Gulls Earn a Victory Over Milwaukee in OT : Hockey: After Admirals’ Murano ties game with 25 seconds remaining, Gulls get game-winner from Donatelli.

SAN DIEGO —  It’s not that they’re not working hard, the Gulls will tell you, it’s that they’re not working hard together.

Said defenseman Al Tuer: “Some nights we do work together, and when we do, we’re fine. But when we don’t, when we do things on our own, we don’t follow through and then we end up losing.”

The Gulls had a little of both Tuesday night in a 4-3 overtime victory over Milwaukee in front of 3,729 on “Guaranteed Win” night at the Sports Arena.

With 25 seconds remaining, Milwaukee’s Eric Murano scored on his own rebound off of Gull goalie Scott Brower’s stick, tying the game at 3-3, and sending it into overtime.

At 1:08 into the extra period, Clark Donatelli beat Milwaukee goalie Bob Mason. The assist went to Larry Floyd, and the Gulls had their first victory in five overtimes.

The victory put the Gulls (19-20-4) back into third in the International Hockey Leauge West and boosted their spirits.

“There was a lot of bumping an grinding going on out there,” Donatelli said. “But we just took it to them and came out with the win.”

Taylor Hall was credited with a goal at 8:08 in the third that put the Gulls ahead 3-2.

Hall was tied up with a slew of Milwaukee defenders when Robbie Nichols dropped the puck out in front of Hall, who was standing outside the arch, and it caromed off Hall’s stake and into the net.

On half a dozen prior occasions, similar shots were waved off by officials. This time, it was good.

Just in the nick of time. Team members, coaches and significant others had taken to scratching their heads in wake of the current losing streak--they have dropped 10 of 14.

Coach Mike O’Connell stressed working harder, but players insisted it was merely the wrong kind of work that was getting them further away from .500 mark they had established early in the season.

Now that mark is a victory away. The Gulls improved their record against Milwaukee to 2-1-1, with a rematch tonight in the Sports Arena.

For the 30th time in 43 games, the Gulls were scored on first.

Milwaukee right wing Ron Stern, who was sent down Friday by the Vancouver Canucks for a two-week rehabilitation period, scored to give the Admirals a 1-0 lead.

The goal was set up when Gull newcomer Scott Young made a bad pass from the right wing, and Shaun Clouston forwarded the puck to Stern, who flipped it in at 4:56.

Brower stopped 14 of 15 Admiral shots in the first.

The glove changed hands in the second, where Mason was the designated target. Mason stopped 13 of 15 Gulls shots, and the scored was knotted going into the third, 2-2.

The Gulls’ record was 2-1-0 when tied after two.

Ron Duguay, the Gull who seems to harrass the puck as much as he chases, passes and shoots it, got close on several shots, but connected on the one that made it 1-1 at 4:10.

Duguay rebounded his own shot from the left crease and passed Mason to the right for his fourth goal of the season.

Gull Notes

Before Tuesday’s game, there was a moment of silence for the troops in the Persian Gulf, and spectators hung a red sign from the terrace level, “No Blood For Oil.” . . . The addition of defenseman Rob MacInnis from the Albany Chopers Monday beefed up the Gulls defense corps. MacInnis, brother of the Calgary Flames’ Al, scored nine goals and had nine assists in 38 games this season at Albany, and was slapped with 74 minutes in penalties. He was the fourth player player added to the Gulls roster in two days, joining forward Byron Lomow, also of Albany, and defensemen Mike Hurlbut and Scott Young who are on loan from AHL Binghamton and Phoenix. McInnis will join the team later this week. . . . Tuesday’s “Guaranteed Win” night was the second of its kind this season. The Gulls won the first, Dec. 4 against Milwaukee, 3-2.