Gulls Rebound Against Salmon Kings, 4-1
February 24, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release
VICTORIA, British Columbia â The San Diego Gulls were embarrassed Tuesday losing to the last-place Victoria Salmon Kings, a team with just two regulation wins since the end of December. They certainly responded Wednesday night, defeating the lowly Salmon Kings 4-1 at Bear Mountain Arena.
Max Birbraer led the offensive attack for San Diego with three assists, while netminder Mathieu Chouinard turned aside 26 of 27 shots. The better of his stops came early in the game, as Victoria jumped out of the gate with a bunch of scoring opportunites.
With the win, the Gulls (27-19-6) move within four points of the Fresno Falcons for the fourth and final playoff spot in the West Division. It also moves them within six points of the third-place Bakersfield Condors. The Salmon Kings (10-37-5) are now winless in 26 of their last 29 games.
Ian Forbes gave San Diego a 1-0 lead 15:36 into the first period, beating Victoria goaltender Dan Blackburn from the left point for his second goal of the season. After grabbing a pass from Birbraer, Forbes unleashed a slap shot, but Blackburn never saw it thanks to a nice screen from Sean O'Connor.
Victoria had plenty of chances to dent the scoreboard in the opening frame, but couldn't get anything past Chouinard. The Gulls netminder made 14 saves in the first, which included a point-blank stop on Seth Leonard and a breakaway save on Scott Turner.
The Gulls fed off Chouinard's hot goaltending and grabbed a 2-0 lead on a short-handed goal 2:28 into the second. Chris Lynch did the work, prying the puck loose in the corner and finding Nick Ganga, wide-open in the slot. Upon receiving Lynch's pass, Ganga partially fanned on his shot, but got enough of it to beat Blackburn for his third goal of the year.
Sean O'Connor made it a 3-0 game at the 16:42 mark of the second, converting on a nice setup feed from Birbraer. After dashing around the Salmon Kings' defense and into the right wing corner, Birbraer made a pretty backhand pass to O'Connor, who punched in his 16th marker.
Chris Corrinett finally got the Salmon Kings on the board 9:04 into the third period with his fourth goal of the season. Mike Josephson carried the puck out of the right wing corner and centered it to Corrinett, who rifled it past Chouinard.
San Diego, however, quickly regained its three-goal cushion 40 seconds later on Sylvain Deschatelets' 12th tally. Birbraer earned his third assist on the play, holding the puck inside the blue line and finding an open Deschatelets, who blasted a one-timer behind Blackburn.
Notes: San Diego is 21-2-1 when scoring four-plus goals in a game, but just 6-17-5 when scoring three or less... The Gulls are 6-8-2 in their last 16 games and have been outscored 44-36 in their last 15 games... They are 10-14-3 on the road and 17-5-3 at home... Grady Moore was placed on the injured list after sustaining a concussion Saturday against Bakersfield... He joins Mike Garrow (concussion), Evgueni Nourislamov (broken thumb) and Wes Rypien (knee sprain)... Andrew Canzanello remains with the American Hockey League's Cincinnati Mighty Ducks...
The Gulls conclude their short three-game road trip Friday in Bakersfield, with game-time set for 7 p.m. San Diego returns home Sunday against the red-hot Idaho Steelheads. Sunday's game, which is a 5:05 p.m. start, will be Sharp Healthcare and another Kids Night, featuring "Skate with the Gulls" immediately following the game.
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 most remaining 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.
ECHL Stories from February 24, 2005
- Rivermen Outscored by Alaska 6-4 at Home - Peoria Rivermen
- Aces finish off unbeaten trip with 6-4 win over Peoria - Alaska Aces
- 180 Homeless Veterans Given Free Tickets to Sunday's Game - San Diego Gulls
- Two Changes Made For Sea Wolves Home Games - Mississippi Sea Wolves
- Steelheads welcome back original play-by-play voice - Idaho Steelheads
- ECHL Transactions - ECHL
- Gladiators acquire Fultz from Texas in Exchange for Sawruk - Atlanta Gladiators
- SpongeBob is coming to town - Bakersfield Condors
- Rivermen Team Trading Card Set Now Available - Peoria Rivermen
- Rivermen Announce St. Louis Blues Alumni/Rivermen Nostalgia Game on Saturday, February 26 - Peoria Rivermen
- Rookie Center Kasper Called up to Worcester - Peoria Rivermen
- Byron Rucker resigns as Grrrowl GM - Greenville Grrrowl
- Huge crowd expected for March 5 - San Diego Gulls
- Fahey Returns From Worcester, Peters To IR - Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies
- Three New Jerseys Added! / Jersey Auction Ends at Noon on Friday - Pensacola Ice Pilots
- ECHL Today - ECHL
- Gulls dump on Salmon Kings - Victoria Salmon Kings
- Ice Dogs Win Fourth Straight, Beat Vegas 4-3 - Long Beach Ice Dogs
- Gulls Rebound Against Salmon Kings, 4-1 - San Diego Gulls
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