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San Diego Blanked by Calgary

December 3, 2022 - American Hockey League (AHL) - San Diego Gulls News Release


The San Diego Gulls went scoreless tonight at Pechanga Arena San Diego, losing 6-0 to the Calgary Wranglers, bringing their overall record to 6-16-0-0 and 2-10-0-0 at home.

Lukas Dostal made 35 saves on 41 shots, earning a 2.45 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage over his last 11 games. At the conclusion of the game, Dostal ranked first among American Hockey League netminders with 526 saves, while also topping the league in minutes (1003:40) and games played (19) this season.

Drew Helleson and Danny O'Regan each recorded a team-high three shots in the loss.

The Gulls went 4-for-6 on the penalty kill, finishing the game ranked ninth in the Western Conference and 11th in the AHL with an 82.5 % kill rate (85-for-103).

San Diego will travel to Calgary to face the Wranglers in the third of four consecutive games against the club next Friday, Dec. 9 at the Scotiabank Saddledome (6 p.m. PST).

POSTGAME QUOTES

Gulls forward Hunter Drew

On the back-to-back losses to Calgary:

They just play fast, and they move the puck really well. They forecheck hard. I mean, we're just one and done every time. Maybe one chance and they break out, or one chip and then they break out. They just abused us this weekend, really.

On how the team can get back to playing its style of hockey:

Honestly, I think it's a mental battle right now for a lot of guys. It's not easy losing. I mean, I'm struggling. A lot of guys in there are struggling with it. But, I mean, get back to the basics here and stick to what got us here. You know, we just saw them play fast and move the puck well. So, if we do that, then we're going to be okay too.

On the impact of injuries and illness to the lineup:

Yeah, I don't think there really is any chemistry, to be honest. That's kind of part of the problem. I think, you know, when things are changing all the time, like you said, guys are getting hurt or getting called up or getting sent down. It's hard to kind of build something like that. Yeah, I mean, I think at the end of the day, just kind of move our feet and play hard and like I said, play fast and hopefully guys will come together a little more.

On the team's schedule and getting rest before facing Calgary next weekend:

Yeah, I think it's huge. You know, I think this is one of the first weeks where we don't play in the middle of the week too. So, I think for us, just to have a little break and a little reset, like you said, it's going to be huge for guys. Like I said, mentally just to kind of get away from it a little bit and obviously physically get rest.

Gulls forward Danny O'Regan

On the back-to-back losses to the Calgary Wranglers:

They played fast. They got out of their zone pretty fast, and they got into our end pretty fast, and they were able to create a lot of o(ffensive) zone shifts and just kind of wear us down and got pucks to the net. Better off the rush, they were better in the d(efensive) zone, better in the o(ffensive) zone. They were just kind of better everywhere.

On how the team can get back to playing its style of hockey:

Just kind of comes down to each guy just kind of looking themselves in the mirror, taking that next step. I think we're all just coming out flat and stagnant. Get down a couple goals and get content. I think every guy just needs to kind of step up and reach a new gear. Nobody feels bad for us. It's on us, in the room, to turn things around. You're going to have different strategies or different x's and o's every game but at the end of the day, it comes down to just winning battles and you know, playing better than what we've been doing.

On his defensive play in the first period to prevent an empty-net goal:

I turn the puck over the blue line and somebody else got back before I did, luckily. Dos (Gulls goaltender Lukas Dostal) tried to make a play on the puck, and they made a good play. I think I got lucky; the puck just bounced over the kid's stick. I don't know if I did too much to help but it's one of those, it's huge it stayed out and gave us a chance to stay in the game. We couldn't capitalize and get back in the game.

On the team's schedule and getting rest before facing Calgary next weekend:

I think we've been playing a lot of hockey and hasn't been going well for us, so maybe this will be a good reset for us. Get a few good practices in and just try to reset mentally and physically and hopefully get a nice little streak going in the right way.

Gulls head coach Roy Sommer

On what Calgary did well this weekend:

Well, I think the biggest thing was we just couldn't get the puck out of our end. I thought they did a great job at hemming us in, they took the boards away. You know, they kind of played with our high man and just basically smothered us in our own end and when we finally got out of our own end, we just couldn't muster enough offense to get anything at their net. That's probably the best team we played our year as far as being in spots and taking lanes away and everything else - you know, force and dumps. We just had a hard time getting through each zone, so you've got to give it to them.

On if illnesses and injuries have impacted the team's lineup:

You can say that, but I mean, other guys are supposed to step up in their spot and they're getting opportunities to play, whereas some of them wouldn't probably be here right now playing. So, it's a tryout for them and, and it's part of their career and now's the time for them to step up and show what they can do because guys are going to start dwindling back hopefully soon.

On if the team's day off tomorrow will help it to refocus and reset for next week's games:

I hope so. We've got to use our day off wisely tomorrow and come back to the rink ready to play. (We) have to look at some more tape on Monday and you know, get ready for two hard games up north.

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