Victory Leaves Peoria Poised to Sweep Gulls

Two hockey teams headed in opposite directions--one peaking, the other plummeting--clashed in the first International Hockey League playoff game at the San Diego Sports Arena on Saturday.

Anyone hoping to see another IHL playoff game in San Diego better get to get to the arena Monday. That might be the last chance. The Peoria Rivermen, defending Turner Cup champions, beat the Gulls, 5-3, in front of 7,071 to lead the best-of-seven series, 3-0.

The Rivermen, having won 11 of 13 games since 2 1/2 weeks remained in the regular season, are poised to sweep the Gulls, losers of nine of their last 12.

Nobody seems to know what happened to the Gulls after March 20, when a 3-0 shutout at Muskegon began their downward spiral.

The only thing certain is the end of the 1991-92 season is near. No team has come back from a 3-0 deficit in the 46-year history of the league.

It is also certain the Gulls will want their fans to remember how they roared back from a 1990-91 expansion season in which they fell from second to fifth place and lost what looked like a sure playoff bid. How they won 45 games, finish third and post 99 points.

They won’t want to be remembered for laying eggs, as they have in the first three games in this series.

“If somebody has some answers, we’d like to know them,” Gull winger Robbie Nichols said. “We’ve tried dumping the puck, we’ve tried different combinations, we’ve tried different things. Nothing’s worked. They’re holding us up and frustrating the crap out of us.

“Every mistake we’ve made, the puck’s ended up in our net. Now we’ve got three nails in the coffin. It’s sad.”

Peoria continued to get great goaltending, this time by J.C. Bergeron after Guy Hebert--the winner in the first two games of the series at Peoria--was promoted to the St. Louis Blues. Bergeron stopped 37 of 40 shots, and the Rivermen took 24 shots on goal, scoring four times off loser Sean Burke (0-3, 4.88 goals-against average in playoffs) and once on Rick Knickle, who replaced Burke in the third period.

Peoria once again beat the Gulls on basics. They’ve all but disconnected the Gulls’ 124-point “Hot Line,” which has produced only three goals--all by Dmitri Kvartalnov.

The Rivermen have played so well, they’ve actually caught the Gulls standing and watching. How else can one explain Jason Ruff’s goal with one second left in the first period after the Gulls lost a face-off? Ruff got free and peppered Burke from the top of the crease on the power play to make it 2-1, Peoria, at the first intermission.

Another embarrassing moment came at 9:22 of the third period, 18 seconds after Kent Hawley scored to pull the Gulls to within two at 4-2. Peoria won the face-off at center ice, and Kevin Miehm one-timed it past Knickle from the crease while the fans were still cheering Hawley’s goal.

The Gulls played strong in the first period. Four shots on goal in the first four minutes, including a point-blank effort by Ray Whitney, were stopped by Bergeron. The Rivermen took a 1-0 lead when Burke’s pad block of Ron Hoover’s shot went right to Miehm, who put in the rebound.

The Gulls tied it, 1-1, when Kvartalnov picked up a loose puck and flipped it over Bergeron’s stick. Ruff then beat the buzzer to give Peoria a 2-1 lead and scored again 2:49 into the second period. Michel Mongeau’s goal around Burke’s stick made it 4-1.

After Miehm spoiled the Gulls’ comeback effort, Gull defenseman Kord Cernich skated in from boards to beat Bergeron.

Gull Coach Don Waddell, without an explanation for the Gulls’ slump, conceded Peoria is a better team right now.

“I won’t disagree with that,” he said. “We knew we had to play a perfect hockey game.”