Gulls get back on winning track at home

Published on February 10, 2005 under ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


SAN DIEGO – It's a tale of two teams for the San Diego Gulls... On the road, they've struggled all season long. But at home? That's a different story. The Blue and Orange were indeed back at the friendly confines of the Sports Arena Wednesday night and they did what they do best on their turf... win, this time 3-2 over the Bakersfield Condors.

Curtis Brown led San Diego's offensive attack with a goal and an assist while goaltender Mathieu Chouinard did his part, turning aside 29 of 31 shots.

With the win, the Gulls (24-16-5) move within two points of the fourth-place Fresno Falcons and three points of the third-place Alaska Aces in the West Division. The Condors (27-12-8) remain second in the West, two points back of the first-place Long Beach Ice Dogs.

Bakersfield jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead, as Todd Alexander netted his ninth goal just 22 seconds into the game. After grabbing the puck behind the net, Alexander skated into the right wing circle and wristed a shot past Gulls goaltender Chouinard.

San Diego answered minutes later with two goals – one on the power play and one short-handed – 34 seconds apart to go ahead 2-1. Sylvain Deschatelets notched the power-play marker at 4:07, as his shot from the slot banked in off a Condors defenseman. Then Curtis Brown notched the short-hander, beating Bakersfield netminder Randy Petruk on a breakaway. It was Deschatelets' 11th and Brown's seventh goal respectively.

That's how the game stayed until Sean O'Connor gave the Gulls a two-goal cushion 16:50 into the second period with his 15th tally of the season. Moments after winning an endzone faceoff, Brown grabbed the puck and nudged a backhand pass to O'Connor, who wristed it just inside the near goal post.

Former Gull Kevin St. Jacques made it a 3-2 game with a short-handed goal 1:46 into the third period. San Diego newcomer Grady Moore had possession inside the Bakersfield zone, but St. Jacques stole his cross-ice feed to Mike Garrow. St. Jacques then barreled down the ice, skated around Garrow and beat Chouinard top-shelf for his ninth goal of the season.

The Condors had a few chances throughout the remainder of the third to tie it, but Chouinard and company held the fort. The Gulls netminder improves his record to 7-6-3, while Petruk (28 saves) falls to 10-7-2.

Notes: San Diego is now 2-2-2 this season against the Condors, including a 2-0-2 mark at home... The Gulls are 15-4-2 overall on home ice and 9-12-3 on the road... Shots were tied at 31 apiece Wednesday, but the Gulls have been out-shot 287-189 in their last eight games... San Diego has scored 15 goals in its last eight games... Andrew Canzanello remains with the American Hockey League's Cincinnati Mighty Ducks... Scott Borders was placed on the seven-day injured list Saturday with a quad-contusion... Evgueni Nourislamov (broken thumb), Sean Murphy (broken thumb) and Wes Rypien all remain on the 30-day injured list... Murphy should be activated this week...

The Gulls continue their four-game homestand Friday against Long Beach, with game-time set for 7:05 p.m. Every fan in attendance will receive a FREE subscription to the "Sporting News" magazine. Saturday San Diego will host Fresno at 7:05 p.m. and the first 8,000 fans will get a special Gulls "Canadian Night" long-sleeved t-shirt, presented by your San Diego County Toyota Dealers.

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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ECHL Stories from February 10, 2005


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