San Diego Comeback Comes Up Short in 4-3 Texas Battle

Feb 28, 2024

By Morgan Korovec/SanDiegoGulls.com    

The San Diego Gulls battled to the very end but ultimately couldn’t close the one-goal gap needed to outshine the Texas Stars, dropping a gritty 4-3 decision Wednesday night in the second of back-to-backs at H-E-B Center.  

It would not take long to set the tone for the opening frame, with the Stars’ Matej Bluem kicking off the scoring at 4:34 on the power play. 

Less than a minute later, Christian Kyrou tacked on another one for Texas to extend the lead to two. 

The middle frame began with some stellar saves from Alex Stalock for just his third action in net of 2024, denying the Stars the opportunity to add to their lead to kick off the period. The Gulls goaltender ended the night with 27 saves. 

San Diego’s response came alive in the second as Olen Zellweger struck on the power play at 5:53, firing in a precise shot to put the Gulls in the score column while cutting Texas’ lead in half.  Zellweger leads all AHL defensemen in power-play goals with six. The defenseman also tallied an assist on the night.  

The second saw the Gulls come close to finding the equalizing goal with four energetic shots from Josh Lopina at 10:07, but solid saves from Remi Poirer kept them at one. 

At 18:06, Texas reestablished their two-goal lead as Oskar Back netted a power-play goal of his own to end the middle frame. 

The final frame got underway with the Stars scoring first, taking advantage of the power play opportunity as Kyrou hit the net at 7:34 with his second goal of the night to push the Texas lead to three. 

Lopina roared back for San Diego at 12:53 in the third as he launched his 10th goal of the season over the Texas goaltender to narrow the gap to two goals. 

Glenn Gawdin fed off that energy, sending his 16th goal of the season from the left-wing wall to bring the Gulls within one at 16:29 with the final goal of the game. Gawdin also picked up a helper on the night.  

Despite a strong San Diego surge to close the gap, the Gulls fought until the finish but ultimately fell short by a single goal. 

Chase De Leo, Brayden Tracey, Sasha Pastujov, and Ben King each tallied an assist on the night.  

San Diego continues its road campaign against the Ontario Reign on Friday, Mar. 1 at Toyota Arena to kick off an action-packed month (7 p.m. PST).