MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nick Strait
nstrait@fresnofalcons.com
November 4, 2002
FALCONS FALL TO ACES
Anchorage Uses Three Unanswered Goals to Knock Off Fresno
FRESNO, Calif. - The Anchorage
Aces used a pair of third period goals to
rally for a 4-3 victory over the Fresno Falcons Monday evening.
The Aces,
coming into Selland Arena with a seven game losing streak and
the fewest
points in the WCHL, rallied for the final three goals of the game
to
overcome a two-goal deficit midway through the second period.
Three
different Falcons found the back of the net in the losing effort.
After a lackluster start to the
game, the Falcons broke out 11 minutes into
the contest when they scored a pair of shorthanded goals just
39 seconds
apart. Austin de Luis netted the first when Drew Schoneck sprung
him for a
clean breakaway as he beat Aces netminder Christian Soucy for
the 1-0 lead.
Iain Fraser tallied the second shorthanded goal, as his unassisted
goal was
his first goal in a Falcons sweater. Anchorage' s Yvan Corbin,
who had a
pair of goal on the night, chipped in his first goal of the night
in the
closing minutes of the opening frame to cut the Falcons lead to
2-1 heading
into the second period.
The two teams traded goals in
the second period over a span of 52 seconds.
Mike Mathers put the Falcons up by two with his second goal of
the season at
the 11:50 mark of the period, only to see that two-goal cushion
evaporate at
the hands of Aces forward Don Martin, who fired one past Fresno
goaltender
Mark Gowan at the 12:42 mark.
Anchorage, trailing by one heading
into the final period of play, tied the
game at 3-3 midway through the third period when Corbin added
his second
goal of the night, converting a Fresno turnover into the equalizer.
J.J.
Wrobel knocked in the game winner four minutes later with his
second goal of
the year. The Falcons made a late push to try and tie the game,
pulling
Gowan out of the net for an extra attacker with over two minutes
left, but
couldn't manage to get one past Soucy.
For the first time in six games,
the Falcons outshot their opponent, this
time 33-23 over the Aces. Fresno's power play finished the night
scoreless
in six chances while they managed to kill off five the Aces six
power plays.
Gowan made 19 saves on the evening while his counterpart Soucy
stopped 30
shots.
The loss drops their record to
5-3-0 with 10 points, to remain in third
place in the West Coast Hockey League standings, one point behind
the San
Diego Gulls for second place and five points behind the Idaho
Steelheads.
The team will return to the ice
on Friday, Nov. 8, when the Bakersfield
Condors come into Selland Arena for a 7:30 p.m. rematch. Friday
night's game
will be the first game of Greg Spenrath Retirement Weekend. The
first 1,500
fans Friday night will receive a Greg Spenrath t-shirt, compliments
of Alpha
Designs. The two teams will square off again Saturday night at
7:30 p.m., at
which time Spenrath's #27 will be retired to the rafters of Selland
Arena.
The first 2,000 fans at Saturday night's game will receive a free
Spenrath
bobblehead courtesy of AT& T Wireless. Tickets are still available
for both
games at the Selland Arena box office, all Ticketmaster locations,
or
on-line at www.ticketmaster.com.