LIVE: Gulls Win Third Straight, Defeat Henderson 6-1
Mar 16, 2022By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls defeated the Henderson Silver Knights 6-1 tonight at Pechanga Arena.
The win, a third straight for the Gulls, pulls them within six points of the sixth-place Silver Knights in the Pacific Division standings. San Diego currently sits in seventh place, five points ahead of eighth-place San Jose.
Hunter Drew recorded a career-high four points (2-2=4) while Nikolas Brouillard chipped in a career-tying three points (2-1=3) to push San Diego to its third straight win. The offense supported Lukas Dostal, who stopped 34 shots to collect his 14th win of the season.
Peter DiLiberatore scored the lone goal for Henderson, who lost for the sixth time in its last seven games. Goaltender Jiri Patera stopped 18 shots to suffer a fourth consecutive loss.
Third Period Recap
Brouillard scored his second goal of the game just 45 seconds into the final frame.
Drew collected a loose puck in the corner of the offensive zone and found Brouillard at the faceoff dot. He worked the puck into the middle of the ice, wiring a wrist shot past Patera for his 11th goal of the season.
Both Brouillard (2-1=3) and Drew (1-2=3) have three-point performances.
Drew scored San Diego's sixth goal, a power-play tally, with 6:21 remaining in regulation. The forward crashed the crease, putting a rebound past Patera for his team-leading 13th goal of the season. Alex Limoges earned an assist on the play, his second point (0-2=2) of the game.
His four points (2-2=4) are a new single-game career high.
Second Period Recap
Trevor Carrick pushed San Diego's lead to three with a goal at 3:29 of the middle frame.
Limoges carried the puck to the slot, sending a spinning shot just wide of Patera. Jacob Perreault collected the puck behind the net and quickly moved it to Carrick, who snuck down from the point and set up low in the faceoff circle. The defenseman rifled a one-timed slap shot past Patera for his eighth goal of the season.
With his assist on the goal, Limoges collected his fifth point (1-4=5) in his last five games.
DiLiberatore broke San Diego's lengthy shutout streak with 7:15 left in the second, sending a wrist shot from the point by a screened Dostal for his third goal of the season.
Brouillard restored San Diego's three-goal lead with 5:36 remaining in the period.
Kodie Curran started the play, clearing the puck from in front of his crease and finding a streaking Drew. The wing darted out of his own zone, leading a 2-on-1 rush with Brouillard. Drew floated a pass for his linemate, who tapped it out of the air and past Patera for his 10th goal of the season.
Drew continues his strong play, recording a second consecutive multi-point performance (1-1=2). Brouillard has four points (2-2=4) in his last four games.
Curran (0-2=2) has his third multi-assist game of the season.
First Period Recap
Drew opened the scoring, floating a wrist shot past Patera just 40 seconds into the game.
The play started with an effective forecheck, as the Gulls pried the puck loose deep in Henderson's end. Brouillard moved it to Axel Andersson, who found Drew in the middle of the point. The Kingston, ONT native let go a wrist shot, sneaking it through traffic in front and past the screened Patera for his 12th goal of the year.
Drew has goals in back-to-back games and is tied with Limoges for the team lead. Brouillard extended his point streak (1-2=3) to three games.
Brayden Tracey extended San Diego's lead, scoring a power-play goal with 9:51 left in the first.
The Gulls established themselves in Henderson's zone and went to work, moving the puck back and forth with cross-ice passes. Curran settled one in the faceoff circle and found an open Tracey in the slot, feeding the rookie with a quick strike. Tracey wasted no time, one-timing his shot past Patera for his 10th goal of the season.
The tally breaks a long draught for Tracey, who scored his first goal in the last 17 games.
Patera is 6-7-0 with a 2.67 GAA and .912 SV%. He's lost five of his last six starts - and three straight - entering tonight's game. He's posted a 3.22 GAA and .886 SV% over that span. In one start against San Diego, Patera allowed five goals on 20 shots in a 5-2 loss.
Dostal kept Henderson off the board with an incredible glove save on Reid Duke with 7:16 remaining in the period. With the Silver Knights on the power play, Duke cut through the slot and collected the rebound of a shot in front. He tried to sneak a shot glove side, but Dostal met his chance, snatching the puck out of the air before falling into his crease and covering the puck. He stopped all 15 shots he faced in the opening period.
The Czech Republic native is 13-10-0 with two shutouts, a 2.64 goals-against average (GAA) and .915 save percentage (SV%). Since Jan. 7, Dostal has posted an 8-4-0 record with two shutouts, a 2.32 goals-against average and .932 save percentage to lead all American Hockey League goaltenders (min. 500 minutes played) in SV%, while ranking tied for third in shutouts, fifth in GAA and tied for 11th in wins. In three starts against Henderson, the San Diego goalie is 3-0-0 with a 1.67 GAA and .940 SV%.