The San Diego Gulls played with a purpose Wednesday night, and it paid off with a victory over host Tucson, the AHL’s Pacific Division leaders.
After getting shut out Tuesday night, the Gulls broke a tie with two early third-period goals to defeat the Roadrunners, 4-2.
With the victory, San Diego moved into a third-place tie in the division with Stockton with 68 points, though the Gulls have played two more games.
Sam Carrick broke the tie with a goal just 22 seconds into the final period, his 23rd of the season. Troy Terry soon followed with his seventh of the season, giving the Gulls a 3-1 edge.
San Diego (30-19-6-2) could not breathe easy for long. Tucson’s Kyle Capobianco pulled his team within a goal at 9:43 of the final period.
The Gulls’ Chase De Leo scored an insurance goal with 55 seconds remaining for the final margin.
Just like Tuesday night, the Gulls had 13 shots on goal Wednesday night in the first period. The only difference this time is that San Diego actually scored a goal.
Terry notched his sixth goal of the season, an unassisted tally on the power play, at the 15:18 mark of the first period. Two Roadrunners were in the penalty box, as was the Gulls’ Brendan Guhle.
Gulls goalie Kevin Boyle, who took the loss Tuesday, again played a flawless first period, stopping all six shots he faced.
The San Diego defense worked overtime in the first 12 minutes of the second period, allowing only one shot. Unfortunately for the Gulls, that shot beat Boyle.
Tyler Steenbergen scored the goal for Tucson (36-19-1-2), his eighth. The Roadrunners had just six shots on goal in the period.
