Preview: Gulls Ready To Bounce Back From Friday Loss Against Charlotte
Nov 4, 2023By Nick Aguilera/SanDiegoGulls.com
After losing in heartbreaking fashion on Friday night, the San Diego Gulls are ready for round two against the Charlotte Checkers at Bojangles Coliseum on Saturday night.
San Diego dropped an overtime thriller in the first half of the back-to-back in Charlotte. With three seconds left in regulation, the Checkers tied the game at three before eventually earning the extra point with an overtime victory.
"I think that we'll leave this one for right now," head coach Matt McIlvane said after the game. "And we'll let that feeling sink in, you know, just a bit and then we'll have an opportunity to respond tomorrow and that's what it'll be about."
Defenseman Trevor Carrick stole the show with a three-point performance (1-2=3), surpassing 300 career AHL points in the process (78-223=301). The 29-year-old defender spent five seasons with the Checkers from 2014-2019 and will get one more shot at leaving Charlotte with a win as a visiting player for the first time.
The team finally broke their habit of entering the third period tied. Despite holding the lead going into the final frame, San Diego couldn’t stretch their advantage.
"We got to be a little hungrier right away from the start," right winger Judd Caulfield said. "We got to play a full 60 minutes. I thought we let off a little bit in the first period and then, obviously, they buried one with three seconds left.
"That's kind of the story of hockey - you have to play a full 60 minutes, you can't take any shifts off and we just got to have compete [today]."
A new face in the San Diego lineup is defenseman Tristan Luneau. Luneau, who was a second-round pick by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2022 NHL Draft, made his AHL debut on Friday night and recorded a +3 rating. The 19-year-old defenseman was assigned to San Diego on a conditioning loan prior to the game. With a Jan. 12, 2004 birthday, Luneau can spend a max of 14 days with the club before either returning to Anaheim or his junior club in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
"He’s a pro, you can tell," Caulfield said of Luneau after his debut. "He came in, got in here at, like, midnight last night. You would never be able to guess from the way he played [on Friday]. I thought he was skating well, making good plays and he’s a great player."
With Calle Clang getting the start Friday, either Tomas Suchanek or Alex Stalock will likely get the nod in net today. Stalock was reassigned to the Gulls prior to Friday’s contest after a two-day stint with the Ducks.
Saturday’s game marks the penultimate game of the Gulls’ four-game road trip. The team will return to SoCal next week to take on the Coachella Valley Firebirds at Acrisure Arena on Wednesday (7 p.m. PT) before returning to Pechanga Arena San Diego for another back-to-back against Calgary on Friday, Nov. 10 (7 p.m. PT) and Colorado Saturday, Nov. 11 (6 p.m. PT).