Gulls Nip Ice Dogs in Shootout, 4-3

Published on February 11, 2004 under ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


SAN DIEGO – Long Beach made things interesting, but the Gulls managed to extend their unbeaten streak against their Southern California rivals to 21 consecutive games, notching a 4-3 shootout victory Tuesday night at the Sports Arena. Mark Pederson netted two goals and Chris Gobert beat Ice Dog goalie T.J. Aceti on the Gulls' final shootout attempt to give San Diego the two points.

The Gulls (32-11-4) have now won 12 straight games on their home ice and lead the Pacific Division by five points over the Las Vegas Wranglers and seven over the third-place Idaho Steelheads. The Blue and Orange are now tied with the Louisiana IceGators atop the Western Conference. San Diego will take on the IceGators in their first-ever trip to Louisiana on Monday. Long Beach (15-27-4) has been playing much better recently, but still finds itself in sixth place in the Pacific Division, 20 points out of the final playoff spot.

Pederson, Barber and Deschatelets were kept off the scoreboard for the first time since Dec. 7 on Saturday. They made sure that it wouldn't happen again, 4:04 into the first period. Pederson lit the lamp to give the Gulls the early lead, tipping home his own rebound from just outside the crease. Deschatelets and Barber each garnered assists on the goal, which was Pederson's league-leading 32nd tally of the season.

The Ice Dogs wasted no time tying things up when defenseman Dan Vandermeer found the back of the net, 5:40 into the first. Billy Tibbetts was called for holding at the 5:26 mark, and Vandermeer beat a screened David Burleigh, just 14 seconds later, for the power-play goal.

Penalties continued to be a bug-a-boo for San Diego, when a holding call against Mike Garrow led to Long Beach's second power-play goal of the night. Left-winger Nick Ganga launched a slap shot from the right circle that beat Burleigh, 4:58 into the second period, putting the Ice Dogs up, 2-1.

San Diego got a bit of revenge just minutes later when Pederson knocked home a power-play goal of his own. Lee Sorochan's slashing penalty gave the Gulls' the extra attacker for the second time in the game and Barber hooked up with Pederson once again, 7:22 into the second, knotting the game at two. It was Pederson's 14th power-play goal of the season, tops in the ECHL.

Long Beach grabbed the lead back, 2:12 into the final period, when Mike Ouellet netted yet another power-play goal. Nolan Graham fed Ouellet in the right circle and the Ice Dog winger launched a slap shot past Burleigh for his seventh tally of the season. The goal marked the first time the Gulls have given up three or more power-play goals in one game since Nov. 11 in Alaska.

The back-and-forth game continued as the Blue and Orange tied things up once again, just 38 seconds later. Clayton Read found Billy Tibbetts waiting just outside the crease and Tibbetts spun and scooped the puck past Aceti for his 11th tally of the year. The goal proved to be the last in regulation, sending the game into overtime.

After a scoreless overtime period, the two teams went to a shootout to decide who'd get the two points. The Ice Dogs netted goals from two of their first three shooters, but Burleigh turned away their next two shots and Barber, Tibbetts and Chris Gobert scored on consecutive attempts to give the Gulls the shoot-out victory.

Notes: Pederson, Barber and Deschatelets have combined for 72 points (28g, 44a) in the last 17 games... Pederson has 35 points (22g, 13a) in his last 22 games... Barber has 27 points (9g, 18a) in his last 17 games and ranks second among ECHL rookies with 48 points, overall... Deschatelets has 32 points (6g, 26a) in the last 22 games... The Gulls are unbeaten in 25 of their last 29 games (23-4-2), outscoring their opponents 104-63... Clayton Read has scored a point in his last four games (1g, 5a)... Tibbetts has scored 10 points (3g,7a) in his last five games... Three of San Diego's last six games have gone into overtime. They are 2-0-1 in those games and 6-0-4 in overtime games overall this season... Garrow returned to the Gulls after spending the last week with the American Hockey League's Cincinnati Mighty Ducks... Josh Gratton remains with Cincinnati... Kevin Grant remains on the injured list with a strained neck... Dennis Purdie was also added to the injured list Tuesday...

San Diego hosts the Las Vegas Wranglers Friday at 7:35 p.m. to wrap up their brief two-game homestand, with the first 5,000 fans receiving a Gulls black T-shirt, courtesy of Alvarado Hospital. They hit the road again Saturday for their first-ever east coast road trip that will include stops in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. All games can be heard live on KPOP 1360AM and www.sandiegogulls.com with Chris Ello calling the play-by-play. The next edition of the Gulls Internet Radio show, hosted by Tera Black and Jeremy Zager on wsRadio.com, will air live Monday Feb. 16 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. To view pictures from this season, visit www.sdgullsphotos.com.

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ECHL Stories from February 11, 2004


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