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Gulls Beat Idaho Again, 5-1, On New Year's Eve

December 31, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


BOISE, Idaho - The San Diego Gulls closed out a tough road trip on New Year's Eve with their second straight win against the Idaho Steelheads, this time winning 5-1 before 4,638 at the Qwest Arena. San Diego, which started 0-2 on the trek, wound up splitting the four games.

Steve Hildenbrand and Alex Kim each netted short-handers and added assists, while All-Star Jesse Bennefield notched two more goals. Netminder Tyler Weiman, who stopped 20 shots in the second period alone, finished with a game-total of 36.

San Diego (13-11-4) is still third in the Pacific Division, but now only trails the second-place Long Beach Ice Dogs by one point. Idaho (19-9-2) is now tied for third in the West Division with the Utah Grizzlies.

The Gulls, who thumped Idaho 7-2 Friday night, kept the momentum Saturday and opened a quick 2-0 first-period lead. Hildenbrand netted a short-hander for his 13th goal at the 8:26 mark and Bennefield knocked in his first of the night at 11:44.

Kim scored a short-handed goal Thursday night and made a nice play to setup Hildenbrand's tally. After knocking the puck out to center ice, Kim darted in two-on-one with Hildenbrand, who eventually took Kim's pass and beat rookie netminder Steve Silverthorn. With the assist, Kim extended his point streak to nine games, tying Guillaume Fournier for San Diego's high this season.

Bennefield, who was named a National Conference All-Star earlier in the day, gave the Gulls a 2-0 lead with his 11-marker of the year. David Svagrovsky wheeled the puck behind the Idaho net and centered a pass right in front of the crease where Bennefield redirected it home.

But all that momentum the Gulls had in the opening frame completely switched jerseys in the second period, as Idaho out-shot San Diego 21-8. Only one of those shots beat Weiman, who was the only reason the Gulls still led after two periods.

Some of Weiman's highlight stops in the middle stanza was an acrobatic glove save on a Jonathon Zion rebound bid and a breakaway save on Scott Burt. The only one he couldn't stop came from ECHL leading scorer Garrett Bembridge, who jammed in his 25th goal at the 7:47 mark.

Patrick Levesque appeared to regain San Diego's two-goal lead late in the second when his wrap-around bid squirted behind Silverthorn. Referee Mike Pearce, however, ruled the puck never completely crossed the goal line.

Idaho kept coming in the third period, but Kim netted the Gulls' second short-handed goal of the night at 15:37, giving them a precious 3-1 cushion. Alex Rogosheske started the play by blocking a shot at his own blue line. Kim hopped on the loose puck and squeezed a wrister between Silverthorn's pads for his 11th goal.

The Steelheads pulled Silverthorn shortly after, but Bennefield potted an empty-netter at 17:23 for his second goal of the game - 12th of the season. Pierre-Luc Sleigher then added insult to injury with a breakaway goal at the 18:45 mark, his seventh tally.

Notes: Bennefield has 16 points (9g, 7a) in the last 10 games... Kim has 17 points during his nine-game point streak (7g, 10a). His career high point streak is 10 games, set in 2003-04... Kim has 24 points total (11g, 13a) in 15 games with the Gulls... The Steelheads were 0-for-7 on the power play and 1-for-25 in the series... San Diego scored three short-handed goals in the series, two of which were scored by Kim... Martin Mandeville was placed on the seven-day injured list with concussion-like symptoms, suffered after taking a hit from Idaho's Jeremy Mylymok Friday... He joins Fournier (concussion), Doug MacIver (knee) and Andy Thompson (wrist), also out with injuries...

The Gulls open a four-game homestand Wednesday against the Alaska Aces at 7:05 p.m. It will be a Karl Strauss "Wet Down Wednesday" with discounts on Karl Strauss drafts. San Diego will host Idaho Friday; Utah Saturday, Jan. 7 and Alaska again on Sunday, Jan. 8.

All games can be heard on KLSD 1360AM and www.sandiegogulls.com with Chris Ello calling the play-by-play. Most games can also be viewed on the Gulls' Web site, courtesy of B2 Networks (All upcoming games CAN BE VIEWED). Click the B2 Networks (Watch the Game Live) link on the home page for a list of the upcoming telecasted games. To view pictures from this season, visit www.zerodogentertainment.com.

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