Gulls - Ice Dogs Game Preview

January 29, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


SAN DIEGO – The Gulls will look to widen their lead in the Pacific Division when they take on the sixth-place Long Beach Ice Dogs Thursday night at the Sports Arena in a game that was originally scheduled for Feb. 29.

The game was moved from its original date due to a scheduling conflict at the Sports Arena, but with the way they've been playing lately, it will take more than a schedule change to slow the Gulls down. San Diego (27-10-3) is in first place in the Pacific Division, three points ahead of the Idaho Steelheads and four up on the third-place Las Vegas Wranglers. The Blue and Orange have reeled off eight straight wins at home and six straight overall. They are unbeaten in 19 of their last 22 games (18-3-1) and sport the fourth best winning percentage in the ECHL (.713).

The big story of late has been the stand-out play of veteran left-winger Mark Pederson. Pederson is currently riding a 15-game point-scoring streak, the longest of the season in the ECHL. He has racked up 26 points (17g, 9a) during that stretch and currently leads the league with 28 goals and 13 power-play goals, overall.

While Pederson may be stealing the headlines, his linemates have had no trouble keeping pace. Center Sylvain Deschatelets has found a way to get Pederson the puck through traffic with regularity and currently leads the team with 27 assists, while racking up 25 points (5g, 20a) in his last 15 games. Meanwhile, right-winger Greg Barber is in the middle of a career-high eight-game point-scoring streak, six of which have been multi-point games. The Gulls' all-star has 17 points (6g, 11a) in his last 10 games and is now fourth among ECHL rookies with 38 points this season. Overall, the line has combined for 46 points (19g, 27a) in its last 10 games.

Not to be forgotten is the stellar play of goalie Trevor Koenig. The Gulls' netminder has allowed just seven goals in his last five games (1.40 GAA), all victories. Overall, Koenig ranks seventh in the league in GAA and is tied for second in shutouts.

The Ice Dogs have had a tough season and are currently sixth place in the Pacific Division, 23 points behind Alaska for the final playoff spot, despite having won three of their last four games. While they have shown signs of life at home this year, posting a 9-12-0 mark, including a 1-0 shootout victory against the Gulls, they have been dreadful on the road. They have just four roads wins this season, tied for the worst among Pacific Division teams.

The Ice Dog offense, which ranks 28th in the league (out of 31), has been keyed by center John McNabb, who leads the team in goals (16), assists (20) and points (36). Krzysztof Wieckowski is second on the team with 22 points and Alex Kim and Nick Ganga have each chipped in with 20. While the offense has struggled, they've gotten little help from their defense. Long Beach ranks 28th in the ECHL in goals against, allowing an average of 3.67 goals per game.

This is the seventh meeting of the season between these two teams, with the Gulls holding a 5-0-1 edge. Despite posting a season-low 13 shots on goal in their last meeting, the Blue and Orange still managed to come away with the win, as Chris Gobert notched two goals and Dean Tiltgen chipped in with two assists. San Diego is unbeaten in their last 19 games against Long Beach (18-0-1) and holds the all-time series edge at 32-10-2.



ECHL Stories from January 29, 2004


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