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Salmon Kings fired up in Fresno

March 3, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Victoria Salmon Kings News Release


Fresno, CA - The Victoria Salmon Kings, proud affiliate of the Manitoba Moose and the Vancouver Canucks, ruffled the Fresno feathers in the first period of game one of the two game series, and collected their sixth road win of the last eight road games in a 3-1 victory at the Save Mart Center.

Both goaltenders, Victoria's Julien Ellis and Fresno's Ryan MacDonald, each earned their first pro shutout in February and followed in March with a battle of the creases in the majority of the opening stanza. But with 2:54 remaining in the first period, the Salmon Kings marked the scoreboard as team assist leader, F.P. Guenette, and Defenseman Paul Ballantyne combined for the Victoria 1-0 lead after a faceoff in the Falcons zone. Two and a half minutes later, the Salmon Kings capitalized on their second powerplay of the game as Guenette sliced into Fresno territory to beat McDonald with a wrist shot from the right circle hashmarks, and earned his 12th goal of the season.

Victoria added to their 2-0 advantage in the second period and tallied another powerplay goal. After Fresno couldn't clear a rebound, Mike Stutzel, who was activated yesterday from the injured reserve list, picked up the loose puck and snuck it past McDonald with 2:29 remaining.

Fresno took advantage of Ellis without a stick and intercepted a clearing attempt by Victoria on the left boards. Lucas Lawson passed to Luke Curtin and he cut across the slot for a backhand goal to close the gap 3-1. The Salmon Kings, who are 16-1-1 when leading after two periods, nabbed the victory after holding off Fresno attacks in the third.

Final: 3-1 Salmon Kings

Ellis posted his 16th win of the season, and MacDonald suffered his tenth loss of the season. Victoria was 2 for 4 on the powerplay and Fresno was 0 for 5 with the man advantage. The Salmon Kings outshot the Falcons 42-38. The Salmon Kings (25-31-0-1) will face Fresno for the final time in the regular season tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at the Save Mart Centre.

NOTES:

- Julien Ellis posted his eighth ninth start; earned his season second best 0.974 save percentage.

- Defenseman Paul Ballantyne tallied his third multi-point night in the last six games; earned his 100th ECHL point by assisting on the Salmon Kings third goal of the game.

- Kiel McLeod posted his 50th ECHL point with an assist on the Salmon Kings third goal of the game.

- Victoria outshot their opponent for the third consecutive game.

The Salmon Kings next home series begins Thursday March 15th versus the Utah Grizzlies. The Victoria Salmon Kings Booster Club invites all fans to the final session of "Skate with the Salmon Kings" following the Sunday, March 18th game, which starts at 1:00 p.m.

Individual game tickets for the 2006-07 regular season can be purchased at the Select Your Tickets Box Office at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. Information on season tickets, half-season packages, flex packs, and other great ticket deals are available by calling (250) 220-2614.



ECHL Stories from March 3, 2007


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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