Gulls Come up Short to Eagles in 5-3 Final
Apr 17, 2024By Morgan Korovec/SanDiegoGulls.com
Despite a strong effort, Wednesday night’s battle between the birds saw the San Diego Gulls drop a 5-3 decision to the Colorado Eagles in their series finale at Blue Arena.
San Diego kickstarted their rebound effort early in the opening frame as Josh Lopina went to work turning the tables on Colorado, firing in his 14th goal of the season at 6:04.
The Eagles were kept off the board through the first, thanks to a major bright spot on the ice that was Gulls goaltender Calle Clang, denying all 11 shots to end the frame.
Tensions heightened to bring in the middle frame, which saw Colorado find their response at 7:05 as Spencer Smallman sent a shot over the glove of Clang to tie things up.
Just short of four minutes into an entertaining final frame, pace intensified as the Eagles grabbed their first lead of the night with a goal by Corey Schueneman.
At 5:34, Colorado put some security on their lead as Keaton Middleton tacked on another goal.
Brayden Tracey was quick to respond though, adding a much-welcome goal for the Gulls, his ninth of the season, to narrow the gap at 6:19 in the third.
Ten seconds later, Chris Wagner punched right back to restore the Eagles’ two-goal lead.
Andrew Agozzino struck at 17:11, burying his 23rd goal of the season to again make it a one-goal difference. The goal gave Agozzino his 61st point of the season, tying Sam Carrick for the the Gulls’ all-time single season scoring record.
With just 30 seconds left in regulation, an empty-net goal for Wagner sealed the deal for Colorado.
The Gulls next flock back to San Diego for their final home game of the 2023-2024 season as they will host the Coachella Valley Firebirds in a Saturday showdown on April 20 at Pechanga Arena San Diego (6 p.m. PST).