Gulls Tame the Wild in 3-2 SO Victory
Jan 12, 2024By Morgan Korovec/SanDiegoGulls.com 
The San Diego Gulls brought their own wild side to the ice at Pechanga Arena San Diego Friday night as they took down the Iowa Wild in a tightly contested 3-2 SO win.
Tensions were high to open the first frame as Brayden Tracey and Michael Milne tussled along the ice moments before Iowa’s Caedan Bankier slid one into the net, opening the scoring before the five-minute mark.
"They came with pressure, forecheck pressure in great detail, that was suffocating us for the first little bit and I think it was frustrating for everybody," head coach Matt McIlvane said. "I don’t know that we were ready to play as quick and as competitive as Iowa brought the pace at the start of the game."
The Gulls answered back at 8:06 in the first as Nikita Nesterenko cashed in, shoveling the puck through traffic to deposit his sixth goal of the season.
With just over a minute left in the first, Chase De Leo gave San Diego the lead as he angled the puck past Zane McIntyre for his sixth goal of the season.
In a scoreless second, the Gulls held on to their lead, with Tomas Suchanek sheltering the net from 12 shots.
Things heated up to kick off the final frame, as Iowa’s Bankier scored his second of the night at 5:41 in the third to tie the game. San Diego couldn’t beat the clock to restore their lead, leading to overtime.
After teases took over OT, the battle escalated to a shootout, where Nesterenko found the back of the net before Tracey’s shot sealed the deal, capturing a hard-fought 3-2 victory over the Wild.
"It’s kind of just in the moment," Tracey said of his shootout winner. "I don’t really remember it to be honest, but I mean, [Nesterenko] made a good move and I saw that he bit hard so I kind of went in with the same sort of plan and was just hoping for the best.
"I think our group showed a lot of heart today. I don’t even know how many penalties we got… so to kill all those off and come out with two points is huge.
"It shows a lot of character. That’s what this group is. We’re 20 to 25 guys of just big hearts and a lot of character. We have good mentors who show us what to do and how to do it. We just go out there and try to do it our best.”"
Glenn Gawdin, Tyson Hinds, and Trevor Carrick each tallied assists on the night.
The Gulls will be back for more at Pechanga Arena San Diego tomorrow night for Country Night, where they will take on the Wild for the second of back-to-back contests (6 p.m. PST; TV: KUSI-SD, AHLTV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).