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AHL San Diego Gulls

Gulls Win in Shootout

March 7, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


The San Diego Gulls beat Coachella Valley Firebirds 4-3 in a shootout Wednesday night at Pechanga Arena San Diego, giving them back-to-back wins. The Gulls are undefeated in shootouts this season (3-0-0-0). San Diego's overall record now stands at 20-24-8-0.

Sasha Pastujov scored his fifth goal and picked up his seventh assist for his second multi-point effort of the season. He also scored the game-winning goal in the shootout, his first career shootout goal.

Andrew Agozzino netted his 14th goal of the season to open the scoring. He leads San Diego skaters in points with 14-28=42 points.

Brayden Tracey scored his eighth goal of the season. He has points in back-to-back games (1-1=2).

Tyson Hinds earned his second assist in as many games, giving him eight helpers on the campaign.

Robert Hagg picked up his third assist in two games (0-3=3).

Nikita Nesterenko also tallied an assist on the night.

Calle Clang stopped 38-of-41 shots, a new AHL career-high in saves, to earn his seventh victory of the season.

Eddie Matsushima made his AHL debut.

The San Diego Gulls face the Firebirds again on Friday at Pechanga Arena (7 p.m. PST; TV: AHLTV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).

POSTGAME QUOTES

SAN DIEGO GULLS

Right wing Sasha Pastujov

On tonight's win over Coachella Valley:

I think just building off last game, I thought we played really well here at home and just wanted to keep the momentum going and obviously growing chemistry with (Gulls forwards Andrew Agozzino and Nikita Nesterenko), so I thought it was a good game tonight.

On playing with Andrew Agozzino:

He's such a good leader. Such a good veteran presence for me, first year in the league and he's been unbelievable even when we're not playing together and he's always got the right thing to say, right advice. Also, off the ice, he's been a great guy, just with this, becoming pro away from the rink, he's been super helpful all year long and I think that translated into chemistry for sure.

On coming back to tie the game in the third:

I think going into the third there, it was tied, and I think we had full confidence in ourselves, especially same situation on Monday, we were tied going into the third and pulled it out. They went up one, but we got something good going right now, a lot of confidence in each other and we got that power play. I think everyone on the bench had a good feeling we'd tie it up.

On his move in the shootout:

That's my go-to. There's different variations to it, but a lot of credit goes to our goalies who let me try it out on them every day in practice and give me tips, honestly. A lot of credit to our goalies, but I knew from the second the shootout started that if I went, that was the route I was going to take.

On how the team can continue their winning ways:

I think just with the confidence we've earned in ourselves over the last few games, we knew we'd be home for the next two weeks, starting on Monday. We couldn't have asked for a better start. But, obviously, they're first in the conference for a reason, and we're going to expect to push on Friday, but we're going to come in tomorrow, go over the tape, have a game plan for Friday, and just keep the momentum going.

Left wing Brayden Tracey

On tonight's win over Coachella Valley:

I think we showed a lot of heart today. We were down players. We had situations going on where we had to play short, and we battled. It took all of us and I think once we went down, we didn't give up or lay back at all. We put the pressure on and kept going at it.

On what was going through his head when scoring his goal:

I think just close my eyes and rip it. *Laughs* No, I have had that chance multiple times this year and I seem to rim it around the boards and let the other team go back the other way, so it was good to see that one go in and not go the other way.

On how they deal with the last-minute changes to the roster:

It obviously pops up in our heads, and we see that sort of stuff and we know about it, but at the end of the day it is just another game. I think our coaches do a real good job of settling us down and giving us a game plan and we just stuck to it and went hard.

On the rematch on Friday:

I think we just show up and play like we did today. We just need to put our heads down and work. We know what the standings situation looks like, and we know we need these points really badly. We just need to come back and perform and put our heads down and go to work.

Head coach Matt McIlvane

On playing shorthanded tonight:

It's a great opportunity, that's what it is. From a player's perspective, all they want is ice time and opportunity. Today certainly provided plenty of that for the guys in our lineup. I thought that we had a bunch of people step up and it was a really gutsy team effort.

On responding after Coachella Valley's third goal:

There's not much we can do when the call is made or not made. Unfortunately, it goes in. So, we've got enough time left at that point in time. Fortunately, we had great pressure on our forecheck. They flip the puck out and that gave us the opportunity to go capitalize on the power play, but being able to stay composed, stay with our plan even when the odds seem against us, it shows some growth from our group.

On the performance of Sasha Pastujov:

Sasha's been great. Again, opportunity. It gives him a chance to play a little bit higher in the lineup, gives him a chance to get a look back on the power play and all that he did was take advantage of it. For someone that is trying to make their footprint in the league and start climbing, that's what he's got to do. For Sash, kudos to him for earning that opportunity and taking advantage of it.

On Eddie Matsushima's debut:

All he's done in Tulsa is be great and when we talked to Rob Murray, he seems like one of their most consistent players. We knew him from training camp, and we know that Eddie works and that's exactly what he gave us tonight. Was plenty of energy. He got a couple shifts, had looks in the offensive zone. He has powerful skating and what a wonderful story to see someone like that get rewarded. Credit to him, opportunity to play in his first American Hockey League game is pretty special.

On the rematch on Friday:

Reset, recover, learn, get better and then we got another crack at these guys.

Check out the San Diego Gulls Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from March 7, 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.

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