San Diego Comes Up Short to Tucson in Tight 3-2 SO Final
Apr 7, 2024By Morgan Korovec/SanDiegoGulls.com
It was a tightly contested Sunday showdown as the San Diego Gulls battled the Tucson Roadrunners for the final win of their season series, the Gulls ultimately coming up just short 3-2 in the shootout at Pechanga Arena San Diego.
In the opening frame, Josh Lopina showed what a serious San Diego comeback bid looks like as he kickstarted the scoring at 7:42, punching in his 13th goal of the season to hand the Gulls an early lead.
San Diego kept Tucson off the board until 12:38 in the middle frame, the score equalized by Hunter Drew.
With a single goal netted in each period, the final frame launched with both sides battling for offensive momentum to break that tie. Five minutes into the third, Andrew Agozzino would be one to make things interesting as he fired in his 20th goal of the season to pull the Gulls ahead.
Ten minutes later, the Roadrunners’ Austin Poganski struck to tie it up once more at 14:58.
Things would move into overtime to be settled, which saw Tomas Suchanek come up with some stellar saves. In the shootout, Tucson hit the net twice for the Roadrunners to grab the win.
Suchanek stood tall in net once again, stopping 34 of 36 shots on the evening.
Brayden Tracey, Nathan Gaucher, and Sasha Pastujov each picked up a helper on the night. Andrew Lucas also recorded his first AHL point and assist in his professional debut.
San Diego will next get set for some time away from home as they embark on a five-game road swing, kicking off with a Bakersfield Condors clash on Wednesday, Apr. 10 at Mechanics Bank Arena (6:30 p.m. PST).