Gulls Fall To Victoria Salmon Kings, 3-2
December 21, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release
VICTORIA, British Columbia â Rob Voltera's two goals were enough for the Victoria Salmon Kings to stave off another comeback effort from the San Diego Gulls, avoiding the series sweep and ending the Gulls' season-high four-game winning streak with a 3-2 triumph at the Bear Mountain Arena.
Just as the Gulls (13-8-2) were threatening to repeat the heroics of last Saturday's 5-4 comeback win, Voltera's goals gave the Salmon Kings (7-13-3) a two-goal cushion that proved sufficient, despite Mike Garrow's goal late in the third period. The Gulls, with 28 points, remain in a third-place tie in the West Division with the Alaska Aces, two points behind the second-place Idaho Steelheads and six points behind the first-place Bakersfield Condors.
Despite facing a scoring defense ranked last in the ECHL, the Gulls could not duplicate the persistence that propelled them to victory in their last two contests, going zero-for-six on the power play. The San Diego defense, left thin by injuries to Sean Murphy and Jonathon Shockey and the absences of Ian Forbes and Evgueni Nourislamov, gave up their fifth power-play goal in the three-game series.
Victoria's ECHL-leading power-play conversion unit opened the scoring when Seth Leonard slipped the puck just above San Diego netminder Trevor Koenig's glove at 9:16 in the first period for his sixth goal of the year. After Scott Borders was called for tripping, Leonard jumped on a loose puck, split two defenders, raced to the near post and flipped a backhand just above Koenig's glove. Koenig made 23 saves in the contest.
Victoria native Sean O' Connor, much to the delight of the family and friends in attendance, found the equalizer for the Gulls on a breakaway at 12:55 in the frame. Racing down the middle of the ice, O' Connor carried the puck on his backhand towards the near post, and, as Victoria goaltender Jason Stone shifted to attempt a stop, slipped it underneath the netminder's pads for his eighth goal of the year.
But the lead would be short-lived as Voltera regained the advantage for the Salmon Kings from in front of the net at 17:30. Corey Smith cleared the puck from behind the net to Voltera, who was in perfect position for his seventh goal of the season.
Voltera struck again at 3:59 in the second period to pad Victoria's lead. After San Diego was called for icing, former Gull David Neale won the face-off and kicked the puck back to Nate Forster, who fired a shot from the right point. Koenig made the initial stop, but Voltera, at the right post, banged in the rebound.
Garrow kept the Gulls right on Victoria's heels late in the third period with his fifth goal of the season at 17:20. Five seconds after the end of a power play, Mark Pederson took a shot from the right wing, which was initially saved by Stone, but Garrow raced from the point to the post to send the rebound in the net. The Gulls got one last chance when Victoria was called for too many men on the ice at 18:13 and pulled Koenig to grab a six-on-four advantage but could not repeat the heroics of last Saturday.
Notes: San Diego is 9-3-0 in its last 12 games, outscoring its opponents 46-32 during that span... The Gulls are now 3-6-1 on the road and 10-2-1 at home this season... They've outscored their opponents 61-30 in their 13 wins, but have been outscored 34-15 in their nine losses (which includes an overtime and shootout loss)... The Blue and Orange have allowed 12 power-play goals in their last seven games... The Gulls were 14-7-2 through 23 games last season... Nourislamov remains with the American Hockey League's Syracuse Crunch but is expected back later this week... Mathieu Chouinard remains with the AHL's Cincinnati Mighty Ducks... Sean Murphy, recovering from a fractured knuckle, could be back in the lineup Sunday...
The Gulls continue their road trip Sunday against the Las Vegas Wranglers, with game-time set for 5:05 p.m. San Diego will then close out the 2004 calendar year with two games in Alaska. ALL THREE REMAINING GAMES ON THE ROAD TRIP WILL BE TELEVISED LIVE ON THE GULLS' WEB SITE, VIA B2 NETWORKS.
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 many road games 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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