PREVIEW: Gulls Host Wild In Tuesday Matchup On Home Ice

Mar 21, 2023

By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com

The San Diego Gulls kick off the week on home ice, hosting the Iowa Wild tonight at Pechanga Arena San Diego (7 p.m. PT; TV: AHL TV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).

The Gulls enter tonight searching to end a two-game losing skid, which includes a 6-2 defeat to the Wild on Saturday, Mar. 18. Marco Rossi made his mark on that game, recording a natural hat trick – the first of his American Hockey League career – to lead his team to the win. Nic Petan (1-2=3) and Mike O’Leary (1-1=2) posted multi-point efforts as well, supporting goaltender Jesper Wallstedt’s 34-save performance.

Despite the loss, the Gulls have recent success against their Central Division foes, earning points in 10 of the 15 previous matchups since the 2016-17 season (8-5-2-0), outscoring the Wild 45-41 in those contests.

San Diego brought plenty of offense on Sunday afternoon in Coachella Valley but couldn’t slow down the Firebirds in an 8-4 loss at Acrisure Arena. Chase De Leo posted a three-point effort (1-2=3), while Dylan Sikura earned the 200th point of his AHL career with a two-goal performance (2-0=2). Chase Priskie extended his career-high point streak into a fifth game (4-2=6) and Nikolas Brouillard recorded a pair of helpers (0-2=2). Josiah Slavin also made the scoresheet, recording his second goal in three games in the second period.

"We lose a defenseman and we end up taking six minors in the game, so you're short-staffed, and then you're doing all that killing and you got guys playing a lot of minutes," Gulls assistant coach Kris Sparre said. "And, you know, you're playing against a team that plays with a lot of intensity, a lot of pace, and they got a great power play. You're not giving yourself a chance when you take that many minors."

One bright spot over the last two games for the Gulls is the success of the team’s power play. The special-teams unit scored three power-play goals over their last two games, operating at a 33.3% success rate over the span (3-for-9).

"I think, you know, the power play, to me, has been in a good way the past few games," Sparre said. "You know, we have some new personnel on the unit that's helping a lot, and guys are really starting to find some sort of chemistry within the units. And our breakouts have been good. These guys are getting set up in zone and the skill takes over from there."

Iowa enters tonight in a heated battle for playoff positioning. They sit tied with the Rockford IceHogs for fourth in the division standings and have played one fewer game than their division foes.

Rossi’s performance on Saturday earned him Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week honors. He accounted for almost half of Iowa’s goal scoring – including the hat trick – helping his team grab wins in six of its last seven games.

The two teams will meet twice more following tonight’s matchup, a weekend set in Iowa Apr. 1-2.