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AHL San Diego Gulls

Sherwood's Hat Trick Paces Gulls to 5-3 Victory

February 1, 2020 - American Hockey League (AHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


Kiefer Sherwood scored his first career hat trick to lead the Gulls to a 5-3 win over the San Jose Barracuda at Pechanga Arena San Diego. San Diego has earned points in eight of the last nine games (7-1-1-0) and 12 of their last 16 (9-4-2-1).

San Diego scored two shorthanded goals to mark 14 this season, setting a new single-season club record, surpassing the 12 scored in 2018-19. San Diego's penalty kill co-leads the AHL in shorthanded goals, leads in home shorthanded goals (9) and a goal differential of -10 overall (24 power-play goals against, 14 shorthanded goals).

Sherwood scored three goals (3-0=3) to tally his first career hat trick and the sixth in club history. Two of his three goals came shorthanded, becoming the first Gull to record multiple shorthanded goals in a single game. Tonight marked his second career multi-goal game (also Jan. 15 at Stockton; 0-2=2). He scored on his first career penalty shot attempt at 1:44 of the first period, the third successful penalty shot in Gulls history (3-for-11). He added shorthanded goals at 19:56 of the opening frame and 5:58 of the third period, tying the single-season club record for shorthanded goals (3). His 12th, 13th and 14th goals of the season give him seven goals his last seven games (7-0=7).

Sam Carrick extended his point streak to three games with two assists (1-3=4), marking 31 points in 30 games (18-13=31). Carrick also has 17 points his last 13 games (10-7=17).

Chase De Leo picked up two assists (0-2=2), his fourth multi-point effort of 2019-20.

Chris Mueller scored his second goal for San Diego and 13th overall this season at 7:42 (power-play goal). Isac Lundestrom recorded the primary assist, his third helper the last two games (0-3=3).

Justin Kloos tallied his ninth goal of the season at 12:31 of the second period. Carrick and Max Comtois earned assists on the goal. Comtois has picked up 1-5=6 points his last seven contests.

Anthony Stolarz earned his 15th win and fifth his last six games (5-0-1) after stopping 41-of-43 shots. Stolarz has posted a 2.46 goals-against average and .931 save percentage his last six appearances.

San Diego will host the Ontario Reign tomorrow, Feb. 1 at Pechanga Arena San Diego (4 p.m.) in the club's first matinee game of the season.

POSTGAME QUOTES

San Diego Gulls

Kiefer Sherwood

On the penalty kill

We just stick together, we have good sticks, we make good reads. We all feed off each other. We have a lot of guys who can skate and use our speed. So, if we anticipate and play the right way and put them in a tough position, we're successful at that.

On his penalty shot

I just tried to stay in the present. I just tried to put it where I want it, and I let the rest take care of itself.

On his second goal

[Sam Carrick] made a great play to intercept that puck and made a great pass. I just tried to have a quick release to try to catch the goalie off guard a little bit.

On his third goal

I was just thinking, shoot, trust my shot, and get it off quick.

On making a playoff push

Having [Andrew Poturalski] back tonight was huge. He's a great player, but at the end of the day, we did give up too many opportunities against, too many shots. We do have to address that and clean that up to get better. We're turning the right direction and if we clean up a couple things, we'll be good.

Chris Mueller

On the first period

I thought the start was OK. I thought we gave up a little bit too much. We gave up 20 shots, but Stolarz was ready to play and he's a huge part of our team and why we win games. The response with the penalty shot and then we got another goal. We didn't like the amount of chances we gave them, but all-in-all coming off of the break and being up in the period is a positive thing.

On Kiefer Sherwood

He works hard and those goals aren't easy goals. He draws a penalty shot, he has an unbelievable shot while shorthanded and then Chase De Leo gives him a great pass for another shorthanded goal. Those are hard-working goals and great shots, so he deserves every bit of it.

On the power play

The power play needs to come through and a really big, positive aspect in our game, whether it's getting a goal or creating momentum. I think all five guys touched the puck, which was nice. I think the biggest part was Chase De Leo in the middle. He was sucking their guys in and kicked it out. Isac Lundestrom made a great play to find me backdoor. It's a play that's hard to stop and we've worked on.

Andrew Poturalski

On playing after missing 33 games

It's definitely good for me to get that first win. When I was first playing, we were 0-6 and then I got hurt, so it's been a long time coming. The boys are giving me some crap in there, but it's definitely good to get that first win and be a part of it.

On being able to celebrate the win with the team

It was the first time hearing the win song and getting undressed was awesome, and just being with the guys and the push we got going is really exciting. It's fun to be a part of this.

On making a playoff push

At this point of time in the year, to get any win and get the two points is huge. Stick with it and show our adversity and we can battle through that, it's definitely huge. That's what good teams do at this time of year, they find a way to get two points.

On Kiefer Sherwood

Seeing him out there with his energy, it's definitely one of the funnier hat tricks I've seen: A penalty shot and two shorties. Those shots were unreal, that's high caliber scoring right there. For him to do that gets us going and it gets us all pumped up, so that's really cool.

On improving going forward

We have to clean up the chances. We leave [Anthony Stolarz] out to dry a little bit. He's been huge for us all year, making huge saves. We need to clear up those chances in front of the net and clear that house, and protect that area, the slot. If we can do that, we can move forward.

Head Coach Kevin Dineen

On the first period

We talked about it before the game, the All-Star Game blasé. You saw it when Anaheim got back from their break, I don't think they had that jump. Bang, first couple minutes and you're down by one, so now you got to bounce back. Sure enough, we get that penalty shot. Kiefer has always been one of our top options on the shootout and again does a good job. That was the start of a very good night for him.

On the power play

You get pucks to the middle of the ice and you get banging away. Overall, I liked the way we were moving the puck around on the power play. There were some opportunities out there, so it was good to see that get going. I don't doubt having Andrew Poturalski out there, he's got a presence about him and I thought he worked himself right back in the lineup very well.

On the penalty kill creating chances

It's a great sign for us and it's one of those areas for us that we don't only expect to kill off the penalty, but that we can be lethal on it on the offensive side. It's a nice part of our hockey team right now.

On improving going forward

We don't want to give up 42 shots. Anthony Stolarz was stellar, he really was. There were areas of our game that we continue to talk about. The play along the boards. Our play on our rush coverage, we have to tighten some areas up. When we play the game the right way, the game is simple, we roll lines, everybody's engaged. When we cheat a little bit, we end up like that, you're giving up too many shots which is something we have to address.

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