OCTOBER 3rd BEGINS JOURNEY TO THE TAYLOR CUP
The Fresno Falcons officially begin their quest for the West
Coast Hockey League's Championship-The Taylor-Cup- with the opening of training
camp Sunday, October 3rd. Hoping to build on last year's second place finish
in the Southern Division and run to the semi-finals in the Taylor Cup playoffs,
the Falcons will begin their fifth campaign in the WCHL with a strong corps
of returning players under rookie head coach Blaine Moore.
The team's top two scorers from 1998-99, Christian Skoryna
and Glen Gulutzan, return along with veterans Jeff Ferguson, Greg Spenrath,
and Mark Franks. The Falcons also have nine newcomers under contract with
several more expecting to sign before camp opens. Moore looks to have around
27 players in training camp vying for the 21 roster spots.
MEDIA DAY - OCTOBER
4th
The Falcons will hold Media Day on Monday, October 4th at
1 p.m. immediately after the teams on-ice session at the Icoplex hockey
facility. General Manager, Brian Viselli., Coach Moore, and all the players
will be available to offer their insights and answer any questions about
the upcoming 1999-2000 season. Please R.S.V.P. to Brian Clark at 650-4000
by September 30. In addition, all training camp practices - October 3-7
and continuing October 11-13 will be open to the public beginning at 10:00a.m.
each day at Iceoplex, which is located at 2473 N. Marks.
Fresno opens the season with apair of exibition games against
Southern Division rivals San Diego and Bakersfield on October 8th and 9th,
respectively at Bakersfield Centennial Garden. The regular season begins
on October 15th in Anchorage. The Falcons host their first of seven Games
of the Month against Colorado on October 29th in their home opener. Each
Game of the Month will highlight a different promotional give-away for the
fans. Opening night will feature official magnet schedules of the 1999-2000
season.
FALCONS ANNOUNCE SCHEDULE CHANGE
The Fresno Falcons have announced that the February 20th home game against
Idaho has been cancelled and moved to 2:00p.m. on Sunday February 6th at
Selland Arena. The change was made to accommodate the
Fresno St. Bulldogs Men's Basketball Team and their opportunity to appear
in a nationally televised game.
As with all Sunday Falcons home games, the game
against Idaho on the 6th of February begins at 2:00 p.m. and will be a "Little
Fergie" Kids Day, so named after Falcons veteran goaltender, Jeff Ferguson.
The first 1,000 "Little Fergies" through the turnstiles at Selland
Arena that day will receive a Falcons Frisbee. Other "Little Fergie"
days include:
Sunday, November 20th vs. Anchorage - 1st 1,00 "Little
Fergies" receive goalie masks
Sunday, December 5th vs. Tacoma - 1st 1,000 "Little
Fergies" receive digital watches
Sunday, December 19th vs. Bakersfield - 1st 1,000 "Little
Fergies" receive yo-yo's
Sunday, January 9th vs. San Diego - 1st 1,000 "Little
Fergies" receive a millenium prize
Sunday, March 5th vs. Phoenix - 1st 1,000 "Little
Fergies" receive sunglasses
KFIG 1430 AM The New Home of the FALCONS
The Fresno Falcons officially announced that their
new radio home for the 1999-2000 season will be the Big Dawg - KFIG 1430
AM. The basic parameters of the partnership have been in place for close
to a month with the West Coast Hockey League team and Fresno's All Sports
Radio leader working out scheduling specifics during the intervening weeks.
For the first time in their history, the Falcons
and play-by-play voice Brian Clark will broadcast both home and away games,
a total of 72 throughout the season. In addition, KFIG's Jack Gross will
host a weekly Falcons radio show with Clark, featuring interviews with Falcons
players and coaches, plays of the week, and a wrap-up of the weeks action
as Freno begins its march toward the Taylor Cup. The weekly show will air
every Thursday afternoon beginning October 21 on KFIG from about 4:05 to
4:30 p.m. preceding Sportsline with Tony D'addato.
"This is a terrific fit for us," said
Falcons GM, Brian Viselli. "With KFIG's strong signal carrying us to
every part of the Valley, we'll be able to reach more fans than we ever
have in the past."