Best in the West

February 2, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


SAN DIEGO –– Everything is just fine and dandy in "America's Finest City" these days – at least that's how the Gulls feel. Why you ask? Well, just take a look at the standings. San Diego has won nine straight and not only leads the Pacific Division, but are now atop the Western Conference and creeping its way to the top spot in the entire ECHL.

The Gulls, for the second week in a row, ran off another perfect week of hockey. This time they earned two points against division rivals Las Vegas, Long Beach, Idaho and Bakersfield. So now the Blue and Orange have a six-point lead over the second-place Steelheads for first place in the Pacific Division and lead the Louisiana IceGators and Mississippi Sea Wolves by one point for the best record in the Western Conference. San Diego trails the Wheeling Nailers by three points for the top spot in the league.

WEEK IN REVIEW:

Jan. 27 @ Las Vegas:

The Gulls scored four power-play goals, two each by Samy Nasreddine and Mark Pederson, en route to their 5-2 victory over the Wranglers. San Diego took a 2-0 lead before Las Vegas tied it midway through the second. From there it was all Gulls as they went on to score three unanswered goals and cruise to the win.

Jan. 29 vs. Long Beach

Chris Gobert netted the game-winning goal 4:42 into the second period and David Burleigh made 31 saves, leading San Diego to 2-1 victory over the Ice Dogs. Pederson started the scoring midway through the first period before Long Beach's Lee Sorochan tied it minutes later. After Gobert's tally in the second, offense went to bed the remainder of the game. The Gulls are now unbeaten in their last 20 games against Long Beach (19-0-1).

Jan. 30 vs. Idaho

Trevor Koenig stopped 30 shots in regulation and overtime, then all six Idaho shooters in the shootout to lead San Diego to tight 3-2 victory over the Steelheads. The Gulls took a 1-0 lead before Idaho tied it. The Gulls took a 2-1 lead, but Idaho came back again. Nothing was settled in overtime and we headed to a shootout. Blair Allison matched Koenig save for save until the sixth round when Greg Barber sealed the win.

Jan. 31 vs. Bakersfield

Nasreddine had another multi-goal game while Barber chipped in with a goal and two helpers, leading the Gulls to their ninth straight win, 4-2 over the Condors. Nasreddine netted two straight power-play goals late in the first to put San Diego out in front 2-0. Bakersfield cut the lead to one, but the Gulls answered on Pederson's league-leading 30th tally. The Condors drew within one again, but that's as close as they could get. Barber sealed the win again with his 17th marker midway through the third period.

THIS WEEK:

The Gulls now hit the road for a three-game series in Boise, Idaho. San Diego will face the second-place Steelheads Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, with all three games starting at 6 p.m. (PST). NOTE THAT WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY'S GAME WILL BE TAPE DELAYED ON KPOP UNTIL 7 P.M. The Blue and Orange return home Tuesday, Feb. 10 against Long Beach.

Player Notes:

Pederson has an ECHL-leading 18-game point streak. He has 30 points (19g, 11a) during that stretch... Barber has a career-high 11-game point streak. He has 22 points (8g, 14a) in his last 13 games... Sylvain Deschatelets has 29 points (5g, 24a) in the last 18 games... Pederson, Barber and Sylvain Deschatelets have combined for 59 points (23g, 36a) in the last 13 games... Koenig is 7-0-1 with a 1.71 goals-against average in his last eight games... Nasreddine has four goals in his last four games... Trent Clark was reacquired from the Long Beach Ice Dogs Saturday... Mike Garrow was loaned to the American Hockey League's Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. He joins Josh Gratton, who's also on call-up to Cincinnati... Kevin Grant remains on the injured list with a strained neck...

Team Notes:

The Gulls have won a league-high nine straight games and a league-high 11 straight home games... San Diego is unbeaten in 22 of its last 25 games (21-3-1), outscoring its opponents 87-51... The Gulls are 28-7-3 against Pacific Division teams, including an 18-1-0 mark at home...

All games can be heard on KPOP 1360AM with Chris Ello calling the play-by-play. The next edition of the Gulls Internet Radio show, hosted by Tera Black and Jeremy Zager on wsRadio.com, will air live Monday from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. To view pictures from last weeks' game visit www.sdgullsphotos.com.



ECHL Stories from February 2, 2004


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