Gulls Search For Rebound In Las Vegas
Feb 26, 2021The San Diego Gulls will look for their first road victory of the season as the team prepares for a rematch against the Henderson Silver Knights in the second game of a three-game set tonight (6 p.m. PT; TV: AHLTV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network) at Orleans Arena. San Diego ranks atop the Pacific Division in wins (7) and points (14).
Henderson won the first-ever meeting between the clubs on Wednesday, Feb. 24, as the Silver Knights scored three third-period goals to grab a 4-2 victory.
“You have to give them credit,” said Gulls forward Benoit-Olivier Groulx. “They played an outstanding game offensively and defensively. They were standing back a little bit defensively and waiting for a mistake. They capitalized on one.”
San Diego allowed a season-high seven power plays in the defeat. Despite allowing only one power-play goal in those opportunities and boasting one of the league’s top shorthanded units, the Gulls will focus on spending less time in the penalty box.
“When you start on the penalty kill, I think you put a lot of stress on the guys that were killing penalties. They put a lot of energy into that,” said Gulls head coach Kevin Dineen. “A lot of those guys are also on our power play so I think we wore them down in areas that we have to clean up – plays with our sticks. We had a lot of tripping and hooking and those kinds of penalties. That’s one area that we have to clean up.”
Jack Dugan powered the Henderson offense Wednesday, posting a career-high 1-2=3 points in his first career multi-point effort. Paul Cotter, Gage Quinney and Lucas Elvenes also scored for the Silver Knights. Oscar Dansk made 17 saves to earn the win in his Henderson debut.
Bryce Kindopp became the fifth Gull to score his first career AHL goal this season, joining Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, Jacob Perreault, and Benoit-Olivier Groulx. Kindopp collected 1-1=2 points with a +2 rating in his first four career AHL games.
Despite the setback, San Diego co-leads the AHL in wins (7) and points (14), and ranks second in goals scored (30). Fifteen different Gulls found the back of the net this season and eight San Diego skaters scored twice, each the second most in the AHL.
Rookie netminder Lukas Dostal continues to impress, pacing league goaltenders in wins (5) and saves (237), while ranking second in minutes played (403) and third in save percentage (.929, min. 100 saves).
There are a few notable records within reach this weekend. After a two assist performance on Wednesday, Keegan Lowe stands just one goal or assist away from reaching 100 career AHL points (17-82=99).
San Diego captain Sam Carrick could also hit an exclusive milestone this weekend as the center has skated in 198 career games with San Diego. If he appears in each of the two games against the Silver Knights, he will join Corey Tropp (205) and Jaycob Megna (216) as the only players in club history to appear in 200 contests with the Gulls.
The two teams will conclude their series with an afternoon matchup tomorrow (2 p.m. PT, TV: Fox 5 San Diego, AHL TV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).