Gulls Lose Another On Road, 3-2 to Phoenix

The Gulls, who could have been called the International Hockey League’s road warriors at one point in the season, suffered their third loss in a row and their fourth consecutive defeat on the road, losing 3-2 to the Phoenix Roadrunners in front of 3,385 at Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum Thursday.

The loss also marked only the second time all season that the Gulls (15-14-3) allowed an opponent to come back and win after being behind in the third period. Phoenix (12-18-1) outshot the Gulls, 12-1, in the final period, tying the game two minutes and 35 seconds into the period and winning it with 2:31 remaining on a goal by Sean Whyte.

The Gulls also missed an opportunity to regain second place in the IHL Western Division. They trail second-place Salt Lake City (16-14-2) by half a game. Salt Lake City currently has 34 points; the Gulls have 33.

After the Roadrunners took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Mikael Lindholm in the first period, Gulls left winger Clark Donatelli scored twice in the second period to give his team a 2-1 lead that it carried into the third period. Donatelli’s goals were his 12th and 13th of the season to lead the Gulls.

But Phoenix quickly tied it a goal by Sylvain Couturier early in the third. Then, at the 17:29 mark, Whyte burned Gulls goalie Alain Chevrier with the game-winner. The Roadrunners outshot the Gulls, 36-21, while Phoenix goalie Mario Gosselin, a former Los Angeles King, stopped 19 of 21 Gull shots.

At one time this season, the Gulls were 8-3-1 on the road, and during one stretch they were 7-0-1. But they are 0-3 on the current road swing.