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Idaho Stuns Gulls, 4-3

February 4, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


BOISE, Idaho – David Bararuk's goal with .7 seconds left in the third period did two things Wednesday night. One, it broke a 3-3 tie and sent the Idaho Steelheads to a stunning 4-3 victory. Two, it broke the San Diego Gulls' ECHL season-high nine-game winning streak.

It was a back-and-forth game all night long. Idaho grabbed an early 1-0 lead before the Gulls scored two straight to go ahead 2-1. The Steelheads then came back with two of their own before San Diego knotted the contest again. Overtime seemed to certainly be looming on the horizon as teams skated to a very even scoreless third period until Bararuk won it on a fluke goal.

David Cornacchia carried the puck into the Gulls zone and blasted a shot that caromed wide. Crashing the net, Bararuk picked it up and quickly whirled a shot that banked off a skate and behind Trevor Koenig.

The Gulls (30-11-3) lose for the first time since falling to Fresno on Jan. 16. They, however, still maintain a four-point lead over Idaho (27-13-5) for first place in the Pacific Division. San Diego trails the Louisiana IceGators and Mississippi Sea Wolves by one point for the best record in the Western Conference.

Idaho jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead 1:36 into the game on Bararuk's first goal of the night. Scott Burt took a nice feed from Lance Galbraith and quickly fed Bararuk, who swept a shot over the shoulder of Koenig. It was the first time the Gulls have trailed in a game since Jan. 17 (495:04).

Greg Barber quickly tied it with a power-play goal at 5:05 of the first, connecting on passes from Mark Pederson and Billy Tibbetts. With the helper, Pederson extended his ECHL season-high point streak to 19 games. Barber, who earned his 18th goal on the play, also extended his point streak to a career-high 12 games.

San Diego took a 2-1 lead 11:32 in the second period on Clayton Read's seventh goal of year. Samy Nasreddine weaved his way into the Steelheads zone and fed a wide-open Read, who one-timed it past Kaleb Christensen. Idaho's No. 1 goaltender Blair Allison started the game but had to leave early in the second with a back injury.

Andrei Vasilyev and former Gull Miguel Delisle scored 2:05 apart moments later to regain Idaho's one-goal advantage. Vasilyev netted his seventh goal at 12:03, beating Koenig while being hooked from behind. Then Delisle potted a power-play goal at 14:08, coming after a flurry in which Koenig made three point-blank saves. It was Delisle's 13th marker of the season, 11th in a Steelheads uniform.

The seesaw battle continued when David Neale knotted the game, 3-3, at 18:13 of the second. Neale grabbed a pass from Dennis Purdie and let go a wrist shot that trickled out of Christensen's glove into the net. It was Neale's third goal of the year.

Teams traded a few chances in the third, but the game remained tied until Bararuk put in his second of the night – fourth of the season. Christensen, playing in his first professional game, picked up the victory.

Notes: Pederson, Barber and Sylvain Deschatelets have combined for 61 points (24g, 37a) in the last 14 games... Pederson, who was selected as the Sher-Wood ECHL Player of the Month for January, has 31 points (19g, 12a) during his 19-game point streak... Barber has 23 points (9g, 14a) in his last 14 games... Deschatelets has 29 points (5g, 24a) in the last 19 games... Koenig is 7-1-1 with a 1.96 goals-against average in his last nine games. He was named as the Sun National Bank ECHL Saver of the Month for January and the ITECH HOCKEY ECHL Saver of the Week (Jan. 26 – Feb. 1)... The Gulls are unbeaten in 22 of their last 26 games (21-4-1), outscoring their opponents 90-55... San Diego is 28-8-3 against Pacific Division teams... Trent Clark and J.J. Hartmann were both released on Monday... Mike Garrow and Josh Gratton remain with the American Hockey League's Cincinnati Mighty Ducks... Kevin Grant remains on the injured list with a strained neck...

The Gulls and Steelheads continue their three-game set in Boise Friday and Saturday, with both games starting at 6 p.m. (PST). San Diego returns home Tuesday against Long Beach. It will be another "College Night," with discounts on hot dogs and beverages. All games can be heard live on KPOP 1360AM 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. 16 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. To view pictures from this season, visit www.sdgullsphotos.com.

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