San Diego ties Louisiana stop Western Conference

March 22, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


SAN DIEGO –– The San Diego Gulls are back atop the Western Conference, tied with the Louisiana IceGators. The Blue and Orange are in the driver's seat however, having two games in hand on the IceGators. San Diego is also creeping its way to the Pacific Division crown, needing only seven points in its final seven games to clinch the division title.

The Gulls began their week Friday with another win over the Fresno Falcons. Fresno, however, returned the favor Saturday at the Save Mart Center. A road-weary Gulls club returned home Sunday and rebounded with a victory over the struggling Bakersfield Condors.

With the 2-1-0 record last week, the Gulls now lead the Pacific Division by six points over the Las Vegas Wranglers. Overall in the ECHL, San Diego has the second-best record, tied with Louisiana and six points behind the Wheeling Nailers.

WEEK IN REVIEW:

March 19 vs. Fresno:

Chris Gobert and David Neale scored second-period goals and the Gulls never looked back, defeating Fresno 3-1. It was a scoreless duel until Gobert dented the scoreboard 2:24 into the second. Neale came back with his tally 10 minutes later to give the Gulls a two-goal cushion. The Falcons cut the lead to one six minutes into the third, but Greg Barber sealed the win with an empty-netter.

March 20 @ Fresno:

Mike Brusseau stopped 23 of 24 shots while Kris Porter and Daniel Bohac did the scoring damage as Fresno returned the favor with a 2-1 win over the Gulls. Teams again skated to a scoreless first period before Porter netted a power-play goal 1:06 into the second. Bohac made it a 2-0 game with 50 seconds left in the second and Fresno rode the hot goaltending of Brusseau the rest of the way. Mark Pederson scored the lone San Diego goal midway through the third period.

March 21 vs. Bakersfield:

Brian Gornick had two goals and an assist, while Neale chipped in with a goal and a helper, leading San Diego to a 4-2 win over the Condors. Bakersfield grabbed a 1-0 lead, but the Gulls scored three straight to go ahead 3-1. The Condors cut it back to one early in the third, but Gornick's second goal of the night midway through the period put the nail in the coffin.

THIS WEEK:

San Diego closes out its brief two-game homestand Tuesday against the Long Beach Ice Dogs, with game-time set for 7:05 p.m. The Gulls then embark on a three-game road trip, which sees them play Friday and Saturday in Boise, Idaho and Monday, March 29 in Fresno.

PLAYER NOTES:

Sylvain Deschatelets has 29 points during his 19-game point streak (11g, 18a)... Pederson has 10 points (6g, 4a) in his last six games... Barber has 12 points (6g, 6a) in his last seven games... Gornick has tallied nine points (2g, 7a) in six games since returning from Cincinnati... Trevor Koenig is unbeaten in 22 of his last 24 games (16-2-6)... Billy Tibbetts was loaned to the American Hockey League's Houston Aeros... Nick Lent, acquired Tuesday, remains with the AHL's Springfield Falcons, while Josh Gratton is still with the AHL's Cincinnati Mighty Ducks... Dennis Purdie remains on the injured list...

TEAM NOTES:

The Gulls are unbeaten in 11 of their last 12 games (7-1-4)... They've lost in regulation only three times in their last 31 games (21-3-7) and six times in their last 47 games (33-6-8)... San Diego is 38-10-5 against Pacific Division teams, which includes a 25-2-0 mark at home... San Diego needs just seven points in its final seven games to clinch the Pacific Division crown...

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, March 22 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. To view pictures from this season, visit www.sdgullsphotos.com and www.zerodogentertainment.com.

*Friday's game in Idaho will be tape delayed on KPOP until 7 p.m. (PST)



ECHL Stories from March 22, 2004


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