Rookie left Max Jones had a goal and two assists as the San Diego Gulls extended their winning streak to eight games, matching their longest in their four seasons in the American Hockey League, in a 5-2 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals on Saturday evening at Milwaukee.
The Gulls extended their streak with at least one standings point to 13 games, their longest in their four seasons in the AHL. They had a 12-game streak with at least one standings point from Jan. 7-Feb. 7, 2017.
AHL teams receive two standings points for any type of victory and one point for a loss in overtime or a shootout.
The eight-game winning streak is the longest in the AHL this season. The standings point streak matches the league’s longest. The Syracuse Crunch also had a 13-game standings point streak.
The Gulls also had eight-game winning streaks from Nov. 11-Dec. 2, 2016 and Jan. 26-Feb. 17, 2018.
The Gulls (19-11-1-3) took the lead for good with 10 minutes, 31 seconds left in the second period Matt Berry put a shot past Tom McCollum for his third goal in his 14 games with the Gulls this season. Jones was credited the lone assist.
The goal came 16 seconds after Milwaukee center Colin Blackwell scored the tying goal on the power play with Jones serving a slashing penalty.
The Gulls increased their lead to 4-2 with 7:15 left in the second period. A wrist shot by Luke Schenn bounced off McCollum and into the air. Adam Cracknell batted in past McCollum for his third goal in nine games with the Gulls.
Jones put in a rebound of a shot by Jaycob Megna with 5:39 to play in the second period for what proved to be the final goal before a crowd announced at 6,863 at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
“Sam Carrick played a really good game and so did Matt Berry,” Jones said after the second three-point game of his 31-game professional career. “The puck was just moving around really well, we were making the simple plays and it ended up in the back of the net. As long as we keep doing that, I think we’ll be really successful.”
Kevin Boyle (15-5-0-0) made 21 saves in his 10th consecutive victory, extending the longest streak by a Gulls goaltender in their time in the AHL.
“He made some critical saves,” Gulls coach Dallas Eakins said. “That’s what you need. It’s just great to see Kevin really get his feet underneath him. I know he’s still trying to get better each and every day which is excellent. This is a young man that has put a lot of effort into his development and here we are now and it looks like he’s really breaking out.”
McCollum (8-7-4-1) made 17 saves for the Admirals, the Nashville Predators AHL affiliate.
The Gulls, the Anaheim Ducks AHL affiliate, were scoreless on all four power-play opportunities and killed two of Milwaukee’s three.
Blackwell opened the scoring 2:21 into the first period, who was returning to action for the first time since Nov. 23 after being sidelined by an injury.
The Gulls tied the score 15 seconds later. Simon Benoit made a breakout pass through the neutral zone to Troy Terry for a two-on-one chance with Sam Steel. Steel took the initial shot, but the puck the went wide of the net and bounced behind the boards and back to Terry, who put the puck into the net for his 16th goal.
Terry leads AHL rookies with 37 points.
Carrick scored his 20th goal of the season, most among Pacific Division players and third in the league with 3:55 left in the first period off assists by rookie defenseman Josh Mahura and Jones.
The Gulls will conclude their four-game road trip Monday against the Iowa Wild, the Minnesota Wild’s AHL affiliate, in Des Moines, Iowa.
— City News Service
