San Diego Triumphs over Tucson 4-2
Nov 10, 2024By Samantha Mason/SanDiegoGulls.com
The Gulls are leaving Tucson with a win under their belt after beating the Roadrunners 4-2 tonight.
This victory is well-deserved after San Diego fell short to Tucson 5-2. Tonight, they showed fans and opponents alike what they’re capable of.
Tucson scored their first goal at the start of the second period. Center Josh Lopina scored the first goal of the game and for the Gulls, assisted Coulson Pitre and Yegor Sidorov. This comes after he also scored the Gulls' first goal in their first meeting with the Roadrunners on Saturday. Jansen Harkins scored his second goal in as many games shortly after to make it 2-0.
"Being able to get up to a 2-0 lead early is a big thing," head coach Matt McIlvane said. "Guys are fighting, and we have a group that cares. To be able to come out on top today is a big one for us."
Sam Colangelo scored his seventh goal of the season on the power play, assisted by Harkins, just before the end of the second period. Tucson took their second and last goal at the beginning of the third period. The fourth and last goal scored by San Diego came from Nikita Nesterenko on an empty net, giving him points in three straight games, assisted by Colangelo and Ryan Carpenter.
Tonight’s match also saw multiple impressive saves by goaltender Oscar Dansk, who was especially sharp in the third period. Dansk ended the night with 24 saves to earn his second victory of the season.
"This feels huge. It was a long time coming for us. I feel like we deserve some results," said Lopina. "Today was a total team effort. That’s what it takes to win in this league, and we had really a lot of fun doing it tonight."
The Gulls continue their road trip into this week, where they will face the San Jose Barracuda at 7:00 p.m. PST Wednesday night.