Gulls Look To Extend Point Streak
Feb 7, 2020The Gulls look to extend their point streak to a season-high six games tonight as they open a two-game homestand against the Pacific Division-leading Tucson Roadrunners at Pechanga Arena San Diego (7 p.m. PT, TV: AHLTV, Radio: San Diego Gulls Audio Network). In addition to earning points in five straight contests (4-0-1-0), San Diego has collected points in 10 of their last 11 games (8-1-2-0). Over those previous 11 contests, the Gulls have scored four-or-more goals on eight occasions while outscoring opponents 42-27.
San Diego faces off against the Roadrunners for the fifth of eight matchups this season, marking the fourth and final meeting at Pechanga Arena San Diego in 2019-20. The clubs have split the previous four contests with two wins apiece, with San Diego earning home wins on Jan. 17 (4-1) and Nov. 30 (6-2). Tucson picked up its two wins on Jan. 21 (3-1) in San Diego and Dec. 31 at Tucson Arena (7-4). The Gulls have earned points in five of the last seven games against the Roadrunners dating to last season (4-2-1-0) while the club is 19-14-2-1 record against the Roadrunners all-time.
Anthony Stolarz continued his dominant season in net for the Gulls in a 4-2 win over the San Jose Barracuda, stopping 36-of-38 shots Wednesday night at SAP Center to win his third straight contest and 16th overall this season. Stolarz now owns a 6-0-1 record in his last seven starts with a 2.39 goals-against average (GAA) and a .933 save percentage (SV%). Chris Mueller, Simon Benoit, Bredan Guhle and Alex Dostie each picked up a goal in the win.
Sam Carrick continues to lead San Diego skaters in scoring, tallying 18-15=33 points through 32 appearances, while leading the AHL in plus/minus (+25). The captain also leads the Gulls in scoring against Tucson this season, recording 2-2=4 points in his three appearances, including a two-goal performance Nov. 30 (2-0=2). Carrick enters tonight’s game with a five-game point streak (1-5=6) and assists in three straight (0-4=4).
Isac Lundestrom has found an offensive groove over the last four games, recording four assists in that span.
Tucson (28-13-1-1, 58 pts.) enters tonight with five straight losses (0-4-0-1) but still sit first in the Pacific Division and seventh among AHL clubs in points percentage (.647). Since 2020 began, the Roadrunners are 4-6-1-1 in the new year, but their overall record speaks for itself, and their 14-6-0-0 road record co-leads the division in wins.
In his third season with the Roadrunners, Lane Pederson ranks fourth in scoring for Tucson. Through 37 games, the center tallied 16-18=34 points. Tucson has seen seven different netminders appear in a game this season, as Ivan Prosvetov and Tyler Parks currently combine for the main goaltending duo.
The rookie Prosvetov has posted a 12-6-1 record with a 2.48 GAA and a .925 SV% in 20 games The Moscow, Russia native held a seven-game win streak from Nov. 2 - Dec. 12, posting a 2.00 GAA and .944 SV% with one shutout Dec. 21 vs. Ontario.
Earlier this week, the Arizona Coyotes have assigned forward Barrett Hayton to Tucson for conditioning purposes. Hayton was selected by Arizona in the first round (fifth overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft.
The 19-year-old has registered 1-3=4 points 14 NHL games with the Coyotes this season.
Hayton captained of Team Canada for the 2020 World Junior Championship and led the Canadians to a gold medal when he scored the game-tying goal in the third period in the final against Russia. Hayton recorded 12 points (6G/6A) in seven tournament games, finishing second in scoring for the tournament.