The Gulls were short-handed against the Stockton Heat and then frustrated by some excellent goalie play en route to absorbing a 4-1 loss in what could have been the final game at Pechanga Arena this season.
The Gulls (28-32-4-2) enjoyed a healthy share of possession and finished even on shots (26-26) but went 1-for-5 on the power play and were repeatedly snuffed by Heat goalie Adam Werner, who made several outstanding saves.
Stockton (45-15-5-2) also improved to 6-2 against San Diego on the season.
Playing without forward Buddy Robinson and defensemen Hunter Drew and Trevor Carrick, who were called up to the Anaheim Ducks, the San Diego lineup included five players who own 20 or fewer games of AHL experience.
Brent Gates Jr. scored his 12th goal of the season for the Gulls, while goalie Lukas Dostal finished with 22 saves. Stockton took control on a pair of second-period goals scored by Emilio Pettersen.
The Gulls are locked into the seventh seed and open a first-round best-of-three series at Ontario on May 4. The Gulls were 3-8-1 against Ontario this season.
Should they win that series, the Gulls would advance to face the Heat in a best-of-five second-round series.
That hypothetical series would also be the next time Gulls fans would see their team at Pechanga as all three potential second-round games would be played at Ontario.
The Ducks conclude their season Friday at Dallas, so Robinson, Drew and Carrick will be eligible to return to the Gulls for the playoffs. The Gulls finish the regular season with games at Tucson on Thursday and Friday.
The goal for Gulls coach Joel Bouchard entering the final week was to see his team play clean hockey, limit mistakes such as turnovers that lead to odd man rushes, win key faceoffs and execute on special teams.
Looking ahead to the playoffs, Ontario entered Tuesday with the AHL’s best power play (72-of-259) while Stockton boasted the best penalty kill (37-of-281 and 15 short-handed goals).
“They’re a top team in our conference and one of the best teams in the league so obviously, it’s a good test,” Bouchard said of the Heat. “I think we can learn a lot from playing versus a good opponent. You’re going to be challenged and that’s what you want. So, they’re going to challenge our players. So, we need to have good defense, good structure, which they are good with: defense and structure. It’s just making sure we’re on top of every single detail because when you face a good team, they’re going to make you pay.”
Carter is a freelance writer.
