Gulls Rally to Get Victory Over Admirals

The hum from the Motor City could almost be heard thousands of miles away in San Diego.

Detroit has giveth and taketh away at will since the Gulls reached a working agreement with the Red Wings nearly two months ago.

But Tuesday night, two of the seven players acquired through the Michigan pipeline were a key to the Gulls’ 3-2 comeback International Hockey League victory against Milwaukee seen by 4,105 at the San Diego Sports Arena.

Down 1-0 after two periods, the Gulls exchanged the next three goals with the Admirals, until Mike Sullivan tied the game at 2-all on a play from the crease at 14:26, that came 38 seconds after Milwaukee had taken a 2-1 lead. Sullivan did everything but beg the puck in.

“We were down a goal with five minutes to go,” Sullivan said. “I must have hit it about 10 times before it went in.”

Less than three minutes later and on the power play, defenseman Derek Mayer, a Red Wing acquisition and the hottest Gull on ice with 11 consecutive scoring games, pulled down a pass from Larry Floyd at the left circle and highballed it over goalie Bob Mason’s head.

For a team whose ability to score on the power play has been a saving grace--the Gulls led the league with 39 and in efficiency at 26.9% going into this game--they certainly fell from favor by frittering away seven golden opportunities in the first two periods, eight before Mayer got his sixth goal of the year.

“One line started to work, and then it got contagious,” Gull Coach Mike O’Connell said.

Detroit byproduct Dennis Holland, now the Gulls’ leading scorer, fired up first, scoring from the far right corner at 11:36.

It was Holland’s 10 goal, and he has scored a point in 12 of the last 13 games.

For the first time all year, the Gulls were part of a scoreless first period, not necessarily a bad thing, as the Gulls are quite generous in allowing the opposition to score first.

At least they weren’t in hot pursuit.

But Milwaukee pinned them to the wall early in the second, nonetheless, and the Gulls extended to 21 the number of games--out of 27--they’ve allowed the first goal.

Peter DeBoer scored from the slot off a shot that rebounded from goalie Scott Brower’s pads at 3:51.

It also marked the first time in 14 games the Gulls have allowed a goal when assistant coach and left wing Charlie Simmer was on the ice.

As if wasn’t enough salt for their wounds, the Gulls were faced with an even more unbecoming and burdensome statistic--an 0-9-2 record when trailing after two periods.

The Gulls decided not to let it go into double digits.

Gull Notes

Last Laugh: Brent Sapergia, the Gulls’ leading scorer (15 goals) left San Diego with the same spirit that made him a fan favorite in his 26-game tenure here. He signed a one-year contract with a possible one-year extension with a team in Birmingham, England. “They told me if I did well the first year, they mortgage the team to pay my salary next year,” Sapergia said Monday. . . . Sapergia hadn’t scored a goal in his last eight games, which he said hurt him in his contract negotiations with Gulls General Manager Don Waddell, who said they weren’t willing to match the money offered him in Europe . . . Double duty: Coronado’s Ed “Scooter” Henson, an assistant tennis coach at the Hotel del Coronado, suited up with the Gulls Tuesday. Henson, who also skates for the semi-pro San Diego Surf, where he has a 29-0-1 record, was cut during training camp, but sought out after Detroit recalled goalie Alain Chevrier Monday, leaving the Gulls with only Scott Brower in goal. “Henson was a good kid in training camp,” Waddell said. Glen Hanlon is still on a 14-day assignment with the Red Wings, but it is believed that Chevrier may be sent back to the Gulls if he clears waivers and no other NHL team picks him up . . . Tuesday night’s game, the Gulls’ first at home since Nov. 18, saw center Larry Floyd (six goals, 13 assists) back in the lineup for the first time in six games. Floyd missed the entire road trip because of an eye injury.