Roadrunners Rally to Pass Gulls in Overtime

The playoff-bound Gulls are in a race for second place but not for long if they continue to stagger on the road.

The Gulls’ 4-3 loss Tuesday in sudden-death overtime to the Phoenix Roadrunners in front of 6,159 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum was the Gulls’ ninth defeat in a row on the road.

But with the second-place Peoria Rivermen idle, the struggling Gulls actually gained ground in the IHL’s West Division. They picked up one point for the overtime loss and now have 92 points. Peoria has 93.

The Gulls (42-26-8), however, have won each of their past five at the San Diego Diego Sports Arena. And that’s where they will play five of their final six games (beginning with Phoenix on Friday) as they battle the Rivermen for second place and home-ice advantage in the playoffs.

“It’s a game we should have won,” Coach Don Waddell said after the Gulls yielded a 3-2 lead with 1:40 left in regulation. “We look like a tired hockey team. I think the guys were looking forward to coming home, because they play well at home.”

Not only could the Gulls not protect the one-goal lead with only 1:40 remaining, they failed to score on a six-minute, 55-second power play in the third period. The Gulls began the three-game trip with the second-best percentage in the IHL with a man advantage. But they’ve short-circuited on the power play, going 0-6 Tuesday and 0-17 on the trip.

“It’s been our bread and butter this year,” Waddell said of the power play. “We’ve proven we can score goals on it. We didn’t lose it overnight, we’ll just go back to the basics.”

Bill O’Dwyre scored twice to give Phoenix a 2-0 lead in the first period. The Gulls didn’t score until the 17:39 mark of the second period, when Larry Floyd scored his 18th goal short-handed. Then they took control with goals by Denny Lambert (17th) and Darcy Norton (16th) in the third period.

But Mark Saumier beat goalie Rick Knickle (27-12-4) before the Gulls could get to the dressing room with a victory, and Mike Vukonich burned him 32 seconds into the overtime period.

Waddell said he is not ready to press the panic button, even though neither IHL goals (57) and points (109) leader Dmitri Kvartalnov nor Len Hachborn (99 points) scored on the trip.

“The team has played well at home all season,” Waddell said. “If we don’t come out of it over the weekend, then I’ll be concerned.”

Gull Notes

The Salt Lake Golden Eagles, a nemesis of the Gulls earlier this season, could be slumping out of playoff contention with 70 points and a 31-38-8 record. The Indianapolis Ice, last in the East Division with 69 points, has won 10 of 11 games to resurrect some playoff hopes. Indianapolis will face Kansas City in the first round of the West Division playoffs if it finishes with a better record than Salt Lake . . . The Gulls likely won’t announce their playoff dates until after their final regular-season game, April 5. The will face Peoria in a seven-game (2-3-2) series.