Smith Scores on Emo Night, Gulls Fall 4-1 to Roadrunners
Apr 6, 2024By Morgan Korovec/SanDiegoGulls.com
Things didn’t go right on Emo Night as the San Diego Gulls couldn’t find their place, dropping a 4-1 decision to the Tucson Roadrunners Saturday night at Pechanga Arena San Diego.
Right on par with the Emo Night theme, emotions were high to kick off the opening frame as things got physical between Travis Howe and Patrik Koch before any scoring began.
Tucson would be first to pierce the net, Hunter Drew landing one at 14:22 to put the Roadrunners in front with the lone goal of the first.
The middle frame saw more than one close-in shots from San Diego early in the period, but the puck wouldn’t find the back of the net until 18:10 at the stick of Tucson’s Victor Soderstrom on the power play.
The final frame launched with a third goal by the Roadrunners as Cameron Hebig stretched their lead.
Battling to close the gap, Konnor Smith made a statement for the Gulls at 15:02 in the third as he netted his first professional goal to put San Diego in the score column.
The Roadrunners didn’t waste any time killing the vibe as less than a minute later, as Curtis Douglas scored to restore a three-goal advantage.
Judd Caulfield picked up an assist on Smith’s goal.
It was a 35-save performance from Gulls goaltender Calle Clang.
"I don’t think we forget about this one," head coach Matt McIlvane said. "I think we use this one. There’s something that we can learn from. We’ve got less than 24 hours to make a change."
The Gulls will be back for more with the Roadrunners tomorrow night, Sunday Apr. 7, for their final game of the series at Pechanga Arena San Diego (5 p.m. PST).