Jan 30, 2024
By Nick Aguilera/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls ran into the buzzsaw that is the Western Conference-leading Milwaukee Admirals but didn’t go down without a fight, as they fell 4-3 in overtime on the road Tuesday night.
“Their streak was no accident,” Chase De Leo said. “I thought we were pretty prepared coming into it, and we would have liked to get the full points on this road trip, but our group dug deep. Proud of the way we responded coming up against a tough opponent and thought we honestly were right there with them.”
Despite the loss, the Gulls have still earned 14 of 18 possible standings points over their last nine games (6-1-2-0), including five of six on the road trip (2-0-1-0).
“I think we learned that we can play with the best team in the Western Conference,” head coach Matt McIlvane said. “That was a tight game all the way through. I loved our detail. I loved our competitiveness. Definitely didn’t play a perfect game, but it was so competitive from us. And in the end, the difference is so marginal. Could have gone the other way, but I’m proud of our guys.”
Liam Foudy starred for Milwaukee, netting a hat trick including the overtime winner. He set the scene early and scored the lone goal of the opening frame, a shorthanded tally that put Milwaukee up 1-0.
The Gulls responded early in the second, as Sasha Pastujov continued to be a catalyst for San Diego’s offense with his fourth goal in two games. The goal established Pastujov’s first career goal streak after going goalless in the first 14 games of his AHL career.
Foudy scored his second goal minutes later to put the Admirals back on top.
Judd Caulfield made sure that lead didn’t last long and bounced a puck off a Milwaukee stick to net his seventh goal of the season.
Soon after, Pavol Regenda gave the Gulls their only lead of the night with his team-leading 15th goal of the season. The goal extends his goal streak to an AHL career-high four games (5-1=6).
The final frame opened with a Milwaukee goal thanks to Marc Del Gaizo, who scored exactly two minutes in to tie it. That was the only goal the third saw, as the two streaking teams needed overtime to settle the score.
Foudy proved to be too much to handle for San Diego, as he netted the overtime winner for his hat trick and Milwaukee’s 11th consecutive win.
“Our objective is to go in and be able to find ways to win games and get points and just keep improving as a group,” McIlvane said. “I think that it just reinforces our growth with a game like this. We’ve got to get ready for one more big push this weekend.”
De Leo made some history and earned his 94th assist as a Gull, moving him into sole possession of second place on the Gulls’ all-time assist leaderboard. He now sits one assist shy of tying Sam Carrick (95) for the most helpers in Gulls AHL history.
Andrew Agozzino extended his point streak to five games with an assist (1-4=5), matching his season high. Glenn Gawdin, Trevor Carrick, Luka Profaca, and Nikita Nesterenko also picked up assists on the night.
The San Diego Gulls return home to Pechanga Arena San Diego for the final two games before the All-Star Break, beginning with a matchup with the Tucson Roadrunners on Friday night (7 p.m. PST).
