San Diego now remains undefeated against Tucson this season, going 3-0-0-0.
Nikita Nesterenko found the winning goal just 1:25 into overtime. The goal marks Nesterenko’s first AHL goal of the season since returning to the Gulls on January 15. Nikolas Mist scored an assist on the goal, giving him a total of 11 this season.
After deflecting the puck on a power play, Justin Bailey the game tied up. Bailey leads all active Gulls skaters in goals this season with 13 to his record. Tristan Luneau found his ninth assist and third point in his last four games Sasha Pastujov found his fourth point in his last four games, extending his team-leading points record to 9-19=28.
“I think there’s consistently no panic for us,” Bailey said. “I don’t know what the analyzes are, but I know that in the third period we were definitely among the top five in the league. So there wasn’t really anything. Obviously the goal goes in and you don’t want to go down at any point, but for us there was no panic. We know we can continue until the last two seconds of the game.”
Nathan Gaucher found the first goal of the evening with vital help from Judd Caulfield. Gaucher has now scored four goals this season and is halfway to equaling his total from last season. With the assist, Caulfield has totaled 10-10=20 points this season, which is just five fewer than his point total from last season.
Goalkeeper Calle Clang again proved vital, saving 26 of 28 shots. The win marks Clang’s eighth victory this season, giving him a save percentage of 2.17 GAA and .913.
Tucson and San Diego entered tonight’s game tied on points at 40 points each. San Diego now takes a slight lead with 42 points after their win tonight. The race in the Pacific Division remains tight, as only 10 points separate the Gulls’ sixth-place finish from first.
“It’s a big victory,” Nesterenko said. “The standings are so tight this time of year. Everyone is around the same point and everyone is fighting for the play-offs, so one point is good, but those extra points can go a long way if you get all the way to the end. So you want to get two points this time of year.”
By Ashley Rubin/SanDiegoGulls.coM
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