Gulls take two of three from defending champs
December 6, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release
SAN DIEGO ââ The San Diego Gulls were 2:10 away from losing their weekend series with the defending Kelly Cup Champion Idaho Steelheads on Sunday. It would've been a disappointing weekend and put a damper on San Diego's long homestand. A miraculous comeback though not only won the game and series, but it may have just given the Gulls the needed momentum for the rest of the season.
The Gulls remain sixth in the West Division, but they're slowly catching up to everyone ahead of them in the standings. San Diego is still 10 points out of first place, but now only five points out of second. And the Gulls have games in hand on every team (minus the Bakersfield Condors) ahead of them. As of Monday, they have four games in hand on the Alaska Aces, and three games in hand on the Steelheads, Las Vegas Wranglers and Long Beach Ice Dogs.
WEEK IN REVIEW:
Dec. 3 vs. Idaho:
San Diego's only loss of the weekend came Friday, as the Steelheads skated to a 3-1 victory. The Gulls jumped out to a 1-0 first-period lead, but Idaho tied it early in the second period. The game stayed deadlocked, 1-1, until Frank Luke put the Steelheads ahead for good four minutes into the third period. Brett Draney added an empty-netter late in the third to seal the Idaho victory.
Dec. 4 vs. Idaho:
The Gulls, who had trouble scoring goals Friday, found their offense Saturday en route to a 5-2 victory. Sean O'Connor led the way for San Diego with two goals â both unassisted â and Trevor Koenig was solid in net, turning aside 32 of 34 shots. The Blue and Orange jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period and made it a three-goal game early in the third before the Steelheads could dent the scoreboard. The Gulls would tack on two more later in the third and that was all she wrote.
Dec. 5 vs. Idaho:
The Gulls trailed 2-0 and it looked as if the Steelheads were cruising to victory, before Darren Clark gave San Diego life and cut the lead in half three minutes into the final stanza. That's how it stayed until Max Birbraer scored the equalizer with 2:10 left in the game. O'Connor scored what proved to be the game-winner with 34 seconds left and Chris Lynch buried the game with an empty-netter. All told, the Gulls scored three goals in 1:56.
PLAYER NOTES:
Birbraer and O'Connor each notched three goals in the weekend series against Idaho... Birbraer had five points (3g, 2a) in the three games and O'Connor had four points (3g, 1a) in the three games against the Steelheads... Evgueni Nourislamov has seven points (3g, 4a) in his last five games... Scott Borders was activated from injured reserve on Saturday... O'Connor was returned from the American Hockey League's Cincinnati Mighty Ducks last week... Sean Murphy remains on the injured list with a fractured knuckle...
TEAM NOTES:
San Diego is 7-1-1 at home and 1-5-1 on the road... The Gulls have outscored their opponents 41-17 during their eight wins and have been outscored 26-9 during their eight losses (which includes an overtime and shootout loss)... The Gulls have killed 23 of their last 24 penalties, dating back to Nov. 17... San Diego was 9-5-2 through 16 games last season... The Blue and Orange play their next four games at home...
The Gulls continue their long homestand with three games (Thursday, Saturday and Sunday) against the Alaska Aces. Thursday's game, which begins at 7:05 p.m., is another "Thirsty Thursday" with discounts on Terrace tickets, parking, hot dogs and beverages. Saturday's contest also starts at 7:05 p.m. and the first 10,000 fans in attendance will receive a Gulls 2005 wall calendar, presented by Merila and Menvielle of McMillin Realty. Sunday is a 5:05 p.m. start and another "Kids Night," featuring "Skate with the Gulls" immediately following the game. San Diego concludes its homestand Wednesday, Dec. 15 against the Long Beach Ice Dogs.
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.
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