Gulls Continue to Toy With Opponents : Hockey: Clint Malarchuk gets the shutout in 5-0 victory over Salt Lake Golden Eagles.

The rest of the International Hockey League has become to the Gulls what the Washington Generals are to the Harlem Globetrotters.

All the Gulls have to do, it seems, is show up, and victory is theirs. The latest came Friday over the Golden Eagles, 5-0, in front of 6,578 at the Delta Center.

The Gulls (14-0-1) have won 10 games by three or more goals and now lead second-place Golden Eagles (6-8-1, 13 points) by 16 points in the Pacific Division.

There are more impressive statistics that have come from their streak:

-- The latest victory was the sixth in a row, the second-longest winning streak in team history. The longest came this season when they won eight consecutive before their only loss this season.

-- During this streak, the Gulls have outscored their opponents, 25-5.

-- The shutout was the first for goalie Clint Malarchuk, but the second for the team. It improved Malarchuk’s goals-against average to 2.87. The other half of the Gulls’ stingy tandem is Rick Knickle, who leads he league with a 1.72 goals-against average.

-- The winning goal, which also was the game’s first, came from Mitch Lamoureux, who leads the IHL with five game-winning goals.

-- Robbie Nichols scored the only goal of the second period--while his team skated short-handed. It was the Gulls’ sixth short-handed goal of the year, which also leads the league.

-- Nichols, who scored twice Friday, is on a seven-game scoring streak and has five goals in the past three games.

-- Not only do the Gulls have six short-handed goals, but they have allowed only eight power play goals in 90 situations.

“It’s outstanding to have allowed only eight power play goals in 15 games,” said Coach Rick Dudley. “But to have scored almost that many is absolutely incredible.”

Dudley also reserved some praise for his “back-up” goalie.

“He needed to get some ice time to get back his timing,” Dudley said of Malarchuk (4-0-1), who came to the Gulls early in the season on loan from the Buffalo Sabres. “He hadn’t played a lot last year or early this season. But now he seems to be very strong.”

Malarchuk, like Knickle (10-0-0), is having it easy in goal. He needed to stop only 21 shots. Sat Lake goalie Andrei Trefilov faced 28 shots.

The Gulls killed all five of Salt Lake’s power plays and converted one of their four such opportunities.

Also scoring for the Gulls were center John Anderson and wing Perry Anderson. It was Perry’s first goal of the year. John Anderson’s goal was perhaps the most artistic of the night. He managed to split two defenders, then sneak a shot between the pads of Trefilov.

The two teams face off tonight for the third time in four nights, this time at the Sports Arena at 7:05. The Gulls are asking each fan to bring a non-perishable food item to the game for which they will receive a Gull Buck, redeemable at souvenir stands. The food will go to the San Diego Rescue Mission.

With results from Gulls games rarely in doubt, Dudley has started to hear questions about how his players can remain motivated.

“All these people are so competitive,” he said. “I have no doubt they’ll come back tomorrow night and play a very strong game.”