First place, here we are

January 26, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


SAN DIEGO –– For the better part of this season, the San Diego Gulls have been stuck...in either third or fourth place in the Pacific Division. For the better part of this season, we've kept telling you to stay patient...and just wait until they start catching up in games played. The wait, at least for the moment, is over.

The Gulls ran off another perfect week of hockey, beating up on the Long Beach Ice Dogs and Bakersfield Condors twice. It wasn't pretty, but they got the job done. So now San Diego is first in the Pacific Division, one point ahead of the Idaho Steelheads, two points head of the Las Vegas Wranglers and four points in front of the Alaska Aces.

WEEK IN REVIEW:

Jan. 23 @ Long Beach

Chris Gobert scored twice and Dean Tiltgen added two assists, leading the Gulls to a 4-3 win over the Ice Dogs. San Diego scored on its first two shots, grabbing a quick 2-0 lead. Long Beach tied it midway through the second period before the Gulls netted two more on consecutive shots later in the frame. The Ice Dogs cut the lead back to one, but couldn't get any closer. The Gulls are now unbeaten in their last 19 games (18-0-1) against their Southern California rival.

Jan. 24 vs. Bakersfield

San Diego's top line of Mark Pederson, Sylvain Deschatelets and Greg Barber continued to shine, combining for nine points and lifting the Gulls to a 4-1 triumph over the Condors. Deschatelets led the way with a goal and three assists, while Barber notched two goals and one helper. Pederson chipped in with two assists. Trevor Koenig almost had another shutout, but Paul Willett spoiled his bid midway through the third period.

Jan. 25 vs. Bakersfield

Koenig turned aside 29 of 30 shots, while Pederson, Deschatelets and Billy Tibbetts took care of the offense en route to San Diego's 3-1 win over Bakersfield. Pederson opened the scoring seven minutes into the first period with his 26th goal of the season, tying him with Florida's Brian McCullough for the league lead. The Condors tied it late in the second period, but Deschatelets answered 27 seconds later. Tibbetts put the nail in the coffin in the waning moments of the third.

THIS WEEK:

San Diego heads to Las Vegas for a game against the third-place Wranglers Tuesday before returning home for three games at the Sports Arena. Thursday's game against Long Beach was rescheduled from Feb. 29 and will begin at 7:05. The Gulls will host the Steelheads Friday at 7:35 p.m. and Bakersfield Saturday at 7:05 p.m. On Friday night, Gulls wall clocks – presented by American Airlines – will be given to the first 5,000 fans. On Saturday, the ZOOperstars will be performing in between periods.

Player Notes:

Pederson, Deschatelets and Barber have combined for 40 points (17g, 23a) in the last nine games... Pederson has 24 points (15g, 9a) during his 14-game point streak... Barber has 15 points (6g, 9a) in his last nine games... Deschatelets has 23 points (5g, 18a) in the last 14 games... Koenig has only allowed three goals in his last three games, all victories... Josh Gratton remains with the American Hockey League's Cincinnati Mighty Ducks... Tibbetts returned from the AHL's Springfield Falcons... Kevin Grant (strained neck) and Clayton Read (concussion) both remain on the injured list...

Team Notes:

The Gulls are unbeaten in 18 of their last 21 games (17-3-1), outscoring their opponents 73-44... San Diego is 24-7-3 against Pacific Division teams, including a 15-1-0 mark at home... They've now killed 115 of their last 126 penalties (91.3 percent)...

All games can be heard live 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, Feb. 2 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. To view pictures from last weeks' game visit www.sdgullsphotos.com.



ECHL Stories from January 26, 2004


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