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AHL San Diego Gulls

Boyle, Steel Lead Gulls to 6-1 Victory

February 2, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


The Gulls opened their February schedule and three-game homestand with a 6-1 victory over the Ontario Reign at Pechanga Arena San Diego. With the win, San Diego improved to 12-2-1-0 their last 15 games while the club has also earned points in 18 of their last 20 contests (15-2-1-2). San Diego also improved to 7-1-0-0 their last eight home contests. San Diego also matched the best start in club history on home ice, posting a 13-6-1-1 record and 28 points to tie the identical record set in 2016-17.

Six different Gulls scored, while San Diego netted four second period goals to set a new single-season best, including three goals in a span of 2:21.

Kevin Boyle won his 18th game of the season after stopping 16-of-17 shots. Boyle also improved to 13-1-1 his last 15 games, posting a 2.20 goals-against average and .926 save percentage.

Sam Steel set a new career high with four points, scoring two goals and adding two assists (2-2=4). He also tied a Gulls rookie record for points in a game to match the previous marks set by Brandon Montour (Nov. 11, 2015, 2-2=4) and Andy Welinski (Mar. 31, 2017, 3-1=4). The four points surpassed his previous high of three set on Nov. 23 vs. Stockton (2-1=3). In his last 11 contests, Steel has earned 5-8=13 points.

Sam Carrick scored his 21st goal of the season to tie the Gulls single-season record for goals, tying Kalle Kossila (2017-18, 55 games), Corey Tropp (2016-17, 53 games) and Antoine Laganiere (2016-17, 63 games). In his 36th game, Carrick became the quickest to reach the mark. He also picked up an assist to mark his 12th multi-point game and has recorded 4-7=11 points his last nine games.

Troy Terry recorded two assists (0-2=2), his 11th multi-point and third multi-assist contest of the season. In his last 18 contests, Terry has collected 8-12=20 points.

Josh Mahura tied a career high with his third multi-assist game of the season (0-2=2). He also recorded a game-high +5 rating, a new Gulls record for single-game plus/minus.

Chase De Leo opened the scoring for San Diego at 16:08 of the first period, his ninth goal of 2018-19.

Jack Kopacaka scored for the second straight game, his third goal and fourth point of the season.

Matt Berry netted his fourth goal of the season to round out the second period scoring at 12:37.

Max Jones, Justin Kloos and Kiefer Sherwood each earned assists.

Tonight's attendance was 11,931. The Gulls will continue the three-game homestand tomorrow night vs. the Iowa Wild at 7 p.m. on FOX 5 San Diego.

POSTGAME QUOTES

San Diego Gulls

Sam Steel

On the flow of the game

We did a lot of good things and when you do that, things go your way. It was a tough start with the penalties, but we did a lot of good things. It's good to see that, especially coming out of a break

On team chemistry

We have a lot of good players in the room, everyone is really buying in. We roll four lines and everybody gets an opportunity to be a big part. It's a lot of fun when you're on a team like this.

On continuing the momentum

Every game is its own, any team can win on any given night. At the same time, when you're feeling good, you're feeling good. We are going into games and guys are having a lot of fun at the rink so that's a part of it too.

Josh Mahura

On the team's slow start

I think we had six penalty minutes in the first six minutes. It's definitely not the way that you want to start. I think it took us awhile to get going after that. Once we got to the second, we kind of got our game going a little bit. It's not the start you want or were expecting, but we found a way to battle through and win the game in the end.

On the All-Star break

I think the break did us nice. We have a pretty packed schedule coming up in the second half here. Everyone got refreshed and rejuvenated so we're excited to get the end of the season going.

Dallas Eakins

On the game

I think we saw flashes of what this team can be if we're willing to keep our shifts very short. We're able to just turn four lines over and it turns into a very tough matchup game for the other team.

On the forwards

We've been put in a great situation by [Anaheim Ducks Executive Vice President and General Manager] Bob Murray and [Gulls General Manager] Bob Ferguson with the lineup that we have. In my history in pro sports, not only the players but coaches, everyone, hopes for a lineup like this. What you have to watch for is it doesn't eat you alive. What I mean by that is we have four lines of forwards that can play on the power play. We're only going to send two power play units out so that means there are four or five guys who aren't getting reps on the power play. They've taken roles on the penalty kill now. They've accepted it and they know how important they are to our team. This has got to be a selfless endeavor moving forward and the great thing is, our group is full of character and selflessness.

On the three goals early in the second period

Once we got through the first 10 minutes, when we took the penalties and then had a lull, we took over the game in the last eight minutes [of the first]. I didn't say a word to the group in between periods, after the first. That's a strength of our group. From our first-year guys, who had excellent nights, right through our veterans, we've got really good men in there. We have selfless men and guys who are committed. I just felt like they could coach themselves in between periods, it's an important thing for them to do. Obviously, they got their feet underneath them and showed what they can do in the second period.

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American Hockey League Stories from February 2, 2019


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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