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AHL San Diego Gulls

Gulls Win, 3-2, In Shootout

January 13, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


The San Diego Gulls earned a 3-2 shootout win over Iowa Friday night at Pechanga Arena San Diego, their third straight home victory. San Diego's overall record now stands at 11-16-5-0.

Nikita Nesterenko scored his sixth goal of the season at 8:06 in the first. He has points in three of his last four games (1-2=3).

Chase De Leo scored his sixth goal of the season to extend his point streak to three games (2-1=3).

Glenn Gawdin picked up an assist, marking the 200th point in his AHL career (72-128 0). He now has 9-10=19 points on the season.

Trevor Carrick earned his team-leading 19th assist of the season.

Tyson Hinds also picked up an assist, his third of the season.

Tomas Suchanek stopped 32-of-34 shots, earing the first shootout victory of his AHL career.

Brayden Tracey netted the shootout winner.

The San Diego Gulls wrap up their homestand against the Wild tomorrow night in the second leg of back-to-back matchups at Pechanga Arena San Diego (6 p.m. PST; TV: KUSI-SD, AHLTV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).

POSTGAME QUOTES

SAN DIEGO GULLS

Goaltender Tomas Suchanek

On the team's recovery from a slow start:

The first couple minutes, we were not really in the game. They scored first and they probably deserved the goal more but then we started playing more as a team. We started building more. I feel like we outplayed them almost the whole game. Unlucky we went to the shootout but good win.

On the team's effort:

We said the same thing like we have to battle and try to win because we know we have a good team to win this game. The team responded great, and our PK was really great this game. The guys were blocking every single shot, so it was really great, and it was fun to play in front of them.

On his big save in the second period:

I didn't see much. I just saw someone passing the puck and I was just lucky to put my pad there and help the team to make the save.

On the high-effort penalty kill:

It just motivates me so much. I'm just telling myself 'Don't let the goal in' because when I see these guys like blocking every single shot, putting their body in front of the puck. Then it's on me when something gets through to save it. I wasn't able to this game but every time, it's just extra motivation for me.

On his first professional shootout:

I hate shootouts. I personally hate them. So, I was really nervous before that but I'm also happy that we were able to win there.

On the three-game home winning streak:

We're just trying to do our best. We [had] the whole week of practicing last week because we didn't play again. So, we were trying to get ready for these games and we have to finish strong tomorrow.

Left wing Brayden Tracey

On his shootout winner:

It's kind of just in the moment. I don't really remember it to be honest, but I mean, (Gulls forward Nikita Nesterenko) made a good move and I saw that he bit hard so I kind of went in with the same sort of plan and was just hoping for the best.

On the team's recovery from a slow start:

I mean, we know we can't lay off. When things go south, I think we just got to pick our heads up and be positive and keep fighting. I think our group showed a lot of heart today. I don't even know how many penalties we got but I know it wasn't good. So, to kill all those off and come out with two points is huge.

On third period penalty trouble:

It shows a lot of character. That's what this group is. We're 20 to 25 guys of just big hearts and a lot of character. We have good mentors who show us what to do and how to do it. We just go out there and try to do it our best.

On tomorrow's game against Iowa:

Two teams who are kind of in the same situation, looking for two points. I think they're going to come out hard especially after coming back and losing that one at the end there. We're expecting them to come out hot, but I think, just got to stick to our game and keep putting our heads down and grind away.

Head coach Matt McIlvane

On the team's recovery from a slow start:

They came with pressure, forecheck pressure in great detail, that was suffocating us for the first little bit, and I think it was frustrating for everybody. I don't know that we were ready to play as quick and as competitive as Iowa brought the pace at the start of the game. Fortunately, we got the goals, which obviously changed the momentum of the game, and then to be able to get through nine minutes of penalty killing in the third period, force overtime and win in a shootout, there's something good in that.

On the penalty kill and the team's growth since November:

Our team competence is growing by the day. It really helps that we know who we are. We know what drives our success. We also know what it looks like when we're off. Maybe instead of waiting for a period to correct, we were able to correct on the fly in the game. I think that's a big deal for us. The guys, they're earning the right to feel confident going into these close games and we've come away with several of them recently and hopefully we can continue that.

On the defensive unit:

I think our D have been excellent, especially defensively. Boxouts, blocks, gaps, sticks, physicality, and steady. Pretty continuous with that. I think that we had some fits with their forecheck early. We solved it somehow a little bit through the middle of the game and the key for tomorrow is going to be to continue that.

On tomorrow's game against Iowa:

From their perspective, they feel good about their game, I'm sure. They have a comeback and get a point. They carried a lot of five-on-five play in the game and that's a competitive, physical, hard-working team that we're going to have to be ready to show up and match that tomorrow.

Check out the San Diego Gulls Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from January 13, 2024


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