Gulls Gut Out OT Win In Long Beach, 3-2

January 21, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


LONG BEACH, Calif. - Pierre-Luc Sleigher scored 4:21 into overtime and Tom Lawson made 39 saves, leading the San Diego Gulls to a 3-2 victory over the Long Beach Ice Dogs Saturday night, before 3,311 at the Long Beach Arena.

San Diego (18-15-4) picks up the two points despite being out-shot 41 to 18. Lawson, however, stemmed the tide and almost single handedly helped the Gulls get into the overtime period. Long Beach (18-15-5) still earns one point in the standings, but now only leads San Diego by one point for second place in the Pacific Division.

David Walker gave the Ice Dogs a 1-0 lead 8:43 into the opening frame with his first goal of the season. After grabbing the puck from Sean McAslan, Walker fired one on net that deflected off a Gulls defenseman and behind Lawson.

Sleigher got San Diego on the board at 12:37 with his 10th goal, but Long Beach, which out-shot the Gulls 16-8 in the first period, answered 43 seconds later to regain its one-goal advantage. Mike Woodford got the tally - his fifth of the year - helped out on Walkers assist.

Gulls All-Star Jesse Bennefield re-tied it at two apiece just 33 seconds into the second period with his team-leading 19th goal. Darren Clark fed the left wing side to an open Bennefield, who wristed it past Ice Dogs goaltender Greg Hewitt. It was Bennefield's 15th marker and 28th point in the last 19 games.

Meanwhile, Lawson remained busy between the pipes, as the Ice Dogs continued to pepper the San Diego net. Long Beach added 15 more shots in the middle stanza, but Lawson kept it a 2-2 game heading into the third. On the other side, Hewitt only had to face 11 Gulls shots through two periods.

Shots again were in favor of the Ice Dogs in the third period (9-5 and 40-16 through regulation), but Lawson wouldn't budge. Neither would Hewitt, so the game headed to overtime.

It looked like a shootout was looming on the horizon, but Sleigher had other ideas, as he potted the game-winner with 39 seconds left in overtime. Jason Reimers carried the puck across the blue line and slid a pass to the high slot, where Sleigher one-timed it home just underneath the cross bar. It was his second goal of the night - 11th of the season - and was also assisted by Bennefield.

Notes: The Gulls are now 17-10-4 since starting the season 1-5-0... During the last 11 games, they have killed 73 of 83 penalties (88 percent)... Steve Hildenbrand's six-game point streak was snapped... Sleigher has points in nine of the last 11 games... Nikita Korovkin left the game in the first period with a leg injury... Six other regulars are now out of the lineup with injuries: Kelly Askew (broken foot), Alex Kim (broken collarbone), Alex Rogosheske (torn ACL), David Svagrovsky (tear in finger), Guillaume Fournier (concussion) and Andy Thompson (wrist surgery)... Forward Rob Flynn signed Saturday...

San Diego concludes another three-game in three nights weekend Sunday as the Bakersfield Condors come back to town. It will be a 5:05 p.m. start and another Kids Night. "Skate with the Gulls" will of course follow immediately after the match. 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 (All upcoming games CAN BE VIEWED). 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 January 21, 2006


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