Gulls Win 14th Straight Home Game, 5-1 vs. Vegas

Published on February 19, 2004 under ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


SAN DIEGO – Billy Tibbetts scored once and added three assists, while newcomer Brian Gornick added two goals and a helper as the San Diego Gulls downed the Las Vegas Wranglers 5-1 Thursday night, before 2,641 at the Sports Arena.

The Gulls continue to add to their season-high home winning streak, which now sits at 14 games. The last time they lost on home ice was Dec. 28, in a 4-3 setback to Las Vegas.

San Diego (35-11-6) now leads the Wheeling Nailers and Louisiana IceGators by four points for the best record in the ECHL. The second-place Wranglers (31-17-5) fall nine points behind the Gulls in the Pacific Division.

The Wranglers led 1-0 but then the penalty bug-a-boo hit them... and hit them hard. The Blue and Orange scored five unanswered goals, three of which came with the man advantage, and cruised to the four-goal victory.

Jason McBain gave the Wranglers an early 1-0 lead with a power-play goal 3:09 into the first period. Greg Day won an end zone face off to Ryan Christie, who fed McBain at the left point. The Vegas defenseman then crept in a couple of feet and fired a wrist shot that trickled past Trevor Koenig into the net. It was his 11th goal of the year, which ties him for sixth among all ECHL blue-liners.

Gornick scored the equalizer at 18:08 of the first with his first goal in a Gulls' uniform. After taking a pass from Tibbetts, Gornick sprung out of the right wing corner and flipped it past Marc Magliarditi. Koenig also earned an assist, the 14th of his career.

San Diego took the lead on Greg Barber's power-play goal 57 seconds into the middle frame. Tibbetts, standing at the right point, grabbed a pass from Mark Pederson and fed it cross-ice to Barber, who one-timed it behind Magliarditi. It was Barber's 22nd goal and 55th point, both tops among all ECHL rookies.

Gornick notched another San Diego power-play goal at 16:34 of the second, giving the Gulls a 3-1 lead. Samy Nasreddine dished the puck to Tibbetts, whose rocket from the blue line was deflected in by Gornick for his second tally of the night. Tibbetts earned his third assist of the game on the play.

Sylvain Deschatelets put home San Diego's third power-play marker 2:10 into the final stanza to give the Blue and Orange a three-goal cushion. Nasreddine got things started again with a slap shot from the blue line. Magliarditi stopped Gornick's bid on the first rebound, but couldn't stop Deschatelets on the second rebound. It was Deschatelets' 14th goal of the year, and third in as many games.

Tibbetts chased Magliarditi from the game at 7:18 when he chipped in his 12th goal of the season. Deschatelets took a center ice pass from Barber and whipped it over to Tibbetts, who rushed into the zone and beat Magliarditi at the left wing post.

Notes: The longest home winning streak in ECHL history is 18, set by the South Carolina Stingrays in 1994-95... The longest home winning streak in franchise history is 24, set in 1995-96... The Gulls are 23-4-0 at home this season... San Diego is unbeaten in 17 of its last 18 games (14-1-3) and 30 of its last 34 overall (26-4-4), outscoring its opponents 123-75... The Gulls are 32-8-4 against Pacific Division teams, including a 21-1-0 mark at home... Las Vegas is the only Pacific Division team to beat San Diego at the Sports Arena... Koenig now leads the ECHL with 25 wins... Pederson, Barber and Deschatelets have combined for 97 points (38, 59a) in the last 22 games... Pederson has 42 points (25g, 17a) in his last 27 games... Barber has 35 points (13g, 22a) in his last 22 games... Deschatelets has 42 points (9g, 33a) in the last 27 games... Josh Gratton remains with American Hockey League's Cincinnati Mighty Ducks... Dennis Purdie (sprained shoulder) and Kevin Grant (neck strain) both remain on the injured list...

San Diego closes out its brief homestand Saturday against the Fresno Falcons, with game-time set for 7:05 p.m. It will be "Mullet Night" and special Gulls long-sleeved T-shirts will be given to the first 10,000 fans. The Gulls then go back on the road for a short two-game trip, which will see them play Wednesday in Fresno and Friday, Feb. 27 in Las Vegas. All games can be heard live on KPOP 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. 23 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. To view pictures from this season, visit www.sdgullsphotos.com.

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