Gulls win another nail-biter, 2-1, in Alaska
December 30, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release
ANCHORAGE, Alaska â Just another one-goal game for the San Diego Gulls, who were victorious once again. Sean O'Connor scored both goals and Mathieu Chouinard made 33 saves, leading San Diego to a 2-1 win against the Alaska Aces Wednesday night at Sullivan Arena.
The Gulls (15-8-2) have now played eight straight one-goal contests and have won six of them. They remain third in the West Division, one point behind the second-place Long Beach Ice Dogs, who defeated the Idaho Steelheads Wednesday night. San Diego, however, moves within four points of the first-place Bakersfield Condors.
O'Connor gave San Diego a 1-0 lead with his first goal of the game 15:48 into the first period, back-handing the puck out of midair past Alaska netminder Peter Aubry. Curtis Brown started the play with a centering feed to Andrew Canzanello, cutting in from the point. Canzanello's ensuing bid was stopped, but O'Connor broke free to bang in the rebound.
The Gulls had a golden opportunity to add to their one-goal lead later in the first and early in the second period when they were awarded three straight power plays. Aubry and some stingy goaltending, however, kept it a 1-0 game. The only time Aubry was beat in the power play sequence came on another chance by Canzanello, but the rookie defenseman's shot ricocheted off the cross bar.
Alaska was then handed three straight power plays, but couldn't convert either thanks in large part to Chouinard. The Gulls goaltender, who recorded a 1-0 shutout Sunday in Las Vegas, was once again on top of his game. One of his biggest saves came at the 12:47 mark of the second period when he stopped Mike Lee on a penalty shot.
Aces center B.J. Young finally solved Chouinard at 16:21 of the second with his fifth goal of the season, four of which have come against the Gulls. Chris Heisten had the puck near the right goalpost, waited for Chouinard to move toward him, then whipped a pass across to Young, who easily tapped it in.
San Diego had another man advantage early in the third period and this time capitalized, as O'Connor netted his second of the night â 10th of the season â 30 seconds into the frame. Evgueni Nourislamov blasted a slap shot from the blue line that was steered aside to the right-wing circle. That's where Max Birbraer picked it up and found a wide-open O'Connor, who punched a shot past an out-of-position Aubry.
Alaska had a handful of chances throughout the third period to re-tie the game, but Chouinard and his rock-solid defense shut the door. Chouinard, who has now given up just one goal in his last two games, ups his record to 3-3-0.
Notes: San Diego is 11-3-0 in its last 14 games, outscoring its opponents 49-33 during that span... The Gulls are now 5-6-1 on the road and 10-2-1 at home... The Blue and Orange have outscored their opponents 64-31 in their 15 wins, but have been outscored 34-15 in their 10 losses (which includes an overtime and shootout loss)... San Diego is 8-3-2 in one-goal games this season... The Gulls are just two points behind last season's pace. They wound up with a franchise record 108 points in 2003-04... Jonathon Shockey remains on the 30-day injured list with a separated shoulder... Mark Pederson remains out of the lineup with back spasms. His status is day-to-day...
The Gulls conclude their road trip Friday in Alaska, with the New Year's Eve contest scheduled to start at 8:15 p.m. (PST). San Diego returns home to face Bakersfield Sunday at 5:05 p.m. It will be another "Kids Night" featuring "Skate with the Gulls" immediately follow the game. The Gulls will then play in Las Vegas Tuesday before hosting the Peoria Rivermen Wednesday, Jan. 5. ALL FOUR UPCOMING GAMES WILL BE TELEVISED LIVE ON THE GULLS' WEB SITE, VIA B2 NETWORKS.
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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