Hunter Drew's Career Night Extends San Diego's Win Streak To Three

Mar 16, 2022

By Paige Burnell/SanDiegoGulls.com

Everyone says you go big or go home. The San Diego Gulls went big at home.

The Gulls tied a season high in goals, besting the Henderson Silver Knights 6-1 to extend their win streak to three in a row. The victory also pulled San Diego within six points of sixth-place Henderson in the Pacific Division standings. They also maintained their five-point lead on the eighth-place San Jose Barracuda.

Hunter Drew established a career high with 2-2=4 points while his linemate Nikolas Brouillard recorded a career-tying 2-1=3 points. Gulls netminder Lukas Dostal also played a huge role in backstopping his team to victory, making 34 saves on 35 shots.

"I think it’s always two things: goalies playing well and the team in front of them playing structure so the goalie knows what’s coming a little bit," Gulls head coach Joel Bouchard said. "So, I think tonight is a combination of both."

Drew wasted no time in getting the Gulls off to a great start, scoring 40 seconds into the first period.

The Gulls took possession of the puck and established themselves in Henderson’s zone. Brouillard floated the puck to Axel Andersson across the blueline, who then found Drew in the middle of the point. Drew threaded a wrist shot through traffic past Henderson goaltender Jiri Patera to earn his 12th goal of the season.

This was just the beginning, as Brayden Tracey doubled the Gulls lead halfway through the initial frame, snapping a 17-game scoreless streak on the power play for his 10th goal of the season.

"It’s huge," Drew said. "I can count, you know, probably five or six games that as a group we feel like we lost this year because our power play wasn’t clicking. Now to be scoring on the power play is huge for us and huge for the team."

The Gulls were able to cement themselves in the Silver Knights’ zone. Brent Gates Jr. and Kodie Curran moved the puck back and forth with cross-ice passes before Curran slipped the puck to a patient Tracey. The rookie wing, waiting in the slot, utilized his prime position and sniped the puck past Patera.

The score remained the same through the end of the first in huge part to Dostal as the netminder stopped all 15 shots he faced, including an impressive glove save on a Grade-A scoring opportunity Henderson’s Reid Duke generated off a rebound. The goaltender met Duke’s chance with the glove, snatching his attempt and falling to the ice to stop play.

"Well, when you have confidence in the way you play and the goalie behind you, then obviously you know breakdowns are going to happen because you’re going to give power play, or you’re going to give a few chances but, if he’s composed and he’s knows they’re coming and he’s rested, right?” Bouchard said. "Dos was very composed on that play, to stay in the fight and that’s what I like is that as calm as he is, when there’s a play that (he) needs to be in the fight, he is."

The Gulls made a habit of scoring first in a period, opening the second frame with another goal to widen their lead to three.

Alex Limoges scooped the puck and put it just past the net, where Jacob Perreault. He carried the puck around the net and found to an incoming Trevor Carrick, who beat Patera high on the left side to notch his eighth goal of the season.

Perreault has three assists (0-3=3) over his last four games and has 1-6=7 points in his last nine contests. 

Henderson ended two shutout streaks – one for Dostal and one for the Gulls – as Paul DiLiberatore’s wrist shot from the point found the back of the net at 12:45 of the middle frame.

Brouillard would respond for the Gulls, capping off a 2-on-1 rush for his 10th goal of the season 5:36 left in the period. Curran made a short outlet pass to Drew, who led the Gulls into Henderson’s zone on a 2-on-1 rush. His aerial pass went past the defense and found Brouillard, who swatted it past Patera to restore San Diego’s three-goal lead.

Curran registered 0-2=2 on the night for his third multi-assist performance of the season.

"I think it’s a team game and everyone comes together," Drew said. "Like you said the D (defense) are jumping up. D can’t jump up if the forwards aren’t making good plays and if our goalie’s not making saves, we don’t have the puck. So, everyone’s coming together really nice and it’s really good to see."

San Diego would once again strike early in a period, as Brouillard collected his second goal of the game – and 11th of the season - just 45 seconds into the third period. Drew would collect his second assist on the goal, his third in the last two games.

Brouillard is tied for first among American Hockey League defensemen in goals and leads the Gulls in assists (22) and points (33).

"I think everyone is just coming together," Drew said. "You know when you lose no one likes it, no one likes the feeling and like you said we won three in a row and now we love that feeling and we are going to keep it going."

That wasn’t the end of the story, as Drew took advantage of a power play to score San Diego’s sixth and final goal of the game. The goal, his 13th of the season, gives him the team lead. Additionally, his 13-17=30 points is second on the Gulls.

San Diego scored six goals in both home games against Henderson this season. The team also hit the number in a 6-3 win against their Pacific Division foes on Nov. 10. 

"The season’s a process," Bouchard said. "Obviously, we’ve talked about it a lot. It’s the growth I think that we have collectively and all the hardness and the hard moment we have that’s now, we have a style of play that doesn’t come over night that give us a chance. That being said, we’ve got to stay humble, we’ve got to stay hungry."

The two teams continue their four-game series Friday at Pechanga Arena.