San Diego's Five-Game Unbeaten Streak Snapped

December 10, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


SAN DIEGO - Cory Pecker's power-play goal with 3:51 left in the third period broke a 2-2 tie and proved to be the difference maker, as the Phoenix Roadrunners edged the San Diego Gulls Friday night at the ipayOne Center.

The Gulls (8-8-4) now fall into a third place tie in the Pacific Division with the Bakersfield Condors, who beat Stockton in a shootout Friday. Both teams trail the second-place Long Beach Ice Dogs by two points. The Roadrunners (7-10-2) have now won four of their last six games and are 3-1 against San Diego this season.

Getting off to a slow start was San Diego's bug-a-boo last game, allowing three quick goals to the Johnstown Chiefs. That was the case again for the Gulls Friday night, as Phoenix opened up an early 2-0 lead.

Mike Ouellet was the first to dent the scoreboard, 2:07 into the opening frame, putting his own rebound behind San Diego netminder Tyler Weiman. After getting a pass from Dean Tiltgen, Ouellet raced into the Gulls zone and blasted a slapper that Weiman stopped. He was right there to pick up the rebound, however, and knock in his third goal.

Jason Deskins gave the Roadrunners a two-goal cushion less than two minutes later, cashing in on another rebound. Shawn Snider's original shot from the right wing boards was stopped, but the rebound bounced into the slot where Deskins backhanded it home for his fifth goal of the year.

San Diego finally got on the board 5:05 into the second period on an Alex Kim power-play goal. Kim, manning the blue line, took a pass from Guillaume Fournier and roofed a slap shot past the out-stretched glove of Phoenix goaltender Mike Mole. It was Kim's fifth goal and the Gulls' first power-play marker in 38 chances against the Roadrunners this season.

Chet Ferreira tied it up with 43 seconds left in the second period, beating Mole top-shelf on a breakaway. The rookie defenseman, moments after stepping onto the ice, snuck behind the Phoenix defense and was off to races after grabbing a nice pass from fellow rookie Jesse Bennefield. It was Ferreira's first tally of the season and was also assisted by Weiman - his third career helper.

That's how the game stayed until Pecker notched his power-play goal at the 16:09 mark of the third period. After the puck hopped off Jean-Francois Soucy's stick along the right wing side, Pecker grabbed possession and banked in a shot off Weiman's pad. It was his team-leading 11th goal of the season.

Notes: Richard Keyes had his five-game assist streak snapped. He had 10 points during that span (3g, 7a)... Steve Hildenbrand had his four-game point streak snapped. He still has 16 points in the last 10 games (5g, 11a)... Fournier has scored a point in 12 of the last 14 games... Darren Clark failed on a penalty shot in the first period... The Gulls are 1-for-40 on the power play this season against Phoenix... San Diego ended its season-long seven-game homestand 3-2-2... Netminder Tom Lawson was recalled to Lowell of the American Hockey League... Back-up goaltender Aaron McKenzie was activated from the injured list... Defenseman Evan Shaw was acquired from Columbia and is expected to join the Gulls next week... Doug MacIver (knee) and Andy Thompson (wrist) remain on the injured list...

The Gulls now hit the road for a pair of games against the Utah Grizzlies. Saturday's contest, which begins at 7:05 p.m. PST will mark the first-ever meeting between the two clubs... San Diego and Utah will also clash Monday from the E-Center, with game-time scheduled for 6:05 p.m. (PST)*. San Diego returns home next week for a brief two-game homestand (Friday, Dec. 16 vs. Long Beach and Saturday, Dec. 17 vs. Bakersfield).

All games can be heard on KLSD 1360AM and www.sandiegogulls.com with Chris Ello calling the play-by-play (*Note: Monday's game from Utah will be tape-delayed and begin airing at 7 p.m. PST). Most games can also be viewed on the Gulls' web site, courtesy of B2 Networks (Friday's contest against Long Beach is the next viewable game). 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.



ECHL Stories from December 10, 2005


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