AHL San Diego Gulls

Rare Monday Night Game Good to Gulls

Published on March 5, 2024 under American Hockey League (AHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


The San Diego Gulls beat the Bakersfield Condors 5-3 Monday night at Pechanga Arena San Diego. The game marked just the 10th Monday contest in San Diego's AHL history and first since 2019-20. San Diego's overall record now stands at 19-24-8-0.

Ben King netted two goals for his second multi-goal effort of his AHL career. He now has 12-10=22 points this season.

Trevor Carrick collected his sixth goal and his 26th assist of the season (1-1=2), his sixth multi-point effort on the campaign. He now leads all Gulls blueliners in assists.

Glenn Gawdin scored his 17th goal of the season, his fifth power-play tally, and picked up his 23rd assist. He now leads all Gulls skaters in goals and is one point shy of the team lead in points (17-23@).

Josh Lopina deposited an empty-net goal, his 11th of the season.

Chase De Leo picked up an assist, the 200th of his AHL career. De Leo has picked up 19 helpers this season, including nine in his last 11 games (5-11=16).

Robert Hagg earned two assists on the night (0-2=2), his first multi-point effort as a Gull.

Tyson Hinds, Nathan Gaucher, Pavol Regenda and Brayden Tracey each picked up an assist.

Tomas Suchanek stopped 24-of-27 shots to earn his 12th victory of the season.

The San Diego Gulls continue their homestand Wednesday night against the Coachella Valley Firebirds (7 p.m. PST; TV: AHLTV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).

POSTGAME QUOTES

SAN DIEGO GULLS

Right wing Ben King

On what was different about tonight compared to Friday in Ontario:

I think we just wanted to get pucks and bodies to the net. We really have not had enough net front presence. So, I think we worked on that. We talked about it. I think we did a good job and worked out at the end so we're happy.

On his wraparound goal:

I think I just kind of ran out of room and it's either cut the crease or go around so I just decided to go around and luckily it was kind of open and worked out. So, I'm happy.

On what was said in the second intermission:

We weren't happy with our second there. Obviously, they kind of took it to us. So, we just said reset and kind of get back to our game and everyone's first shift hard and physical. And I think we did that. We did a great job.

On how to keep the momentum rolling through the homestand:

I think rest up, get ready for Coachella and just got to take it game by game and it's nice that we're home here for a while. You can sleep in your own bed and we're happy with that.

Defenseman Trevor Carrick

On if that was the best third period the team has played all season:

In a while, yeah. Biggest one since I can remember. It showed us good character out there after that second period and just forgetting about that and coming out and just playing real mature, and obviously King with that big goal with a few minutes left was nice to see go in.

On if his goal and assist tonight was a relief:

A little bit. I think just as a group, it was nice to see the puck go in, and I think the last handful of games, we've been getting chances and just hadn't seen it go in. I don't know if it was just puck luck or whatnot, but it was nice to see the puck go in and obviously, personally as well.

On new faces stepping up on the blueline:

I thought (Gulls defensemen Luka Profaca and Anthony Constantini), they played great tonight. That's the AHL for you though. There's a lot of transactions going up and down, and you just have to stay ready, and on the back end, having White go down and Zellweger go up, it gives the opportunity for a few other guys to get in and show them what they've got, and I thought they did great tonight. I thought we played a solid, good two periods there defensively and those guys look great.

On how to keep the momentum rolling through the homestand:

It's nice to play at home. I don't think we've had the success at home that we've obviously wanted. I think it was nice to kind of get that monkey off the back with that big one here tonight at home and it felt real good. Any time you can spend some time at home, it's kind of nice when you got those games back-to-back, you kind of get in a rhythm there, less practice time and you kind of get your reps in. So, I look forward to this and Coachella. It's going to be a big matchup and I like the way we played against them last time they were in town. It was a big win for us, so going to be a good challenge for us and looking forward to it.

Head coach Matt McIlvane

On if that was the best third period the team has played all season:

It's hard to say, relative to others, but I know there was a lot of good that happened in our third period. We certainly needed a rebound after our second period, and I thought that we did. We got off of our heels and into the attack and it gave us a really good opportunity to play the way that we want to play, and the guys got rewarded in the end.

On how the group was able to execute in the third:

Just felt like the whole second period Bakersfield had such great zone time and pressure, we were just on our heels. It was like we were just waiting for a result in a game. I thought that we got too focused on that, and it didn't allow us to just play, you know, not to take it cliché, but in the moment, and be able to stay on the hunt and stay on the attack and I thought that we needed to reset that, and we pushed.

On the offense netting five goals after some struggles:

Sometimes, when you shake the ketchup bottle, a lot comes out at once, and tonight that was what I think we saw. We do have to clean up some things for ourselves offensively. We've been getting zone time and chances, but getting more inside their net front, establishing body position, getting our hands free. That was something we were really trying to do and be a little bit more direct. Trevor is not thinking about direct, we don't get the fortunate bounce and stop inside, maybe it gets blocked, so those little things, they add up and we got rewarded for it today.

On Trevor Carrick:

Don't have too many concerns about Trevor's offense. It feels like it's always there, to be honest. If it's missing for seven games, maybe of course we feel it, but then we're looking at how else can you contribute. I thought that he had a very strong game tonight, both offensively and defensively, and good on him to be able to put that thing in.

On how to keep the momentum rolling through the homestand:

We get a chance to rest. With our travel that we had last week, being on the road for four days, coming home, getting back on the road, it's an opportunity for us to kind of reset and then, Wednesday morning we'll be here in a hurry. Opportunity for us to keep some momentum, and then we know that we've got the top team in our division coming in that excels in line rush play. So, we'll be wanting to limit their transition, that's for sure.

Check out the San Diego Gulls Statistics

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



American Hockey League Stories from March 5, 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