San Diego Goes 2-1-0 Last Week; Still Out of a Playoff Spot

February 14, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


SAN DIEGO –– The San Diego Gulls got back on the winning track last week, winning two of three... Unfortunately for the Gulls, however, all the teams ahead of them remain red hot, making it that much tougher to gain ground in the West Division.

San Diego began the week with a one-goal victory over the first-place Bakersfield Condors. The Gulls then beat the second-place Long Beach Ice Dogs Friday, before falling Saturday to the Fresno Falcons, the team they're desperately trying to catch right now. As of Monday, the Blue and Orange are two points behind Fresno for the fourth and final playoff spot in the West.

WEEK IN REVIEW:

Feb. 9 vs. Bakersfield: Curtis Brown notched a goal and an assist, while goaltender Mathieu Chouinard turned aside 29 of 31 shots, leading the Gulls to a hard-fought 3-2 win against the Condors. Bakersfield jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead, but San Diego answered with two straight goals to take a 2-1 lead. Sean O'Connor gave the Gulls a two-goal lead before the Condors cut the deficit back to one. That's how the game stayed, as Chouinard and company shut the door from there.

Feb. 11 vs. Long Beach: Brown recorded one goal and two assists, as he led the Gulls to another win, this time 5-3 over the Ice Dogs. Long Beach opened up a 1-0 lead midway through the first before Brown tied it early in the second. San Diego had leads of 2-1 and 3-2, but the Ice Dogs tied it each time. Mark Pederson gave the Gulls the lead for good, however, 2:36 into the third period. Brian Gornick added an empty-netter to seal the victory.

Feb. 12 vs. Fresno: The Gulls out-shot the Falcons 43-22, but Fresno scored three power-play goals and netminder Brett Jaeger made 42 stops en route to a 4-1 win over the Blue and Orange. Jason Weaver led the offensive attack for the Falcons with two goals, his fifth and sixth against San Diego this season. It was a 1-1 game early in the second, until Fresno scored two straight power-play markers in a 14-second span.

PLAYER NOTES: Dave Karpa, who signed with the Gulls on Saturday, has played 557 career games in the NHL (Quebec, Anaheim, Carolina and New York Rangers)... The Gulls have six players that have scored 10-or-more goals (Gornick, O'Connor, Max Birbraer, Sylvain Deschatelets, Guillaume Fournier and Pederson)... Brown, San Diego's other NHLer, has five points (2g, 3a) in his last three games... Sean Murphy was activated from the injured list Friday... Mike Garrow (concussion), Evgueni Nourislamov (broken thumb), Wes Rypien (knee sprain) and Scott Borders (quad contusion) all remain on the injured list... Andrew Canzanello remains with the American Hockey League's Cincinnati Mighty Ducks...

TEAM NOTES: The Gulls are 16-5-2 at home this season, out-scoring their opponents 88-65... They are 9-12-3 on the road and have been outscored 76-55... San Diego has been out-shot 343-264 in its last 10 games... The Blue and Orange are now unbeaten in 26 of their last 27 head-to-head games against the Ice Dogs (25-1-1), dating back to October 2002... After Wednesday's game against Wheeling, the Gulls only have one interdivision game left this season. So far they are 4-6-1 against non-West Division teams...

UPCOMING GAMES: The Gulls conclude their four-game homestand Wednesday against the Wheeling Nailers, with game-time set for 7:05 p.m. It will be another Wacky Wednesday, featuring "Pooch Party II." For the second time this season, all fans in attendance are invited to bring their dog to the game!!! San Diego will play in Fresno on Friday, before hosting the Bakersfield Condors Saturday, Feb. 19.

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.



ECHL Stories from February 14, 2005


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