Gulls Edge Falcons, 3-1
March 20, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release
SAN DIEGO â For a last place team, the Fresno Falcons sure don't play like it against the Gulls. But when you're a first place team, you find ways to win. That's exactly what San Diego did Friday night, pulling out another close game, this time 3-1.
There were a lot of shots, quite a few chances, but not too many goals. That's because of the solid goaltending of veteran Trevor Koenig and rookie Terry Denike. Both netminders shined throughout the game, but when push comes to shove, it's hard to out-shine Koenig.
The Gulls grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second period, but that's all Denike would allow. Fresno cut the lead in half early in the third period and had chances to tie, but Koenig shut the door. Greg Barber then sealed it with an empty net goal.
With the win, San Diego (41-12-10) maintains its eight-point lead in the Pacific Division over the Las Vegas Wranglers. The Gulls also gain ground on the Louisiana IceGators in the race for the top spot in the Western Conference. They now trail Louisiana by two points with three games in hand. Whichever team finishes as the top seed in the conference will be guaranteed home-ice advantage in the first three rounds of playoffs.
Teams skated to a scoreless first period before Chris Gobert gave the Gulls a 1-0 lead with a short-handed goal 2:24 into the second. Gobert started the play when he blocked a shot in the defensive end and rushed up to center ice on a two-on-one with Brian Gornick. Denike stopped Gornick's backhand bid, but Gobert reached for the rebound and slammed it home for his 18th goal of the season.
San Diego took a 2-0 lead on David Neale's breakaway goal at 12:19 of the second. Clayton Read won a faceoff deep in the Gulls zone, then whistled a pass to a wide-open Neale, who skated over the Falcons blue line and beat Denike five-hole. It was Neale's sixth goal of the season.
Fresno (19-38-6) cut the lead to one when Kevin Truelson netted a short-handed goal six minutes into the third. Truelson stole a pass inside his own zone, weaved his way into the San Diego zone and beat both Kevin Grant and Mike Garrow before slipping it between Koenig's pads. It was Truelson's ninth goal, third against the Gulls this season.
The Falcons pulled Denike with just under two minutes to play, but Koenig and some stingy Gulls defense shut the door. Barber put the nail in the coffin as he tallied an empty-netter with 36 seconds left. It was his rookie-leading 29th goal of the season. Sylvain Deschatelets picked up an assist, extending his career-high point streak to 17 games.
Notes: The Gulls are unbeaten in their last 10 games (6-0-4)... They've lost in regulation only twice in their last 29 games (20-2-7) and five times in their last 45 games (32-5-8)... San Diego is 37-9-5 against Pacific Division teams, which includes a 24-2-0 mark at home... Deschatelets is riding a career-high 17-game point streak because he was recently awarded a point for the March 6 game in Texas. Originally, he had no points for that game... Mark Pederson's 20-game home point streak was snapped... Barber has 11 points (6g, 5a) in his last five games... Koenig is unbeaten in 21 of his last 22 games (15-1-6)... Billy Tibbetts was suspended Friday after receiving a match penalty for having his wrist taped in a fight Sunday in Long Beach... Head coach Steve Martinson served the first of a five-game suspension for violating ECHL salary cap regulations... Colin Zulianello (groin) and Grant (strained neck) were both activated from injured reserve. Grant missed the previous 29 games... Emergency back-up goaltender Mike Buckley was released... Nick Lent's rights were acquired from the Greenville Grrrowl Tuesday for future considerations. Lent is on call-up with the American Hockey League's Springfield Falcons... Scott Kirton was also acquired Tuesday from the Trenton Titans in exchange for Dean Tiltgen... Andy Reierson was recalled by the AHL's Cincinnati Mighty Ducks... Josh Gratton remains with Cincinnati... Dennis Purdie remains on the injured list...
The Gulls and Falcons face off again Saturday in Fresno, with game-time scheduled for 7 p.m. San Diego returns home Sunday to take on the Bakersfield Condors. It will be a 5:05 p.m. start with "Skate with the Gulls" held immediately afterward. The Blue and Orange host the Long Beach Ice Dogs Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. before embarking on a three-game road trip. All games can be heard live on KPOP 1360AM and www.sandiegogulls.com 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, March from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. To view pictures from this season, visit www.sdgullsphotos.com and www.zerodogentertainment.com.
• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...
ECHL Stories from March 20, 2004
- Condors Stumble in Long Beach, 5-2 - Bakersfield Condors
- Brusseau Stuffs Gulls, 2-1 - San Diego Gulls
- Checkers fall to Aces 4-1 - Charlotte Checkers
- Wildcatters comeback falls short in 5-3 loss to Mississippi - Texas Wildcatters
- Titans Shutout Royals 5-0 - Trenton Devils
- Sea Wolves Top Wildcatters 5-3 - Mississippi Sea Wolves
- Eklund Stones IceGators 3-2 - Louisiana IceGators
- Blades Reclaim Second Place With 5-3 Win Over Greensboro - Florida Everblades
- Gladiators lose to Lynx, 5-2 - Atlanta Gladiators
- Aces win 4-1, clinch winning season - Alaska Aces
- Cyclones Drop Heartbreaker to Chiefs - Cincinnati Cyclones
- Pride's unbeaten streak ends at hands of Cottonmouths - Myrtle Beach Thunderboltz
- Aquino reassigned to Gladiators - Atlanta Gladiators
- Falcons Raise $21,350 for United Way - Fresno Falcons
- Goaltender Valley Called Up to Manitoba - Peoria Rivermen
- Rivermen Upend Atlantic City on the Road 3-1; Clinch Berth in 2004 Kelly Cup Playoffs - Peoria Rivermen
- ECHL Transactions - ECHL
- 216 Players Play In Both ECHL, AHL In 2003-04 - ECHL
- Today In The ECHL - ECHL
- Lysak Becomes 249th ECHL Player In NHL - ECHL
- Power Play Comes Alive in 4-3 Condors Win - Bakersfield Condors
- Checkers fall in overtime to Augusta 5-4 - Charlotte Checkers
- Cyclones Come Up Two Goals Short in Gritty Effort vs. Storm - Cincinnati Cyclones
- Gulls Edge Falcons, 3-1 - San Diego Gulls
- Truelson's Shorty Not Enough - Fresno Falcons
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
