Lukas Dostal, Brent Gates Jr. Help Gulls Close Homestand With A Win
Feb 11, 2022By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
As far as rivalries go, this one is a bit lopsided.
The San Diego Gulls continued their dominance over the San Jose Barracuda, sinking their Pacific Division foes 4-2 tonight at Pechanga Arena San Diego. It’s San Diego’s sixth win in seven games against San Jose this season, their ninth win in the last 10 meetings.
"It was one of those games, but it’s not a plan to play that kind of hockey," Gulls head coach Joel Bouchard said. "We had a really good week last week. Then, you’re kind of on a role and then a week off, it’s All-Star break, a couple of practices. I thought we didn’t come in-sync as much as we would like. That being said, we’ve got to take that win. There’s games that we played really well like last game on Saturday, and we didn’t get the two points so we’ll take the two points tonight."
Lukas Dostal stole the show, stopping a season-high 43 shots for his eighth win of the season. Brent Gates Jr. supported his goaltender, collecting the first multi-goal game of his American Hockey League career.
Hunter Drew and Greg Printz (EN) also added goals as San Diego earned its second in the last three games.
Evan Weinger and Jayden Halbgewachs scored for the Barracuda, who dropped a fifth straight game. Goaltender Alexei Melnichuk stopped 18 of 21 shots.
After failing to score in the first period – one where each goalie stopped nine shots – the teams traded goals just 21 seconds apart to open the middle period.
Drew started the scoring, collecting his career-high seventh goal of the season at 2:38 of the period.
Vincent Marleau sent a shot from the point to the front of the net, where Jack Badini corralled the loose puck. He tried to send it toward Melnichuk on the backhand, but his attempt went wide, bouncing off the end boards and to a waiting Drew at the opposite side of the net. He didn't miss, slamming home the loose puck for the milestone marker.
Weinger tied the game at 2:59 of the period, streaking down the wing before cutting toward the net and tucking a puck past Dostal for his eighth goal of the season. The tally extends his point streak to five games.
Gates Jr. restored San Diego's lead under two minutes later.
Brendan Guhle and Vinni Lettieri exchanged the puck behind the net, with the Gulls forward turning away from the end boards and looking to the slot. He found Gates Jr., who quickly one-timed the pass by an unsuspecting Melnichuk for his third goal of the season.
"That’s always big trying to just have a shift that can get you back," he said. "After they scored it was a little bit back and forth. We scored, they responded real well. Then just going out and trying to just have a good shift to kind of get the momentum back, whether it’s a goal or not. And then obviously to get a goal and kind of shut down their momentum was pretty good."
The two teams would once again trade goals in quick succession, striking twice in 17 seconds later in the frame.
Halbgewachs brought San Jose even at 8:02 of the period with his 12th goal of the season. Jasper Weatherby worked the puck into San Diego's zone and found the streaking Halbgewachs open to his left. His pass hit him and stride, and San Jose's left wing put his shot past Dostal for the game-tying tally.
Halbgewachs continues to torment the Gulls. He leads all Barracuda skates with 3-3=7 points against San Diego.
Gates Jr. scored his second of the game just 38 seconds later to put San Diego back in the lead.
Trevor Carrick's shot from the point ricocheted off traffic in front and found Kodie Curran coming down from the point. The defenseman faked a shot before collecting the puck, opening a passing lane to the circle. The puck found Gates Jr., who fired his shot through the sliding Melnichuk to tie a career-high with his fourth goal of the season.
"I know I've just been trying to a do the right things," he said about his multi-goal performance. "I’ve played in a couple different spots with this team up and down the line up, so you know I am just really to do what I can, wherever I am in the line up to try to help the team win. So obviously yeah, trying to do the little things but it’s nice to a get rewarded with a couple goals in game like that."
San Diego's penalty kill preserved the one-goal advantage, killing off two consecutive 5-on-3 chances to start the final frame.
"That was big, that was really big," Bouchard said. "That’s where I think the game shifted a little bit there. There were some blocked shots, there’s some investment there. Like I said, it wasn’t pretty, but I thought we had a bit of a break again. We’re going to get playing soon enough and let’s see if we can get this on a roll a little bit."
Curran and Dostal combined to deny left wing John Leonard on two separate one-timed attempts. On the first attempt, Dostal slid across his crease to make an arm save, but the puck fluttered over the netminder and dangerously close to the goal line. Curran, stationed near the post, alertly turned and swiped the puck to safety.
Dostal needed to stay sharp, as Leonard's second attempt just moments later. This time, the Czechia native made a scrambling save with the glove, steering the shot toward the corner.
"I was just like, obviously 5-on-3 as a goalie you have to play a little bit deeper because there’s so many options available," Dostal said when describing the save sequence. "So, you just have to be ready for them and obviously, they kind of played a diamond so I was just waiting for the shot or the team pass. Yeah, I just read it."
Printz would ice the game and deliver yet another win over San Jose, scoring into the empty net with 43 seconds left in regulation.
"You know I think there’s obviously familiarity on both sides," Gates Jr. explained. "You kinda know what to expect. I think every team this league’s good, every team on this side of league is good. It’s hard to say but I think it just you know it’s a rivalry game. I think it’s real easy to get up for these ones."