FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nick Strait
nstrait@fresnofalcons.com
November 12, 2002

FALCONS RALLY TO BEAT GULLS
Mike Mathers and Kevin Haupt Net Two Goals Each in Fresno Win

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Austin de Luis scored the game-winning goal with just
over a minute left in regulation as the Fresno Falcons rallied for a 5-4
victory over the San Diego Gulls Tuesday night at the San Diego Sports
Arena. Mike Mathers and Kevin Haupt each chipped in a pair of goals and four
different Falcons tallied three points as the team snapped their three-game
losing streak.

R.J. Enga put the Gulls on the board first with his goal just 1:49 into the
contest. Mathers responded for the Falcons with his first goal of the
evening exactly one minute later. The Gulls managed to go back on top with
the first of two goals by Dean Tiltgen and took a 2-1 lead into the second
period.

San Diego increased their lead to 3-1 midway through the second period when
Tiltgen scored his second goal of the night 8:44 into the second period.
Fresno cut the lead back down to one on Haupt's first goal in a Falcons
sweater at the 11:17 mark of the second period. With the Gulls nursing a
one-goal lead in the third period, the Falcons erupted for a pair of goals
by Mathers and Haupt to jump out in front 4-3. Then with three minutes left
in regulation, Sylvain Deschatelets tied the game for the Gulls with his
first goal of the year, appearing to send the game into a shootout. As the
game neared the end of regulation, de Luis managed to net his fifth goal of
the season to complete the comeback and give Fresno the one-goal victory
over their cross-state rival.

Mathers finished the night with two power play goals and assist for three
points, as did de Luis who had a pair of assists to accompany his
game-winning goal. Kris Porter and Drew Schoneck each had three assists in
the victory. Goaltender Terry Friesen made 28 saves to snap a personal
two-game losing streak. The Falcons also performed well on special teams,
converting on two of their five power play chances while stopping the Gulls
on all five of their man advantages.

The win moves the Falcons record back above the .500 mark at 6-5-0 with 12
points. The victory also broke them out of tie with the Long Beach Ice Dogs
for fourth place in the WCHL standings and catapulted them into a tie with
Bakersfield Condors for second place in the standings, still five points
behind the front running Idaho Steelheads. With their mark of 5-6-1, the
Gulls are off to their worst start in franchise history and sit one point
back of the Falcons in third place.

The team will now begin a two-game set with the Condors, beginning on
Friday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. at Centennial Garden in Bakersfield. Friday's
game will be tape delayed on 103.1 FM, The Mountain Cat, starting at
approximately 10:30 p.m. They will return home on Saturday, Nov. 16, to
complete the series with the Condors at 7:30 p.m. The first 5,000 fans at
Saturday night's game will receive a free pair of ThunderStix, courtesy of
Pelco. Tickets to Saturday night's game are available at the Selland Arena
box office, all Ticketmaster locations, or on-line at www.ticketmaster.com.

Final
1 2 3 T
Fresno 1 1 3 5
San Diego 2 1 1 4

Shots On Goal
1 2 3 T
Fresno 7 9 10 26
San Diego 12 12 8 32

Period 1
Scoring: 1, SD, Enga 7 (Pederson, Nasreddine), 1:49. 2, FRE, Mathers 3
(Schoneck, Porter), 2:49 (pp). 3, SD, Tiltgen 7 (Unassisted), 10:47 (sh).
Penalties: Lanthier, SD (Cross-Checking), 2:26; Black, SD (Tripping), 9:12;
Both, FRE (Five for Fighting), 12:34; Sbrocca, SD (Five for Fighting),
12:34; Murphy, FRE (Interference), 15:54; Bench, FRE (Too Many Men, served
by Borders), 18:59; Bianchi, SD (Goalie Interference), 20:00.

Period 2
Scoring: 4, SD, Tiltgen 8 (Deschatelets, Sherban), 8:44. 5, FRE, Haupt 1
(Porter, DeLuis), 11:17.
Penalties: Haupt, FRE (Holding), 5:59; Embley, FRE (High-Sticking), 11:38;
Pederson, SD (Holding), 16:45.

Period 3
Scoring: 6, FRE, Haupt 2 (DeLuis, Mathers), 6:49. 7, FRE, Mathers 4 (Short,
Schoneck), 11:12 (pp). 8, SD, Deschatelets 1 (Read, Nasreddine), 17:00. 9,
FRE, DeLuis 5 (Schoneck, Porter), 18:49. Penalties: Bench, FRE (Too Many
Men, served by Embley), 7:57; Black, SD (Hooking), 11:04.

GOALTENDING:

Fresno - Friesen (60:00) - 28-32
San Diego - Cruickshank (58:54) - 21-26

POWER PLAYS:

Fresno - 2 of 5
San Diego - 0 of 5

ATTENDANCE: 3,106