Gulls surrender four-goal lead but still win in overtime

March 30, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - The San Diego Gulls thought it was going to be an easy win Wednesday night against the Stockton Thunder. They squandered an early four-goal lead, but Steve Hildebrand's overtime goal gave San Diego a 5-4 win, before 4,332 at the Stockton Arena.

The Gulls (32-28-6) have now won four of their last five games, but stay six points behind the third-place Bakersfield Condors with six games left in the regular season. The Thunder (16-38-13), who out-shot San Diego 48-34, had their two-game winning streak snapped.

Despite being out-shot 22-12 in the first period, the Gulls stormed out to a 4-0 lead. Alex Kim, the reigning ECHL Player of the Week, assisted on three of the goals, all scored by San Diego defensemen. He's now scored a point in a career-high 16 straight games, the longest active streak in the league. The other first-period tally came from veteran Bobby Cunningham.

Jonathon Shockey got things started with his fourth of the year on a San Diego power play at 2:46, beating Stockton starting netminder Jake Moreland with a blistering slap shot from the point. Cunningham tickled the twine just 40 seconds later after backhanding home his ninth marker.

Evan Shaw then got into the act at the 14:09 mark, taking a nice pass from Kim in the left circle before burying his fourth of the season. Chris Cava, another D-man, capped the first-period barrage at 15:54 with another Gulls power-play goal, this time beating a screened Moreland with a wrister from the blue line. It was Cava's seventh goal and also signaled the end of Moreland's night, as Jeff Weber entered in relief to start the second period.

San Diego, however, got into major penalty trouble in the second period and let Stockton get right back into the game. The Thunder, who held a 40-18 shot advantage through two periods, received seven power plays in the middle frame. They scored on three of them, turning a 4-0 deficit into a one-goal game.

Lance Monych notched his ninth of the year with a two-man advantage at 2:36, slamming home a rebound behind Gulls rookie goaltender Kris Mayotte. Aaron Foster then got his first of the night just 34 seconds later, digging the puck out of the crease before punching it in.

Stockton cashed in on another 5-on-3 power play at 10:53, as Geno Parrish whistled in his eighth goal. Parrish, who also assisted on Monych's tally, took a pass from Joel Irwin and wristed it past a screened Mayotte. Irwin now has a point in all six games against San Diego this season.

The comeback was completed when Foster notched his second of the game - 17th of the season - 6:31 into the third period. After getting a pass from Nathan Martz, Foster rushed into the Gulls zone and beat Mayotte with a rising wrist shot from the left circle.

That's how the game stayed until Hildenbrand ended it with a power-play goal 1:23 into overtime. Kim and Hildenbrand criss-crossed at the top of slot before Hildenbrand finally ripped it top-shelf on Weber. Kim's assist was his fourth of the night, a new career high.

Notes: San Diego is unbeaten in 13 of its last 18 games (12-5-1)... Kim has 31 points during his career-high 16-game point streak. He has 38 points overall (16g, 22a) in 22 games this season... He has four straight multi-point games since returning from the injured list Friday (4g, 7a)... The Gulls have allowed 26 power plays in the last two games... San Diego also allowed 48 shots Jan. 14 vs. Alaska... Hildenbrand has three overtime goals this season... Jesse Bennefield returned to the lineup after missing the last three games with concussion-like symptoms... Mark Wires missed his fourth straight game due to immigration paperwork issues...

San Diego's three game road trip concludes Friday in Las Vegas, with game-time set for 7 p.m. The Gulls open their final homestand of the regular season Saturday against the Idaho Steelheads at 7:05 p.m. It will be Fan Appreciation Night and the first 8,000 fans will get a Gulls visor, courtesy of Flowers and Suder Vision Institute. San Diego and Idaho will meet again Sunday at 5:05 p.m. That will be the last Kids Night of the season and last chance to "Skate with the Gulls" after the game.

All games can be heard on KLSD 1360AM and www.sandiegogulls.com with Chris Ello calling the play-by-play. All remaining games can also be viewed on the Gulls' web site, courtesy of B2 Networks. Click the B2 Networks (Watch the Game Live) link on the home page for a list of the upcoming viewable games. To view pictures from this season, visit www.zerodogentertainment.com.



ECHL Stories from March 30, 2006


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