LIVE: Gulls Fall To Heat
Apr 26, 2022By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls fell to the Stockton Heat 4-1 in tonight's game at Pechanga Arena San Diego.
Emilio Pettersen led the way for Stockton, scoring twice as they won for the sixth time in the eight-game season series. Adam Werner stopped 25 shots in the win.
Brent Gates Jr. scored San Diego's lone goal, a power-play tally in the first period.
Second Period Recap
Pettersen took control of the middle frame, pushing Stockton's lead to three with a multi-goal period.
His first came on an impressive play at 7:33 of the middle frame.
The second-year left wing pressured Nathan Larose near the blue line, eventually stripping the Gulls defenseman in the slot. He battled through a stick check while moving in on Lukas Dostal, flipping a backhand shot up and over the San Diego goaltender's glove for his 12th goal of the season.
He'd strike again with 3:57 left in the frame, converting a 2-on-1 rush for his 13th goal of the season. It's the second time the Norwegian scored twice in a game this season.
First Period Recap
Walker Duehr opened the scoring two minutes in, snapping a wrist shot past Dostal for his 11th goal of the season.
The Heat turned from defense to offense quickly, with Greg Moro feeding Stockton captain Bryan Froese with a pass through the neutral zone. He found Duehr, who carried the puck to the middle of the ice before beating Dostal with a shot low to blocker side. He ranks second among all Heat forward in goals against San Diego this season with three.
Nick DeSimone increased the lead, converting on a 5-on-3 power-play chance with 3:04 remaining in the period.
Gates Jr. would respond before the end of the first, finding the back of the net on the power play with just 17.1 seconds left in the frame.
The Gulls patiently worked the puck around the zone, with Lucas Elvenes finding Josh Lopina near the goal line. The rookie sent a spinning backhand pass to Alex Limoges in the slot. Unable to quickly fire a shot, Limoges instead bumped the puck to an open Gates Jr., who fired a shot from low in the faceoff circle over the pad stack of Stockton netminder Adam Werner for his 12th goal of the season.
The Grand Rapids, MI native has goals in two straight games.