2021-22 Season Review: Limoges Led The Way On The Power Play
May 19, 2022By Paige Burnell/SanDiegoGulls.com
When opportunity knocks, Alex Limoges doesn’t just answer the door – he lets it in, offers it a drink and invites it to stay a while.
That’s exactly what the San Diego Gulls left wing did this season, tearing through personal and team records to help lead the Gulls to yet another postseason appearance.
The Gulls trudged through the first half of the season before hitting their stride and it was no different for Limoges, who needed a warm-up before he turned red hot in the second half of the season.
"It started slow for sure, but then we found our stride and I think as with the team’s success was exactly how my season went personally too," Limoges said. "Slow start and then picked it up and made a push at the end, but yeah, that’s kind of the season in a nutshell there."
The Penn State alum closed out the season with new highs in a multitude of categories including goals (23), assists (17), points (40), game-winning goals (4), power-play goals (12), power-play assists (8) and power-play points (20) in 62 games in 2021-22.
He also finished the season as the Gulls leader in game-winning goals, insurance goals (4), power-play goals and power-play points (20), while ranking second in points and tied for ninth in assists.
How does this align with what the Gulls accomplished this season?
Limoges tallied 15-14=29 of his 40 overall points in the second half of the season from Jan. 29 - Apr. 29, 2022.
Meanwhile, San Diego earned 35 of their 63 overall points as well as 15 of their 28 wins over the same time span.
"There was a lot of changes and a lot of new, I guess, down here in San Diego," Limoges said. "A lot of the guys haven’t been here before and a lot of guys, it was their first season or the beginning of their career so I think it took a little bit to get in the grind of things and then once we figured out how to play together and the system, then I think it all took off and it was good."
Additionally, the Gulls won six straight home games (6-0-0-0) from Mar. 12-26 to match the third-longest home winning streak in team history (most - 7 games, set twice: last: Feb. 5-20, 2021) and tied the fourth longest unbeaten streak in club history earning standings points in eight consecutive games (7-0-0-1) from Mar. 11-26 (most - 15 games: Dec. 14-Jan. 16; 12-0-1-2).
Limoges posted remarkable streaks of his, earning points in seven consecutive games Mar. 16-27 (7-3=10). This run included a five-game goal streak from Mar. 19-27 (7-1=8) that tied the Gulls’ team record for longest goal-scoring streak by a rookie.
March represented quite the month for the rookie, as he also padded his point tally to 9-7=16 points in March, marking the most points earned in one calendar month by a Gull.
Once again, the Gulls’ fate was tied to Limoges, as the team notched eight wins in the month of March (8-4-0-1 record), recording the most wins they earned in a single month this season.
Additionally, Limoges earned his first career American Hockey League hat trick (3-0=3) on Mar. 23 vs. the Tucson Roadrunners, tying yet another team record for the most goals scored in one game by a first-year skater.
Limoges’ hat trick helped him to earn league-wide recognition for his fantastic March as he was deemed AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Mar. 27, 2022.
The former Nittany Lion left another significant imprint on both the AHL’s and Gulls’ leaderboards with his feats on the power play.
Limoges topped all AHL rookies with 12 power-play goals, as well as set new Gulls’ records for the most power-play goals in a season and most power-play goals by a rookie in a season.
"It’s cool," Limoges said. "Part of me wishes a little more of that was on five-on-five, but to do than on the power play was pretty cool too and it’s always fun to have your name at the top of a record book so we’ll see. They’re (records) made to be broken and I think 12 is an attainable number."
Limoges’ certainly made the most of his time as a rookie, continuing on his record-snapping tirade by becoming the sixth rookie in Gulls AHL history to record 40 points (23-17=40) in a season (last: Troy Terry (41) and Sam Steel (41), 2018-19).
Moreover, he was the first rookie in club history to lead the team in goals and the second Gulls rookie to lead the team in scoring (Brandon Montour, 2015-16 – 57 points).
So, what enabled Limoges to make so many achievements this season?
The answer is simple - he capitalized on his opportunities just like he’s done in the past.
Before signing with the Gulls for the latter half of the 2020-21 season, Limoges collected 10-12=22 in his senior year at Penn State, leading the Nittany Lions in scoring and ranking second in assists.
Limoges found his way after difficult junior year that not only showed him the importance of embracing all of his opportunities, but just how much he wanted to play hockey at the professional level.
"Junior year was probably the harder year," Limoges said. "I don’t know - I wasn’t really enjoying it to the fullest. I guess my mind was in a few different places, but then senior year came around and it’s like, ‘Okay, I know this is my last year now so I’m going to enjoy every second,’ and I never really wondered. I’d always had the dream of playing pro after and so I made the most out of every opportunity I had and then, when the season ended, I felt I was ready to turn pro."
Despite the Gulls’ early exit from the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs, Limoges also made the most of the team’s time in the postseason, registering his first career multi-point Calder Cup Playoff game (1-1=2), scoring his first Calder Cup Playoff goal and collecting an assist in his Calder Cup Playoffs debut.
"Yeah, that’s it - it’s all motivation," Limoges said. "I want to win; I love to win, especially in the playoffs. Now, it’s just going to be a big season of (being) left unsatisfied. That big off season feeling unsatisfied and hungry. I’m going to put that in my training and in my summer plans so I come back bigger, faster, stronger and ready to go next season."
Limoges will undoubtedly make the most of his offseason, just as he’s done in his time as a Gull and in his hockey career. I the continues to do this, he’ll only generate more success for himself and for his team.