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Gulls Beat Condors, 2-1 in Shootout

February 13, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Referee Terry Koharski got caught in traffic, delaying the game 10 minutes, but Cris Classen could've cared less. San Diego's back-up netminder was rock-solid again Wednesday night and out-dueled his intimidating counterpart Kevin St. Pierre.

With Trevor Koenig sidelined for the next week or so, Classen will be the go-to guy between the pipes. He stopped 27 shots last night and 39 shots tonight, as the San Diego Gulls skated to a 2-1 shootout victory over the Bakersfield Condors, before 4,134 at Centennial Garden.

And just like that, the Gulls (29-15-3) are tied with the Condors (26-15-9) for second place in the West Coast Hockey League. The standings - second through fourth - continue to be nip-and-tuck. San Diego and Bakersfield now have 61 points apiece. The idle, fourth-place Fresno Falcons aren't far behind with 57 points.

Both teams have awesome records when scoring first, so whoever could light the lamp first figured to have a good night. The Gulls scored first 14:12 into the game, and indeed had a good night. Cory Cyrenne started the play with a breakaway attempt that St. Pierre somehow kept out of the net. Sylvain Deschatelets and Cyrenne hunted down the rebound behind the net and got the puck to R.J. Enga, who backhanded in his 22nd goal.

Scoring first is important for the Gulls, but if they lead after two periods, a "W" is just about automatic. Bakersfield fired 18 shots in the second period, but Classen kept San Diego in front heading into the third period. San Diego has now won 21 of 23 games this season when leading after two periods. The Condors are winless in 14 games when trailing after two.

The "W" was hardly automatic for the Gulls, as Bakersfield continued firing away in the third. It was really only a matter of time before the Condors tied it up, and tie it up they did with 4:45 left in regulation. Shawn Byram, who now has a 13-game point streak, finished off a two-on-one with Christian Skoryna for his 15th tally on the year.

For the third straight game, these two teams had to settle things in a shootout. In the extra frame, San Diego beat St. Pierre in four of five rounds. Classen did the rest, denying two of four Bakersfield shooters.

Notes: The Gulls are 7-4-1 against Bakersfield this season... After a day off Thursday, San Diego plays seven games in 10 nights... Koenig remains out of the lineup with a knee sprain. He could return in about one week... Kevin Grant missed his fifth straight game with concussion-like symptoms. He should be back this weekend... Samy Nasreddine is still suffering from a back injury and probably wont return for another month... Dennis Purdie remains on injured reserve with a shoulder injury... Dennis Mullen served the third of his four-game suspension... Mike Garrow remains with the American Hockey League's Utah Grizzlies... Marc Busenburg and Rob Voltera remain with the AHL's Hershey Bears...

The Gulls return home for a two-game weekend set against the Long Beach Ice Dogs. Friday is the first of six "McDonald's Nights." The first 10,000 fans at Saturday's game will receive a Gulls long-sleeved T-shirt, courtesy of Cox Communications and your San Diego County Toyota Dealers. Both games this weekend start at 7 p.m. All games can be heard live on 1130AM-KSDO with Chris Ello calling the play-by-play. The Gulls' Internet radio show broadcasts live every Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on wsradio.com with Tera Black and Jeremy Zager hosting.

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