More than 10,000 Fans Watch Gulls Beat Condors, 7-3

Published on February 20, 2005 under ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


SAN DIEGO – It was a chippy and physical game all night long, but it may have been just what the San Diego Gulls needed. After struggling the last three games, the Blue and Orange turned the switch Saturday night in a 7-3 win against the Bakersfield Condors, before a ruckus crowd of 10,874 at the Sports Arena. That's the second-largest crowd of the season.

Between all the pushing and shoving, cross-checking and high-sticking, there was some great offense, mostly manufactured by the Gulls. Sylvain Deschatelets led the way with four assists, while Mark Pederson chipped in with three helpers.

With the win, San Diego (26-18-6) breaks a three-game winless streak and moves within four points of the Fresno Falcons for the fourth and final playoff spot in the West Division. Bakersfield (29-14-8) remains second in the West, but now three points back of the first-place Long Beach Ice Dogs.

The Gulls jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, as Max Birbraer scored his 14th goal 6:57 into the first period. After grabbing a pass from Guillaume Fournier, Deschatelets skated into the Bakersfield zone and found a wide-open Birbraer, who beat goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji low stick-side.

Fournier gave the Gulls a two-goal cushion at 8:45 of the first, knocking in a power-play marker. Deschatelets got the play started again, as he found a streaking Pederson cutting in from the right wing. Fukufuji stopped Pederson's ensuing shot, but Fournier found the rebound and banged it home for his 12th of the season.

San Diego tacked on another in the opening frame, just before the buzzer went off. Brain Gornick was the beneficiary this time as he potted his team-leading 20th goal with 0.2 seconds left on the clock. David Karpa held in an errant Condors clearing pass and dished the puck to Birbraer, standing in the left circle. Birbraer then centered it to Gornick, who redirected it past a sliding Fukufuji.

Mike Hofstrand got Bakersfield on the board 2:30 into the second period with a power-play tally. Veteran defenseman Guy Dupuis had the puck at the point and fed a cross-ice pass to Vlad Serov, whose shot was stopped by San Diego netminder Mathieu Chouinard. The rebound, however, bounced in the air and Hofstrand was right there to glove it to his stick and bat it into the net for his fourth goal of the year.

The Gulls answered at the 8:07 mark of the second, regaining their three-goal lead. After a faceoff in the neutral zone, Jonathon Shockey dumped a shot into the Condors zone. Darren Clark, hunting for the loose puck, skated through a tangle of bodies before punching it home for his eighth marker.

The Condors made it a 4-2 game at 16:37 of the middle frame on Brad Mehalko's 15th goal of the season. It happened on a two-on-one rush, as Hofstrand carried the puck down the right wing side and fed Mehalko, who wristed it past Chouinard.

Paul Rosebush cut the Gulls' lead to one with his 14th goal 7:08 into the third, but Chris Lynch gave San Diego a 5-3 advantage 40 seconds later with his eighth marker and Scott Borders made it 6-3 at 10:02 with his sixth goal.

Karpa put the game away with his first goal in a Gulls uniform at 13:07, coming via another San Diego power play. Deschatelets earned his fourth assist on the play while Pederson garnered his third helper.

Notes: San Diego is 20-2-1 when scoring four-plus goals in a game, but just 6-16-5 when scoring three or less... The Gulls are 5-7-2 in their last 14 games and have been outscored 38-30 in their last 13 games... They are 17-5-3 at home, but just 9-13-3 on the road... San Diego has been out-shot in 27 of its 50 games this season... Mike Garrow (concussion), Evgueni Nourislamov (broken thumb) and Wes Rypien (knee sprain) all remain on injured reserve... Andrew Canzanello remains with the American Hockey League's Cincinnati Mighty Ducks...

The Gulls now embark on a three-game road trip, which starts Tuesday in Victoria against the Salmon Kings. San Diego will take on the Salmon Kings both Tuesday and Wednesday before concluding the trip Saturday, Feb. 26 in Bakersfield. The Blue and Orange return home Sunday, Feb. 27 against the Idaho Steelheads. All three games on the road trip start at 7 p.m. The Sunday home game begins at 5:05 pm.

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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ECHL Stories from February 20, 2005


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