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Gulls Go Down In Fresno, 5-2

March 5, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


FRESNO, Calif. – The San Diego Gulls played with more heart and more determination Friday night in a showdown against the Fresno Falcons, the team they're battling with for the fourth and final playoff spot in the West Division. But the Falcons were still too much, as they defeated San Diego 5-2, before 5,158 at Save Mart Center.

Things started out great for the Blue and Orange, who held a 2-0 lead halfway through the game. But then they got into penalty trouble and Fresno completely took over, scoring five unanswered goals.

So now San Diego (28-22-6) trails the Falcons (32-17-7) by nine points for the fourth and final playoff spot in the West Division and is one point behind the fifth-place Idaho Steelheads, who defeated the Las Vegas Wranglers Friday night. Fresno is now unbeaten in its last nine games (7-0-2) and remains within striking distance of the top spot in the West.

Scott Borders gave the Gulls that all-important 1-0 lead 4:05 into the first period, thanks to some solid forechecking with linemates Brian Gornick and Darren Clark. After the three forwards battled in the corner, Borders skated out with the puck and sent a backhander that bounced into the net off the blocker of Fresno goaltender Brett Jaeger. It was Borders' seventh goal of the season.

The Falcons had a bunch of chances in the opening frame to even the score, but couldn't solve Mathieu Chouinard. The San Diego netminder made 11 saves in the first, a bunch of which came on quality-scoring opportunites. The Gulls also had their share of grade-A chances on Jaeger, but the reigning ECHL Goaltender of the Month kept it a 1-0 game.

While Chouinard continued his hot play between the pipes, Sean O'Connor gave the Gulls a 2-0 cushion 7:44 into the second period with his 18th marker of the season. After the puck was dumped deep into the Fresno zone, the puck took a funny hop off the end boards and caromed into the slot. That's where O'Connor picked it up, but his initial shot was stopped, as Jaeger came from behind the net and made an acrobatic sliding save. Jaeger couldn't control the rebound, however, and O'Connor tapped it in.

Fresno responded and quickly tied the game later in the second with two goals in a 1:05 span. Defenseman Matt O'Dette lit the lamp first at the 14:31 mark, finding the puck in a wild scramble in front of Chouinard before flipping a shot just underneath the crossbar. David Brisson was next at 15:36, notching a power-play goal. It came on a lucky bounce, as the puck rolled off the edge of Terry Marchant's stick and squirted right to Brisson, who beat an out-of-position Chouinard. It was O'Dette's second and Brisson's 14th goal respectively.

All the momentum now belonged to the Falcons and they took a 3-2 lead 8:39 into the third period. Jason Weaver bolted down the ice on an odd man rush and dropped a pass to the trailer Simon Mangos, who punched home his seventh goal of the season.

Derek Krestanovich continued Fresno's assault at 15:45, converting on a two-on-one play with Shaun Sutter for his 18th marker. Sutter, who earned his second assist on the goal, now has 12 points (1g, 11a) in eight games against the Gulls this season.

Marchant added insult to injury and ended the barrage with another power-play goal at 17:45, connecting on passes from Brisson and Corey Hessler. It was Marchant's second point of the game and 11th goal of the year.

Notes: The Gulls are 3-5-0 against the Falcons this season and 0-4-0 in Fresno... They are 21-3-1 when scoring four-plus goals in a game, but just 7-19-5 when scoring three or less... San Diego has only out-shot its opponent three times since the all-star break (19 games)... The Gulls are 7-11-2 in their last 20 games... Curtis Brown returned to the lineup after missing the last three games with a leg injury... Mark Pederson sat out Friday with a sore groin... Mike Garrow (concussion), Evgueni Nourislamov (thumb), Chris Lynch (knee) and Nick Ganga (knee) all remain on the injured list...

The Gulls and Falcons finish their home-and-home series as well as their head-to-head schedule Saturday back in San Diego, with game-time set for 7:05 p.m. It will be Disco Night and the first 6,000 fans in attendance will receive a special Gulls disco wig. The Blue and Orange will play in Long Beach Friday and Las Vegas Saturday, March 12 before opening a five-game homestand.

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 most remaining 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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