LIVE: Gulls Down Barracuda 6-2
Apr 21, 2021By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls defeated the San Jose Barracuda 6-2 to sweep a home-and-home series with their Pacific Division rivals. San Diego closed the season series winning four of the six meetings between the two teams, including three straight contests.
FIRST PERIOD RECAP:
The two teams traded goals in the opening frame.
Axel Andersson finished off a 2-on-1 rush, opening the scoring at 3:34 of the opening frame.
Greg Printz sent Hunter Drew and Andersson into the San Jose end with a clear from his defensive zone. Drew collected a bouncing puck, quickly feeding the puck to a wide-open Andersson in the slot. The rookie defenseman collected the puck on his backhand and swept his shot past a sliding Sam Harvey for his second goal of the season.
Andersson has goals in back-to-back games - his first two American Hockey League goals - and five points (2-3=5) in his first seven games with the Gulls.
Printz collected his first AHL point and assist on the tally.
Blichfeld scored his team-leading 12th goal with 2:01 left in the first, snapping a wrist shot past Olle Eriksson Ek to tie the game at one.
The opening period featured two heavyweight bouts, with Printz and Drew each earning majors as the physicality picked up between the two teams.
SECOND PERIOD RECAP:
San Diego jumped ahead with two goals in less than two minutes, breaking open a tied game.
Vinni Lettieri put the Gulls ahead 2-1 at 5:14 of the period.
Trevor Zegras led a rush into the San Jose zone, stickhandling through the Barracuda at their blue line and skating into the low point. The forward found De Leo near the faceoff circle with a pass, and the veteran winger quickly zipped the puck to Lettieri, who parked himself in front of the net. The Minnesota native tapped the puck past Harvey for his 10th goal of the season.
De Leo, who saw his seven-game point streak end last night, collected his 12th point (5-7=12) in his last nine games.
Simon Benoit scored his first goal of the season at 6:40 of the middle frame, extending San Diego's lead to two.
Alex Limoges battled the puck loose after a faceoff, sending it to Nikolas Brouillard at the point. The defenseman found Benoit loading up for a one-timer, and the shot found its way through traffic and past Harvey for his first goal of the season.
Limoges collected his fourth point (2-2=4) in the last two games. The rookie forward recorded a career-high three-point performance (2-1=3) in the win over San Jose last night.
Alex True brought the Barracuda within one, converting on an odd-man rush for his ninth goal of the season with 6:51 remaining in the period.
Joachim Blichfeld, who picked up an assist on the goal, has a multi-point game (1-1=2).
The Gulls just beat the buzzer to end the period, with Andrew Agozzino giving them a two-goal lead at 19:58 of the period.
Andrew Poturalski fed the veteran center as he curled around the net. Agozzino looked to give Poturalski back the puck in front of the net, but his pass deflected off Robbie Russo and past Harvey for Agozzino's 10th goal of the season.
Poturalski extended his point streak to three games (1-2=3). The Buffalo, NY native leads the AHL in assists and points (8-25=33).
THIRD PERIOD RECAP:
Sam Carrick scored an insurance goal, hitting the empty net with 2:37 left in regulation to score San Diego's fifth goal of the game.
Zegras capped the scoring with his ninth goal of the season at 18:39 of the final frame.