Admirals Get Overtime Victory Against Gulls

Familiarity bred not only contempt, but with it came fisticuffs, body slams, head butts and some generally raffish behavior.

But after the Gulls (14-11-3) and Milwaukee (12-11-2) played a relatively calm third period, their International Hockey League game went into overtime Thursday night at the San Diego Sports Arena, where the Admirals’ Todd Hawkins scored at 3:44 for the 5-4 victory.

It was the fourth and final time the Gulls will have a three-game series against anyone.

Milwaukee came out victorious, but neither team came out as gentlemen.

Emotions built so high after the first two meetings, that patience had worn wafer thin by No. 3. A crowd of 4,527 saw 98 penalty minutes drawn and saw the Gulls’ Mike Gober ejected, Larry Floyd take five stitches and still play the third period, and Bob Jones limp off the ice with a sprained right knee.

After a most physical second period, where Floyd and Charlie Simmer scored to turn a 2-1 Milwaukee lead into a 3-2 advantage for the Gulls, each side allowed the other some breathing and scoring room in the third. Floyd’s goal was his first in seven games.

Milwaukee’s Peter DeBoer and Shawn Antoski scored to give the Admirals their second lead of the night. Antoski’s second goal of the game came at 12:50.

But right wing Taylor Hall flipped a high line drive over the right shoulder of goalie Bob Mason a minute and 23 seconds later to make it 4-4.

“We came out a little sleepy, I don’t know why,” Hall said. “We need to focus a little more out there, get it together. It’s nice to get the one point, but a win would have been nicer.”

The Gulls, with 31 points, remain in second in the Western Division, despite Salt Lake’s (30 points) 7-4 victory over Kansas City.

At 1:40, the Gulls scored their earliest goal of the season, and the first of the game for only the seventh time in 28 attempts.

Gober redirected the puck off his own shot from just outside the right crease with Darren Lowe credited on the assist.

Thirteen minutes later, Gober was assessed 27 penalty minutes and ejected when he joined a skirmish between Larry Floyd and Milwaukee’s Dave Mackey.

Gull Notes

The Gulls acquired left wing Gord Walker (6-0, 175) Thursday from the Canadian National Team. Walker, 25, was the New York Rangers’ third-round draft choice in 1983. He played in 31 NHL games (19 with the Rangers, 12 with the Kings) and scored three career goals. He will be available Saturday.