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Valentine's Day Not So Sweet for San Diego

February 15, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


LAS VEGAS - It wasn't a very lovable Valentines Day for the San Diego Gulls, as they suffered their fifth straight loss after falling 5-2 to the Las Vegas Wranglers Wednesday night at the Orleans Arena. All of San Diego's defeats have come on its six-game road trip, which finally comes to an end Wednesday in Bakersfield.

Steve Crampton led the way for the Wranglers with a hat trick, while linemates Dan Tudin and Matt Dzieduszycki each earned two assists. Las Vegas (35-8-5) is now a perfect 4-0 against the Gulls this season, outscoring them 22-9. San Diego (19-21-5) meanwhile falls two games under .500 since late November.

Getting off to good starts has been a Gulls bug-a-boo lately, but Tuesday night San Diego got off to the early lead as Jesse Bennefield dented the scoreboard just 38 seconds into the game. After getting a feed from Steve Hildenbrand, Bennefield jetted to the right wing circle and blasted a slapper past Vegas netminder Marc Magliarditi for his team-leading 22nd goal.

But unfortunately for the Blue and Orange, it was all Wranglers from there. Crampton tied it at the 5:16 mark of the first period, taking Dzieduszycki's feed and punching it behind Tom Lawson for his first goal of the game.

That started a barrage of four unanswered Vegas goals, three of which were scored in a 4:31 span in the second period. Crampton got two of the three, completing the hat trick and notching his 11th and 12th tallies of the year. Both came via the power play as well.

Crampton's second goal came at 11:46 of the second, beating Lawson from the right side of the crease while being knocked down from behind. His hat trick marker was scored from the slot at the 14:53 mark when he redirected home Tudin's centering feed. Tudin and Dzieduszycki also assisted on Crampton earlier second-period tally, both their second helpers of the game.

Marco Peluso then scored on a breakaway at 16:17, making it a 4-1 game. Moments before the tally, Gulls captain Jonathon Shockey was knocked down and was laying face-first on the ice when Peluso lit the lamp, which was his ninth of the season.

Jason Reimer's second tally of the season 7:56 into the third period drew the Gulls within one, but Darren Lynch sealed the Wranglers win with an empty-netter at the 19:12 mark - his fifth goal.

The third-period goals were overshadowed, however, by a penalty-filled final stanza. Teams combined for 80 penalty minutes in the third, which included four separate fighting altercations. One of the scraps was between Lawson and Crampton, marking the second time this season that Lawson has gotten into a fight against Las Vegas.

Notes: Dzieduszycki has 11 points (3g, 8a) and Tudin has eight points (4g, 4a) in four games against San Diego this season... The Gulls have six regulars on the shelf again due to injuries (Guillaume Fournier - concussion, Grady Moore - concussion, Richard Keyes - groin, Alex Kim - collar bone, Kelly Askew - ankle and Alex Rogosheske - knee)... R.J. Enga, who played with San Diego in 2002-03, signed just for Tuesday night... The longest winless streak in Gulls history is seven, set in 1999-00... Their five-game road losing streak is a new franchise record... The Gulls have killed 34 of 36 penalties during their last seven games and 107 of 119 (89.9 percent) over their last 19 matches... San Diego, however, is only 7-for-81 on the power play during the last 13 games (8.6 percent)...

San Diego concludes its six-game road trip Wednesday in Bakersfield, with game-time set for 7 p.m. The Gulls finally return home Saturday for a 7:05 p.m. affair against the Victoria Salmon Kings. It will be "Canadian Night," and the first 8,000 fans will receive a Gulls toque (A.K.A. beanie hat), courtesy of your San Diego County Toyota Dealers.

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. 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.

SCORING SUMMARY: San Diego: 1, 0, 1 = 2 Las Vegas: 1, 3, 1 = 5

First Period: 1, SDG - Jesse Bennefield 22 (Steve Hildenbrand), 0:38; 2, LV - Steve Crampton 10 (Matt Dzieduszycki, Adam Pardy), 5:16. Second Period: 3, LV - Steve Crampton 11 (Dan Tudin, Matt Dzieduszycki), 11:46 (pp); 4, LV - Steve Crampton 12 (Dan Tudin, Lee Green), 14:43 (pp); 5, LV - Marco Peluso 9 (Unassisted), 16:17. Third Period: 6, SDG - Jason Reimers 2 (Martin Mandeville, Steve Hildenbrand), 7:56; 7, Darren Lynch 5 (Sean O'Connor), 19:12 (en).

SHOTS: San Diego: 9, 5, 7 = 21 Las Vegas: 4, 12, 15 = 31

POWER PLAYS: San Diego: 0 for 7 Las Vegas: 2 for 4

GOALTENDERS: San Diego: Tom Lawson (3, 9, 14 = 26) Las Vegas: Marc Magliarditi (8, 5, 6 = 19)



ECHL Stories from February 15, 2006


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