Mayotte Shines In Pro Debut, Gulls Beat Phoenix 3-1

SAN DIEGO - It's safe to say that Kris Mayotte had a pretty successful pro debut between the pipes for the San Diego Gulls. The rookie netminder made 31 saves and even earned an assist, leading the Gulls to a 3-1 victory over the Phoenix Roadrunners Saturday night, before 8,096 at the ipayOne Center.

Alex Kim had a goal and an assist and Grady Moore chipped in with two helpers for San Diego (31-27-6), which extended its home-winning streak to five games and moved four games over .500 for the first time this season. Phoenix (19-44-3) continues to struggle, losing its 10th straight game and 16th in its last 17 games overall.

Teams were held scoreless throughout the first half of the contest, but both had plenty of offensive chances. Mayotte, who just completed his senior season at Union College, was a bit busier in the opening frame, but turned aside all 12 Roadrunner shots. At the other end was fellow rookie Zach Sikich, whose only win of the season came March 11 against San Diego when he played with the Long Beach Ice Dogs.

Sikich stopped all nine San Diego shots in the opening frame, but was really tested in the second period, as the Gulls racked up 19 more shots. Kim had the best scoring chances at point-blank range, but Sikich stood tall.

The Roadrunners finally drew first blood at the 10:30 mark of the second when three former Gulls connected. Patrick Levesque, who was traded to Phoenix earlier in the month, got the tally - his ninth of the season - after burying the rebound off Nick Ganga's initial bid. Dean Tiltgen, a Gull in 2002-03 and 2003-04, assisted on the play along with Ganga, who played for the Blue and Orange last season.

Mayotte, meanwhile, had a two-period total of 23 saves and finally got rewarded when Steve Hildenbrand buried a short-handed marker at 16:19 of the second. Kim hopped on a loose puck at center ice and fed a streaking Hildenbrand, who fired it into the top left corner for his 24th goal of the year. Kim's assist extended his career-high point streak to 14 games.

San Diego took the lead, this time on the power play, 44 seconds into the third period. Moore grabbed the puck in his own end and went coast-to-coast before his bid was stopped by Sikich. Rob Flynn was right there for the rebound, however, and flipped it in for his fifth goal of the season. Mayotte also earned an assist on the play.

Kim gave the Gulls their insurance goal at 11:43 with his 15th tally. After getting Moore's pass at center ice, Kim barreled into the Phoenix zone and, while being hounded from behind, slipped it past Sikich.

Notes: San Diego is now unbeaten in 12 of its last 16 games (11-4-1)... Kim has 25 points during his career-high 14-game point streak. He has 32 points overall (15g, 17a) in 20 games this season... San Diego has allowed only four power-play goals in the last 10 games, but is only 3-for-40 on the power play in its last nine games... The Gulls are just 3-for-59 on the power play in six games against Phoenix this season...

San Diego plays its third game in as many nights Sunday in Long Beach, with game-time set for 5 p.m. The Gulls will play in Stockton Wednesday and Las Vegas Friday before opening their final homestand of the regular season Saturday, April 1 vs. Idaho. All games can be heard on KLSD 1360AM and www.sandiegogulls.com with Chris Ello calling the play-by-play. Most games can also be viewed on the Gulls' web site, courtesy of B2 Networks. Click the B2 Networks (Watch the Game Live) link on the home page for a list of the upcoming viewable games. To view pictures from this season, visit www.zerodogentertainment.com.

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