Gulls inching closer to division crown
March 25, 2002 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release
San Diego on Five-Game Win Streak
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Gulls (43-19-3) kept their winning streak alive with a weekend sweep of the Tacoma Sabercats. The blue and orange have now won five games in a row. San Diego now leads the Long Beach Ice Dogs by eight points in the Southern Division and needs nine points in the club's remaining seven games to clinch its seventh division title. The Gulls trail the Idaho Steelheads by six points (with one game in hand) for the best record in the West Coast Hockey League.
John Spoltore comes into this week riding a 10-game point-scoring streak, a team high for the season. He now leads the league with 99 points and 73 assists. Spoltore needs three more helpers to break the franchise's all-time record for one season. Mark Woolf leads the league with 49 goals and is second with 94 points. The Gulls haven't had a player eclipse the 100-point plateau since the 1996-97 season. Trevor Koenig only needs to play in two more games to set a WCHL record for goaltender appearances in one season. The record currently stands at 59.
TRANSACTIONS:
San Diego signed Rusty Fitzgerald, Cory Laylin and Josh Oort before the trade deadline last week. Oort made his Gulls debut last weekend. Fitzgerald and Laylin are expected to report to the club by the weekend. Veteran forward Tony Iob remains on injured reserve, but is also expected back this weekend.
COMMUNITY UPDATE:
March 27: The Gulls will team up with the Hard Rock Café to host a dinner benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
April 2: Jamie Black will be holding a "Q" and "A" and autograph session at the Army and Navy Academy.
April 7: A four-year-old City of Hope cancer patient will drop the ceremonial first puck. The City of Hope is selling tickets to this game and half of its proceeds will benefit its cancer research and treatment programs.
LAST WEEK:
GULLS 4, Tacoma 2; at San Diego, Sun., March 24: San Diego erupted for three goals in the third period to come from behind and beat the Cats to keep its winning streak alive. Teams traded goals 89 seconds into the game, each scoring on its first shot. Tacoma also scored on its first shot of the second period to take a 2-1 lead, which it took into the third period. But the Gulls' comeback kept them a perfect 4-0 against the Sabercats this season.
GULLS 6, Tacoma 2; at San Diego, Sat., March 23: The Gulls scored a pair of goals in each period and cruised to an easy victory. The blue and orange jumped out to a 4-0 lead before the Cats got on the board. That would be as close as Tacoma would get however. Woolf and Taj Melson led the charge, each recording two goals and two assists. Spoltore chipped in with three helpers.
THIS WEEK:
San Diego now embarks on a four-game road trip, which starts Friday in Bakersfield at 7 p.m. The Gulls then play Saturday and Sunday in Tacoma before ending the trip April 3 in Long Beach. Five out of San Diego's final seven games are on the road. All games can be heard live on 1130AM-KSDO and at www.ksdo.com with Chris Ello calling the play-by-play.
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