San Diego Gulls’ offense exploded for a 7-0 victory over the Henderson Silver Knights at Dollar Loan Arena.
The Gulls entered tonight’s game looking convert their scoring chances. It appeared as if this would be a challenge, with Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Laurent Brossoit in net on a conditioning stint, but the opening period turned out to be an offensive clinic from San Diego.
Scoring four goals on 14 shots, the Gulls put everything together. The explosion began on the power play, courtesy of San Diego’s ruthless forecheck. Gulls forward Benoit-Olivier Groulx deflected the puck into the net at 8:44 of the period, capping off a picture-perfect man advantage.
Less than five minutes later, San Diego started to catch fire. Forward Jacob Perreault noticed Brossoit was late to his post and ripped a shot from the corner. The puck beat him to the post, giving Perreault his second goal in as many games. A minute later, defenseman Drew Helleson extended the lead to three after blasting a seeing-eye shot through net-front traffic for his first career professional goal.
The action-packed opening period ended after forward Rocco Grimaldi stole the puck in the defensive zone. He used his speed to create a partial breakaway. When it looked like he was about to shoot, he slammed on the breaks, allowing Justin Kirkland to step into a wrist shot and fire it high to make it 4-0 with 36 seconds left in the frame. Kirkland would go on to tie a career-high in single game points with 1-2=3.
San Diego entered the second period with their confidence high. They chased Brossoit, who made 10 saves on 14 shots, and kept their foot on the gas with new goaltender Jiri Patera in net. Following a textbook forecheck, Grimaldi intercepted a breakout pass at the faceoff dot. He quickly gave the puck to Groulx who drove the net from the goal line, stuffing it home for his second of the game.
Up 5-0, the Gulls looked for more offense. Grimaldi picked up his fourth point of the night on a wrist shot from the faceoff dot at 9:12 of the period, receiving a cross-ice pass from Kirkland and putting it past Patera. Forty-two seconds later, defenseman Nikolas Brouillard attacked the Henderson zone at full speed. After some sleek stick handling in the high slot, he started a give-and-go inside the hashmarks and slid a pass to forward Danny O’Regan who one-timed the puck into the back of the net. Forward Pavol Regenda extended his point streak to four-games with an assist on the Gulls’ seventh goal of the game.
Offense was not the only high point for San Diego tonight. Gulls netminder Lukas Dostal continued his high-level play by posting a career-high 28 save shutout. Despite his dominance between the pipes, it was not an easy ride as the Gulls conceded seven penalties, tying a season high.
Dostal controlled the crease, never seeming flustered by the Henderson attack. His composure in net helped the Gulls tie their AHL record for the largest margin of victory, with the seven-goal difference tying the team’s 8-1 win against the Tucson Roadrunners on Jan. 25, 2017.
By Brett Pickler/SanDiegoGulls.com
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