Gulls Go To OT Again, Lose 5-4 In Charlotte

Nov 4, 2023

By Nick Aguilera/SanDiegoGulls.com 

It was another overtime battle in Charlotte, but the Gulls will leave North Carolina with two points rather than four after a 5-4 overtime loss to the Checkers Saturday night. 

It was the Gulls’ sixth consecutive loss in total. The team’s record now stands at 2-4-2-0. 

"I think the fact that we got a little more going on offensively [was good]," center Andrew Agozzino said. "We carried the play, I thought, a good chunk of the game, but it’s tough to come back with a loss after an effort like that."

"I think if you look at it from a big picture scale, coming in to play a team like Charlotte and leave with half the points, that’s the positive way to look at it," head coach Matt McIlvane added. “We had opportunities to win both of these games. I thought our guys did a lot of really good things tonight."

Nikita Nesterenko made sure the Gulls got off on the right foot, scoring his first career AHL goal 1:07 into the game. Nesterenko picked up an assist as well, giving him his first career multi-point game (1-1=2). 

"It felt good," Nesterenko said. "Kinger (Gulls forward Ben King) made a good pass. I think we had a 4-on-2 there, so a little bit of an opening in the start. I gave it to him, kind of saw an opening and gave it to him in the middle. He gave me a good pass, so all I had to do was put it in. Would’ve been nicer to get a win, but it’s nice to get on the score sheet."

Charlotte’s Jake Wise evened the score a few minutes later with a power-play goal. Pavol Regenda didn’t waste any time answering back and scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season a little over a minute later. 

The Checkers evened the score in the second, as Mike Benning followed up his own rebound. They then took the lead after Ryan McAlister scored during a net-front scramble at 14:03 in the second. 

Jacob Perreault earned a penalty shot moments later and converted on a beautiful move to get the goal back. Perreault ended the night with 1-1=2 points, his second multi-point game of the season. 

Josh Lopina gave the Gulls the lead again after a puck popped free in front of the net. He ties his AHL career-high in points (2-2=4) and goals in just eight games. 

The Gulls took three successive penalties early in the third and gave the Checkers an extended 5-on-3 power play where Brendan Perlini tied the game at 5:39. 

It was déjà vu in overtime, as Gerry Mayhew again scored the walk-off winner. Mayhew also scored the OT goal in Friday’s contest. 

Ben King earned his second assist of the season, his second point in as many games (1-1=2). Agozzino, Drew Helleson and Colton White also recorded assists. Alex Stalock made a season-high 40 saves. 

The Gulls will wrap up their four-game road swing on Wednesday against Coachella Valley at Acrisure Arena (7 p.m. PT) before heading back to Pechanga Arena San Diego for matchups with Calgary (7 p.m. PT) and Colorado (6 p.m. PT).