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Mission one complete: let the playoffs begin

April 5, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


SAN DIEGO –– The San Diego Gulls completed their first mission when they clinched the Brabham Cup for having the best overall record in the regular season. Now the Gulls will have home-ice advantage throughout the Kelly Cup Playoffs. Round One – the Alaska Aces.

San Diego and Alaska met 10 times during the regular season, with the Gulls holding a 6-3-1 record. They were a perfect 5-0 against the Aces at home, but struggled in Anchorage, going just 1-3-1. What does all this mean? Absolutely nothing. Everything starts over when these two Pacific Division rivals meet in Game 1, slated for Tuesday at the Sports Arena.

WEEK IN REVIEW:

March 29 @ Fresno:

The Gulls said goodbye to Tapio Sammalkangas and the Fresno Falcons for 2003-04 with a 5-1 trouncing at the Save Mart Center. Fresno jumped out to a 1-0 first-period lead, but it was all San Diego from there. Mark Pederson, Scott Kirton, Eric Skaug, Clayton Read and Evgueni Nourislamov scored unanswered goals and the route was on. For Skaug and Nourislamov, it was their first professional goals. With the win, the Gulls locked up first place in the Western Conference.

March 31 vs. Las Vegas:

Overtime has been a real bug-a-boo for the Gulls this season, but they turned the tables with a 2-1 extra session win against the Wranglers. It was a defensive struggle all game long. San Diego took a 1-0 lead midway through the second period, before Las Vegas tied it minutes later. That's how it would stay until Brian Gornick netted the game-winner 1:52 into overtime.

April 2 @ Bakersfield:

The Gulls jumped out to a 5-0 lead and never looked back, cruising to their eighth straight victory over the Condors with a 5-2 win. Gornick led the way with two goals and an assist while Darren Partch also chipped in with a pair of goals. Rookie winger Paul Caponigri, playing in just his second pro game, also lit the lamp for the Blue and Orange.

April 3 vs. Alaska:

San Diego clinched the Brabham Cup with a tight 2-1 victory over the Aces, its first-round playoff opponent. David Neale drew first blood for the Gulls with 37.3 seconds left in the first period before Gornick gave the Blue and Orange a two-goal lead midway through the second. Alaska scored on its first third-period shot, 16:33 into the frame, to pull within one. That's as close as the Aces could get however.

THIS WEEK:

Round one of the playoffs, sponsored by Assil & Flowers Vision Institute and Medical Group, Inc. begins Tuesday. It will be a best-of-five series format with the Gulls holding the home-ice advantage. Games 1 and 2, held at the Sports Arena, will be Tuesday and Wednesday, both starting at 7:05 p.m. The series then shifts to Anchorage, Alaska for Game 3 and, if necessary, Game 4. If necessary, Game 5 would be back in San Diego on Tuesday, April 13.

PLAYER NOTES:

Sylvain Deschatelets' career-high and ECHL season-high 23-game point streak was snapped on Wednesday. He had 37 points (13g, 24a) during that span... Steve Martinson coached his last regular season game with the Gulls on Saturday. He finished his tenure 434-138-43 as San Diego's head coach (1995-2003 in WCHL and 2003-04 in ECHL)... Pederson, who was given the 2003-04 Sportsmanship Award and named to the All-ECHL Second Team, led the league with 44 goals... Greg Barber was named to the All-Rookie Team... Read finished the regular season with a career-high eight-game point streak (5g, 7a)... Gornick finished the regular season with a career-high six-game point streak and had 14 points (7g, 7a) in his final eight games... Trevor Koenig was unbeaten in 28 of his last 30 games (22-2-6)... Kevin Grant, Chris Gobert, Jamie Black and Dennis Purdie all remain on the injured list... San Diego still has three players in the American Hockey League: Billy Tibbetts (Houston), Nick Lent (Springfield) and Josh Gratton (Cincinnati)...

TEAM NOTES:

The Gulls finished the regular season with 108 points, a new franchise record. The previous team high in points was 107, set in 1997-98 (WCHL)... The Gulls were unbeaten in 18 of their last 19 games (14-1-4)... They lost in regulation only three times in their final 38 games (28-3-7) and six times in their final 54 games (40-6-8)... San Diego closed out the regular season 30-5-1 at home... The Gulls broke the ECHL record for most wins by an expansion team...

All games can be heard live on KPOP 1360AM 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, April 19 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. To view pictures from this season, visit www.sdgullsphotos.com and www.zerodogentertainment.com.

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