Vegas Doubles-Up Gulls, 4-2

January 5, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


LAS VEGAS – The Las Vegas Wranglers notched three power-play goals and overmatched the undermanned San Diego Gulls with a 4-2 victory Tuesday night at the Orleans Arena.

It was the second straight game the Gulls (15-9-4) could only dress two healthy defensemen. They got away with a point Sunday, but came up on the short end of the stick Tuesday. Where San Diego really could've used its blue-liners was on the penalty kill, as Las Vegas' no. 1 power play unit was the story of the game.

The Gulls, who are now winless in their last three games (0-1-2), remain third in the West Division, five points behind the first-place Long Beach Ice Dogs and four points back of the second-place Bakersfield Condors. The Wranglers (14-12-4) have now won three straight and are now only two points behind San Diego.

Scott Borders, playing as a defenseman with the rash of injuries among the San Diego defensemen, gave the Gulls a 1-0 lead 2:22 into the first period. Max Birbraer, stationed at the right post, waited for Las Vegas goaltender Marc Magliarditi to maneuver toward him and then dished a pass to a wide-open Borders, who knocked it in for his second goal of the season.

The Wranglers tied it in the waning moments of the first on a power-play goal by Ryan Gaucher. After taking a pass from Jason Spence at the left point, Gaucher fired a shot that sailed through a screen of bodies and past Gulls netminder Mathieu Chouinard. Gaucher's goal, his fifth of the year, came with eight seconds left in the period.

Las Vegas, which entered the day with the league's best power play, struck again with the man advantage 7:40 into the second period. It happened on a Gulls turnover as Darren Clark, standing behind his own net, had the puck roll of his stick. Chris Stanley pounced on the loose biscuit and punched in his ninth marker.

Mark Pederson made it a 2-2 game at the 10:47 mark, with San Diego skating on a two-man advantage. Curtis Brown, who also assisted on Border's goal, whipped a pass to the right wing circle where Pederson one-timed a blast just underneath the crossbar for his sixth goal.

A little more than two minutes later, the Wranglers were awarded another power play and capitalized once again. The tally came via a Gulls turnover again, as this time Dustin Johner picked off an errant pass from Chouinard and buried his team-leading 12th goal.

Darren Lynch gave Vegas a two-goal cushion with his third goal 5:43 into the third period, connecting on Jeff Attard's nice setup pass. Attard grabbed the puck at center ice, raced into the Gulls' zone and fed a streaking Lynch, who redirected the pass past Chouinard.

That proved to be the nail in the Gulls' coffin, as Magliarditi and his defensemen held the fort and skated away with the 4-2 victory. Magliarditi finished the game with 25 saves, while Chouinard stopped 28 shots in a losing effort.

Notes: San Diego is still 11-4-2 in its last 17 games... The Gulls are now 5-7-2 on the road and 10-2-2 at home this season... They are only four points off last season's pace, in which they amassed a franchise record 108 points... San Diego's previous 10 games were one-goal decisions... Defensemen Andrew Canzanello (bruised spleen), Nikita Korovkin (bruised spleen), Jonathon Shockey (separated shoulder), Sean Murphy (broken thumb) and Evgueni Nourislamov (sprained knee) all remain out of the lineup... Goaltender Trevor Koenig also remains on the shelf with an elbow injury...

The Gulls continue their busy week Wednesday at home against the Peoria Rivermen, with game-time set for 7:05 p.m. It will be another "Wacky Wednesday," featuring "American Idol – Gulls Style." San Diego will then play in Fresno Friday night at 7 p.m. before hosting the Falcons Saturday at 7:05 p.m. Saturday is Golf Night and the first 8,000 fans in attendance will receive special Gulls golf balls. For a $5 minimum donation, which will benefit the Asia Tsunami victims, fans can get a free Terrance ticket. Fans can also participate in a post-game autograph session for a donation of $10 or more.

All games can be heard live on KLSD 1360AM and www.sandiegogulls.com with Chris Ello calling the play-by-play. All home games and many road games can be viewed on the Gulls' web site, courtesy of B2 Networks. Click the B2 Networks link on the home page for a list of the upcoming telecasted games. To view pictures from this season, visit www.sdgullsphotos.com and www.zerodogentertainment.com.



ECHL Stories from January 5, 2005


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.

OurSports Central