Gulls Frustrated In Long Beach, Lose 3-2

February 4, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


LONG BEACH, Calif. - The San Diego Gulls ran into another hot goaltender Saturday night. This time it was Greg Hewitt, as his 29 saves led the Long Beach Ice Dogs to a 3-2 victory and handed the Gulls their second straight loss on their six-game road trip.

Long Beach (24-16-5) actually out-shot San Diego (19-18-5) 41-31, but Hewitt stole the show, stopping the Gulls on three breakaways, one of which included a penalty shot. Tom Lawson (38 saves) was again solid between the pipes for the Blue and Orange, but it wasn't enough as his Gulls now trail the second-place Ice Dogs by 10 points in the Pacific Division.

Mike Woodford gave Long Beach a 1-0 lead 14:03 into the first period when he beat Lawson from the bottom of the left circle for his sixth goal of the year. San Diego, however, quickly tied it 34 seconds later, thanks to Rob Flynn's first marker. After his initial bid was stopped by Greg Hewitt, Flynn picked up his own rebound and flicked it over the sprawled Long Beach goaltender.

Sean McAslan, who scored four times against Las Vegas Friday night, got another one at the 17:06 mark with the Ice Dogs skating on the power play. McAslan picked up the rebound off Cory Urquhart's shot and backhanded it over Lawson's glove. It was his 15th goal of the season and ended San Diego's string of 23 straight killed penalties, spanning the last four games.

Long Beach retained its 2-1 lead heading into the third period, thanks in large part to Hewitt's stingy goaltending. Both Steve Hildenbrand and Pierre-Luc Sleigher had short-handed breakaways in the middle frame, but neither could solve Hewitt. Richard Keyes also had a grade-A chance, but his one-timer clanked off the post. San Diego also failed on a major power play after Ice Dog defenseman Mike Vellinga blind-sided Martin Mandeville into the end boards five minutes into the period.

Hewitt continued frustrating the Gulls in the third period and his teammates finally gave him some insurance, as Blake Robson netted his first of the year at the 8:28 mark. San Diego turned it over at center ice and the Ice Dogs rushed in three-on-one before Robson finally converted from the top of the slot.

Robson's goal proved to be the game-winner because Mandeville drew the Gulls back within one at the 15:19 mark. Nikita Korovkin, stationed at the blue line, wristed one toward the net that Mandeville redirected past Hewitt for his sixth tally. But that would be as close as San Diego could get, as Hewitt and company shut the door from there.

San Diego's road trip continues with a pair of games in Utah. The Gulls and Grizzlies will meet at the E-Center Wednesday and Friday, with both games starting at 6:05 p.m. (PST). All games can be heard on KLSD 1360AM and www.sandiegogulls.com with Chris Ello calling the play-by-play (NOTE THAT BOTH UPCOMING GAMES IN UTAH WILL BEGIN AIRING ON KLSD AT 7 P.M. PST). Most games can also be viewed on the Gulls' Web site, courtesy of B2 Networks (BOTH GAMES IN UTAH CAN BE VIEWED LIVE). Click the B2 Networks (Watch the Game Live) link on the home page for a list of the upcoming telecasted games. To view pictures from this season, visit www.zerodogentertainment.com.



ECHL Stories from February 4, 2006


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