Gulls Defeat Phoenix in Overtime

Last year a victory such as the one the Gulls pulled off Saturday night against Phoenix was as improbable as it was unlikely.

The Gulls (11-10-0) overcame a three-goal deficit and forced overtime before they secured the 6-5 International Hockey League in front of 9,530 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

After the Gulls took a brief 1-0 lead in the first period off a goal by Soren True, the Roadrunners (4-13-3) tied the score going into the second, where they pounded out three consecutive goals, two by Scott Bjugstad--his second was shorthanded--for the 4-1 lead.

Ray Whitney who was acquired Friday from San Jose, scored his second Gull goal in two nights at 7:11 in the second to pull to 4-2. Teammate Len Hachborn made it 4-3 at 8:31, before Brian Straub tied it at 18:01. But with six seconds left in the period, Bjugstad scored again, shorthanded, for a 5-4 lead.

With 3:18 left in regulation, Larry Floyd scored a power-play goal to force the extra period. At 2:43 in overtime, Hachborn scored the winner and his 11th goal of the year.

“If we were down 4-1 last year, there’s no way we win that game,” Gull Coach Don Waddell said. “But I told the guys that this year, we’re scoring a lot of goals.”

Fourteen in the past two games. Friday, the Gulls upended Phoenix, 8-3, in San Diego.

“We have a mental lapse for five or six minutes of the second period,” he said.