Apr 2, 2023
By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls snapped their losing streak, defeating the Iowa Wild 4-2 today at Wells Fargo Arena.
Benoit-Olivier Groulx (2-0=2), Glenn Gawdin (1-1=2) and Michael Del Zotto (0-2=2) collected multi-point performances to lead the offense. Chase De Leo added a shorthanded goal to support rookie netminder Calle Clang, who stopped 20 shots to record his first American Hockey League win.
Ryan O’Rourke and Simon Johansson scored for the Wild, who saw their point streak snapped at four games. Goaltender Zane McIntyre stopped ten shots in the loss.
O’Rourke opened the scoring before the five-minute mark of the opening frame, snapping a shot from the point through traffic for his first goal of the season.
The San Diego power play stayed hot, tying the game with 9:53 remaining in the first period.
Del Zotto maintained possession at the blue line, feeding Dylan Sikura at the side wall. The forward sized up Iowa’s penalty kill before finding Gawdin with a cross-ice pass. Gawdin wasted no time, firing a one-timed shot past the sliding Zane McIntyre for his 16th goal of the season.
The Gulls went 1-for-4 on the power-play tonight, recording eight goals on the man advantage over their last eight games and operating at a 24.2% success rate (8-for-33).
Johansson restored Iowa’s lead with under a minute left in the period, sending a shot from the blue line past a screened Clang for his second goal of the season.
San Diego took over after this, making the most of their opportunities over the next 40 minutes.
De Leo evened the game with a shorthanded tally at 2:37 of the middle frame.
A turnover at the blue line sprung the Gulls on a shorthanded rush, with Del Zotto leading the way. He passed across to De Leo, who sized up McIntyre before beating the Iowa netminder with a quick shot for his ninth goal of the season.
The shorthanded tally marks the sixth of De Leo’s career, all scored with San Diego. He sits second among the franchise’s American Hockey League leaders in shorthanded goals and shorthanded points (6-4=10).
Groulx put San Diego ahead near the midway mark of the period, whipping home a shot after a Gawdin faceoff win for his 15th goal of the season.
The helper gives Gawdin his second multi-point performance in his last three games. He’s collected 3-3=6 points over that span.
Groulx iced the game late in regulation, hitting the empty net to push San…
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