Gulls Drop 4-3 Contest to Conclude Weekend Series at Colorado
Dec 8, 2018The Colorado Eagles scored three third-period goals to secure a 4-3 victory over the Gulls at Budweiser Events Center. Colorado (12-7-3-1) took both contests in the weekend back-to-back as San Diego (8-11-1-1-) fell for the fourth straight game.
San Diego scored a shorthanded goal, and two power-play goals, but Colorado’s three tallies in a span of 5:46 gave the home club a second straight win over the Gulls to knot the eight-game season series at 2-2.
Sam Carrick, Max Jones and Sam Steel each netted the goals for San Diego. Kevin Boyle started the game, stopping 17 shots in 46:27 while Jared Coreau (3-6-2) picked up the loss in 12:33 of relief after stopping two of three shots.
The Gulls were denied on an early power play opportunity only minutes into the game but it was a shorthanded scenario that got San Diego on the board early.
Sam Carrick, returning from a three-game suspension, scored his second shorthanded goal of the season off a rebound from Chase De Leo’s shot at 4:49 of the opening period. The goal marked Carrick’s team-leading 10th of the season and De Leo’s 10th helper of 2018-19.
San Diego would go shorthanded again at the 9:51 mark and this time it would cost them with a
Michael Joly’s one-timer got the Eagles on the board at 10:19 of the opening period to unleash a flurry of stuffed bears hurled onto the ice for the annual Teddy Bear Toss. The power-play goal, assisted by Kevin Davis and Andrew Agozzino, resulted in an 18 minute stoppage of play as Colorado players and staff loaded the bears onto trucks to be distributed to Northern Colorado Children’s Charities this holiday season.
A man advantage at the latter stages of the first period went by without a grade-A scoring chance for the Gulls and after one period tied at 1-1, San Diego led 10-6 in shots.
It was Carrick again shorthanded four minutes into the second period but his deke to the forehand on a breakaway was denied by Francouz on the blocker side. Carrick was sprung just minutes later on a breakaway by Andrej Sustr but again was stymied by the Latvian native Francouz.
Colorado earned a late power play with one minute remaining in the second period but the first half of Carrick’s minor penalty was killed. The teams were stilled tied at one apiece after 40 minutes with San Diego leading on the shot clock, 26-15.
The Gulls killed the carryover minute of the penalty during Colorado’s “Minute of Madness” with the entire sellout crowd of nearly 5,300 fans on their feet cheering the entire first minute of the final period.
Max Jones drew a charging penalty on Travis Barron just 21 seconds later and it was Jones who would give the Gulls a 2-1 lead on the man advantage. Troy Terry’s shot from the right circle bounced off the back wall behind Francouz and Corey Tropp found Jones in front and he buried the puck into the back of the net 1:39 of the third.
With Carrick in the penalty box for a cross-checking penalty, the Eagles man advantage leveled the game at 2-2 at 5:14. Colorado’s leading scorer Andrew Agozzino skated out of his own zone and as he crossed the Gulls blue line his wrist shot from the top of the circle beat Boyle over the glove with his 10th goal of the season.
Only 73 seconds later the Eagles would take a 3-2 lead 6:27 into the period as Dominic Toninato netted his third goal of the season and their first lead of the game. Following the goal, Eakins made the decision to insert Jared Coreau in favor of Kevin Boyle.
Colorado took a two-goal lead with their third goal of the period at the halfway mark of the third period when Martin Kaut’s shot was fired over the right shoulder of Coreau and into the top corner of the net.
Sam Steel cut the lead to 4-3 with a power-play goal of his own with 7:39 remaining in the game. Steel received the puck from Kalle Kossila’s cross-ice feed at the top of the left circle and beat Francouz with a hard snap shot just above the pad and below the blocker, his fifth goal of the season. Carrick earned an assist on the goal for his fifth multi-point game of the season and seventh point (4G/3A) in his last four games.
The Gulls made a late surge with an extra attacker on the ice the final 90 seconds but couldn’t find an equalizer. It was Kaut’s tally that would stand as the game-winning goal and push the Gulls winless streak to four games.
San Diego will conclude the three-game road trip on Friday, Dec. 14 at the Bakersfield Condors at Rabobank Arena (7 p.m.).