AHL San Diego Gulls

Gulls Downed, 2-1, By Roadrunners

Published on February 3, 2024 under American Hockey League (AHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


The San Diego Gulls fell 2-1 against the Tucson Roadrunners Friday night at Pechanga Arena San Diego. Despite the loss, the Gulls are still 6-2-2-0 over their last 10 games. San Diego's overall record now stands at 15-18-7-0.

San Diego established a new franchise record with 31 consecutive penalties killed (spanning nine games) after going 3-for-3 on the PK. The streak surpasses the mark of 30 consecutive penalties killed set Mar. 1-19, 2019 (spanning eight games). They also matched the franchise record for consecutive games without allowing a power play goal at eight games, also set Mar. 1-19.

Jaxsen Wiebe scored his fourth goal of the season, his second in a span of three games.

Andrew Agozzino extended his point streak to a season-high six games (1-5=6) with his 22nd assist of the season.

Olen Zellweger earned his 18th assist of the season, his first point since he returned from a four-game stint with the Anaheim Ducks.

Calle Clang stopped 23-of-25 shots.

The San Diego Gulls faceoff against the Colorado Eagles tomorrow night in their final game before the All-Star Break (6 p.m. PST; TV: AHLTV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).

POSTGAME QUOTES

SAN DIEGO GULLS

Center Andrew Agozzino

On tonight's loss to Tucson:

They're a good team. That's why they're up in the standings in our division. They're really patient. We played a good game, I thought in the second period, we took over and it was unfortunate we only got the one in that period, but they stayed patient, they got their break, and it was unfortunate for us.

On the play in the offensive zone tonight:

We had a lot of good looks. We had a lot of rebounds. We got a couple shifts where we sustained 35 or 40 seconds of O-zone time. It's one of those nights where their goalie played well. We threw a lot at them, a lot of different looks, different features that we threw at them, but I mean, he played a really good game.

On his chemistry with Nikita Nesterenko and Pavol Regenda:

I think we've been pretty tenacious, and we've been tough to play against. I think we smother teams with the forecheck, and I think we've been playing a simple game that's allowed us to make plays when we get the puck. Instead of searching for plays when they might not be there, we're playing a simple game that is kind of playing right into our strengths. Once we do get the puck back, we're able to make plays, so we have to continue to keep playing a simple game.

On bringing momentum into tomorrow's game against Colorado:

It was a game we could have easily won. We have to know that as we leave here tonight. We may not have won tonight, got no points, but that was a good effort, and we have to bring that one more time against a good team tomorrow.

Defenseman Drew Helleson

On tonight's loss to Tucson:

I was happy with our effort. There's not a lot of games where you play that good and don't win. It's hard to be mad about that. Obviously, we didn't get the result we wanted, but the process worked, and we played our game. We just got to repeat that tomorrow.

On the team's recent success:

I think it's just an example of us finding our identity and sticking to it because we know it works. We're hard to play against. That's a good team over there, a mature team. I thought we dominated most of the game. We didn't get the result, but we played a great game and like I said, we just got to repeat it tomorrow.

On the penalty kill:

I think it's a testament to Clarkey (Gulls assistant coach Jason Clarke). He puts in a ton of work watching video and he just found some adjustments that we could make, and they've been working. Just listening to him and, like I said, he does a great job with that. All we got to do is go out and execute.

On tomorrow's game against Colorado:

They've always been a hard team to play against. So, we just got to, like I said, play the same way we did tonight, and I think we will be alright.

Head coach Matt McIlvane

On evaluating the Gulls play tonight:

Strong. Really from start to finish. I thought we played hard. I thought that our team game was strong really all the way through. Forechecking, setting up great offensive zone time, certainly not a perfect game but a lot of really good stuff against a strong Tucson team. Not sure that we played smart enough to get the win in the end. Some untimely penalties and some breakdowns that probably didn't need to be that way. But there's a lot of good in this game.

On making goaltenders lives more difficult:

I think when you get 36 shots and you're just able to put one on the board that certainly comes to mind about how can we generate more dangerous shots or second chances or take the goalies' eyes away so that he's not able to make the save. Certainly, it brings up something that we'll look into as we got a quick turnaround tomorrow.

On the team's scoring depth:

We feel like we've got depth of scoring. It comes up in the stats. We don't have anybody really blowing the doors off. I don't think we have anybody in the top 50 in the league or something like that. But we can score by committee and the best part of our team is team, the way that we play together. Jaxsen (Wiebe) got rewarded from a minute-plus long shift from guys before him that started the zone time, created the chance and he ends up being the guy that gets to tuck it in.

On the Gulls setting a new club record with their 31st consecutive penalty killed:

We want to work on it less in the game and take less penalties, but the guys have done a nice job and we've got to keep going.

On tomorrow's game against Colorado:

Can't be more excited to play a hockey game. We've got one more effort before the break. We've got a very worthy opponent. We have a lot of respect for them, but we're excited to show what we can do tomorrow.

Check out the San Diego Gulls Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from February 3, 2024


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.

OurSports Central