Fresno Falcons Weekly

December 18, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Fresno Falcons News Release


LAST WEEK: Fresno went 2-0-1 last week, picking up wins over Las Vegas and Victoria while falling to Bakersfield in overtime. The Falcons are 14-9-1 for 29 points and in fourth place of the Pacific Division and are tied with Phoenix for fifth place in the National Conference.

Friday, December 15 vs. Bakersfield Condors 3 FALCONS 2 (OT)

Fresno opened the scoring 7:08 into the contest as Riley Day scored his first professional goal. Bakersfield pulled even on a power-play goal midway through the second period, but the Falcons retook the lead on a Rob McFeeters power-play goal just over a minute into the third period. The Condors again tied the game at 8:23, and the game would go to overtime. Bakersfield's Tyler Scott notched the game-winner on a power play 2:16 into the extra session.

Saturday, December 16 @ Las Vegas FALCONS 4 Wranglers 2

Fresno's three-game winless streak came to an end as the Falcons recorded a 4-2 win at Orleans Arena. Brady Leisenring scored a pair of goals, while Cory Murphy and John Morlang added power-play tallies in the win. Dmitri Patzold turned aside 24 Las Vegas shots to record his first win in three starts with the Falcons.

Sunday, December 17 vs. Victoria FALCONS 3 Salmon Kings 1

Josh Prudden scored a goal and added two assists, while Luke Curtin notched three assists, to lead the Falcons past the Salmon Kings on Sunday. Prudden opened the scoring with his sixth goal of the season 14:31 into the first period, but the Salmon Kings knotted the score 7:11 into the second period on a F.P. Guenette power-play goal. Fresno took the lead for good at 13:52 of the third period on P.O. Beaulieu's second goal of the season. John Morlang set the final with an empty-net goal with 32.9 seconds remaining. Dmitri Patzold notched his second win in as many nights, stopping 24 Salmon King shots.

THIS WEEK'S GAMES

Friday, December 22 vs. Stockton 7:30 p.m.

The Falcons' lone game of the week is the first match-up of the season against the Thunder. Fresno was 9-0-1 against Stockton last year in the Thunder's first season of existence. Stockton is tied with Las Vegas for the top spot in both the Pacific Division and National Conference. The Thunder are 15-2-5 for 35 points.

PROMOTIONS: Attention all kids! Join the Falcons for a holiday caroling party on the ice during the first intermission! Join local singer and Starbuck's employee Olivia May, along with Santa Claus and the Falcons Promotions Team for this holiday celebration Friday night! The Fresno Falcons salute Starbuck's District 539 "Ribbons for Kids" Drive Benefiting Children's Hospital of Central California. There will be several Starbuck's gift baskets being raffled off throughout the game courtesy of Starbuck's District 539. All kids tickets and student tickets for this Friday's game are half price!

FALCONS NOTES

- Each of Fresno's next four games are against Stockton.

- Luke Curtin returned to the Falcons' line-up on Friday after missing six games with an injury. Curtin notched six assists in the three games over the weekend.

- Falcons' head coach Matt Thomas needs one win to reach 100 in his coaching career. Thomas is 99-46-23 (.658 winning percentage) in two-plus seasons as a professional head coach.

FALCONS LEADERS

Goals Morlang 14

Assists Curtin 22

Points Curtin 26

+/- Morlang +13

Penalty Minutes Day 61

Shots Curtin 74

Power-Play Goals Murphy 5

Shorthanded Goals Four Tied 2

Game-Winning Goals VanBallegooie/Morlang 2

FALCONS TICKETS

Tickets for Falcons home games are available at the Save Mart Center Box Office (9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday) or charge by phone at (559) 485-TIXS. Tickets can also be purchased on-line at www.ticketmaster.com. 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 72 Falcons' regular season games can be heard on Sporting News Radio 1550 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.

MATT THOMAS SHOW

The Matt Thomas Show airs tonight live from World Sports Café from 5:30 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. Join Falcons head coach and general manager Matt Thomas and director of broadcasting and media relations Joe Babik as they discuss Falcons hockey. The show airs live on 1550 Sporting News Radio each Monday throughout the season. Fans are invited to participate in the show by calling their questions to (559) 23-SPORT or e-mailing them to jbabik@fresnofalcons.com.



ECHL Stories from December 18, 2006


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