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Gulls End Losing Streak Against Wranglers, 4-3

March 21, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Gulls snapped their three-game losing streak with a close 4-3 victory against the Las Vegas Wranglers at ipayOne Center at the Sports Arena on Sunday night.

The Gulls dominated the second period, out-shooting the Wranglers, 14-5, and exploding with three goals. Joel Stepp and Brian Gornick led the Gulls offense with Stepp scoring two goals, including the game-winner, while Gornick recorded one goal and two assists for the night. Eddy Ferhi registered 26 saves in goal for the Blue and Orange.

San Diego (32-25-6) is now eight points behind the Idaho Steelheads for the fourth and final playoff spot in the West Division. The Gulls are seven points back of the now fifth-place Fresno Falcons. Las Vegas (27-28-8) is 7-3-3 in its last 13 games but is eight points back of the Gulls. The Wranglers' magic number to be eliminated from the playoffs is three.

The Wranglers wasted no time getting on the scoreboard with Dan Tudin converting on a two-on-one opportunity at 1:44 in the first period. Jason McBain skated the puck across the neutral zone and zoomed down the right side, feeding a quick pass through traffic to Tudin who put it past San Diego goalie Ferhi.

The Gulls retaliated with Sylvain Deschatelets' 13th goal of the season at 11:37. Guillaume Fournier maneuvered the puck around the net and found a wide-open Deschatelets at the top of the slot, who one-timed it to beat Wranglers' goalie Marc Magliarditi.

Stepp put the Gulls ahead 2-1 on a power-play goal at 9:07 in the second period. From the point, Grady Moore fired a slap shot that Magliarditi coughed up to Stepp. After getting his initial shot blocked, Stepp then buried it glove-side on a sprawling Magliarditi.

The Blue and Orange scored two more within a minute of each other. The first tally was at 14:21 of the second period on Gornick's team-leading 22nd tally of the season. He netted home a loose puck off of David Karpa's shot from the point to make it 3-1. Just a minute later, San Diego made it 4-1 on Stepp's sixth goal of the season and second of the game at 15:21.

Tudin got one back for Las Vegas, scoring his second goal of the night on a power play at 18:35 in the second period. After the Wranglers won the faceoff, he tipped in Deryk Engalland's shot near the blue line to record his 19th goal of the season.

The Wranglers scored again at 8:55 in the third period on Shawn Limpright's 13th goal of the season to cut the San Diego lead to 4-3. After Marco Peluso fired a shot that sailed wide of the net, Christian Chartier recovered the puck along the boards and dished it to Limpright, who stuffed it past the Ferhi's pads.

Notes: Of San Diego's remaining nine games, five are at home... The Gulls have four head-to-head games left against Idaho... They finished the season 6-2-0 against Las Vegas... San Diego is 23-3-1 this season when scoring four-plus goals in a game, but just 9-22-5 when scoring three or less... The Gulls have only out-shot their opponent six times since the all-star break (26 games)... Since the all-star break they are 6-4-1 at home and 5-9-1 on the road (10-13-2 overall)... Karpa was activated from the injured list after missing three games with a groin injury... Curtis Brown was placed on the injured list Sunday with a sore groin... Nick Ganga, injured knee, also remains out of the lineup...

The Gulls close out their five-game homestand Friday against the Long Beach Ice Dogs, with game-time set for 7:05 p.m. The first 5,000 fans in attendance will receive a Gulls visor. San Diego will play in Long Beach Saturday at 7 p.m. before hosting the Gwinnett Gladiators Sunday, March 27 at 5:05 p.m. The first 5,000 kids 14 and under at Sunday's game will receive a special Gulls T-shirt.

All games can be heard live on KLSD 1360AM and www.sandiegogulls.com with Chris Ello calling the play-by-play. All home games and all but one remaining road game (Saturday in Long Beach) can be viewed on the Gulls' web site, courtesy of B2 Networks. Click the B2 Networks link on the home page for a list of the upcoming telecasted games. To view pictures from this season, visit www.sdgullsphotos.com and www.zerodogentertainment.com.

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