reach the league minimum of 13. But unlike their nine-goal outburst against the Anchorage Aces last Saturday, offense was tough to come by on Tuesday at Selland Arena as the Falcons lost to the Long Beach Ice Dogs, 2-1, in front of a crowd of 3,252.
Long Beach led 2-0 early in the second period after goals by Rob Wismer and former Falcons captain Craig Lyons as the Ice Dogs held Fresno to just 11 shots through two periods of play. Fresno finally got on the board when Brad Both shoveled a loose puck past Ice Dogs netminder Mike Buzak with 4:15 left in the middle frame.
Trailing 2-1, the Falcons had their chances in the third but couldn't tally the equalizer despite getting goaltender Terry Friesen pulled in favor of an extra attacker for more than a minute in the waning moments. Friesen stopped 27 of 29 in the losing effort while Fresno was held to a season-low 18 shots on goal.
Falcons assistant coach Greg Spenrath played as an emergency player for the second straight game. He was joined by equipment manager and former Falcons defenseman Mark Kuntz, who played his first professional game since the 1997-98 season. For the second game in a row the Falcons had seven players watching in street clothes either due to injury or suspension.
The loss snapped Fresno's four-game winning streak and was their first of the year to the Ice Dogs in seven games. They also failed on an opportunity to catch the San Diego Gulls in second place and remain in fourth at 22-14-5, one point behind the Bakersfield Condors with 49 points.
The same two teams play on Friday and Saturday night at Selland Arena. Both games begin at 7:30 p.m. with the first 1,500 fans receiving a Falcons beanie puck on Friday and a Greg Spenrath kids t-shirt jersey on Saturday. Tickets are still available for both at the Selland box office, all Ticketmaster outlets and online at www.ticketmaster.com.
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