Fresno Falcons Weekly

January 2, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Fresno Falcons News Release


LAST WEEK: Fresno extended its winning streak to seven games, and its unbeaten streak to eight games, winning three times against Stockton before ending the week with a win at Long Beach. The Falcons are 19-9-1 for 39 points and are in second place of the Pacific Division, two points behind Las Vegas.

Wednesday, December 27 @ Stockton FALCONS 3 Thunder 2

Trailing 2-1 entering the third period, the Falcons scored twice in the opening 5:08 of the period. Rob McFeeters tied the game with a power-play goal at 1:11, and Brady Leisenring put Fresno on top at 5:08 with his eighth goal of the season. Ryan MacDonald took over from there, stopping all 11 Stockton shots in the third period to pick up the win.

Friday, December 29 vs. Stockton FALCONS 3 Thunder 2

Stockton struck first on a Brendan Hodge power-play goal 5:19 into the contest, but the Falcons came back with a pair of goals before the first period ended from Luke Curtin and Dustin VanBallegooie to take a 2-1 lead. The Thunder tied the score with another power-play goal midway through the second period, but John Wroblewski answered with a power-play goal of his own at 16:47 of the second to give Fresno a lead it would not relinquish.

Saturday, December 30 @ Stockton FALCONS 3 Thunder 2

Fresno picked up its fourth straight win over Stockton, and the third by the same 3-2 score, on Saturday at Stockton Arena. The Thunder took a 1-0 late in the first period on a Tim Verbeek goal before the Falcons responded with three unanswered goals. Cory Murphy and Tyler Kindle notched second-period tallies, while Rob McFeeters gave Fresno some insurance with a power-play goal 9:01 into the third period. That proved to be a big goal, as Stockton pulled within one on a power-play goal at 12:33. The Falcons withstood an onslaught of Stockton shots in the final minute to win for the sixth straight game.

Sunday, December 31 @ Long Beach FALCONS 3 Ice Dogs 1

Fresno closed the 2006 portion of its schedule with a 3-1 win at Long Beach. Luke Curtin got the Falcons off to a quick start, tallying just 16 seconds into the first period. Brett Hammond added his first goal of the season later in the opening period to give the Falcons a 2-0 lead. The Falcons went up 3-0 on Tom Walsh's second of the season late in the second. Ryan MacDonald lost his shutout bid with 6:04 remaining in regulation, but stopped 22 shots to record his 10th win of the season.

THIS WEEK'S GAMES

Friday, January 5 vs. Victoria 7:30 p.m.

The Falcons and Salmon Kings meet for the fifth of eight times this season. Fresno is 2-2-0 against Victoria this season and has an all-time record of 12-4-2 against the Salmon Kings. Victoria is in fourth place of the West Division with an 11-18-1 record for 23 points.

PROMOTIONS: The first 3,000 fans in attendance receive a 2007 Falcons Poster Calendar courtesy of Community Medical Center, Dumont Printing, and B95. Fans may also show up early to test their skills at the Matrix Lounge Xbox Gaming Stations with the Xbox game NHL 2k7 to be played on the stations set up on the SW concourse. Four lucky fans will be chosen at Friday's game to face off against the Falcons at the Matrix Lounge in the Xbox game NHL 2k7.

Saturday, January 6 @ Long Beach 7:00 p.m.

Fresno returns to Long Beach Arena for its fourth meeting this season against the Ice Dogs. The Falcons are 3-0-0 overall against Long Beach this season, including 2-0-0 on the road. Long Beach is in fifth place of the Pacific Division with a record of 9-17-2 for 20 points.

Sunday, January 7 vs. Victoria 5:00 p.m.

Victoria returns to Save Mart Center for a Sunday matinee.

PROMOTIONS: All kids 14 and under can purchase tickets for half price on another Comcast Cable/Pump It Up Kids Day. Sunday also features a special "Birthday Tribute to the King". In Celebration of the birth date of Elvis Presley (January 8th, 1935), the Falcons welcome Jeremy "Elvis" Pearce for a pre-game Elvis Show starting at 4:15 p.m. on the concourse. There will also be a first intermission Elvis Performance at center ice with 20 lucky lady Falcons fans getting the chance to take a seat on the ice and be serenaded by the "King".

FALCONS NOTES

- Fresno's current seven-game overall wining streak and four-game road winning streak are the longest since the team joined the ECHL. The team's longest all-time winning streak is nine consecutive victories from January 19 through February 9, 2002.

- Brett Hammond had one goal and four assists in the four games last week after re-signing with the team on Tuesday.

- Luke Curtin has a nine-game scoring streak (2g, 14a).

- Ryan MacDonald went 7-0-1 during the month of December with a 1.67 goals-against average and a .948 save percentage.

FALCONS LEADERS

Goals Morlang 14

Assists Curtin 29

Points Curtin 35

+/- Beaulieu +14

Penalty Minutes Day 74

Shots Curtin 85

Power-Play Goals Murphy 5

Shorthanded Goals Four Tied 2

Game-Winning Goals Four Tied 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 January 2, 2007


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