Lucas Elvenes Collects First Multi-Goal Performance As Gulls Dominate Barracuda In Final Regular Season Meeting
Feb 16, 2022By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
The lopsided rivalry continues for another year.
The San Diego Gulls used a strong second period to sink the San Jose Barracuda 5-1 tonight at SAP Center in the final regular season meeting between the Pacific Division foes. The Gulls close the season series with a 7-1-0-0 record and four straight wins. In addition, San Diego went a perfect 4-0-0-0 on the road against the Barracuda this season.
"It was much better," Gulls head coach Joel Bouchard said. "There’s always room for improvement. If you ask a coach 'what can get better,' you’re always going to find something. We didn’t play much the last couple weeks. It was our (second) game in 11 or 12 days, so yeah, I did think the execution was higher tonight than it has been, which is nice. And you see the result with the goals.
"I also liked that in the second period, I challenged the players to step up one gear and they did. I’m very happy about that. At one point I think we were playing decent, but we were a little nonchalant in some of the plays and I thought that second period the guys stepped up, which is nice."
Lucas Elvenes led the Gulls offense, collecting the first multi-goal game (2-0=2) of his American Hockey League career. Brogan Rafferty posted his second multi-assist performance (0-2=2) in his last four games to help the Gulls grab a third win in the last four games.
"It felt good," Elvenes said of his performance. "Of course, I was thinking about that. It was my first multi-goal game. So, it’s fun to score two goals in a game, huge win too. Good for the boys, good for coming into this week with two against Ontario. So, looking forward to that."
The offense supported Lukas Dostal, who stopped 24 shots to record his 24th career win, tying Anthony Stolarz for second on the franchise’s all-time wins list.
Joachim Blichfeld scored San Jose’s lone goal as they dropped a seventh straight game. Goaltender Alexei Melnichuk made 18 saves in the loss.
The Gulls jumped out to an early lead on a Brent Gates Jr. goal at 3:17 of the first period.
Rafferty found an open Brayden Tracey - who returned tonight after missing six games due to injury - at the top of the right circle. The Gulls rookie held the puck, allowing Gates Jr. to spin away from the defense and find open ice. Tracey's cross-ice feed found the Grand Rapids, MI native, and Gates Jr.'s one-timed attempt sailed to the top of the net for his fifth goal of the season, establishing a new career high for goals in a season.
Gates Jr. also has three goals (3-0=3) in his last two games against the Barracuda.
Blichfeld converted on the power play, tying the game with 5:23 remaining in the period. A proverbial thorn in the side of the Gulls, Blichfeld held the puck at the point, sending a wrist shot past the screened Dostal for his 15th goal of the season. He has four goals in seven games against San Diego this season.
The first period was the last time the teams stood on equal footing, as San Diego came out firing in the middle frame.
Elvenes put the Gulls ahead at 4:43 of the second period with his first goal of the game.
Vinni Lettieri won a puck battle at the side boards, sending a pass through two Barracuda defensemen to an open Elvenes at the front of the net. The Swedish forward saw Melnichuk deny his initial bid, but Elvenes followed the rebound and backhanded home his fifth goal of the season.
Lettieri recorded an assist in a third straight game, a new career high. He has five points (1-4=5) in the last three games.
Hunter Drew extended the lead, putting San Diego ahead by two with 9:44 left in the period.
Drew carried the puck out of his own end, bringing a 3-on-2 rush into the San Jose zone. His cross-ice pass found Axel Andersson, who one-timed the puck toward the net. The puck hit off traffic in front and found Drew at the side of the net, who quickly tucked it over the goal line before Melnichuk could recover for his eighth goal of the season.
It marks the first time this season Drew recorded goals in back-to-back games.
Jacob Larsson also collected an assist on the goal, recording a helper in a second straight game.
Greg Printz would continue the scoring for the Gulls, collecting his sixth goal of the season with 6:31 left in the period.
Nikolas Brouillard held the puck at the point, floating a wrist shot toward the net. Printz, stationed in front, deflected the attempt past Melnichuk and into the back of the net for the goal, his third in the last four games.
Brouillard finishes the season with eight points (2-6=8) in eight games against San Jose.
"I think our pressure was higher in the second period," Bouchard said. "We sustained the pressure. We stayed in the zone longer. We weren’t one and done, meaning that it wasn’t a back-and-forth period for a long period. We stayed in the o-zone. Obviously, if you stay in the o-zone you have more chances of scoring. We won some battles and executed some play and scored those goals."
The three goals matched San Diego's season-high for goals in the middle frame. They've done it three other times, the last on Feb. 11 against the Barracuda.
Elvenes left no doubt how the game would end, picking up his second goal at 3:30 of the third period.
Rafferty grabbed the puck low in the faceoff circle, curling toward the point and finding Elvenes at the blue line. His wrist shot deflected off the stick of Barracuda defenseman Cole Moberg and past Melnichuk for his sixth goal of the season.
Dostal shut the door from there, stopping all seven of San Jose's third period shots. The Czechia netminder closes the season with a perfect 4-0-0 record against the Barracuda with a 1.77 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage.
The Gulls will return home to open a weekend series against the Ontario Reign on Saturday, Feb. 19. The team is celebrating its first-ever Casino Night, wearing specialty jerseys and featuring showgirls, casino games and more during the night.
"Playing a good team this weekend; we know how they are," Elvenes said. "It’s going to be two tough games, but we have this game in the bag. We have confidence now so we just got to keep it up."