THIRD PERIOD RALLY SINKS COLORADO
March 16, 2002 - West Coast Hockey League (WCHL)
Colorado Gold Kings News Release
San Diego, CA - San Diego peppered Colorado netminder Kirk Daubenspeck with 50 shots and finally broke through with three goals in the third period to pull out a 4-2 victory over the Gold Kings before a crowd of 6,870 Friday night at the San Diego Sports Arena.
Despite being outplayed for most of the first period, Colorado actually gained the early lead when R.J. Enga slammed home a rebound on the power play at 12:02 of the first period. San Diego converted the last of its four opportunities with the man advantage in the opening frame at 18:12 as Taj Melson beat Daubenspeck with a backhander top shelf. The period ended 1-1 despite the fact the Gulls held a 16-3 edge in shots on goal.
San Diego goaltender Trevor Koenig committed a costly mistake early in the second period, turning the puck over in his own zone with his team on the power play. Greg Schmidt made him pay, taking the puck off the boards and rifling a slapshot into the vacated net at 6:44. Colorado took a 2-1 lead into the final 20 minutes despite being outshot 33-12 over the first two periods.
Mark Woolf finally tied the game with a power play goal at 5:14 of the third period that was redirected past Daubenspeck. Kyle Reeves found Dan Gravelle wide open in front for the go-ahead goal three minutes later and the Gulls never looked back, adding an insurance goal by Joe Bianchi with 2:12 left in the game. San Diego had a 50-19 advantage in shots on goal as Daubenspeck's season-high 46 saves went for naught. After not having lost a game all year when leading after two periods, Colorado has lost back-to-back games in that situation.
The Gold Kings, who have dropped four of their last six games, wrap up their series with the defending Taylor Cup champions tomorrow night at 8:05 p.m. MST. Jack Michaels calls the play-by-play for Colorado's games, all of which are broadcast live on KKCS-AM Hot Talk 1460.
• Discuss this story on the West Coast Hockey League message board...
West Coast Hockey League Stories from March 16, 2002
- THIRD PERIOD RALLY SINKS COLORADO - Colorado Gold Kings
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
