Falcons Shutout Salmon Kings
February 17, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Fresno Falcons News Release
VICTORIA, British Columbia - Brett Jaeger and Kelly Shields combined on a 31-save shutout and Shaun Sutter tallied two goals and an assist to help the Fresno Falcons defeat the Victoria Salmon Kings at Bear Mountain Arena on Wednesday in a game marred by a bench-clearing brawl early in the third period.
The Falcons struck first late in the first period when Shaun Sutter won a clean face-off draw to Corey Hessler, who blasted a slapshot from the far hashmarks over the shoulder of Victoria goaltender Jason Stone for his fifth of the year at 17:03.
Fresno added to its lead in the second with superior play on special teams as the club killed off all four Victoria power plays while converting on each of its two power play chances in the period. David Brisson netted his 12th of the year at 3:44 before Sutter popped in his 20th goal of the season at 13:56 to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead through 40 minutes.
After the first whistle 1:20 into the third period, the teams began to mix it up during the ensuing line change, which quickly escalated into a full line brawl. Jim Gattolliat then left the Salmon Kings bench to join the fracas and eventually the situation devolved into a full scale bench-clearing brawl. After a lengthy delay to sort things out once order was restored, referee Max Battimo ejected six players from each club. The ejected players included both starting goaltenders, which left both teams with emergency back-ups in net - Kelly Shields, formerly a Salmon King, for Fresno and a goaltender by the last name of Whitney (first name unknown) for Victoria.
After play resumed, the Sutter added the Falcons' third power play goal of the night at 14:54 of the third, giving him a league-leading 13 power play markers on the season. Shields made 10 stops in relief of Jaeger, as the two combined on Fresno's third shutout of the year.
The victory lifts the Falcons to a season-high 10 games above .500 at 27-17-6, keeping them in fourth place in the West Division.
The Falcons next take the ice on Friday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m. when the San Diego Gulls visit Save Mart Center. The club will be wearing specialty jerseys to honor the United States Military, which will be auctioned off after the game to benefit the American Red Cross. Tickets are now 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.
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