Get back to killing penalties.
Cash in on more scoring chances.
Reward solid goalie play with a win on home ice.
The Gulls (6-10) checked all of those boxes en route to a 6-1 victory over Grand Rapids (7-8-1) at Pechanga Arena on Saturday night.
Glenn Gawdin netted his second career hat trick, Brayden Tracey, Drew Helleson and Dmitry Osipov also scored for San Diego and Grand Rapids went 1 for 5 on the power play as the Gulls improved to 2-5 at home this season.
The Gulls went 1 for 6 on the power play but finished with a 36-21 advantage in shots on goal, the first time they outshot an opponent in five games and marking only the sixth time they accomplished that on the season.
Lukas Dostal (6-7) was back in net for San Diego and finished with 20 saves after Olle Eriksson Ek made the start Friday night.
Ek allowed five goals in that thriller of a game — four of them on the power play — before suffering an injury early in the third period and giving way to Dostal, who made six saves but was beaten for the game-winner in a 6-5 loss.
Helleson returned to San Diego from NHL Anaheim after being called up on Tuesday and his second goal of the season came on a scrum from in front of the Grand Rapids net and made it 4-1 at 7:32 of the third period.
Gawdin’s second goal came at 1:42 of the second period and was one of the nicest individual plays of the night as the centerman smoothly carried the puck up ice over two lines while weaving around a pair of defenders before moving into the left circle and ripping a shot that beat Victor Brattstrom between the pads.
Defenseman Olli Juolevi assisted on Tracey’s first-period power-play goal which made it 2-1 San Diego.
Gawdin’s third goal came on an empty-netter at 12:36 of the third period and several hundred Gulls fans dutifully tossed their caps onto the ice.
O’Ree honored
Saturday was officially proclaimed “Willie O’Ree Day” by San Diego County and the Gulls great, whose jersey number 20 hangs in the Pechanga Arena rafters, dropped the ceremonial first puck. “Excited and overwhelmed,” O’Ree said of the honor. “I played with a lot of great players here and became great friends with many of them. I have been proud to call San Diego my home since my playing days. It’s a great city.”
Carter is a freelance writer.
