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Gulls render Condors impotent
By Michael Clarke
November 21, 2005
San Diego--Despite a number of fans dressed as empty seats the San Diego Gulls cruised to an easy 7-0 victory against the Bakersfield Condors Friday night at the iPay One Center. The win extended a four-game winning streak…that, unfortunately, was snapped a night later against the Fresno Falcons.
At first it seemed like the game was going to be anything but easy. For fifteen minutes the Condors clutched and grabbed game breakers Darren Clark and Richard Keyes as they broke toward the goal. A blatant non-call on Mike Hofstrand of the Condors left many fans to wonder if the ‘Vision Institute’ logo on the ice wasn’t put there on the referees’ behalf.
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The Gulls were a blur to the Condors all night |
But then the Condors made a fatal mistake. There are many unwritten rules in hockey. One is that you should never drop your stick. Another is you should never let your friend with the mullet carry your beer. But an even more important rule is to NOT touch the goalie. Apparently, Eric Neilson of the Condors didn’t get that memo and came crashing into Lawson mid-way through the first period. This brought about some pushing and shoving in front of the Gulls net. Punches may have been thrown, but it was tough to tell because the sorority girl in front of this reporter wouldn’t sit down. |
Whatever was said on the ice seemed to rouse the Gulls’ intensity. A few minutes later, Steve Hildebrand scored the first goal of the contest. He was set up perfectly by Richard Keyes who stole the puck from the Gulls’ end and took it the length of the ice, shook off a defender, and deftly passed it to Hildebrand in time. A minute later the “French Fries” line scored a quick goal as Guillaume Fournier fed the puck to Martin Mandeville to put the Gulls up 2-0.
Much of the crowd stood and applauded as the team walked off the ice. Even the guy in Section 3 with the backwards baseball cap and enough alcohol consumption to level a small corporation stood up.
During intermission the Gulls Girls entertained the crowd with an interpretive dance. It was pretty good, with most of the girls in step with each other. Some had problems throwing free merchandise over the glass, but most of the men in attendance didn’t seem to care. You know, those girls really know how to wave.
For the second period teams switched directions but that didn’t seem to help the Condors. Richard Keyes scored his first of two goals and Matt Kunsman, who was just signed on Friday, scored a great goal as he faked out a Condor defender so badly the man lost his stick and fell to the ground all in one single action.
Perhaps the loudest ovation of the night, discounting the “Figaro’s Who Wants a Free Pizza?” promotion, was the hit Justin Silver put on a hapless Condor forward on the glass near middle ice. The cheer even managed to drown out the guy with the cowbell in Section 6.
Kunsman’s goal caused the Condors to pull their rookie goalie Ryan Cyr. His replacement, Ryan Munce, did some strange leg stretches that might or might not be illegal in a few states. Whatever they were, it didn’t help. The Gulls scored two more goals thanks to Jason Courtemanche, another recent signee, and Keyes, who wreaked so much havoc this night he will probably figure in Condor nightmares for some time to come.
As play entered the 3rd period the only real suspense was whether the guy with the head cozy was going to win the Casa Picante gift certificate. The Gulls got a comfortable lead and the Condors helped by giving up on the puck when it passed the blue line.
Still, as fans departed the iPay One Center they were satisfied in knowing they saw some great scoring, stellar defense, and a very solid fight involving six players and enough loose equipment to open a Big 5 Sporting goods store.
From here, the Gulls travel up to Fresno for a game Saturday night against the Falcons. With the win the Gulls entered into sole possession of second place in the Western Division. And with 7 straight games at home following the Fresno game the Gulls are poised to increase that lead---and give out a lot more free pizza.
San Diego Gulls official site: www.sandiegogulls.com
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