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Fresno Falcons Weekly - April 21

April 21, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Fresno Falcons News Release


LAST WEEK: Fresno and Utah continued their National Conference Quarterfinals series, with each club winning a pair of games. The Grizzlies lead the series 3 games to 2, with game six set for tonight at Save Mart Center.

Monday, April 14 vs. Utah Grizzlies 4 FALCONS 3 (3 OT)

Utah skated away with a 4-3 win in three overtimes, the sixth-longest game in ECHL history. Oren Eizenman gave Fresno a 1-0 lead 14:23 into the first period with a power-play goal, and Igor Gongalsky and Luke Curtin added second-period tallies to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead. Utah got on the board with a Rob Sirianni power-play goal late in the second, and then scored on both ends of a 5-on-3 power play just 48 seconds apart in the first seven minutes of the third to tie the score. The Grizzlies had a chance to win the game just three minutes into the first overtime as Tyler Haskins was awarded a penalty shot, but Jake Moreland came up with the save to continue the game. Fresno had power-play opportunities in each of the first two overtime periods, but was unable to convert. At the 6:23 mark of the third overtime, Haskins fed Justin Bourne streaking down the slot, and he slid a shot just beyond Moreland's right skate to give Utah the win, and a 2 games to 0 lead in the series.

Wednesday, April 16 @ Utah FALCONS 3 Grizzlies 0

Fresno ended a six-game playoff losing streak dating to last year with a 3-0 win at The E Center on Wednesday. Jake Moreland turned aside all 37 shots to record just the second shutout in Falcons' playoff history. Oren Eizenman once again opened the scoring, putting home a pass from Kenny Bernard 11:16 into the first period. The Falcons held on to the 1-0 lead until the final 4:30 of regulation when Josh Prudden provided some breathing room with a power-play tally. Daryl Marcoux added an empty-net, power-play goal at 19:39 to set the final.

Friday, April 18 @ Utah FALCONS 6 Grizzlies 1

The Falcons came out of the gates firing, as Oren Eizenman scored his fourth of the playoffs just 1:56 into the first period, and Mike Ramsay added a power-play goal at 10:28. Ramsay notched his second power-play goal of the night 4:32 into the second period to extend the lead to 3-0, and Brady Leisenring scored at 10:16 to make it 4-0. Fresno was not done yet, as John Morlang put home the rebound of a Luke Curtin shot at 19:57 to give the Falcons a 5-0 advantage after 40 minutes. Rob Sirianni spoiled Jake Moreland's shutout bid with 1:54 remaining in regulation, and Matt Quinn set the final, scoring Fresno's third power-play goal of the night with 26 seconds remaining.

Saturday, April 19 @ Utah Grizzlies 1 FALCONS 0 (OT)

Game five was a goaltending battle between the Falcons Jake Moreland and Utah's Nathan Lawson. Fresno had a great opportunity to win the game early in overtime, but Lawson stoned Mike Ramsay with a glove side on the near post. At the 3:38 mark of the extra session, the Grizzlies' Keith Johnson picked up a rebound at the top of the crease and flipped a shot past Moreland giving Utah the only goal of the game, and a 3-2 edge in the series.

THIS WEEK'S GAMES

Monday, April 21 vs. Utah 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, April 23 vs. Utah 7:00 p.m. (If Necessary)

The series returns to Save Mart Center tonight for game six. Fresno must win to force a deciding seventh game on Wednesday. If the Falcons win tonight, tickets for game seven will go on sale tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. at the Save Mart Center Box Office.

FALCONS NOTES

- Since Utah scored the game-tying goal in the third period of game two, Jake Moreland has allowed just three goals in the last 182:54 (0.98 goals-against average).

- Including the regular season, Fresno is 17 for its last 65 (26.2%) on the power play. Saturday's game ended a streak of five games with at least one power-play goal.

- Oren Eizenman has scored Fresno's first goal in each game that the Falcons have scored during the series against Utah.

FALCONS LEADERS

Goals Eizenman 4

Assists Curtin/Leisenring 3

Points Eizenman 5

+/- Bernard +2

Penalty Minutes Stefanishion 39

Shots Morlang 21 Power-Play Goals Eizenman/Ramsay 2

Shorthanded Goals N/A

Game-Winning Goals Eizenman/Ramsay 1

FALCONS TICKETS

Tickets for game six of the Falcons series against Utah are available at the Save Mart Center Box Office, or through TicketMaster by calling (559) 485-TIXS or by logging onto www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets start at just $12. Discounted group tickets for groups of 20 or more are available by calling the Falcons office at (559) 485-7825.

FALCONS ON THE AIR

All Falcons' playoff games can be heard LIVE on 790 ESPN Radio, The Deuce, and on-line at www.fresnofalcons.com with the Voice of the Falcons, Joe Babik. Each broadcast begins 15 minutes prior to face-off with the Port of Subs Pre-Game Show. In addition, all Falcons games are available to watch on a pay-per-view basis in conjunction with B2 Networks. The B2 Networks feed can be accessed through the Falcons' website at www.fresnofalcons.com.

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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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