Alex Limoges Records First American Hockey League Hat Trick As Gulls Point Streak Hits Seven
Mar 24, 2022By Paige Burnell/SanDiegoGulls.com
And now a message brought to you by San Diego Gulls rookie forward Alex Limoges.
It was the Limoges Show at Pechanga Arena San Diego as the left wing powered the Gulls to a 4-3 win over the Tucson Roadrunners on Wednesday night with his first career hat trick, netting his 15th, 16th and 17th goals of the season (3-0=3).
“That was a lot of fun,” Limoges said. “Honestly, I don’t have any words for it right now. It just seemed like everything was going my way and I didn’t think I did too bad in my first fight, so that’s also a bonus. And we got the win. It was close there at the end, but we found a way to win and that’s what good teams do.”
The Gulls extended their point streak to a season-high seventh game (6-0-0-1), while Limoges extended his goal-scoring streak to three games (5-1=6) to match a career high. He also has a season-high five-game point streak, collecting 5-4=9 points over that stretch.
“He played well last year and it was clicking for him and I like that we challenged him to become the best version of himself early in the season, and he went through adversity and we pushed him,” Gulls head coach Joel Bouchard said of Limoges. “I feel his game has evolved a lot, like a lot of our young players, to be honest. I think tonight is a good result for him and for everything he’s done.”
Limoges opened the game’s offensive floodgates at 8:26 of the first period.
Drew Helleson regained control of a loose puck down low, passing it to Jacob Larsson at the blueline. Larsson ripped the puck at the scrum in front of the net where it was spotted by Limoges, who swept it into the net over the glove of Tucson netminder Ivan Prosvetov.
Helleson earned the first point of his American Hockey League career while Larsson collected his ninth assist of the season.
Tucson rookie Mitchell Lewandowski soon tied the game 1-1, scoring the first goal of his AHL career.
“You know what, those are tough games,” Bouchard said. “They came in hard, they were physical, they’re a little different. We played the same team for four games in a row and now you get a different look and you know, we had the game last night that took some on us and I thought we cling on really nicely. It wasn’t perfect, but we cling on really nicely with good habits.”
Hudson Fasching, a perpetual thorn in San Diego’s side, would give Tucson its first lead of the game in the middle frame. The right wing converted on an odd-man rush to snap the Gulls perfect run on the penalty kill, which covered 19 straight successful kills over seven games.
Fasching, who recorded an assist on Tucson’s first goal, has eight points (5-3=8) against San Diego this season.
Refusing to leave anything unanswered, Brayden Tracey responded 43 seconds later, beating Prosvetov with a sleek deke made possible by a faceoff win from Brogan Rafferty and a well-placed pass from Brent Gates Jr. The two teams would trade goals again late in the frame.
Roadrunners defensemen Cole Hults put Tucson ahead once again, scoring on a low wrist shot with just four minutes left in the period.
However, Limoges had no intention of letting Tucson’s lead last.
“It’s really important,” Limoges said of winning in regulation. “Especially we’re gearing up for playoffs and you know sometimes you’re not always going to be feeling 100% going into games. So, you really need to stick to our game plan, which is set for a lot of mental toughness and doing the right things every shift. So, it doesn’t matter how we’re feeling, we gotta find a way to come out and win big games and that for us was a big game.”
The Virginia native cashed in on an odd-man rush just 37 seconds later to tie the game at three off a feed from Jacob Perreault, who extended his point streak to five games with the helper (3-3=6).
“The team’s been playing really well,” Limoges said. “So honestly, it’s we come to the rink for a game day and we know it’s going to be good night. We’re going to find our legs and we are going to find pucks and make plays. Playing with Bo (Benoit-Oliver Groulx) and JP has been a lot of fun too. I think we’re finding each other well out there and we’ve been successful recently. It’s just that kind of stuff. Coming in and we’re confident, we’re shooting the puck, and everybody’s having a lot of fun.”
Limoges was hard-pressed to top his two goals, but he managed the feat as he scored the game-winning goal on the power play to complete his hat trick.
“The power play, I think at the end, is showing that,” Bouchard said. “There was a lot of good execution there for a team that was a little tired in the third period in a 3-3 game and the guys connected. Everybody connected and we finished off with a big goal like you said, but it was well-designed and well-executed by the guys.”
Limoges ended the night with a team-leading nine power-play goals, helping San Diego score its sixth man-advantage tally in the last four games.
Perreault earned another helper on this goal, achieving his second consecutive multi-point game (2-2=4).
The Gulls continue their record-tying six-game homestand Saturday, Mar. 26 against the Ontario Reign at Pechanga Arena San Diego.