South Bay League champion Chula Vista and Mesa League leader Otay Ranch met in a non-league roller hockey contest on Tuesday in a match-up of the teams with the best records from both leagues. Otay Ranch won 3-0 in a tightly played game.
The Mustangs, who need just one more league win to wrap up this year’s Mesa League championship, scored the only goal of the first period and tacked on two more goals in the second period.
“It was a feisty game, I expected that from Chula Vista,” ORHS head coach Jose Castro explained. “I thought we could have played better, but it was what it was.”
Paul Chavez, assisted by David Mendez, scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in the first period. Hector Sanchez, assisted by Aaron Marientes, scored to make the score 2-0 in the Mustangs’ favor. Mendez made it 3-0 when he scored off a pass from Chavez with 1:05 remaining in the middle period.
Neither team scored in the third period, though not for a lack of effort. Otay Ranch killed a Spartan power play in the final 2:50 of the game.
The Mustangs finished with a 23-8 shot advantage in the high profile contest.
Otay Ranch netminder J.T. Santiago made eight saves to record the shutout victory while CV’s Salas played a heroic game to keep his team within striking distance of the Mustangs. Salas had 20 saves.
The Spartans got back on the winning track by defeating Southwest, 7-1, in a South Bay League game on Wednesday. Jesse Amador had four goals for Chula Vista while Hector Garcia had one goal and two assists.
The Spartans improved to 9-0 in league play, 14-5 overall.
Otay Ranch (5-0 in Mesa League play) improved to 13-5 on the season following Tuesday’s win over Chula Vista.
Eastlake improved to 12-4-1 overall after Monday’s 13-6 non-league win over Castle Park while Hilltop improved to 11-5-1 after Monday’s 4-0 win over Southwest.
Hilltop 4, Southwest 0
Danny Godinez scored two goals and added an assist to boost the victorious Lancers while Esteban Martinez scored two goals and Andrew Tesner added two assists. Kristen Lambertson assisted on what proved to be the game-winning goal scored by Martinez in the first period.
Hilltop had to scratch for its goals against Raiders netminder Mari Cornel. The Lancers scored twice in the first period and, following a scoreless second period, tacked on two more goals in the third period.
Goaltender Anthony Ryan picked up the shutout win for the Lancers.
Eastlake 13, Castle Park 6
Sean Layton led the Titans with five goals and one assist while Luke Killeen had three goals and two assists and Jose Campos had three goals and one assist. Seiya Hagiya contributed a goal and two assists while Stefanos Alexiouhad one goal and goaltender Kevin Hooks had one assist.
Marvin Cirignano and Isaac Montero each had hat tricks for Castle Park while Eleazar Cruz had four assists. Ciginano also picked up one assist to finish the game with four points.
Eastlake played the final three minutes without a goaltender. The Trojans scored an empty net goal with 20 seconds to play.
In other non-league games on Tuesday, Eastlake topped Mar Vista, 7-2, to up its season record to 13-4-1 while Castle Park edged Bonita Vista, 5-4, on a goal scored in the dying seconds.
Eloy Rodriguez staked Mar Vista to an early 1-0 lead but the Titans responded with five unanswered goals to lead 5-1 at the end of the second period. Rodriguez scored again to trim the Eastlake lead to 5-2 early in the final period but the Titans closed out the game with a pair of unanswered goals to win by five tally marks.
Jake Powell led Eastlake on the scoreboard with two goals and two assists while Seiya Hagiya collected a hat trick, Luke Killeen contributed a goal and two assists and Sean Layton added a goal and assist. Field player Brandon Benson played between the pipes for the Titans and collected the goaltending victory.
Jake Dilliott backstopped the Mariners in the game.
Castle Park and Bonita Vista exchanged goals throughout their encounter, with neither team able to build more than a one-goal lead at any juncture. The Trojans played with one substitute on the bench and had to fight off fatigue in the latter stretches of the contest.
While the first period ended scoreless, the game action heated up significantly in the second period as the teams scored four times between them. Castle Park led 1-0 after Isaac Montero scored with 1:20 elapsed in the second period, assisted by Marvin Cirignano. Bonita Vista then tied the game, 1-1, on a goal by Bo Santos, assisted by Matthew Custodio, with 8:50 left in the period.
The Barons then took a 2-1 lead when Custodio scored with 4:50 left on the clock in the second period. But the Trojans tied the game, 2-2, on a goal by Eleazar Crus with 3:30 remaining in the period.
Starting BV goaltender Ashley Massarene left the game with 1:30 to play in the second period after making 22 saves. Naya Romero played the balance of the game, finishing with nine saves.
The Barons took a 3-2 lead on an unassisted goal by Alex Tran just 1:40 into the third period. However, Cirignano answered with a goal to tie the game at 3-3 just 1:20 later.
The Trojans then took a 4-3 lead when Montero scored his second goal of the game with 3:50 left in the third period, assisted by Cirignano.
Bonita Vista then set up a dramatic finish when Romero went to the bench in favor of an extra attacker with just over a minute to play in regulation. Dylan Riley scored off a pass from freshman Nick Stark with 50 seconds to play to tie the game four-all.
It appeared the game might head into overtime until Cirignano tipped in a pass from Montero with 13.5 seconds remaining in the third period.
Castle Park finished with a final 36-13 shot advantage. Trojan winning goaltender Ariel Briones was credited with nine saves while the BV duo of Massarene and Romero combined to post 31 saves.
“There were a lot more shots off defenders’ shin guards,” CPHS head coach Eric Enciso explained.
Castle Park improved to 6-8 on the season while Bonita Vista dropped to 4-12.
“We have been trying to use the whole court, pushing the play to the boards, rather than pushing the puck up and down like ice hockey,” Enciso said. “We’ve been playing pretty well with four or five guys at the games. We lost seven guys to senioritis and jobs. I hated it when I had to play iron-man hockey. I’m really proud of what we’ve been doing, proud of our freshman goalie who had never played hockey before.”
Top-ranked Broncos skated past Hilltop Lancers 16-0
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Feb. 3, 2016 — Brendan O’Rourke drove home four goals and also added four assists to lead a 16-goal attack as the top-ranked Rancho Bernardo Broncos blanked the Hilltop Lancers, 16-0, Wednesday night in a non-league contest. Also hitting the net for the Broncos were Alex Pang, Bradley Larson and Chris White — all with three goals — Miles Cook with two goals and Matt Holmes with a lone tally. Pang also contributed three assists, Cook and Bailey Ridout each chipped in with two assists and Larson and Holmes each had one assist apiece.
The Broncos dominated play throughout, out-shooting the Lancers 47-1. Two-time defending Kiwanis Cup champion Rancho Bernardo improved to 12-2 atop the CIF-Metro Conference. Broncos goaltender Jakob Ogan was credited with his fourth shutout on the season.
Through 14 games, Rancho Bernardo’s top three scoring leaders include assistant captain Ryan Wilson with 40 goals and seven assists for 47 points, assistant captain Ridout with 28 goals and 17 assists for 45 points and team captain O’Rourke with 22 goals and 17 assists for 39 points.
The victory was the third in as many games for the Broncos to start a busy week.
On Monday, Rancho Bernardo shackled West Hills with a 21-1 non-league defeat in a game played at Skate San Diego in El Cajon.
Wilson blasted home 10 goals and Ridout and O’Rourke each netted four goals to help the Broncos overpower the Wolf Pack. Also lighting the lamp for Rancho Bernardo were Isaiah Frankel, Pang, and Chris White, who each had a goal in the victory. Tallying assists for the Broncos were Frankel with three, O’Rourke and Ridout with two apiece and Cook with one.
Robbie Baldwin scored the lone West Hills goal late in the first Period. Rancho Bernardo outshot West Hills 53-9 on the evening.
Rancho Bernardo’s Ogan stopped eight of nine shots to earn the victory in net while Wolf Pack goalie Thomas Guarino made 32 saves on the night.
With the victory, the top-ranked Broncos improved to 10-2 on the season as they continue their quest to secure their fourth consecutive North County league title and third consecutive CIF- Metro title.
In a make-up game Tuesday at the Escondido Sports Center, Rancho Bernardo tamed Poway, 10-1, in a North County League contest.The Broncos had their special teams hitting on all cylinders by scoring four power play goals and two short-handed goals to defeat the Titans.
Ridout led the way with five goals and Cook hammered home two more. O’Rourke, Larson and Pang all hit the net once for the Broncos, who improved to 11-2 to solidify their top ranking in the conference. O’Rourke and Larson each notched two assists while Ridout and Cook each tallied assists on the night. Between the pipes, RB’s Ogan turned aside 12 Poway shots to earn the victory.
Poway’s Greg Dhillon scored the lone Poway goal on an assist from Liam Garry. Poway goaltender Christian Woolfe made 40 saves in defeat as Rancho Bernardo outshot Poway 50-13 on the evening.
Mustangs lasso Lancers to win Mesa League championship title
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Feb. 4, 2016 – The Otay Ranch Mustangs secured the rights to this year’s Mesa League championship after defeating the Hilltop Lancers, 7-2, Thursday evening. The win raised the Mustangs league record to 6-0, 14-5 overall. The league title qualifies Otay Ranch for the upcoming Kiwanis Cup playoffs.
The league championship season is special for the Mustang players – and, most notably, first-year head coach Jose Castro.
“This season has been a very special one in my athletic career as a whole,” Castro explained. “As a first-time head coach, I would have never thought the players would buy into my program and tactics so quickly. I have a very special group of players. Although we have had our ups and downs, I cherish every minute I spend with these young adults.
“They have a lot to learn, but so do I. We all feed off of our knowledge, skill and motivation. We all wanted to win and that was stated from the beginning of Hell Week, but we achieved our goal because of our hard work and communication.”
Otay Ranch has won its last six games after posting a fourth-place finish in January’s Bonita Optimist Pam Wiser Classic. The Mustangs trailed, 2-1, in the first period lead of Thursday’s encounter against the Lancers before outscoring them 6-0 in the final two periods.
Freshman Sean Devaney led Otay Ranch with three goals and two assists while team captain Ricky Portilla contributed a goal and two assists. Three players — David Mendez, Paul Chavez and Aaron Marientes – each collected a goal and assist to support winning goaltender J.T. Santiago.
Castro said transitioning from a player to a coach was not easy. “But looking at all the hard work pay off and looking at all the smiles on our players’ faces makes everything worth it,” the ORHS bench boss explained. “I am proud to be a Mustang. Nothing was handed to us; we had to take it into our hands in order to control our own destiny. These kids deserve it, and we are looking forward to the playoffs. My assistant coach, Carlo Cleveland, and I have worked hard on game plans all year long — on and off the rink. This Mesa League banner, in particular, will always hold a special place for me.”
Hilltop (3-4 in league, 11-7-1 overall) received two goals from Danny Godinez in the loss.
Otay Ranch has two league games remaining against Bonita Vista and another against Eastlake, last year’s league champion.
In another Mesa League match-up on Thursday:
Eastlake 11, Bonita Vista 1
The Titans improved to 4-3 in league play, 14-4-1 overall, following the 10-goal win over the Barons (0-6 in league, 4-13 overall). Sophomore Jake Powell led Eastlake with four goals and one assist while sophomore Percilla Mayer scored two goals and freshman Luke Killeen added a goal and two assists. Sean Layton and Seiya Hagiya each scored one goal.
Freshman Nick Stark scored the lone goal for Bonita Vista, assisted by Matt Custodio.
The Titans scored four goals in each of the first two periods to lead 8-0. Eastlake racked up a 3-1 scoring edge in the final period.
Spartans hang perfect 10-0 in South Bay League standings
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Feb. 5, 2016 – The South Bay League champion Spartans received goals from five players in topping Castle Park, last year’s league champion, by a score of 6-3 to improve to 10-0 in league play. The Spartans also improved their overall record to 15-5, which is believed to be a school record for most wins in one season.
Hector Garcia collected one goal and three assists in the win for Chula Vista, which led 3-1 at the end of the first period and 4-2 entering the final period. Jesse Amador and Ricardo Pina each had a goal and assist in the win while Bill Frias scored one goal.
Marvin Cirignano paced Castle Park (5-4 in league play, 6-9 overall) with two goals and one assist. Eleazar Cruz chipped in with a goal and assist.
Red Devils break out of slump, top Raiders in league match-up
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Feb. 5, 2016 – Phillip Brandon scored two goals and Marco Salazar added a goal and two assists to enable Sweetwater to snap a five-game losing streak with a 4-1 South Bay League victory against Southwest. Aaron Kercher added two assists for the Red Devils (3-6 in league, 7-12 overall) while Yesenia Iniquez scored with 15 seconds to play to round out the SuHi scoring.
Sweetwater built a 2-0 first period lead before being challenged by the Raiders, who halved the Red Devil lead with a second-period goal. Southwest dropped to 2-8 in league play, 2-16 overall.
North County Report:
Dons ground Falcons to claim Central League title, Kiwanis Cup playoff berth
ESCONDIDO SPORTS CENTER, Feb. 3, 2016 — The Central League title went to the Cathedral Catholic Dons following Wednesday’s 7-5 victory over Scripps Ranch. The Dons took an early lead on a goal by Drew Jones, but the Falcons tied the game on a power play goal by Jesse Lycan. In the final seconds of the opening period, Jon Leone scored to give the Dons a 2-1 lead.
Cathedral Catholic extended its lead to 3-1until Lycan scored for Scripps Ranch to make the score 3-2. The Dons then scored three straight goals to take a 6-2 lead with 10 minutes to play in the third period.
The Falcons then rallied on two power play goals – one by Lycan and one by Matt Gauthier. Down by one goal, Scripps Ranch then pulled its goaltender and, with less than a minute to play, Sam Angeles iced the victory for Cathedral Catholic with an empty net goal.
Lycan finished the game with four goals, Gauthier had one goal and two assists and Stewart Pond had three assists. Jones led the Dons with one goal and five assists while Angeles had two goals and one assist. Jake Belland and Adam Stocker each had one goal in the win.
In other games on Wednesday, Westview defeated Poway 9-6 in a North County League game while Escondido Charter defeated West Hills in a non-league encounter.
In a high profile non-league game on Monday at the Escondido Sports Center, Scripps Ranch skated past Poway 11-5.
The Falcons took the lead early and never looked back. Lycan out-dueled Poway’s Rory Hermann. Hermann had a hand in all of Poway’s goals by scoring three goals and assisting on two others while Lycan had five goals and an assist.
Pond, Lycan’s defensive linemate, had two goals and two assist while Cody Sherman collected three goals. Backup goaltender Cody Ayers skated out with an assist and senior Scott Rhyne continued with the hot hand by scoring one goal to make it four straight games with a goal.
In other games on Monday, Cathedral Catholic edged Westview, 6-5, while Escondido Charter defeated St. Augustine.
CIF-Metro Conference Scoreboard
Monday, Feb. 1
Non-League
Eastlake 13, Castle Park 6
Hilltop 4, Southwest 0
Rancho Bernardo 21, West Hills 1
Cathedral Catholic 6, Westview 5
Scripps Ranch 11, Poway 5
Escondido Charter defeated St. Augustine, score unavailable
Tuesday, Feb. 2
North County League
Rancho Bernardo 10, Poway 1
Non-League
Eastlake 7, Mar Vista 2
Otay Ranch 3, Chula Vista 0
Castle Park 5, Bonita Vista 4
Wednesday, Feb. 3
South Bay League
Chula Vista 7, Southwest 1
Mar Vista 4, Sweetwater 1
Central League
Cathedral Catholic 7, Scripps Ranch 5
North County League
Westview 9, Poway 6
Non-League
Rancho Bernardo 16, Hilltop 0
Escondido Charter defeated West Hills, score unavailable
Thursday, Feb. 4
Mesa League
Otay Ranch 7, Hilltop 2
Eastlake 11, Bonita Vista 1
Friday, Feb. 5
South Bay League
Chula Vista 6, Castle Park 3
Sweetwater 4, Southwest 1
CIF-Metro Conference Standings
(Through Feb. 5)
Mesa League
x-Otay Ranch Mustangs 6-0, 14-5
Eastlake Titans 4-3, 14-4-1
Hilltop Lancers 3-4, 11-7-1
Bonita Vista Barons 0-6, 4-13
South Bay League
x-Chula Vista Spartans 10-0, 15-5
Castle Park Trojans 5-4, 6-9
Mar Vista Mariners 4-6, 5-13
Sweetwater Red Devils 3-6, 7-12
Southwest Raiders 2-8, 2-16
Central League
x-Cathedral Catholic 6-1, 10-4
St. Augustine 3-3-1, 6-7-1
Scripps Ranch 3-4, 9-6
West Hills 1-5-1, 2-12-1
North County League
Rancho Bernardo 6-1, 12-2
Westview 5-2, 10-5
Escondido Charter 2-5, 7-7
Poway 1-6, 4-10
x-league champion
CIF-Metro Conference Rankings
(Through Feb. 4)
1 Rancho Bernardo
2 Cathedral Catholic
3 Westview
4 Scripps Ranch
5 Escondido Charter
6 St. Augustine
7 Poway
8 West Hills
9 Otay Ranch
10 Eastlake
11. (tie) Hilltop
11 (tie) Chula Vista
13 Castle Park
14 Bonita Vista
15 Sweetwater
16 Mar Vista
17 Southwest
Ice Chips:
Gulls face off February on winning note, hope more victories will follow as team shoots for playoff berth
The San Diego Gulls lost all five home games in January to fall from second place in the American Hockey League’s Pacific Division standings to sixth. With seven home games in February, it would behoove the local AHL club to pile up some much-needed wins to jump back into contention for a berth in the upcoming Calder Cup playoffs.
The Stockton Heat, the Gulls’ adversary to face off February’s home schedule, hasn’t wasted any time in making a climb up the standings. The Heat, benefiting from a torrid 8-2-1-0 run in January, had climbed from seventh place to fourth in the division standings.
The Gulls came out firing in the teams’ Feb. 5 match-up at the Valley View Casino Center. They were rewarded at the 5:13 mark of the first period as Brian Moore managed to pull Heat goaltender Joni Ortio out of position for an easy tap in. Assists went to Kyle Bonis and Andrew O’Brien on the game’s jump goal.
The hosts lit the lamp just 1:18 later to grab a quick 2-0 lead as Matt Berry hammered in a shot from Ortio’s left. Antoine Laganiere and Shea Theodore drew the assists on the goal at the 6:31 mark of the opening period.
The first period ended with the Gulls possessing a decisive 10-5 shot advantage.
San Diego’s slide out of playoff contention featured a 3-6-1 run in its last 10 games. However, the Gulls didn’t play anything like a team down in the dumps, at least in the opening frame against the Heat. The hosts did sag noticeably in the middle period, with the visitors matching the San Diegans with seven shots apiece in the stanza.
But the Gulls responded to the challenge with two goals in the final period to post a timely 4-2 victory to put out the flames emanating from the Heat’s five-game winning streak.
The victory, witnessed by 7,236 fans, pushed San Diego (20-18-1-1) back into fourth place in the division standings by jumping both Stockton (18-17-1-2) and Bakersfield (18-18-2-2), which dropped a 7-3 decision to the visiting Milwaukee Admirals – the Gulls’ opponent on Saturday at the Valley View Casino Center.
“It’s huge, you’re usually not talking about a playoff race in February, but we’ve starting about that,” San Diego head coach Dallas Eakins explained. “We have to take on a real playoff mentality right now and I thought our guys responded great.
“Coming out of the (All-Star) break and to get started out like that is extremely important. We want to feel good about this but we’ve got to leave this behind and get ready for our next match.
San Diego improved to 15-0-0-1 when scoring the first goal in a game.
Stockton center Derek Grant, a participant in last week’s 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic in Syracuse, N.Y., entered Friday’s game as the league’s player of the month for January. Grant collected 10 goals and 19 points in 10 games during the month to help propel the Heat’s rise up the division standings as well as launch himself into the upper stratosphere as the league’s No. 2 goal-scorer. He received credit for a deflection goal just four seconds into a Stockton power play with 3:47 left in the second period to halve the Gulls’ lead to 2-1.
It was Grant’s 22nd goal of the year in 29 games and his 20th point in his last 11 games.
Stockton went on the power play 1:43 into the third period when Moore was whistled for a hooking infraction. But it was the Gulls were scored first as Shane O’Brien beat Ortio over his shoulder with a rising shot at the 7:13 mark. It was the first goal of the season for O’Brien to continue a trend in the game. Moore and Laganiere also notched their first goals of the season.
Assists on the goal that increased the Gulls lead to 3-1 went to Chris Mueller and Nick Ritchie.
The Heat jumped right back into the game when Eddie Hamilton’s backhand centering pass found the stick of teammate Hunter Elson, who beat San Diego goaltender Anton Khudobin with 5:48 left in regulation play.
Stockton turned up the heat, so to speak, in the late stretches of the game, but Khudobin (16 saves on 18 shots) and the Gulls defense was able to fend off the pressure. The hosts won 16 of 24 face-offs in the third period to keep the puck out of the visitors’ possession at key points of the contest.
The game turned on one such face-off with less than a minute to play. The Heat had pulled its goaltender in favor of an extra attacker with 1:27 to play and kept the puck in the San Diego end until an errant pass went the length of the rink for an icing call. Ortio (17 saves on 21 shots) was forced back in the net, but the Gulls’ Kenny Ryan won the puck off the boards from a face-off in San Diego’s defensive zone and fed teammate Joe Cramarossa, who circled into the slot and dinged a rising shot off the crossbar for an insurance goal with 30 seconds left in the game.
Cramarossa gave the glass a high-five with his body to celebrate the moment.
The goal was Cramarossa’s eighth of the season and helped push the Gulls to their first home ice win in 2016.
“We were rested and so were they,” Eakins explained. “I think the break helped us recover. We needed some healing and a mental break. When you’re not winning games as much as you’re used to, it wears on you. With the guys getting away from the rink and coming back with fresh attitude really helped our cause.”
The Gulls bench boss was thrilled to receive some scoring punch from the bottom half of the team’s line-up.
“I really liked our bottom six forwards,” he said. “I thought our top two lines played well but those bottom six guys came out and they got the goals early for us. They had real structure to their game and really followed the game plan.
“We had three guys score their first goals tonight. We’re this far in the season and it’s just happening. We’re a team that’s always going to be strapped to score goals five-on five, (so) it was encouraging to see those guys score.”
Ritchie, who joined teammate Brandon Montour at the AHL All-Star Classic, said it was important for the team to grab that first win coming off break to set the tone for the rest of the season.
“It’s big, we have less than half a season now, the All-Star break it where it turns to a new level,” said Ritchie, who picked up two goals and an assist in three games for the Pacific Division All-Stars during the AHL All-Star Challenge. “Starting off tonight, we’re 1-0 off the All-Star break and we (need to) keep that going.”
Ritchie admitted the first game off the All-Star break was not exactly scintillating. “I don’t think it was a great hockey game,” he said. “There were a lot of turnovers, it a little bit sloppy, but we’re willing to play those kind of games if you can win them.”
The Gulls swept the three star balloting, with Shane O’Brien (game-winning goal) tabbed first star of the game, Berry earning second star of the game honors and Moore picked as the game’s third star.
All-Star Classic
The Pacific Division All-Star Team finished 1-2 in its three round-robin games in the All-Star Classic Challenge, defeating the Central Division and dropped games to both the Atlantic and North division teams. The Central Division went on to claim the championship title with a 4-0 victory over the Atlantic Division.
Grant earned the fastest skater award during the AHL All-Star Classic skills competition. He matched Ritchie with two goals and an assist on the Pacific All-Star Team roster.
“It was a great experience and it was something that I’ve wanted to do and got a chance to do, but I’m excited to be back in San Diego,” said Ritchie, who was clocked at 99.2 mph in the hardest shot skills competition event.
The Gulls rookie forward said he enjoyed both the skills competition and the mini-game tournament. “They were both pretty fun, I think that in the game you got to move around a little more, and play a little more, (so) I think the game is a little more fun for the players,” he said.
Ryan Graves of Hartford won the hardest shot competition with a shot clocked at 103.4 mph. Bakersfield’s Brad Hunt had the top mark for the Western Conference All-Stars at 100.2 mph.
Ritchie ranks second overall among AHL rookies with eight power play goals. His 15 goals lead the Gulls in that department while his 27 points rank second on the team to Montour.
Montour entered the game leading AHL rookies in three categories: assists (26), power play assists (19) and power play points (23). He ranked fourth overall in points (32).
– Phillip Brents
Gulls soar past Admirals, 4-1, to move into third place in division standings
San Diego completes perfect weekend thanks to strong second period
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 6, 2016 — The San Diego Gulls scored three goals in a 2:35 stretch of the second period, building a 3-0 lead before holding on for a 4-1 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals in front of 8,560 fans at Valley View Casino Center. Kyle Bonis netted a pair for San Diego (21-18-1-1) while Kyle McKinnon added his first goal of the year and an assist.
Chris Mueller also scored for San Diego, while the Gulls snapped an Admirals six-game point streak. Milwaukee (28-14-3-0) was held to Stefan Elliott’s power play goal in the second period, a lone tally after scoring fourteen goals over their past two games.
Gulls netminder Anton Khudobin won his second straight contest, stopping 30-of-31 shots faced, including 11 saves in a scoreless first period. Khudobin improved to 6-5-1 on the season while lowering his goals-against average (GAA) to 2.59.
San Diego exploded out of the first intermission on a goal-scoring flurry. For the second straight night, the Gulls’ lid lifter came from their fourth line, as Bonis finished assists from Bryan Moore and Brandon Montour at 3:48 of the second period for his third goal of the season and a 1-0 lead.
The Gulls doubled their lead less than a minute later, when Chris Mueller picked off an errant pass at center ice and led a 2-on-3 break with Nick Ritchie. After a pass to right wing, Ritchie drifted toward the wall to create space before re-feeding Mueller, who deflected the puck top shelf over Admirals goalie Jusse Saros for his eighth goal of the year and a 2-0 advantage at 4:43.
Antoine Laganiere, impacting the game on the forecheck for the Gulls for the second straight game, fed McKinnon alone at point blank range from behind the net for his first goal of the season and a 3-0 lead at 6:23 of the second to complete the scoring flurry.
Elliott’s power play score off a Trevor Murphy dot-to-dot pass in the zone narrowed the San Diego advantage to 3-1 at 12:42 of the second, but the Admirals could not further penetrate the Gulls defense, and Bonis’ empty net, short handed goal at 18:33 of the third, on a McKinnon steal and assist, concluded the scoring.
The Gulls’ win, combined with a San Jose Barracuda loss in Ontario on Saturday night, allows San Diego to sneak .002 ahead of San Jose for third place in the AHL Pacific Division. The Gulls return to Valley View Casino Center to conclude a four-game homestand on Wednesday, Feb. 10, when they host the Bakersfield Condors for a 7:05 p.m. faceoff.
NOTES: The Gulls are now 16-0-0-1 when scoring the game’s first goal, and 17-0-0 when leading after 40 minutes of play … Montour’s first period assist was his team-leading 27th assist and 33rd point of the year … Jaycob Megna picked up a lone assist for San Diego … the Gulls are 19-5-0-1 when scoring three goals or more, and 19-1-1-0 when allowing two goals or fewer … San Diego snapped a four-game losing streak against AHL Central Division teams, improving to 2-4-0 on the season with two games remaining in Charlotte.
THREE STARS
1st Star: SD Kyle McKinnon (1-1=2); 2nd Star: SD Anton Khudobin (30 saves on 31 shots); 3rd Star: MIL Stefan Elliott (1-0=1)
