Gulls Have Tough Week, but End on Good Note

December 8, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


SAN DIEGO –– It could've been a disaster weekend for the San Diego Gulls. They fell twice to the all-of-a-sudden red-hot Charlotte Checkers. But San Diego rebounded with a big win against the Alaska Aces, staying in contention in the very competitive Pacific Division.

With their 1-2 record last week, the Blue and Orange remain in fourth place in the Pacific Division, now trailing the front-running Aces by eight points. They're six points back of the Idaho Steelheads and Las Vegas Wranglers, both tied for second. San Diego has played five fewer games than Alaska, has three games in hand on Idaho and has two games in hand on Las Vegas.

WEEK IN REVIEW:

The Gulls fell to Charlotte 3-1 on Friday and then 4-3 Saturday. San Diego came right back Sunday to beat Alaska 4-3 in a shootout.

Dec. 5 vs. Charlotte

Blaz Emersic scored twice and David St. Germain stopped 24 of 25 shots, leading the Checkers over the Gulls 3-1. It was a scoreless duel until Emersic finally dented the scoreboard 17:38 into the second period. Greg Barber tied it up 2:30 into the third, but Brandon Cullen put the Checkers up for good at 10:43. Emersic's second goal with just 3:37 left in the game sealed the Charlotte victory.

Dec. 6 vs. Charlotte

San Diego squandered an early two-goal lead and fell to Charlotte for the second straight night, 4-3. The Gulls scored twice 37 seconds apart midway through the first period, but the Checkers answered with three straight to take a 3-2 lead. San Diego answered late in the second period before Doug Christiansen netted his second of the night midway through the third.

Dec. 7 vs. Alaska

David Neale assisted on two second-period goals and buried one in the shootout, leading the Gulls to a 4-3 victory over the Aces. Alaska drew first blood before San Diego scored three straight to take a 3-1 lead. The Aces tied it with two third-period goals, sending the game to overtime and then the shootout. In the extra frame, all three Gulls shooters beat Dan Murphy. Trevor Koenig stopped three of four Alaska shooters.

THIS WEEK:

San Diego's homestand continues Friday and Saturday against Idaho. Friday's game starts at 7:35 p.m. Saturday's begins at 7:05 p.m. and will be televised live on Channel 4 San Diego. The Gulls then embark on a four-game road trip, which sees them play twice in Long Beach and once in Fresno and Las Vegas.

TEAM NOTES:

The Gulls are 9-1-1 when scoring at least two goals. They are just 1-6-1 when scoring one or no goals (San Diego has been shutout twice this season)... The Blue and Orange have killed 21 straight penalties, dating back to Nov. 29... Steve Martinson is now five wins shy of 400 all-time in the regular season... Alaska leads the season series with a 2-0-2 record, outscoring the Gulls 16-8... San Diego is 59-16-4 all-time against the Aces and 32-3-2 at the Sports Arena...

PLAYER NOTES:

Clayton Read has 15 points in nine home games. He has yet to score a point on the road... Samy Nasreddine and Dan Cousineau are still nursing groin injuries. Both could be back next weekend... Billy Tibbets, recovering from a fractured wrist, should also be back in the lineup next weekend...

All games can be heard on KPOP 1360AM with Chris Ello calling the play-by-play. The Gulls' Internet radio show, hosted by Tera Black and Jeremy Zager on wsradio.com, will begin airing biweekly soon. Stay tuned for more details.



ECHL Stories from December 8, 2003


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