Phoenix Tops Slumping Gulls

SAN DIEGO —  Chatter in the locker room has minimized to the mandatory pleasantries, and the shaking of heads has reached an all-time high.

Theories abound as to why the Gulls are amid their worst slump of their season, but the answers have only kept them chalking up loss after frustrating loss.

It can be a new face and a different score, but the result is becoming redundant.

This time, it was a 4-3 loss to International Hockey League-rival Phoenix, before 4,259 fans at the Sports Arena Sunday.

It was the Gulls’ (24-28-5) fourth loss in a row, their sixth consecutive setback at home, and their seventh loss in their past eight tries.

The Roadrunners (26-25-5) broke their three-game losing streak and defeated the Gulls for the seventh time in their last eight meetings. The Gulls now trail Phoenix 8-4 in the series, and haven’t won against the Roadrunners since Dec. 26.

“Certain players are taking it upon themselves to do everything on the ice,” Coach Mike O’Connell said. “It screws everyone else up. (We’ve) tried to correct it, but it doesn’t seem to be working.”

O’Connell wouldn’t point fingers and said he would talk to the individuals at today’s practice.

“It wouldn’t be fair to have them read it in the papers before I talk to them,” he said.

For a team that has brought the mighty to their knees and wilted against the meek, this fall from grace is perplexing.

O’Connell has said distractions in San Diego seem to have a more detrimental affect on the team than the hardships of playing on the road.

General Manager Don Waddell addressed that subject in a rare meeting with players before Sunday’s game.

“I wanted to remind them what they were here for,” he said.

The opposition had its own opinion as well.

Sylvain Couturier has been a menace to the Gulls all season. He scored the Roadrunners’ go-ahead goal, and his 14th against the Gulls, early in a third-period scoring bonanza.

“There are so many new faces,” Couturier said. “They have four, maybe five new players since we’ve played them. That is tough for any team to develop any continuity. So when you’re building for the playoffs, you want to have the same players and be fresh.”

In this game, Couturier said his team simply played smarter hockey.

“We played disciplined, we watched for a break, and we didn’t take stupid penalties,” he said.

Taking a 1-1 tie into the third, Couturier scored his 34th IHL goal, to put the Roadrunners up 2-1.

Bob Jones scored on a quirky playoff the boards that eventually bounced off his hand and enabled him to sneak a goal past Phoenix goalie Mario Gosselin.

But Phoenix followed that with consecutive goals within a 56-second span, on on the power play, for the 4-2 lead that proved too much to overcome.

Darcy Norton scored at 13:18 for the Gulls, and O’Connell pulled goalie Mark Reimer with 37 left in a last-ditch scoring effort, but the shot that defenseman Dean Morton got off landed in the net a second after the buzzer sounded.

“This was a big game for us and we made some progress tonight,” Reimer said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to turn it around in time.”

To say the Gulls have been ineffective of late in their five-on-five scoring efforts is an understatement.

They haven’t done much scoring regardless of the manpower on the ice. One-up, one-down, or even, the offense has sputtered.

They have allowed a league leading 16 shorthanded goals--six in five games in a bad spell a few weeks ago--but opened scoring with a shorthanded goal of their own, their second in a week.

Mike Sullivan scored the Gulls sixth shorthanded goal, his second, at 16:26 in the first period for the 1-0 lead.

Off a steal by Robbie Nichols, from the Roadrunners’ Stephane Richer at center ice, Nichols shoved the puck to Sullivan, who took off down the slot, faked to the right and beat Gosselin on the left.

Phoenix tied it in the second, on a little wrist shot inside the right circle by Chris Kontos.

O’Connell said earlier in the week that he would like to see his team take more shots.

Their response was to take 15 shots in the first two periods--to the Roadrunners’ 20.

Gull Notes

Center Ron Duguay and left wing Clark Donatelli were injured in Saturday’s 4-2 loss to Kansas City and didn’t play Sunday. Duguay injured his groin and Donatelli his knee in the second period. Defenseman Dave Korol (groin) missed his second consecutive game Sunday.