Gulls Slip to Barracuda in 6-4 Decision
Mar 20, 2024By Morgan Korovec/SanDiegoGulls.com
It was a back-and-forth affair Wednesday morning as the San Diego Gulls battled hard but ultimately came up short in a 6-4 match with the San Jose Barracuda at Tech CU Arena.
Josh Lopina was up and at ‘em this morning as he broke the ice at 12:29 in the first to open the scoring while putting the Gulls in the lead.
That lead would be short-lived as San Jose found their response, flipping the script in what was left of the opening frame. At 18:07, Nikolai Knyzhov sent one through traffic to tie things up. Less than a minute later, Brandon Coe notched a second goal for the Barracuda to take the lead.
Fired up for the middle frame, momentum swung toward San Diego as a wide-awake Trevor Carrick dished the puck in on the Gulls’ first power play opportunity to level the score at 6:34.
Nikita Nesterenko kept the good times rolling, lifting a shot over Georgi Romanov at 7:53 to put San Diego back in front with his 15th goal of the season.
At 9:15, the Barracuda’s Tristen Robins struck back to even the scoreboard once again.
Nathan Gaucher wasted no time putting the Gulls back on top at 9:34 with his seventh of the season.
With just over a minute left in the second, San Jose’s Joe Carroll landed one to restore the tie.
The final frame began with a Barracuda goal by Ethan Cardwell to put them back up by one at 3:35.
At 13:19, San Jose grabbed the first two-goal lead of the contest, thanks to a shot from Shakir Mukhamadullin, which would ultimately be enough to secure the win.
Brayden Tracey recorded two assists at Wednesday’s game. Nick Wolff, Glenn Gawdin, Ben King, and Andrew Agozzino each picked up an assist.
The Gulls head back home for a three-game set at Pechanga Arena San Diego, kicking off with a matchup against the Texas Stars on Friday, Mar. 22 (7 p.m. PST).