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AHL San Diego Gulls

San Jose Gets Best of Gulls in Preseason Meeting

January 22, 2021 - American Hockey League (AHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


San Diego fell 4-1 to the San Jose Barracuda tonight at FivePoint Arena in Irvine, Calif. Despite the setback, The Gulls are 6-5-0-2 all-time in 13 preseason games.

Anthony Stolarz stopped 39-of-43 shots in the loss, his first preseason game with the Gulls this season.

Sam Carrick scored a goal 17:38 into the third period for his third goal of the preseason (3-1=4). Jack Kopacka earned the lone assist for his second consecutive exhibition game with a point (1-1=2).

The Gulls will continue their 2021 exhibition schedule against Stockton Monday, Jan. 25 at FivePoint Arena (6 p.m.).

POSTGAME QUOTES

San Diego Gulls

Kodie Curran

On the game

To be able to get your feet wet and play against someone that isn't your teammate is always fun. That's the longest I've gone without playing a game like everybody else so it was nice to get the first one out of the way.

On knocking the rust off

I haven't knocked it off - it's going to take a couple of games, I think. The first time you get hit or make a play that makes you feel good, you build confidence and get more settled and more calm. It's funny. Tonight was an exhibition game and I've played many pro games. You still get nerves and you still get excited, and that's why we all love the game. Those little feelings you get when you throw a jersey on to play. It didn't take me too long, but obviously it's going to take a little bit to get back into the full swing of things.

On the intensity of the game

It's funny, I think the boys were saying the other night was a little more calm, wasn't as physical. Like I said, as it progresses over the next four or five games, I think you're going to start to feel that intensity because it has been so long for guys. You saw Kanzig go at it, some bodies being thrown around and things like that so it was nice to see that competitiveness from guys and from myself as well. Getting bumped or giving some bumps was nice - just to feel like you're moving forward with things and progressing. I think it did feel like a regular season game tonight.

On his assignment to San Diego

They just told me to keep working on my game. I'm here to make a hockey club and I think right now they're going with guys they are comfortable with and familiar with and in a shortened season that's something that they're going to have to do. When my time comes, I'm confident that I'll take the step and make the most of my opportunity. Until then, I just want to play, wherever that may be. I love this game so much, it doesn't matter where I'm playing. Obviously, the goal is to play in the NHL, that's why everyone's here, but wherever I am, I'm fully committed. I'm looking forward to meeting the guys down here and getting to know everyone.

Head Coach Kevin Dineen

On the game

I think they came out with a lot of speed early. After our last game, we certainly were feeling pretty good about ourselves. It was a good lesson for our players in knowing that this is a pretty good league. There are some good players out there. They came very hard at us and I felt like we got caught off guard. Those are the kind of things you're glad happens in training camp, that these lessons are learned. You're playing against good players and you need to be prepared every single night.

On lessons from the loss for young players

We're a development league and part of the development process is not always a smooth road. There are going to be bumps along the way, whether they are personal or as a team. I was happy with stretches of our game tonight, but at other times there are some hard lessons to be learned. That certainly played out tonight.

On new faces in the lineup

You're always trying to get looks at players during training camp, even coming out of a winning game. That doesn't matter this time of year. You're making decisions because you're trying to get guys that haven't been on the ice in a while and haven't played in a real game in a while. It's an opportunity for them to get their feet wet.

On Anthony Stolarz

[Stolarz] played such a strong brand of hockey for us last year and we relied on him a lot. I think some of those opportunities they had were point-blank and once he got settled in, he was fine.

PRESEASON POSTGAME NOTES

San Diego 1 vs. San Jose 4

Jan. 21, 2021

FivePoint Arena

1-1-0-0, 2 points

Check out the San Diego Gulls Statistics

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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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