Gulls, Roadrunners Open Back-To-Back Series In Tucson

Apr 8, 2021

The San Diego Gulls open a weekend back-to-back series tonight in Tucson against the Roadrunners (7 p.m. PT; TV: AHL TV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network). The Gulls own a 23-18-2-1 all-time record against Tucson, including 11-9-1-0 on the road.

Tucson and San Diego split the first four matchups of an eight-game season series, with the Gulls earning wins in each of the past two contests. Olle Eriksson Ek's 25-save performance helped power San Diego past Tucson for a 2-1 win on Mar. 27 at FivePoint Arena. 

The Gulls other victory over the Roadrunners came on Mar. 21, a 4-2 win in Tucson that saw Josh Mahura, Benoit-Olivier Groulx, Sam Carrick and Andrew Poturalski post multi-point performances.

In games against Tucson this season, Poturalski leads San Diego in points (1-3=4) and assists, while Sam Carrick (2-0=2) and Groulx (2-1=3) each pace the team in goals.

San Diego will look to bounce back after its American Hockey League-leading seven-game winning streak ended in a 4-2 loss to Ontario Wednesday night. Despite the setback, San Diego leads the AHL in goals scored (88), home wins (12) and home points (24). The Gulls sit second in the Pacific Division by points (32) and point percentage (.593).

The Gulls welcomed back rookie forward Trevor Zegras into the lineup as he transitions to the center position. Zegras notched an assist in his return, skating on a line with Poturalski and Chase De Leo.

“We’re comfortable with each other, we’re familiar with each other,” explained De Leo. “He’s here to learn the center position. We had a lot of time in the d-zone [Wednesday], but I thought we did a pretty good job keeping them to the outside for the most part when we were out there. Just talking to him as much as possible, open communication and making sure we’re filling for each other in the d-zone as much as possible. I thought he did a good job [Wednesday] and I know he’s just going to keep getting better.”

“There are a lot of details to the game no matter what position you’re playing and that’s a learning process,” added Gulls head coach Kevin Dineen. “You can do a lot of film, you can do a lot of work but it’s going out there and putting it into action. He’s been there before. He’s been at wing for the most part all year long. It was a little bit of a feeling out process but he certainly got more comfortable as the game went on.”

After conceding two goals in the first period in Wednesday’s loss to the Reign, the Gulls are focused on getting off to a strong start against the Roadrunners.

“When we’re at our best, you’ve seen how many shots we can put up, especially early on,” De Leo said. “Our first period, we should make that a goal – to get as many shots as possible. The games that we’ve been on, I think we’ve gotten 15-plus shots in the first period. That’s when you know that we’re going and all four lines are rolling, when we’re playing that way. We have a big weekend coming up with two very important games for us.”

Tucson hosts San Diego sitting sixth in the Pacific Division by point percentage (.405) but last in points (17). The Roadrunners struggle on home ice this season, winning only two of ten contests (2-8-0-0) at Tucson Convention Center Arena. Tucson ranks 28th in the AHL in goals per game (2.61).