Ice Dogs Clip Gulls, 5-2

Published on March 27, 2005 under ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Long Beach Ice Dogs scored two goals in an 18-second span late in the second period, then again 21-seconds apart early in the third en route to a 5-2 victory over the San Diego Gulls Saturday night at the Long Beach Arena.

The game was tied, 1-1, in the second period, but the Ice Dogs' first two-goal spurt gave them a 3-1 lead, which they wouldn't relinquish. The Gulls cut that lead to one late in the second, but Long Beach sealed the victory with its second two-goal strike one minute into the third period.

The Gulls (33-26-6) only have seven games left in the regular season and now trail the Idaho Steelheads by 11 points for the last playoff spot in the West Division. They're also eight points behind the fifth-place Fresno Falcons, who beat Idaho in overtime Saturday.

Long Beach (39-19-8) has now won four of its last five games. Its magic number to clinch a playoff spot is now seven (the combination of points gained by Long Beach and points lost by Fresno totaling seven).

Joe Cardarelli gave the Ice Dogs a 1-0 lead 4:47 into the first period with his first goal of the night – 20th of the season. Christian Larrivee had the puck in the left wing circle and whirled a shot toward the net. After it took a couple of weird bounces, the puck found the tape of Cardarelli, who tapped it past San Diego goaltender Eddy Ferhi.

The Gulls tied it with a power-play goal at the 13:39 mark of the first, as Brian Gornick buried his team-leading 23rd marker of the year. Guillaume Fournier started the play when his initial shot hit the side of the net. The rookie winger, however, chased down his own rebound and centered it to Gornick, who beat Long Beach netminder Sebastien Centomo.

It stayed 1-1 until late in the second period when the Ice Dogs scored back-to-back power-play goals 18 seconds apart. The first tally came via Evan Cheverie, as he blasted home his 24th goal from the top of the lot at 14:59. Cardarelli came calling again at 15:17, connecting on a setup feed from Cory Urquhart. It was Cardarelli's second goal of the game and 21st of the season, eight of which have come against the Gulls.

Darren Clark netted his 10th goal with 24 seconds left in the middle frame, making it a 3-2 game. Clark, standing near the right post, jumped on a rebound from Gornick's shot and jammed it past Centomo. Fournier picked up his second assist of the night on the play.

Long Beach, however, notched two straight goals again – this time 21 second apart – early in the third period, taking a 5-2 advantage. Marco Rosa, who entered the day tied for third among rookie goal-scorers, netted his club-leading 30th of the season 41 seconds into the stanza, redirecting in Larrivee's backhand centering pass. Yuri Moscevsky then beat Ferhi at the 1:02 mark for his third goal of the year.

Notes: Of San Diego's seven remaining games, four are at home... The Gulls still have four head-to-head games left against Idaho... They finished the season 5-3-0 against the Ice Dogs... San Diego is 27-3-1 in its last 31 head-to-head meetings against Long Beach, dating back to October 2002... The Blue and Orange are 23-3-1 this season when scoring four-plus goals in a game, but just 10-23-5 when scoring three or less... Since the all-star break the Gulls are 7-4-1 at home and 5-10-1 on the road (12-14-2 overall)... Brett Draney was acquired Tuesday from Idaho for Evgueni Nourislamov... Aaron Forsythe was acquired Tuesday from the Peoria Rivermen for Ian Forbes... Simon Lajeunesse was acquired Tuesday from the Dayton Bombers... Sylvain Deschatelets was traded to Bakersfield Tuesday for future considerations... Goaltender Mathieu Chouinard was released on Wednesday...

The Gulls return home Sunday to face the Gwinnett Gladiators, with game-time set for 5:05 p.m. The first 2,000 kids 14 and under will receive a special youth Gulls T-shirt and "Skate with the Gulls" will be held immediately following the game. San Diego will then play four straight games against the Steelheads, with the first three in Boise, Idaho.

All games can be heard live 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 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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