LIVE: Gulls Fall To Canucks 5-3
Jan 22, 2022By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls win streak stopped at three as they fell to the Abbotsford Canucks 5-3 tonight at Abbotsford Centre.
John Stevens continued to torment San Diego, leading the Canucks with three points (2-1=3). Noah Juulsen (0-3=3), Will Lockwood (1-1=2) and Phil Di Giuseppe (0-2=2) each recorded multi-point performance as Abbotsford defeated the Gulls for the fourth time in five games.
Rookie goaltender Joe Murdaca, making his American Hockey League debut, stopped 13-of-16 shots for his first AHL win.
Lucas Elvenes collected another three-point night (1-2=3) for the shorthanded Gulls, who played with only 16 skaters tonight. Alex Limoges (PPG) and Kodie Curran also scored for San Diego, and goaltender Francis Marotte stopped 27 shots in the loss.
Third Period Recap
Will Lockwood converted on a 2-on-1 rush, extending the Canucks lead with 8:10 left in regulation.
John Stevens collected an assist, his second point of the game. He has five points in four games against the Gulls this season.
Alex Limoges brought the Gulls within one, stuffing home a pass in front for a power-play goal with 5:16 left in regulation.
Stevens would strike again, scoring on a power play to restore Abbotsford's two-goal lead with 3:39 left in the game.
Second Period Recap
Lucas Elvenes briefly tied the game, collecting his fourth goal of the season with 2:44 left in the middle frame.
With a mass of bodies fighting for the puck at the side of the net, Elvenes alertly swooped in to take the puck and loop around the net. He caught Abbotsford netminder Joe Murdaca down in his crease and lifted an attempt from the circle into the top of the net for the game-tying tally.
Since debuting with San Diego on Jan. 14, the Swedish center has seven points (2-5=7) in six games.
Abbotsford responded with 59 seconds left, converting on a goal-mouth scramble to re-take the lead.
John Stevens would score the goal, watching the puck deflect off his skate and the glove of a sliding Gulls defenseman before crossing the goal line for his sixth goal of the season.
Phil Di Giuseppe, who assisted on the play, leads the Canucks with 0-2=2 points.
First Period Recap
Yushiroh Hirano opened the scoring just 10 seconds into the game.
Off the opening faceoff, the Canucks pushed forward, with Nic Petan leading the charge on a 2-on-1 rush. He fed the puck to Hirano, who one-timed a shot past Francis Marotte for his first American Hockey League goal.
Petan remains a thorn in the side of the Gulls, collecting his fourth point and assist against San Diego this season. The defenseman's 14 assists leads the Canucks.
The score marks the earliest goal allowed to start a game by the Gulls, surpassing the previous mark of 11 seconds (Noah Gregor, Mar. 9, 2021 at San Jose).
Ashton Sautner extended Abbotsford's lead, recording his first goal of the season at 8:04 of the period.
Devante Stephens kept a bouncing puck in at the blue line, sending it to Di Giuseppe in the slot, The left wing curled away from pressure and dropped the puck for Sautner, who fired a shot from the circle through the pads of Marotte for the goal.
Kodie Curran put the Gulls on the board with 6:22 left in the first frame.
Elvenes made an excellent play at the blue line, keeping the puck in the offensive zone and sending a backhand pass by an oncoming defender and to Curran along the side boards. The defenseman wound up and fired a shot through a screen and past Murdaca for his first goal of the season.
Elvenes continues to make plays in a Gulls sweater, collecting his fifth assist in the last three games.
Axel Andersson also collected an assist, stretching his point streak to four games (2-2=4).
Marotte recovered from his early struggles to stop six of the eight shots he saw in the period. The Longueuil, QC native is starting his fifth consecutive game for San Diego. The rookie netminder backstopped San Diego to points in four of his first five American Hockey League starts (3-1-1-0) and posted a 2.34 goals-against average (GAA) and a .930 save percentage (SV%) over the last three games.
Murdaca stopped five of six shots. The Niagara Falls, ONT native signed a professional tryout on January 16 and makes his AHL debut tonight. The 6’3, 187-pound goaltender appeared in eight career ECHL games over the past three seasons with the Adirondack Thunder, Wheeling Nailers, Cincinnati Cyclones, Kansas City Mavericks and the Atlanta Gladiators, collecting a 3-2-3 record with a .855 SV%.