The San Diego Gulls came out on the wrong end of a 6-3 result against the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Friday night at Acrisure Arena, but they did open the scoring once again and kept pushing until the final horn.
San Diego is now 1-1-1-0 through three games, with all of those contests coming on the road. The Gulls have banked three of a possible six points so far.
Captain Ryan Carpenter got the Gulls on the board first, continuing a trend they’ve managed in every game this season. It was Carpenter’s first goal of the year and his second point, giving him 1-1=2 on the season.
The goal also marked a major milestone: his 800th professional hockey game. Carpenter has now played in 408 AHL games and 392 NHL games.
Herman Traff picked up his first AHL point on the play, with Yegor Sidorov also earning an assist.
Coachella Valley answered with two goals early in the second period to move in front, but San Diego wasted little time responding. Matthew Phillips scored just 19 seconds after the Firebirds’ second goal, giving him 2-1=3 on the season. Nico Myatovic and James Hamblin each collected their second assists of the year on the goal, and both now sit at 1-2=3 overall.
The Firebirds grabbed the lead again, only for Cruz Lucius to pull the Gulls even with his first career AHL goal in his professional debut. Lucius, 22, signed a two-year entry-level contract with Anaheim this summer after being acquired in a trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Before turning pro, he played 125 NCAA games between the University of Wisconsin and Arizona State University and finished with 41-83=124 points. Anton Wahlberg set up the goal for his third assist and fourth point of the season, stretching his point streak to 1-3=4 through three games.
Laurent Brossoit made his second start of the season and stopped 24 shots.
Coachella Valley then pushed ahead for good with two goals in the third period. San Diego generated 21 shots in the final frame, but Nikke Kokko and the Firebirds held firm to keep the Gulls from drawing level again.
San Diego returns to action Saturday night against the Henderson Silver Knights in its first home game of the season at Pechanga Arena San Diego, with puck drop set for 6 p.m. PDT.
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