Gulls Lose In Toledo Again, 4-2

February 2, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


TOLEDO, Ohio – The San Diego Gulls' struggles continued as they dropped their second straight game to the Toledo Storm, 4-2, Wednesday night at the Toledo Sports Arena. The Gulls have now lost three of four so far on their seven-game road trip.

Nick Parillo led the way for Toledo with two goals and an assist. His second marker proved to be the crushing blow as it came short-handed and ended up as the game-winning tally. San Diego trailed 2-0 but came back to tie it early in the third period. Parillo, however, buried the short-handed goal 59 seconds after the Gulls knotted the game.

The Gulls (22-15-4) have now lost four of their last five overall and remain in a fourth-place West Division tie with the Fresno Falcons. The Storm (24-14-4) have now won five straight and are unbeaten in 12 of their last 14 games (11-2-1).

Tomas Micka gave the Storm a 1-0 lead 8:09 into the first period, knocking home his seventh goal of the season. Paul Ballantyne got the play started with shot from the blue line that Rick Judson tipped on the way to the net. San Diego goaltender Mathieu Chouinard made the save but the rebound bounced right to Micka, who easily tapped it in.

Toledo, out-shooting the Gulls 16-4 in the opening period, had plenty of other chances to increase its lead. Chouinard, coming off a 35-save performance Friday, continued his sharp play and kept it a 1-0 game through 20 minutes.

Chouinard remained the focal point in the second period, stymieing the Toledo attack and keeping the Gulls in the game. The 6-foot-1-inch, 211-pound netminder couldn't stop everything, however, as Parillo found the back of the net at the 11:57 mark.

Parillo rushed into the San Diego zone down to the right wing corner, eluded a check from Mike Garrow, skated to the net and lifted the puck overtop a sprawled Chouinard. It was his first goal of the night.

Garrow got some revenge when he cut the deficit back to one at the 14:18 mark of the middle frame. He teamed up on this goal with fellow defenseman Nikita Korovkin, who was struck in the face with a high stick moments earlier. Garrow, creeping in from the left point, grabbed Korovkin's pass and beat Toledo netminder Logan Koopmans for his seventh marker.

San Diego was awarded a two-man advantage early in the third period and tied the game, thanks to Sean O'Connor's 13th goal of the season. Toledo's Sam Paolini was whistled for slashing, while Noah Whyte was already serving a holding penalty. On the ensuing five-on-three power play, the O'Connor, Curtis Brown, Max Birbraer line went work with O'Connor lighting the lamp after taking Brown's centering pass.

But just 59 seconds later, Parillo netted a short-handed goal to regain the Storm's lead, 3-2. It happened on a Garrow turnover, as the Gulls' captain coughed up the puck inside his own zone. After stealing it, Parillo was off to races and beat Chouinard for his second marker of the game – eighth of the season.

The Gulls tried to fight back again, but Tyler Knight sealed the Toledo win at the 18:54 mark, notching his team-leading 17th goal. Parillo earned an assist, his third point of the game.

Notes: The Gulls are now 3-5-0 against teams outside of their division. They have five games remaining this season against interdivision teams... San Diego is now 8-11-2 overall on the road... The Gulls entered the game with the seventh-best offense in the ECHL, averaging 3.15 goals per game. They, however, have only scored 49 goals in 21 road games this season (2.33 per game)... Nick Ganga served the second of a five-game suspension. He was assessed the five-game suspension for a major cross-checking penalty Friday in Peoria... Evgueni Nourislamov, who broke his thumb during Friday's morning skate in Peoria, could miss the rest of the regular season... Trevor Koenig (elbow tendonitis), Sean Murphy (broken thumb) and Wes Rypien (sprained knee) all remain on the injured list... Andrew Canzanello remains with Cincinnati...

The Gulls continue their road trip Friday against the Wheeling Nailers, with game-time scheduled for 4:30 p.m. (PST).* San Diego will play the Johnstown Chiefs Saturday at 4 p.m. (PST) before concluding the trek Sunday back in Wheeling, which will be a special 11 a.m. (PST) start-time. ALL THREE GAMES THIS WEEKEND CAN BE VIEWED LIVE ON THE GULLS' WEB SITE, COURTESY OF B2 NETWORKS.

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.

*NOTE: FRIDAY'S GAME IN WHEELING WILL BE TAPE-DELAYED, AIRING AT 7 P.M. (PST) ON KLSD. FRIDAY'S GAME (AS WELL AS SATURDAY AND SUNDAY'S GAMES) CAN BE VIEWED LIVE ON THE GULLS' WEB SITE, VIA B2 NETWORKS



ECHL Stories from February 2, 2005


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