Gulls End Losing Streak With 4-3 Win Vs. Victoria

February 18, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Gulls notched four power-play goals and ended their six-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Victoria Salmon Kings Saturday night, before 12,240 at the ipayOne Center. That's the eighth largest crowd in Gulls history, dating back to 1995.

San Diego (20-22-5) entered the game with only eight power-play goals in their last 90 chances, but Victoria (16-30-5) started play 23rd on the penalty kill, so something had to give. That something fell in favor of the Gulls, who were 4-for-9 with the man advantage Saturday.

Rob Flynn scored two of those goals, while Pierre Luc Sleigher scored one and assisted on two others. Nikita Korovkin buried the other one for the Gulls, who improved their home record to 12-7-4. The Salmon Kings on the other hand are now winless in their last seven games (0-5-2) and 11 of their last 12 overall (1-7-4).

Sleigher got things started 5:28 into the contest, collecting a rebound off Korovkin's shot and beating Victoria netminder B.J. Boxma from the left circle. Korovkin then hit the scoreboard at the 8:53 mark, jumping in from the point and redirecting home Steve Hildenbrand's centering feed. It was Sleigher's 15th goal and Korovkin's sixth.

Victoria out-shot San Diego 18-9 in the middle frame and had five power play chances in the stanza, but could only beat goaltender Tom Lawson once. That came at 5:03 when Adam Huxley notched his third goal of the year. Huxley grabbed the puck from Ryan Wade behind the net, skated to the goal line and banked in a shot off Lawson's pads.

Flynn netted back-to-back power-play markers 2:30 apart in the third period, giving the Gulls four power-play goals and a 4-1 lead. His first came at 5:02 when he knocked home a rebound off Jason Reimers' point shot. His second came at 7:32 when he redirected in Grady Moore's shot from the blue line. Both were assisted by Sleigher.

Seth Leonard made it a 4-2 game at 9:26 with his sixth goal and Wade's 16th tally on a Victoria power play at 19:38 cut the deficit to one, but Lawson and company would hold on for the 4-3 victory. The Gulls back-stop finished with 34 saves en route to picking up his 11th win of the season.

San Diego returns to action Wednesday when they host the Utah Grizzlies at 7:05 p.m. The Gulls play in Phoenix Friday before coming back home Saturday, Feb. 25 against Utah. The first 8,000 fans at the Feb. 25 game will receive a special Gulls long-sleeved T-shirt, presented by Caltrans and Verizon Yellow Pages. 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. Click the B2 Networks (Watch the Game Live) link on the home page for a list of the upcoming viewable games. To view pictures from this season, visit www.zerodogentertainment.com.



ECHL Stories from February 18, 2006


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