AHL San Diego Gulls

Matinee Doesn't Go Gulls' Way

Published on March 20, 2024 under American Hockey League (AHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


The San Diego Gulls fell 6-4 to the San Jose Barracuda Wednesday afternoon at Tech CU Arena. San Diego's overall record now stands at 22-27-8-0.

Nikita Nesterenko deposited his 15th goal of the season, which leads all Gulls rookie skaters. Nesterenko has three goals in his last four games.

Trevor Carrick netted his seventh goal of the season (PPG). He has points in back-to-back games (1-2=3).

Josh Lopina scored his 12th goal of the season to open the scoring. He now has 12-7=19 points on the season.

Nathan Gaucher netted his seventh goal of the season.

Brayden Tracey tallied two assists, his third multi-assist effort of the season. He has 8-14=22 points on the campaign.

Glenn Gawdin earned his 28th assist of the season and his sixth in his last six games. He has 2-6=8 points in that span.

Andrew Agozzino extended his point streak to four games (2-3=5) with his 31st assist of the season. He continues to lead Gulls skaters in points (16-31=47) and assists.

Ben King picked up his third assist in his last three games, giving him 13 helpers on the season. Over his last seven games, King has posted 3-3=6 points.

Nick Wolff also earned an assist, his fifth of the season.

Calle Clang stopped 35 shots.

The San Diego Gulls return to Pechanga Arena San Diego to face the Texas Stars Friday night (7 p.m. PDT; TV: AHLTV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).

POSTGAME QUOTES

SAN DIEGO GULLS

Center Nathan Gaucher

On today's loss to San Jose:

I think we just weren't really detailed enough. You can say 10:30 game but we have to be sharp as soon as the puck drops. We started the game a bit late, we had some chances in the O-zone, but I think defensively box outs and taking sticks out and just being aware of where your guy is, that is what was lacking today.

On not scoring in the third:

Like you said, the goalie did a good job, but we have to bury on those chances for sure. We ended up with a score of 6-4 and lose the game. We had our chances, but we just didn't bury on them.

On how his goal felt:

It felt good. There was a screen and I put the puck on the net. I know the goalie wasn't seeing much but it felt good to put the guys up 4-3 there but unfortunately it did not end up how we wanted it to.

On returning to Pechanga Arena for another 3 game homestand:

We like playing at home for sure. We need to bounce back on Friday, that is one thing, and we have a couple games at home like you said. We need to have some good games at home and feel good about ourselves.

Head coach Matt McIlvane

On today's loss to San Jose:

I thought that the first period shots were very lopsided. I think the biggest reason for that was we weren't able to establish any sort of possession in the offensive zone. Even though the shots were lopsided, I'm not sure we gave up a ton. I thought we defended well around our net, and we had some detail to our defense. As the game went on, we started to be able to possess some more pucks in the offensive zone and win them back and find a way to create something on the entries. We found a way to hit the back of the net. The theme of the game is, you give up six goals and those can be really difficult to win, so then it immediately goes right into detail. Being able to grab sticks on boxouts, being on top of their speed, and right up and down four lines, making sure that exists. Today, we certainly fell short.

On San Jose switching goaltenders:

Kudos to him. He did his job, jumped in and did a great job. For us, you're always curious, can we get a better screen, is there an opportunity to get free hands around the net, can we get, if its 22 or 23, can we get 24 or 25, is there a way? And there were opportunities I thought we passed up on being direct. But that's the kind of push that you want in the third period, when you're coming from behind. But then, you've got to remember that when you don't have the puck, you have to defend with detail as well, or else they're going to find ways to put pucks in the net. So, they were fast today, they were competitive, and we weren't detailed enough.

On losing Colton White for the third period:

I think that when you go down a D, it gets guys in the game a bit, because you're not thinking, you're just constantly back out there. Of course, White is a big loss for us when we lose him. I think when you play with five, it kind of wears you down a little bit. I'm not sure if it was just the defensemen forgetting sticks. I think our forwards lost some position with motion a couple times, and we paid the price for it.

On returning to Pechanga Arena for a three-game homestand:

4-2 in our last six home games, that was a nice homestand for us. Of course, we wish it was 5-1, 6-0. Good for us to be able to find ways to win on home ice and sets up for a chance for us to respond against Texas.

Check out the San Diego Gulls Statistics

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



American Hockey League Stories from March 20, 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