STOCKTON, Calif. – Connor Mackey registered a Gordie Howe hat trick while Glenn Gawdin netted a pair of goals and Dustin Wolf made 36 saves as the Stockton Heat (13-2-2-0) completed a weekend sweep of the San Diego Gulls (8-8-1-0) with a 3-2 win Saturday at Stockton Arena.
Mackey notched his goal, assist and fight all in the opening frame, with an assist on Gawdin’s game-opening goal on the power play, then scored on a deflection to put a puck past Eriksson Ek for a shorthanded marker all in the game’s opening 20 minutes. The scores were sandwiched around a lamp-lighter from San Diego’s Hunter Drew, a shorthanded tally, to give Stockton a 2-1 edge through 20.
The teams then played to a scoreless stalemate until Gawdin’s empty-netter with 1:43 to go in the contest, which proved to be the game-winner as Brayden Tracey snuck one past Wolf in the final minute to produce the 3-2 final score.
The Heat went 8-for-8 on the penalty kill on the night, completing the weekend 16-for-17 against San Diego.
/by Brandon Weiss
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