Gulls Conclude Six-Game Road Trip with 5-2 Loss at San Jose
Feb 18, 2019The Gulls completed a club record six-game road trip with a 5-2 defeat to the San Jose Barracuda at SAP Center. The Gulls went 3-2-1-0 during the six-game trip and have wins in 16 of their previous 23 games played (16-5-2-0).
First period goals from Sam Steel and Sam Carrick wouldn’t be enough as the Barracuda tallied four unanswered goals to seal their first win in the last six games against the Gulls. Adam Cracknell and Trevor Murphy each picked up two assists, while goaltender Jeff Glass made 33 saves in his sixth consecutive start.
“We started the game well and then when we made it 2-1 on our power-play goal, they scored on the shift right after,” said Gulls assistant coach Sylvain Lefebvre. “We always say that any shift can make a difference in the game, especially after a goal on either side. That was a big goal for San Jose. I thought we didn’t play as well after that. We weren’t organized as much as we have been organized and I think San Jose played a better game.”
Following a dump-and-chase effort by the Barracuda, Murphy collected the puck behind the net and made a stretch pass down the boards to Cracknell. Steel snuck behind both San Jose defensemen as Cracknell slid him the puck for a breakaway. Steel faked a shot on Korenar before pulling the puck back and chipping it over his right pad and into the back of the net for the first goal of the game 4:02 into the opening frame.
It took just 1:48 for the Barracuda to answer and tie the game at one goal. As the Gulls were pushing the puck along the wall out of their zone, Roy gained possession and just threw it at the net as quickly as he got it. The puck found its way past Glass for San Jose’s first goal of the night and Roy’s fourth of the season.
Jonathon Martin was whistled for a roughing call a few minutes after the Barracuda got on the board. It only took 12 seconds on the man advantage for San Diego to beat Korenar for the second time in the first period. The assists read the same as the first goal with Murphy giving Cracknell a pass that he one-timed on net. This time however, it was Sam Carrick who took the rebound and scored on the second chance at the 8:13 mark of the first.
With the power-play goal, Carrick has three goals, all on the power play, his last two games. Cracknell made it 6-6=12 points over his past eight games with San Diego and Murphy gained his sixth point (1G, 5A) in four games against the Barracuda since joining the Gulls in a trade earlier in the season.
Once again, the Barracuda answered soon after the Gulls took the lead, this time just 18 seconds later. Jeffrey Truchon-Viel won a race down the ice to the puck and passed the puck across the ice and directly to Alexander True, who put home a back-door goal. Antti Suomela chipped the puck down the ice, picking up an assist on the play.
San Jose would begin to take over the game, scoring three additional goals to make it four consecutive. With two San Diego forwards in the box on minor penalties, San Jose was given 51 seconds of a 5-on-3 power play. Shortly after killing the first penalty, True scored again 12:31 into the first period, to give the Barracuda their first lead of the game.
One more goal was added with 1:29 remaining in the middle frame as Maxim Letunov capped off a six-goal first period with a redirected shot in front of the net. Kyle Wood took the initial shot that ended up in the back of the net. The six combined goals scored in the first period is the most of any San Diego game this season.
The second and third periods saw just one goal, again going in the favor of San Jose. Dylan Gambrell threw the first shot on net and Glass made the save, but was unable to contain the rebound. Rourke Chartier found the rebound loose in the crease and put it home for a fifth consecutive Barracuda goal and what would result as the final goal of the game.
Glass made 33 saves overall, including 20 of San Jose’s 21 shots in the final 40 minutes.
The Gulls will return to San Diego to begin a two-game homestand on Wednesday, Feb. 20 vs. the Tucson Roadrunners (7 p.m. PT, Radio: Mighty 1090) and Saturday, Feb. 23 vs. the San Antonio Rampage (7 p.m. PT, Radio: Mighty 1090).