It was a rush to the net and an incredible finish by Grand Rapid’s Taro Hirose, who somehow slipped the puck past Gulls goalie Lukas Dostal with defensemen Luka Profaca all over him, that made the difference in a wild hockey game.
Hirose’s third goal of the night came with 1:32 remaining in a tie game and gave the visiting Griffins a 6-5 victory over the Gulls at Pechanga Arena on Friday night.
Jacob Perrault (two goals) Danny O’Regan, Rocco Grimaldi and Brayden Tracey scored for the Gulls (5-10), who trailed 3-0 in the first period, 4-1 early in the second and 5-3 entering the third.
The Gulls were outshot, 28-22, and allowed four power play goals on seven chances but fought back time and time again in a game filled with action.
Olle Eriksson Ek made the start in net for the Gulls and allowed five goals before suffering an injury and being replaced by Dostal (six saves) early in the third period.
The fifth allowed goal particularly stung as it came with 14.7 seconds remaining in a second period that was largely controlled by the Gulls, who drew within 4-3 on goals from Perrault and O’Regan while getting the crowd roaring back into the game.
Grand Rapids forward Joel L’Esperance dug out a puck deep in the corner and flipped a to Hirose, whose quick wrister floated through traffic and beat Eriksson Ek glove side.
The crowd let out a collective groan and the Gulls skated to the locker room having lost much of the momentum created by their strong period.
Eriksson Ek responded by making a fantastic sprawling save to snuff out Hirose’s initial attempt at a hat trick 30 seconds into the third but was injured on the play and replaced by Dostal.
Grimaldi then scored a power play goal on a nasty wrister from the circle area to draw San Diego back within one score at 1:57.
Tracey tied it at 5-5 with a smooth deflection past Grand Rapids goalie Jussi Olkinuora at 10:38.
San Diego’s offense has been helter-skelter all season and particularly hit or miss in recent games.
They scored two in a pair of losses to Milwaukee early this month, then won 7-0 at Henderson, lost 2-0 at home to Bakersfield, won 4-1 at Ontario and were shut out for the second time this season Wednesday at San Jose.
Friday night’s game marked the fourth time this season the Gulls scored five or more goals and also the fourth time they’ve allowed five or more.
The teams meet again tonight at Pechanga.
Helleson gets the call
One of the greatest moments of any young hockey player’s life is getting their first callup to the NHL.
That moment arrived for defenseman Drew Helleson earlier this week when the Anaheim Ducks brought him up from San Diego.
The 21-year old Farmington, Minn., native posted one goal and three assists and 20 penalty minutes in 30 games with the Gulls dating back to last season when he made his professional debut after a stellar college career at Boston College.
At 6-3, 204 pounds, Helleson has the ideal size along with skating and puck handling ability to be a successful NHL player for many years to come.
Now, he may get the chance to show what he can do on the big stage as soon as tonight when the Ducks play at St. Louis.
In another move, veteran center Sam Carrick was recalled to Anaheim after a four-game stint with the Gulls as part of an injury rehab assignment.
Carrick underwent offseason hip surgery and picked up an assist in his Ducks season debut Thursday night.
Carter is a freelance writer.
