Utah holds on, Gulls drop third straight, 3-2

February 8, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah - The Utah Grizzlies scored three times in the first period and that proved to be enough, as they hung on to beat the San Diego Gulls 3-2 Wednesday night at the E-Center.

Utah (24-19-4) got their tallies in a 12:26 span in the opening period, but weren't heard from since. San Diego (19-19-5) tried to come back in the third period, but could only muster two shots into the net. The Blue and Orange have now lost three straight, tying a season high, and are winless on their six-game road trip. All three loses have been by one goal.

Garret Cameron, who notched two of the three, got things started 4:32 into the game after taking a nice outlet pass from Ryan Kinasewich and beating Tom Lawson on a breakaway.

Kinasewich then lit the lamp at the 8:06 mark, roofing a wrist shot over Lawson's out-stretched glove for his team-leading 23rd goal. Cameron made it a 3-0 Grizzlies lead at 16:58, finding himself wide-open in the slot before slipping home his 15th marker.

San Diego tried to get going in the second period, out-shooting the Grizzlies 18-11, but couldn't get anything past netminder Justin Eddy. Meanwhile, Utah had a handful of chances to extend its lead, but Lawson kept it a three-goal game heading into the final stanza.

Pierre-Luc Sleigher finally got the Gulls on the board 2:29 into the third period. After racing into the right wing corner, Sleigher centered a pass that caromed off Eddy's pads and into the net. It was his 14th goal of the season.

San Diego cut the deficit back to one at the 7:37 mark when Evan Shaw notched his fourth goal of the year. Nikita Korovkin got the original shot from the top of the slot that Eddy stopped. He couldn't control the rebound however, and Shaw eventually jammed it behind the goal line.

That's where the Gulls' comeback would end, however, as Eddy and Grizzlies held on for the 3-2 victory. The Utah goaltender finished with 38 saves, upping his record to 12-11-2. Lawson turned aside 24 shots, but saw his record fall to 10-9-2.

Notes: The Gulls have killed 32 of 33 penalties during the last six games and 105 of 116 (90.5 percent) in the last 18 games... They, however, are only 6-for-72 on the power play during the last 12 games (8.3 percent)... San Diego has scored only nine times in regulation during the last six games (1-4-1)... Lawson has stopped 137 of 146 shots in the last three games (.938 save percentage)... Guillaume Fournier, who missed 20 of the last 21 games with a concussion, was activated from the injured list Wednesday... Martin Mandeville was suspended for the game after taking a major boarding penalty Saturday in Long Beach... Richard Keyes was scratched with a groin injury... Mike Lappan, a full-time sales employee in the Gulls front office, was signed to fill in for all the injuries and AHL call-ups. He dressed, but didn't play...

San Diego and Utah will meet again at the E-Center Friday, with game-time slated for 6:05 p.m. (PST). The Gulls will close out their road trip next week in Las Vegas and Bakersfield. All games can be heard on KLSD 1360AM and www.sandiegogulls.com with Chris Ello calling the play-by-play (NOTE THAT FRIDAY'S GAME IN UTAH WILL BEGIN AIRING ON KLSD AT 7 P.M. PST). Most games can also be viewed on the Gulls' Web site, courtesy of B2 Networks (FRIDAY'S GAME IN UTAH CAN BE VIEWED LIVE). 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 February 8, 2006


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