Gulls Blow Two-Goal Lead, Lose to Salt Lake in Final Shot of Shootout : Hockey: Gulls head for showdown with Peoria. Five San Diego players named to all-star team.

Coach Don Waddell had no answers, only questions after the Gulls blew a 3-1 lead and lost in a shootout to the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, 5-4, in an International Hockey League game played in front of 7,034 at the Delta Center.

“I don’t really understand it,” Waddell said, after the Gulls watched Kevin Wortman score on the 10th and final attempt of the shootout, which followed a scoreless overtime. “We just got big bonuses, got a couple of days off. We should have been flying. Hopefully, we’re saving it all up for the rest of the trip.”

The Gulls (20-14-2, 42 points), in the midst of a three-day, three-game trip, picked up one point and head into tonight’s second-place showdown at Peoria (19-14-4, 42 points) tied with the Rivermen, who were 6-3 winners over Ft. Wayne. Game time is 5:30 p.m. (XEK Radio, 950). Salt Lake is 17-19-3 (37 points), still fourth in the IHL West Division.

The Gulls got a goal and two assists each from Ray Whitney and Glen Goodall and built a 3-1 edge after two periods. But in the third, Bryan Deasley, later ejected along with Gull Len Hachborn, scored twice.

Five Gulls took shots at Jason Muzzatti (11-7-3) in the shootout, but only Goodall scored. The Eagles were one-for-four against Gulls goalie Bruce Hoffort (5-4-1) until Wortman, an all-star defenseman, put one through his legs to end it.

Hoffort, who had won three straight coming in, will spend the next few days playing backup goalie for the Philadelphia Flyers, while Mike Williams will join the Gulls for the remainder of the trip.

The IHL also released its 1992 All-Star teams Friday, and five Gulls players were selected. Hachborn and right wing Dmitri Kvartalnov had been selected earlier. Left wing Robbie Nichols, who plays on the same line as Hachborn and Kvartalnov, was one of three additional Gulls selections Friday.

The others were defenseman Alan Hepple and Whitney, who has 14 goals and 25 points in 17 games. Nichols, 27, the grinder on what the Gulls call their “Hot Line,” improved his credentials with a hat trick against Salt Lake on Dec. 29, which gave him 14 goals and 34 points, ninth in the league. The All-Star game will be Feb. 2 at the Omni in Atlanta.