Slow Start Costs Gulls As They Drop Weekend Opener In Abbotsford
Apr 8, 2022By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
A slow start doomed the San Diego Gulls as they fell 6-3 to the Abbotsford Canucks tonight at Abbotsford Centre, suffering just their second regulation loss in their last 12 games.
"It was an up and down game," Gulls head coach Joel Bouchard said. "It’s a tough building to come (into). I still like that we stuck together somehow. It was not a great game overall, but they’re going to happen. I’m kind of more interested how is it going to be tomorrow. This is where we’re going after, tomorrow, because today was up and down."
Four different Canucks collected multi-point performances to lead a balanced scoring attack. The offense supported Spencer Martin, who stopped 17 shots for his 18th win of the season and second against the Gulls.
Alex Limoges established a new franchise record for rookie goals in a season, snapping home his 21st in the loss. Danny O’Regan added a three-point performance (1-2=3) as San Diego remained sixth in the Pacific Division, leading the Henderson Silver Knights by points percentage in the ever-tightening race to the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Olle Eriksson Ek, who replaced Lukas Dostal after the first period, stopped 18-of-21 shots to suffer the loss.
Trouble started almost immediately for San Diego, as the team faced a 5-on-3 penalty kill less than a minute into the game. It gave the American Hockey League's second-ranked power-play an early chance to work with extra ice, and John Stevens taking full advantage.
The veteran center continues to torment the Gulls, sending a one-timer off a pass from Yushiroh Hirano past the glove of Dostal for his 19th goal of the season. In six games against San Diego this season, Stevens has 4-4=8 points, leading all skaters in both goals and points. He extended his goal-scoring streak to a fifth game.
"It started with the P.K. (penalty kill) and then 5-on-3 after thirty seconds," Bouchard explained. "We got down 1-0. I thought we established alright after. You’re on the road so you kind of put the odds on your side in making every decision that you can being the right one. I felt tonight we had a lot of decisions that were not optimal."
Two goals late in the frame helped Abbotsford take a 3-0 lead after the opening period.
Brannon McManus extended Abbotsford lead to two, collecting his first professional goal with 2:54 remaining in the period.
The Newport Beach, CA native settled a rolling shot from Guillaume Brisebois and eluded a Dostal poke check, sending a backhand shot past the San Diego netminder for his milestone marker.
Carson Focht stretched Abbotsford's lead to three with 1:01 left in the first, finding the loose puck in a net-front scramble and pushing it past Dostal for his third goal of the season.
Looking to spark the team, Bouchard made a goaltending change following the first period, inserting Eriksson Ek for Dostal to start the second frame. The Czech Republican stopped nine of 12 shots in the first period.
The move paid off immediately, as O'Regan put the Gulls on the board with a power-play goal at 1:19 of the period.
Hunter Drew and O'Regan played pitch and catch with the puck, with the veteran center taking a pass and curling off the side boards. He carried the puck into the faceoff circle, firing a wrist shot past the glove of Martin for his 13th goal of the season.
It marks goals in consecutive games for O'Regan. Lucas Elvenes, who collected the secondary assist on the tally, has points in six of his last seven games (3-5=8) and 3-8=11 over his last 12 games.
The tally opened the floodgates as San Diego and Abbotsford combined for five goals in the frame.
Rathbone would restore Abbotsford's three-goal lead with a power-play goal at 5:26 of the period, picking up his second point of the game with his ninth goal of the season. The defenseman stretched his point streak (2-8=10) to five games.
Hirano would grab an assist, his second point of the game, on Abbotsford's second man-advantage tally.
The two power-play goals are surprising considering San Diego’s strong run on the penalty kill. The team entered tonight’s game 12-for-12 in its last contests and sported a phenomenal 94.4% success rate in their last 11 games.
Nathan Larose brought San Diego back within two, scoring his first American Hockey League goal at 7:17 of the second.
The Gulls converted on a faceoff play, with O'Regan finding Trevor Carrick off the draw. The defenseman quickly hit a cutting Larose with a cross-ice pass, and the rookie blueliner did the rest, one-timing a shot past Martin's outstretched glove for the milestone marker.
Abbotsford had yet another answer, as Danila Klimovich converted on a goal-mouth scramble with under five minutes left to end the seesaw scoring and restore the Canucks three-goal lead.
The Gulls continued to chip away, with Limoges bringing them back within two at 58 seconds of the third period.
With San Diego on the power play, Elvenes moved the puck to Limoges near the post, who went cross-ice to find a streaking O’Regan. Instead of taking the shot, the forward sent a pass back through the slot, which Drew touched to Limoges. With an open net, the rookie forward slid the puck past Martin, establishing the franchise mark for most rookie goals in San Diego's AHL history.
He also tied both Corey Tropp and Sam Carrick for most power-play goals in a season with his 11th man-advantage tally.
With his two assists, Drew has four points (1-3=4) in his last five games.
Abbotsford would turn the tables on the San Diego power play with Chase Wouters scoring a shorthanded goal to restore the Canucks three-goal lead at 3:22 off the third, his second point of the game.
"Yeah, I think we have to be realistic how much we’ve grown as a team and as individuals," Bouchars said. "So, that’s why it’s a difference between you going like, ‘Well it was a bad game’ and then, ‘We didn’t really push back’. I felt, the guys, we had some push back. It was just not a good game overall so you’re kind of always chasing, chasing, chasing, chasing but like you said, we stand tall and I’m going to repeat myself, but let’s see how we do tomorrow."
Tensions boiled over as the game continued, with the team combining for three fights and 40 penalty minutes in the third.
The Gulls dropped their fifth game in six tries against the Canucks, a trend they’ll look to reverse in the rubber match tomorrow night at 7 p.m. PT.
"Well, we need to gather momentum and when we did, we had scoring chances and we had looks," Bouchard said, "I feel we had breakdowns that every time we seem to get back a little bit in the game or something, that kind of put us back. As a coach, it’s a tough game to evaluate because I feel a lot of guys didn’t have their A-game. Like I said, I’m more interested to see how we’re going to go tomorrow."