Hoffort Hangs Tough as Gulls Steal Victory

The Gulls trailed for a long time, but goaltender Bruce Hoffort kept blocking shots. By the time Hoffort blocked No. 41, the Gulls had scored their second goal in a 3 1/2-minute span beat Kalamazoo, 2-1, in overtime Friday night in International Hockey League action.

The Gulls, playing in front of 4,014 at Wings Stadium, maintained their hold on second place (27-15-4, 58 points) in the IHL West behind Kansas City (36-13-2, 74 points). Kalamazoo dropped to 22-19-6 (49 points).

It was a dramatic victory for San Diego, which fell behind 9 minutes 45 seconds into the first period when Mario Thyer scored on a power play.

The score remained 1-0 until late in the third period. With 1:23 left, Gulls defenseman Kord Cernich took a pass from Alan Leggett and scored his third goal of the season.

San Diego won the game 1:48 into overtime when rookie center Ray Whitney scored his 19th of the year after taking a pass from Brian Straub.

“We kept coming in the third period and I felt we would eventually tie the score, I just didn’t know we would wait until there was only 1:23 left to do it,” Gulls Coach Don Waddell said.

Kalamazoo outshot the Gulls, 42-30, but Hoffort was brilliant, improving to 8-4-2.