San Diego Pulls Into Tie With Long Beach In Race For Second Place

Published on January 9, 2006 under ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


SAN DIEGO--The San Diego Gulls could not stop the red-hot Alaska Aces, but recorded victories against the Idaho Steelheads and Utah Grizzlies at the ipayOne Center last week. Jesse Bennefield led the charge with seven points (3g, 4a) as the pair of wins proved to be enough to move the Gulls into a tie for second place in the Pacific Division with the Long Beach Ice Dogs.

WEEK IN REVIEW:

Jan. 4 vs. Alaska: Olivier Fillion broke a 2-2 tie 7:02 into the second period and the Aces never looked back en route to a 4-2 road win against the Gulls, just their seventh all-time win at the ipayOne Center. Alaska had leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but the Gulls came back to tie each time. Joe Talbot, Mike Scott and Vladimir Novak also scored for Alaska, while Alex Kim and Richard Keyes lit the lamp for San Diego. The Aces scored twice on the power play and once short-handed.

Jan. 6 vs. Idaho: Pierre-Luc Sleigher's beautiful tic-tac-toe goal with 4:01 remaining in the third period capped a dramatic Gulls comeback, 2-1 over the visiting Steelheads on Friday. The Steelheads took an early lead just 3:37 into the match when forward Garett Bembridge tallied his 26th goal. The Steelheads entered Friday's contest with the third-best offense in the league but goalie Tyler Weiman kept it close by stopping 31 shots. Nikita Korovkin finally put the Gulls on the board 13:28 into the third period with a slap shot from the slot and about two and a half minutes later, Sleigher capped the comeback.

Jan. 7 vs. Utah: All-star winger Bennefield netted his first career hat trick and added an assist, leading San Diego to a 6-2 win, before 6,985 at the ipayOne Center. Sleigher chipped in with a career high three assists as the Gulls won their second consecutive home game. Of San Diego's six goals, five came on the power play, as the Gulls set a new season high.

Jan. 8 vs. Alaska: Alaska scored four goals in just over four minutes during the second period Sunday, as they cruised to a 6-3 victory over the injury-plagued Gulls at the ipayOne Center. San Diego trailed just 2-1 at the end of one, but by the second intermission, the score read 6-1 with Alaska notching its six goals on only 15 shots. The flurry of Aces goals came over a span of 4:07, turning a tight contest into a blowout. Alaska had a trio of skaters tally at least three points while Keyes, Shockey, and Steve Hildenbrand notched goals for San Diego.

Individual Notes: The Gulls have six players on the injured list: Kim (broken collar bone), Alex Rogosheske (torn ACL), David Svagrovsky (tear in finger), Guillaume Fournier (concussion), Doug MacIver (sprained knee), Andy Thompson (wrist surgery)... Before getting hurt, Kim was in the midst of a 12-game point streak... Bennefield has 23 points in his last 14 games (12g, 11a)... Weiman has won six of his last seven decisions and has stopped 225 of 237 shots during that span (.949 save percentage)...

Team Notes: San Diego has won four of its last six games.... The Gulls have killed 45 of their last 52 penalties (86.5 percent)... Since getting off to a 1-5-0 start, they are 14-8-4... Six of their next eight games are at home...

The Gulls return to action Tuesday in Las Vegas, with game-time from the Orleans Arena set for 7:05 p.m. San Diego is back home Friday "The 13th" against the Bakersfield Condors. It will be a "Free Food Fright Night," with the first 3,500 fans receiving a free hot dog. Saturday, the Aces will be back in town and the first 6,000 fans will get a special Willie O'Ree ball cap.

All games can be heard on KLSD 1360AM and www.sandiegogulls.com with Chris Ello calling the play-by-play. Most games can also be viewed on the Gulls' Web site, courtesy of B2 Networks (All upcoming games CAN BE VIEWED). Click the B2 Networks (Watch the Game Live) link on the home page for a list of the upcoming telecasted games. To view pictures from this season, visit www.zerodogentertainment.com.

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ECHL Stories from January 9, 2006


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