The San Diego Gulls overcame a three-goal deficit with less than six minutes to play in regulation to tie the score, but Nicolas Meloche scored two minutes, 20 seconds into overtime to give the Colorado Eagles a 5-4 victory Wednesday evening in Loveland, Colorado.
With goaltender Angus Redmond pulled for an extra attacker, Kalle Kossila took a pass from Troy Terry and put a wrist shot past Pavel Francouz with 38 seconds to play for the tying goal. The Gulls comeback attempt began when Chase De Leo scored with 5:53 left. Kiefer Sherwood scored 11 seconds later to pull the Gulls within one.
“Even though we lost the game and only got one point, there hasn’t been too many times this year that I’ve been more proud of this group than tonight,” Gulls coach Dallas Eakins said.
Redmond replaced Jeff Glass at the start of the third period. He stopped all five shots he faced in the third period and the first three in overtime before Meloche, a defenseman, put a shot from the left faceoff circle past Glass for his fifth goal in his 40 games with the Eagles, the Colorado Avalanche’s American Hockey League affiliate.
Redmond was making his second appearance in an AHL game. He stopped 12 of 13 shots in the third period of a 7-1 loss at Bakersfield Saturday, one day after being recalled from the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL to serve as the Gulls No. 2 goaltender after their NHL parent team, the Anaheim Ducks, recalled Kevin Boyle from loan.
The Gulls (26-15-3-3) opened the scoring 9:36 into the game on Corey Tropp’s power-play goal.
Colorado (24-19-3-1) scored the next four goals.
Defenseman David Warsofsky put in a rebound of a shot by Mason Geertsen with 39 seconds left in the first period for his third goal in 30 games with the Eagles.
Andrew Agozzino scored his team-leading 21st and 22nd goals in the second period, sandwiched around Scott Kosmachuk’s power-play goal.
Boyle was removed after allowing four goals on 27 shots over the first two periods.
Francouz (17-11-1-1) stopped 30 of 34 shots before a crowd at Budweiser Events Center announced at 4,659.
The Gulls were outshot, 36-34, despite a 12-5 advantage in the third period.
The Gulls scored on one of three power-play opportunities. The Eagles scored on one of their three.
Gulls center Sam Carrick was involved in his second fight of the season, brawling with Colorado right wing Cody Bass with 5:21 left in regulation, 21 seconds after Sherwood’s goal brought the Gulls to within one, 4- 3.
Bass received a five-minute major penalty for fighting plus a two- minute tripping penalty for an offense earlier in the play. Bass received a five-minute major plus a minor penalty for removing his helmet.
Earlier Wednesday, the Ducks recalled left wing Max Jones from the Gulls and reassigned defenseman Korbinian Holzer to the Gulls. Holzer assisted on Sherwood’s goal.
The Gulls will play the fifth game of their six-game road trip Saturday at San Jose.
— City News Service
