Gulls Roll to 4th Win in a Row

By virtue of their 6-3 International Hockey League victory Wednesday night in front of 7,596 at the Bradley Center, the Gulls have the opportunity to do something the second-year franchise has never done.

Win five consecutive games.

The Gulls (13-10-0), winners of four in a row, moved back into third in the IHL West--past idle Salt Lake--and to within two points of second-place Peoria.

In doing so, the Gulls got banner performances from several players, including Dmitri Kvartalnov, who scored his second hat trick of the year. Kvartalnov scored two first-period goals, the first on a breakaway, and one in the third to get his IHL-leading 21st goal of the year. He moved past Peoria’s Steve Tuttle, who has 19.

“The first two goals he scored were unbelievable individual efforts,” Coach Don Waddell said. “He just carried the puck in on his own, and beat the goaltender. I’ve been saying all along, ‘Let’s just see what happens with him,’ but he just keeps playing better and better.”

The Gulls took a 4-0 first-period lead off goals by Larry Floyd, Kvartalnov (two) and Brent Sapergia.

Sergei Starikov’s first-period assist gave him a seven-game assist streak, one short of the team record eight, held by Floyd.

Milwaukee (5-13-4) scored the only second-period goal, then struck twice in the third to pull to 4-3.

But the Gulls put it away at 11:22 in the third, on another Sapergia goal, with Floyd on the assist. Sapergia’s 14 team goals are second only to Kvartalnov’s, who got his hat trick at 16:20, with Len Hachborn and Robbie Nichols assisting.

Rick Knickle (9-3) stopped 41 of 44 Milwaukee shots, a record number of saves by a Gulls -goalie.

“He played real well,” Waddell said. “He kept us in there. At least 15 of the saves were quality.”

The Gulls face Eastern Division leading Fort Wayne (15-4-1) tonight (5 p.m., XEK-AM 950).