Home Ice Advantage!?
Published on May 21, 2002 under West Coast Hockey League (WCHL) News Release
BOISE, Idaho - After Game 4, the 2001-2002 Taylor Cup Finals had duplicated last year's efforts. The series was tied at two and neither team had won a home game. The Fresno Falcons pulled through in Game 5 to break the trend by winning their final home game of the season at Selland Arena, 2-1. The Idaho Steelheads will return home for Games 6 and 7 (if necessary) with hopes that the home ice advantage hoax is over.
Although each season has its own pattern of wins, losses, outstanding players and advantages, the 2001-2002 Taylor Cup hunt has remarkable similarities to past seasons.
Last season's Taylor Cup Finals began with the San Diego Gulls hosting the Idaho Steelheads for Games 1 and 2. The Steelheads made themselves at home in the San Diego Sports Arena and swept the two games for a 2-0 series lead. The Gulls refocused and made the Bank of America Centre in Boise their natural habitat by taking the next three victories. The teams took the 2000-2001 series to seven games and the end result was San Diego winning their fourth Taylor Cup.
The Phoenix Mustangs stampeded through the 1999-2000 Taylor Cup Finals clinching the Championship in four games. The Tacoma Sabercats had earned home ice advantage for the series, but that wasn't nearly enough to stop the wild Mustangs in their quest for the cup. The Sabercats fell 1-0 in Game 1 and 5-2 in Game 2 before traveling to Phoenix for the final two losses. Phoenix rebounded from a fourth place standing in early March and won 12 of their next 16 regular season games to polish up for the finals.
The Phoenix club was referred to as the "Cinderella Mustangs" for their miraculous recovery late in the season and into the Championships. This year's Falcons might produce a similar title after being the worst team in the League through December. Fresno tops the WCHL with the best record since January (25-7-6) and the best playoff record at 9-5-0. Goaltender Terry Friesen has played a vital role in the Falcons' success with a .904 save percentage and a 2.42 goals against average.
On the other hand, Idaho's goaltender Blair Allison has put forth what appears to be a not-so-solid performance, yet has comparable stats to Friesen. Allison's goals against average is slightly lower at 2.70 but his save percentage is the same (.904) and his record sits at 8-6-0. Down 2-0 in the series, the Steelheads performed under heavy pressure during last week's venture to California. Idaho fired back at Fresno to tie the series at two apiece, but again trails the Falcons after last night's loss. The Steelies are in familiar territory having rebounded from one-game shortages in the first two rounds of the playoffs to secure the Northern Division title.
WCHL QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"The hockey gods were looking down on me on that one. I think a lot of people were surprised, including myself."
Fresno Defensemen Darren Wetherill after scoring his first goal in the playoffs during Game 5 at Selland Arena.
TAYLOR CUP FINALS
Series G - Idaho Steelheads (#1) vs. Fresno Falcons (#3) (best-of-seven series)
Game 1 Friday, May 10, 2002 Fresno 5 at Idaho 2
Game 2 Saturday, May 11, 2002 Fresno 5 at Idaho 4
Game 3 Wednesday, May 15, 2002 Idaho 4 at Fresno 2
Game 4 Thursday, May 16, 2002 Idaho 4 at Fresno 3 (OT)
Game 5 Sunday, May 19, 2002 Idaho 1 at Fresno 2
Game 6 Friday, May 24, 2002 Fresno at Idaho
Game 7 Saturday, May 25, 2002 Fresno at Idaho*
*if necessary
SERIES NOTES
Idaho Steelheads: Bobby Stewart netted both game-winning goals for Idaho last week and now leads the playoffs with nine goals...Goaltender Blair Allison has racked up the most saves in the 01-02 playoffs with 347...Matt Oates and Derek Paget are knotted for the second most points on the Steelheads' roster with 12 each.
Fresno Falcons: Darren Wetherill's first playoff goal was the game winner that extended Fresno's series lead to 3-2...Kris Porter is on a streak with eleven points in seven games and teammate Dale Junkin has seven points in six games...Kory Mullin has a league second-best plus/minus rating with plus 8.
West Coast Hockey League Stories from May 21, 2002
- Home Ice Advantage!? - WCHL
- Gold Kings Announce Promotions - Colorado Gold Kings
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