LIVE: Gulls Drop Road Trip Finale
Jan 23, 2022By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls fell to the Abbotsford Canucks 4-2 in today's game at Abbotsford Centre.
Sheldon Rempal (1-1=2), Noah Juulsen (0-2=2) and Ashton Sautner (0-2=2) collected multi-point performances as Abbotsford stretched its win streak to three games. They’ve won five of the six meetings against San Diego.
Rookie netminder Joe Murdaca earned a second consecutive win, stopping 19 shots.
Despite the loss, Francis Marotte put forth an incredible effort, making 36 saves – several of them highlight-reel stops – in the loss. Morgan Adams-Moisan and Benoit-Olivier Groulx (PPG) scored for the Gulls, who failed to put more than three in the net for the first time in the last four games.
Third Period Recap
The Gulls comeback attempt went into full swing late in regulation, as they earned a 5-on-3 power-play opportunity in the last two minutes. They also pulled Marotte, sending in the extra attacker and playing desperate hockey. It wasn't enough, as Murdaca and the Canucks withstood the charge to hold on for the win.
Second Period Recap
Marotte continued his stellar play, turning aside Sheldon Rempal twice in the first minute of the middle frame.
The Canucks forward found himself alone in front, and Marotte turned aside his initial deflection bid from on top of the crease. The puck trickled to the side of the net, where Marotte swung his body to the left to glove aside Rempal's follow-up bid.
The Canucks would break through, striking twice in 40 seconds to take their first lead of the game.
The first - the game-tying tally - came from Vincent Arseneau at the 6:04 mark of the middle frame. Noah Juulsen floated a wrist shot into traffic, and Arseneau deflected the shot past Marotte for his fourth goal of the season.
Juulsen leads all skaters with 0-2=2. He collected his seventh assist against the Gulls this season.
Yushiroh Hirano put Abbotsford ahead with his second goal of the season at 6:44 of the period.
Rempal - turned aside earlier in the period - collected a loose puck from behind the net and quickly moved to the front of the crease. His backhand attempt went wide of Marotte, but Hirano followed up, whacking away until the puck went over the pads and into the back of the net.
Hirano has goals in back-to-back games, scoring his first American Hockey League goal in the Canucks win last night.
Rempal would eventually solve Marotte, collecting his 10th goal of the season with just 19 seconds left in the middle period. He joins Juulsen and defenseman Ashton Sautner (0-2=2) with a multi-point performance.
The three goals allowed in the second period match a season high for the Gulls, who also allowed San Jose to score three times in the middle frame on Nov. 19.
First Period Recap
Adams-Moisan opened the scoring at 8:06 of the opening frame.
A strong cycle from the La Tuque, QC native led to a short pass to Jack Badini, who shielded the puck as he skated along the goal line. He found a cutting Sean Josling near the cross, and the right wing fired a shot that trickled through the pads of Abbotsford netminder Joe Murdaca. Adams-Moisan alertly crashed the crease, tipping the puck into the open net for his first goal of the season.
The tally also marked his first with the Gulls.
Chase Wouters would respond just 18 seconds later to even the score at one.
A shot from Noah Juulsen found its way through Marotte, with the puck sitting behind the goalie. Wouters, like Adams-Moisan just seconds before, crashed the crease and tipped home the rebound for the equalizer.
Juulsen continues to find success against San Diego. The Abbotsford native has a four-game point streak against the Gulls, collecting 0-6=6 against them over that span. He's scored two-thirds of his total points (2-7=9) against the Gulls.
Groulx connected on the power play to put San Diego ahead with 8:36 left in the period.
Kodie Curran skated the puck down from the wing before finding Brayden Tracey in the middle of the offensive zone. The wing sent a no-look pass to Groulx, who found himself wide open in the low circle. Murdaca was slow to react and Groulx didn't hesitate, one-timing a shot past the Canucks goalie for his fourth goal of the season.
Curran has five points (1-4=5) in five games against Abbotsford.
Marotte made his best save late in the period, shutting down a Nic Petan chance. His high, hard shot caused a rebound, and the Abbotsford defenseman quickly skated down the zone to try and stuff the puck home. Marotte turned him away, making a hard push and laying his pads on the ice to take away the low chance. His glove did the rest, snatching the shot out of the air before it crept over the goaltender.
The Gulls goaltender stopped 10-of-11 shots in the first period. He enters today with a 3-2-1 record, a 3.48 goals-against average (GAA) and .891 save percentage (SV%). He's won three of his last four decisions, including a 29-save effort against the Canucks on Jan. 15 at Pechanga Arena.
Murdaca stopped five shots in the first period. He earned a second consecutive start for the Canucks. The Niagara Falls, ONT native signed a professional tryout on January 16 and made 13 saves to earn his first American Hockey League win last night.