Mar 19, 2023
By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls and Coachella Valley Firebirds meet today in a matinee affair at Acrisure Arena (3 p.m. PT; TV: AHL TV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).
San Diego looks to get back in the win column after seeing its four-game win streak end last night in a 6-2 loss to the Iowa Wild at Pechanga Arena San Diego. Michael Del Zotto started the scoring for the Gulls on the power play at 5:43 of the middle frame. Chase De Leo assisted on the play, earning 0-3=3 helpers in his last two games and 7-9=16 points in his last 12 contests. Brent Gates Jr. scored his first goal of the season, registering 1-1=2 points in his last two games. Dating back to last season, Gates Jr. has 2-1=3 points in his last three contests against the Wild.
“Yeah, it’s tough,” De Leo said following the loss. “I liked our second period, we had a good push, came out firing and got to find a way to do that for a full 60 minutes. I know it sounds cliché, but we’re obviously capable of doing that for 20. So, just got to put three periods together and I think we’ll have better chances.”
After falling behind 2-0 – and being outshot 13-3 – the Gulls responded with 33 shots over the final two periods last night.
“I think, you know, we got to play like we did in the second period, you know, not wait for them to see what kind of they’re gonna do,” Gulls head coach Roy Sommer said. “You know, we got to play our game. Coachella is, you know, a team that gets on you and they score quick in that rink, and if you’re not ready to play, all (of a) sudden you’re down two (or) three goals and they just kind of sit on it. So, we got to make sure we’re ready to go when the puck’s dropped tomorrow in that building.”
Today marks the eighth and final regular season meeting between the Gulls and the American Hockey League’s newest franchise. San Diego earned its sole win against the club in an overtime 2-1 victory on Feb. 10 (1-6-0-0 all-time record). Pavol Regenda leads the Gulls with three goals (3-0=3) against Coachella Valley this season and is tied with Glenn Gawdin (1-2=3) for the most points against the Firebirds. Cameron Hughes leads active Firebirds against the Gulls with 2-7=9 points following a four-point effort (1-3=4) on Feb. 24. Brogan Rafferty is second on Coachella Valley and first among team defensemen in scoring against the Gulls with 0-8=8 assists, including a multi-assist effort (0-2=2) on Feb. 24.
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