Fresno Falcons Weekly Update

April 3, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Fresno Falcons News Release


LAST WEEK'S RECORD: 4-0-1 OVERALL RECORD: 42-13-14, 98 pts., 1st Place Pacific Division

March 27 vs. Victoria, 4-3 Overtime Win - J.F. Plourde's game-winner in overtime not only won the game but clinched the Pacific Division regular season title, the Falcons' first division championship in 11 years as a professional club.

March 28 vs. Bakersfield, 3-2 Win - Rob McFeeters, Fraser Clair, and John Wroblewski all scored in the first period to stake Fresno to a 3-0 lead, which was all they would need in their final regular season game of the year against Bakersfield.

March 31 vs. Phoenix, 4-3 Shootout Win - The Falcons swept the season series from the RoadRunners after overcoming a 2-0 first period deficit. Brett Jaeger stopped four of five shots to go along with goals from Fraser Clair and J.F. Plourde in the shootout.

April 1 vs. Utah, 5-2 Win - Dustin VanBallegooie recorded a goal and three assists and John Wroblewski scored twice to lead Fresno to its season-high fifth straight victory.

April 2 @ Stockton, 2-1 Overtime Loss - The Falcons fell just short of sweeping the 10-game season series from the Thunder. Shawn Weiman tallied the team's only goal as Fresno ends the season with a 9-0-1 mark against their Highway 99 rivals to the north.

THIS WEEK'S UPCOMING GAMES

Tuesday, April 4 vs. Alaska Aces, 7 p.m.* - The first of three home games to conclude the regular season. The game is a Carl's Jr. Two-for-Tuesday, with two-for-one coupons available at participating Carl's Jr. locations.

Friday, April 7 vs. Alaska Aces, 7 p.m.* - Catch Head Coach Matt Thomas' Chalk Talk at 6:20 p.m. on Save Mart Center's concourse. The first 2,000 fans will receive a Matt Thomas wind-up walker courtesy of KSEE 24 and Y101.

Saturday, April 8 vs. Long Beach Ice Dogs, 7 p.m.* - Fresno concludes the regular season with Fan Appreciation Night. The first 2,500 fans will receive a Pacific Division Champion t-shirt courtesy of Alpha Designs, CBS 47, and Mega 97.9.

*Catch all of the live play-by-play action on 1550 Sporting News Radio beginning at 6:45 p.m. with the FutureTek Pre-game Show. B2 Networks' pay-per-view video webcast begins 10 minutes before the drop of the puck via www.fresnofalcons.com.

NOTES

. Saturday's win over Utah marked Fresno's season-high ninth victory in a row at home and brought the club's home unbeaten streak to 11 straight games (10-0-1), tying the all-time club record first set in 2000-2001.

. The Falcons' 98 points in the standings are a new club record, besting the 94 points racked up by the team in 2000-2001. Fresno is two wins shy of tying the all-time team record of 44 wins in a single season, also set in 2000-01.

. Fresno is still on track to become the only team in ECHL history to go an entire season without a regulation loss inside their division. The Falcons are 21-0-7 against the Pacific this year.

. Nine Falcons - Fraser Clair, Luke Curtin, Shawn Mather, Rob McFeeters, Kelsey Muench, J.F. Plourde, Dustin VanBallegooie, Shawn Weiman, and John Wroblewski - have all established career highs in points this season. A 10th, Derek Krestanovich, has tied his career high.

. The Falcons begin the week with a 17-point lead atop the Pacific Division.



ECHL Stories from April 3, 2006


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