LIVE: Gulls Drown Out Heat 4-1
Jan 7, 2022By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls defeated the Stockton Heat 4-1 in tonight's game at Pechanga Arena San Diego.
Bryce Kindopp and Brayden Tracey collected a goal and assist while Nikolas Brouillard picked up two assists to snap a three-game losing streak. Lukas Dostal stopped a season-high 37 shots to collect his sixth win of the season.
Eetu Tuulola collected the lone goal for Stockton, who suffered their third loss in the last five games. Adam Werner allowed four goals on 25 shots, suffering his third loss of the season.
Third Period Recap
Benoit-Olivier Groulx restored San Diego's two-goal lead at 7:51 of the final frame.
Brouillard carried the puck into the Heat zone, finding Jacob Perreault with a drop pass at the top of the faceoff circle. The Gulls rookie wasted no time one-timing the puck on net, forcing Stockton netminder Adam Werner to make the save. The puck trickled out to the front of the net, where Groulx worked around a defenseman and slammed the puck into the open net for his second goal of the season.
Brouillard collected his first multi-point game since Nov. 20 at San Jose. He leads team defensemen in assists (12) and is third on the Gulls in scoring (3-12=15).
Kindopp added on, scoring the Gulls fourth goal of the night with 5:42 remaining in regulation.
Brent Gates Jr., making his season debut, turned over the Heat at center ice to start an odd-man rush. He fed Tracey, who charged in alone on Werner. He forced the Heat netminder to play the shot, faking his attempt before sliding over a pass to Kindopp, who tapped the puck into a wide-open net for his third goal of the season.
Second Period Recap
Hunter Drew opened the scoring, bombing a shot from the right circle past the blocker of Werner at 5:12 of the middle frame.
Brouillard gathered a puck at his own blue line, quickly passing it through the neutral zone and to an open Drew. The hulking forward barreled ahead, winding up for a heavy shot as pressure came from the Stockton defense. His low shot slid past Werner for Drew's fourth goal of the season.
The Gulls have scored the first goal in 11 of their last 17 games and are 7-3-0 this season when opening the scoring.
Tracey extended the lead to two, floating a shot from the point past a screened Werner with just under 10 minutes left in the period.
Kindopp won an offensive zone faceoff, with Tracey collecting the puck in the right circle. He gave a quick shoulder fake to his defender, feigning a turn to the boards before circling to the top of the slot. His soft wrist shot floated through the net-front traffic and into the back of the net for his eighth goal of the season.
The goal ties Tracey with Perreault for the team lead in goals.
The penalty kill played a huge role in the helping San Diego establish - and hold - its lead. The team twice killed off extended 4-on-3 chances, the second punctuated by a sliding Dostal save to deny the red-hot Jakob Pelletier, who entered tonight leading all American Hockey League rookies in scoring with 11-17-28 points.
Stockton would eventually break through on the man advantage, climbing within one with 10.4 seconds left in the period.
Tuulola solved Dostal on his team's 27th shot of the game, finishing off a 3-on-2 rush with a deflection past the San Diego netminder for his seventh goal of the season.
First Period Recap
After seeing the Heat control the first 10 minutes, the Gulls grabbed the momentum with two power-play chances in the latter half of the opening frame. While San Diego didn't capitalize, the team put several high-quality chances on net, none tougher than a Kindopp one-timer from inside the slot.
Werner stopped seven shots in the first period. Dostal stopped all 10 Stockton chances.