Gulls Can’t Sweep Roadrunners, Fall 7-3

Mar 30, 2024

By Morgan Korovec/SanDiegoGulls.com    

The San Diego Gulls split a two-game set with the Tucson Roadrunners as they fell short Saturday night, dropping a 7-3 final at Tucson Convention Center. 

Andrew Agozzino kickstarted the action at 9:04 in the opening frame with his 19th goal of the season, his 13th on the power play, to give him the most power-play goals by a Gull in a single season. Agozzino also recorded an assist on the night.  

Picking up a helper on the first goal of the night, Chase De Leo earned his 182nd point as a Gull, surpassing Sam Carrick (86-95=181) to become the franchise’s all-time points leader. De Leo has helpers in five straight games. 

Moments after, the rebound-seeking Roadrunners mustered up a response on their own power play opportunity, Justin Kirkland tying things up at 10:40. 

Sasha Pastujov returned fire at 13:30 to put the Gulls back on top with his ninth goal of the season, extending his point streak to four consecutive games. 

In the middle frame, Tucson’s Kirkland capitalized on some puck luck at 5:32 as he put in a shot from behind the goal line, pulling the score even again. 

Jan Jenik slid one in at 8:06 for the Roadrunners to grab their first lead of the two-game set.  

Despite being shorthanded, the Gulls wouldn’t let that last for long as Judd Caulfield flicked in a backhanded goal at 10:34 in the second, his 10th of the season.  

Tucson punched right back, Hunter Drew scoring to reclaim the goal advantage at 11:54. 

Nathan Smith turned it into a two-goal lead, discovering the top shelf with 29 seconds left in the second. 

The final frame began with a Roadrunners power-play goal, Aku Raty stretching the difference to three. The finishing goal came from Tucson’s Travis Barron to end the night.  

Ben King, Brayden Tracey, Drew Helleson, and Nick Wolff each recorded an assist on the night.  

The Gulls will return to home ice to launch the month of April, beginning their three-game set with a San Jose Barracuda clash on Wednesday, Apr. 3 at Pechanga Arena San Diego (7 p.m. PST).