Gulls, Barracuda Finish Back-To-Back Set

Mar 6, 2021

The San Diego Gulls and San Jose Barracuda face off in the second game of a back-to-back series tonight at FivePoint Arena in Irvine (7:30 p.m. PT; TV: Fox 5 San Diego, AHL TV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network). The two teams are in the midst of a three-game series, with the third coming Tuesday in San Jose. San Diego leads the American Hockey League in both home wins (7) and points (14) and grabbed wins in seven of their first eight games (7-1-0-0).

The Gulls look to rebound from their first loss on home ice, a 5-1 setback to San Jose last night. Jayden Halbgewachs (2-0=2) and Robbie Russo (0-2=2) recorded multi-point efforts to lead San Jose's offensive attack. Goaltender Alexei Melnichuk earned his first American Hockey League win, stopping 16-of-17 shots.

Andrew Agozzino scored for the Gulls, extending his goal streak to three games. Lukas Dostal made 27 saves in the loss.

“I expect a big response from us,” Agozzino said following the loss. “I think we need to. I don’t think one player or coach was happy with our game tonight. We expect a lot of ourselves, so hopefully we have a better showing tomorrow.”

A fast start is key for the Gulls. The Barracuda jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first period last night, which included a two-goal stretch in 1:05 to take control of the game. San Diego never recovered, surrendering two goals over the final two periods.

“It wasn’t the start tonight, it was the whole game,” head coach Kevin Dineen said. “I think we just got outplayed from the drop of the puck and that carried forward from there so when you recognize that’s happening, it’s not just a coach yelling at players. It’s recognizing what we’re up to isn’t working, simplifying our game and keeping the puck out of our end. We had trouble with our breakouts and forecheck. It was a complete game where we didn’t have a lot of structure.”

Tonight could mark a career milestone for defenseman Keegan Lowe. The veteran sits just one point away from 100 career AHL points.