Gulls Drop 5-4 OT Final to Firebirds
Apr 20, 2024By Morgan Korovec/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls brought the heat in their final home game of the season, but ultimately fell in overtime, dropping a 5-4 decision to the Coachella Valley Firebirds Saturday night at Pechanga Arena San Diego.
San Diego came out of the gates with a vengeance with Jan Mysak striking the net with his 14th goal of the season (14-7=21) at 2:49 in the opening frame to beat Ales Stezka.
The Gulls were sure to keep that energy going, climbing to a two-goal lead at 8:30 as Sasha Pastujov reached double-digit goals, snapping his 10th of the season (10-13=23).
Supported by a solid Alex Stalock in-net, Coachella’s 11 shots would be denied to keep the Firebirds off the scoresheet through the end of the first.
The middle frame launched with another early San Diego goal, Andrew Agozzino snapping his 24th of the season less than a minute into it. Agozzino has now broken the franchise record tie for the most points in a single season by a Gull, surpassing Sam Carrick’s 61 points to earn 24-38=62 on the campaign.
The second saw tensions go up, as did penalties, with play getting heated as San Diego gripped onto their three-goal advantage until 15:11. That was when Tucker Robertson put Coachella on the board.
Pavol Regenda punched right back, netting his 19th goal of the season (19-15=34) to restore the three-goal lead less than a minute later.
To open the final frame, Coachella’s Jani Nyman scored, narrowing the gap to two. At 16:01, a goal by Shane Bright brought the Firebirds within one.
With six seconds left in regulation, a game-tying goal by Wright forced things into overtime, where Coachella took the point.
Stalock stopped all but five of 40 shots on the night. The Gulls goaltender also recorded an assist.
Trevor Carrick and Drew Helleson each gathered two assists on the night. Nick Wolff, Nikita Nesterenko, and Andrew Lucas each picked up a helper.
The Gulls will close out the 2023-2024 season with a final Sunday showdown against the Coachella Valley Firebirds tomorrow afternoon at Acrisure Arena (3 p.m. PDT).