Brouillard Extends Point Streak, Gulls Fall 6-2
Dec 22, 2022By Brett Pickler/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls lost 6-2 to the Tucson Roadrunners at the Tucson Convention Center Arena.
The Gulls started the game with a new look lineup. Defenseman Nikolas Brouillard moved up to the wing on the first line. This allowed him to create more chances and highlight his playmaking ability. San Diego also saw the season debuts of defenseman Frank Hora and right wing Travis Howe.
Howe immediately got into the game, taking the body to his former club. On his first shift of the game, he dropped the gloves with a familiar opponent. In Howe’s only other American Hockey League (AHL) game, he fought Bokondji Imama in a game against the Ontario Reign. The two squared off again tonight, and this fight seemed to fire up San Diego as they started to control the game offensively.
However, San Diego conceded a tripping penalty just under halfway through period. Tucson took this opportunity to get the momentum back on their side. At the 11:39 mark, left wing Milos Kelemen fired a shot into the back of the net after receiving a pass in the high slot. The Gulls did not back down after this and continued to apply pressure on the Roadrunners. When the period ended, San Diego found themselves with a 12-6 shot advantage.
The Gulls looked to convert on their chances in the second period. From the drop of the puck, they quickly established themselves in the Tucson zone and looked to tie the game. Unfortunately, San Diego took another penalty giving Tucson an opportunity to extend their lead. Michael Carcone converted on this chance five seconds into the man advantage giving the Roadrunners a 2-0 lead. Tucson continued to ride the momentum and made it 3-0 when defenseman Victor Soderstrom wristed a shot bar down from the top of the circle 1:48 later.
San Diego did get their chances in the middle frame with two power play opportunities. On their first attempt, they did not generate much. On the second attempt, they were able to set up and attack the Roadrunners. Brouillard got the puck in the middle of the blueline and hammered a slap shot. Center Benoit-Olivier Groulx got a piece of the puck and deflected it past the goaltender. With this assist, Brouillard extends his point streak to five games. Tucson responded right away, intercepting a pass in the neutral zone and finding the back of the net 35 seconds later.
In the third period, the Gulls needed to put an attack together to get back in the game. Then, a power play opportunity arose. After some good puck movement at the blueline, left wing Brayden Tracey walked in and rifled a shot into the back of the net, cutting the lead to two. Brouillard recorded his second point of the night, giving him 0-9=9 points in his last five games.
The momentum did not stay with San Diego long; the Gulls took a penalty shortly after scoring and center Jean-Sebastien Dea capitalized 11 seconds into the man advantage. Not long after center Curtis Douglas made it 6-2. This score would hold and the Gulls losing streak extends to 12 games.