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Gulls Beat Vegas, 5-2

January 28, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


LAS VEGAS, NV – Power-play goals were the theme of the night as the Gulls lit the lamp four times with the man-advantage, including two each by Mark Pederson and Samy Nasreddine, en route to winning their sixth straight game and extending their lead in the Pacific Division to three points.

San Diego (27-10-3) converted on four of their seven power-play chances and continued to get stellar play from their top line of Pederson, Sylvain Deschatelets and Greg Barber. The trio combined for six points in the game (2g, 4a) to help out the San Diego blue-liners, who chipped in with three goals of their own. They increase their lead over the Idaho Steelheads atop the Pacific Division to three, and move four points ahead of the third-place Wranglers (24-12-5).

The Gulls drew first blood, 7:51 into the first, on defenseman Dan Cousineau's second goal of the season. Cousineau launched a slapshot from the left point that was saved by Wranglers goalie Brent Krahn, but the rebound hit a Las Vegas defenseman's skate and trickled back into the net to give San Diego the early lead. The goal had originally been awarded to Pederson, who was near the puck in front of the net when the goal occurred, but was changed during the first intermission.

The Blue and Orange then took advantage of a Chris Wheaton hooking penalty when Pederson tallied his league-leading 27th goal of the year, 14:23 into the first period. The red-hot left-winger took a Mike Garrow pass along the right-wing boards, then skated in and launched a slapshot from the top of the right circle, past Krahn, to put the Gulls up, 2-1. There was no questioning who would get credit for this goal, as Pederson extended his ECHL season-high point-scoring streak to 15.

Las Vegas returned the favor, 3:18 into the second, netting a power-play goal of their own. A David Neale hooking penalty gave the Wranglers the extra skater for the third time in the game and forward Eric Schneider took advantage. Schneider, who netted a hat trick in the Wranglers' last game, picked up the puck behind the Gulls' net and skated around to the far side, catching Trevor Koenig out of position and knocking home the Wranglers' first goal.

San Diego got in trouble again, being whistled for a bench penalty, 9:08 into the second period. Again skating with the man advantage, Las Vegas netted their second power-play goal of the game at the 10:15 mark on a blue-line slapshot by Jason McBain that found its way past a screened Koenig, tying the game at two.

Pederson netted another power-play goal, 11:38 into the second, to regain the lead for San Diego. The goal was set up by a phenomenal cross-ice pass by Deschatelets that found Pederson in the right circle. Pederson then whipped a one-timer past Krahn to put the Gulls up, 3-2. The power-play goal was Pederson's 13th of the season, tops in the ECHL.

The penalties continued when McBain was called for hooking, preventing Chris Gobert from skating into the Wranglers' zone on a break-away. Nasreddine took advantage, knocking home a slapshot from the blue line for his fourth goal of the year, 13:29 into the second. The goal proved to be the end for Krahn, as Wranglers' head coach Glen Gulutzan pulled the rookie netminder and inserted Marc Magliarditi into net.

Magliarditi shut the door on the San Diego offense for the remainder of the period, but after back-to-back penalties against the Wranglers gave the Gulls a two-man advantage, Nasreddine beat the substitute netminder for his second power-play goal of the game, 13:39 into the third period. The slapshot from the high slot put the game on ice, as the Gulls cruised from there to pick up the two points.

Notes: Pederson, Deschatelets and Barber have combined for 46 points (19g, 27a) in the last 10 games... Pederson has 26 points (17g, 9a) during his 15-game point streak... Barber has 17 points (6g, 11a) in his last 10 games... Deschatelets has 25 points (5g, 20a) in the last 15 games... The Gulls are unbeaten in 19 of their last 22 games (18-3-1), outscoring their opponents 78-46... San Diego is 25-7-3 against Pacific Division teams, including a 15-1-0 mark at home... McBain's second-period goal marked the first time in 28 games that the Gulls allowed multiple power-play goals. They have still killed 120 of their last 133 penalties (90.2 percent)... Koenig has only allowed seven goals in his last five games, all victories... Clayton Read (concussion) and Kevin Grant (neck strain) both remain on the injured list... Josh Gratton remains with the AHL's Cincinnati Mighty Ducks...

The Gulls return home, Thursday, for three straight at the Sports Arena. Thursday's game against Long Beach was rescheduled from Feb. 29 and will begin at 7:05. The Idaho Steelheads will make their final regular season appearance in San Diego on Friday. Puck drops at 7:35. The Gulls wrap up the homestand on Saturday, taking on the Bakersfield Condors at 7:05 p.m. 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 previous Gulls' games, visit http://www.sdgullsphotos.com.

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