Kansas City Douses Gulls With Late Goal

The storm brooding outside had a chilling effect on the conditions inside the Sports Arena as well Wednesday night.

Kansas City unleashed a series of late-in-the-period heroics that tripped up the Gulls, 4-3, in an International Hockey League game in front of a 7,164.

Darin Smith broke a 3-3 tie and produced the winning shot from the left wing at 16:16 in the third period, stopping the Blades’ three-game losing streak.

The winning drive halted any momentum the Gulls had managed to build late in the period. Besides being the newest member of the team, Steve Richmond also became the first Gull defenseman to come up with a two-goal game. His second goal, at 10:03 in the third, was the tying goal.

“The effort was there for two periods,” Coach Mike O’Connell said. “The second period hurt us. They’re all big games. We’ve been in a big game situation for the last month. Just when you think things are turning around . . .”

The Gulls playoffs hopes fade with each loss. It was their eighth loss in their last 10 home games, and they remain a point behind Milwaukee in the race for the final playoff spot.

Faced with a crucial three-game, five-day home stand, the Gulls insisted on making things as hard on themselves as possible.

The Gulls were once in second place in the West, ahead of Salt Lake and Phoenix, teams they now trail by 17 and six points, respectively.

And Kansas City (22-46-3) is the IHL’s doormat. Going into this game, the Blades still had two fewer points than Albany, the New York team that ceased operations Feb. 15.

Still, they weren’t pushovers for the Gulls (28-38-8), who have now dropped their last three against Kansas City.

“We’re not out of it yet,” O’Connell said. “We’ve just made it difficult on ourselves.”

The Gulls frittered away a 2-1 first-period lead by allowing two Kansas City goals within a 3:04 span late in the second period.

Mike Berger’s goal, his sixth, came at 16:48 for Kansas City. Kim Issel scored from 20-feet out with eight seconds left.

They may be the worst team in the league, but the Blades had killed 19 penalties in a row before the Gulls broke through that barrier at 3:14 in the first.

The Gulls escaped from the period with a 2-1 lead, thanks in part to Darcy Norton’s unassisted go-ahead goal at 16:44. His goal from the right circle was penance for his poor pass that led to the Blades’ tying goal by Jim Latos three minutes earlier.

Richmond, acquired March 12, scored his first goal as a Gull on a 55-foot slapshot from the slot at 7:23.

Before he set foot in San Diego, Gulls General Manager Don Waddell knew enough about Richmond that he wasn’t about to leave him off their final playoff roster.

Gull Notes

Age and Experience: The Gulls’ starting line Wednesday featured Charlie Simmer, who was celebrating his 37th birthday, Ron Duguay and Larry Floyd. Their combined ages add up to 99. . . . Floyd, with an early assist Wednesday, has scored a point in 14 of his last 17 games. . . . The Gulls’ opening goal Wednesday marked the 24th time they’ve scored first in 74 games. The same goal was their IHL-eading 95th power play goal.