Colangelo, Stalock Fuel Gulls’ 6-5 SO Win over Barracuda
Apr 3, 2024By Morgan Korovec/SanDiegoGulls.com
Wednesday night’s tight tilt saw the San Diego Gulls clinch a 6-5 shootout victory over the San Jose Barracuda at Pechanga Arena San Diego to close out their season series.
"Felt like growth for our group,” head coach Matt McIlvane said. "There’s moments in the season you think about a lot once the season is over, I think this will be one that feels a lot like growth for us. What I mean by that is you get down two times in the third period and then being composed enough to answer each time. It’s a big deal, and then being able to get the job done in the shootout.
"There’s so much great in the game and it made a great story by the end."
Nathan Gaucher set the tone at 9:09 in the opening frame as he unleashed his 10th goal of the season to beat Magnus Chrona, putting San Diego on the board first. Gaucher also recorded an assist.
At 12:56, San Jose delivered a response on the power play, Kyle Rau making it even.
The Gulls struck back at 16:23 as Ben King tucked away his 15th of the season to put San Diego in front.
With under ten seconds in the first, San Jose’s Scott Sabourin fired one in to make things interesting.
Things went right Wednesday night for right wing Sam Colangelo in his professional debut on home ice. Colangelo hit the net with his first professional goal to unknot the score at 12:10 in the middle frame, giving the Gulls the upper hand. Colangelo also tallied an assist on the night.
"It was great to get out there," Colangelo said. "The guys welcomed me in really well and made it easy for me. Playing with [Agozzino]and [Regenda] was very helpful, they have both been around, especially Aggy, been around a long time and played a lot of pro games, so just talking a lot and helping me through it. All the guys were great, so it was nice to get out there and even better to get the win."
"[Sam] made an impact right away with his skating, his size, his physicality, his shot," McIlvane added. "That was apparent from the beginning, and I thought that he picked up system play pretty quick."
The Barracuda again answered late, Filip Bystedt tying it up with less than two minutes in the second.
The final frame saw San Jose grab its first lead of the game with a second goal from Bysted at 8:31.
Trevor Carrick roared back at the 10 minute mark, whipping home his eighth goal of the season to pull things even once more. Carrick also recorded an assist on the night.
At 11:32, the Barracuda pitched a timely response of their own, Ethan Cardwell scoring to take back the lead.
San Diego’s power play opportunity came at just the right time, Pavol Regenda cashing in on the net minutes later with his 17th goal of the season to even the score. Regenda also picked up a helper.
The battle escalated into overtime but would need a shootout to be settled. King stayed hot, hitting the net to seal the deal for the Gulls.
Alex Stalock was a rock in-net, stopping 22 shots on the evening, including all three shots faced in the shootout.
"It was great," Stalock said. "To do it like that and have my whole family here is really special. The group played unbelievably, fought back, and it was a ton of fun. Everybody had smiles on their faces after the game, it was good to see."
Judd Caulfield picked up two helpers at Wednesday’s matchup. Nick Wolff, Chase De Leo, Glenn Gawdin, Andrew Agozzino and Sasha Pastujov each grabbed an assist.
The Gulls continue their final homestand of the season with back-to-back games for a Tucson Roadrunners rematch beginning Saturday, Mar. 6 at Pechanga Arena San Diego (6 p.m. PST).