The San Diego Gulls cut a three-goal third-period deficit to one, but were unable to score the equalizer in a 7-5 loss to the Stockton Heat Wednesday at Valley View Casino Center.
Goals by Corey Tropp and Brandon Montour cut Stockton’s lead to 6-5 with 4 minutes, 22 seconds to play. However, the Gulls were unable to score again, despite being on the power-play for the final 2:53 after Heat defenseman Kenny Morrison was called for a high-sticking double-minor penalty.
Ryan Lomberg scored a short-handed empty-net goal with one second left for Stockton (3-0-1-0), the Calgary Flames’ American Hockey League affiliate.
Ondrej Kase had two power-play goals and an assist while Tropp had a goal and two assists for the Gulls (2-2-0-0), before a crowd announced at 5,634.
Morgan Klimchuk had two goals on three shots and two assists for the Heat. Klimchuk’s goal 9:57 into the third period gave Stockton a 6-3 lead.
The Heat took a 3-1 lead on goals by Klimchuk and Garnet Hathaway in the first period and Daniel Pribyl in the second.
Kase’s second power-play goal at 3:49 of the second cut the lead to 3-2. Stockton regained a two-goal lead on Andrew Mangiapane’s goal at 9:23 of the second period.
The Gulls again pulled within one at 11:23 of the second period on the first goal of the season by 33-year-old defenseman Nate Guenin, their oldest player.
Hunter Shinkaruk scored a power-play goal with 7:35 left in the second period to give Stockton a 5-3 lead.
Kase opened the scoring with a power-play goal 13:55 into the first period that gave the Gulls their only lead.
Goaltender Matt Hackett stopped 22 of 28 shots in his second appearance of the season for the Gulls. Heat goaltender goaltender Jon Gillies made 32 saves, including 17 in the first period.
The Gulls scored on two of their four power-play opportunities and killed one of Stockton’s two power-play opportunities.
Earlier Wednesday, the Anaheim Ducks, the Gulls NHL parent team, recalled goaltender Dustin Tokarski after Jonathan Bernier suffered an upper- body injury in the first period of Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks.
The Gulls recalled rookie Kevin Boyle from the Utah Grizzlies, the Ducks ECHL affiliate, to take Tokarski’s spot on the roster. Boyle was 1-1-0 with a 4.02 goals against average in two games with Utah.
The game concluded the season-opening four-game homestand for the Gulls. They begin a four-game road trip Friday in Winnipeg, Manitoba, against the Manitoba Moose and will return home Nov. 11 to face the Moose at Valley View Casino Center.
—City News Service
