PREVIEW: Gulls, Wild Finish Regular-Season Series On Hockey Fights Cancer Night

Apr 2, 2022

By Paige Burnell/SanDiegoGulls.com

The San Diego Gulls are ready to battle for their first win of the season against the Iowa Wild as they take on their Central Division foes in the team’s third-annual Hockey Fights Cancer™ Night presented by California Coast Credit Union tonight at Pechanga Arena (7 p.m. PT; TV:FOX 5 San Diego; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).   

The Gulls and the American Hockey League are proud to join the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players’ Association for their Hockey Fights Cancer™ initiative. The team will wear lavender jerseys throughout the game, which will feature special events, observances, and stories from people around the hockey community.

Get the info on San Diego's jersey auction and more Hockey Fights Cancer Night activities

This will be the Gulls’ fourth and final regular-season matchup against the Wild after the team fell 2-1 in overtime last night in an incredibly physical, tight-checking affair. San Diego will need to adjust to this heavier game – a different look then they’ve seen from many Pacific Division foes – to find success.

"They’re a different look, which is good for us," Gulls head coach Joel Bouchard said. "You never know what can happen down the road and we’ve kind of really approached this as a good learning and a playoff growing. You know, we have new bodies in the lineup too. So, again, I don’t think it’s a full disaster, I don’t think we got dominated. I just don’t think it was as clean as we can do it and all of a sudden, you’re in a 1-0 lead and a good shot from them and then it’s a 1-1 and then a quick breakdown in overtime and then all of a sudden, you see what happened."

The Gulls started the game well as Brendan Guhle scored his third goal of the season to give them the 1-0 lead  Rookie center Josh Lopina, making his AHL debut, earned the first assist and point of his professional career on the play (0-1=1) and continued to be at the center of grade-A offensive chances for the Gulls throughout the outing.

"I think he did really well," Bouchard said of Lopina. "He had a few scoring chances, he had a really good scoring chance in the second, was good in the third. I think he was good in the faceoff circle. He did really good."

The lead would stand for 45 minutes – until late in regulation – when a goal from Iowa’s Connor Dewar tied the game with just under 90 seconds remaining in regulation. The Wild would skate away with the extra point moments later, as Calen Addison converted a rebound in overtime to give Iowa just its third win in its last 10 games.

A key to besting Iowa is for the Gulls to beat them at their own physical game without compromising their own systems in the process.

"Yeah, we gotta keep our composure," Guhle said. "We can’t be taking the extra twos or retaliating. We know they’re going to be coming and flying around, so we just gotta be aware of that. You know, use it to our advantage. Make plays, spot the puck and get past them, like you know they’re flying around." 

The Gulls controlled play last night with the help of their blueliners, who jumped in offensively to support the attack and generate offensive chances. Trevor Carrick and Drew Helleson both remained active from the points, with the latter collecting a season-high four shots.

San Diego’s challenge is to maintain this pace over the course of the game. 

"Everything you live in a season is a growing for your team personally, individually and as a coach too," Bouchard said. "I think we’ve kind of got maybe a lesson that was there for us to learn and we’ve learned it. I don’t think guys didn’t care; I don’t think it was none of that. I think we came hard out of the block. I think we played a good first. We had some good moments, just think in the third it wasn’t as clean as we usually do it."

The matchup also features two teams battling for playoff positions in the Western Conference. San Diego enters tonight tied for sixth in the Pacific Division, leading the Henderson Silver Knights based on the head-to-head record between the two teams. The Wild sit three points back of the Texas Stars for the fifth and final postseason spot in the Central Division with a game in hand.

The heightened important of every point brings a postseason-like atmosphere to these games.

"This is exactly like a playoff match up," Guhle said. "We gotta make some adjustments and we’ll go from there."