Gulls Erupt for Seven Goals, Phillips Hits Milestone in 7-4 Win
Matthew Phillips played his 400th career AHL game and scored his fifth power-play goal as San Diego erupted for four first-period goals in a 7-4 win over Bakersfield.
Seven different players scored and Matthew Phillips checked off a career milestone as the San Diego Gulls rolled past the Bakersfield Condors 7-4 Friday night at Pechanga Arena San Diego, their third win in four games.
Phillips, skating in his 400th career AHL game, added to the occasion by scoring his 12th goal of the season at 16:31 of the first period, a power-play strike that was his fifth on the man advantage this year. He also earned his 31st assist of the season, which leads all Gulls skaters, pushing his point total to 43 (12-31) and cementing his spot as San Diego's most productive playmaker.
The Gulls needed less than three minutes to set the tone. Judd Caulfield opened the scoring at 2:52, his 16th goal of the season, and San Diego never surrendered the lead. Stian Solberg followed at 4:42 with his 10th of the year, a figure that ties him for the most goals by a rookie defenseman in the AHL and ranks tied for sixth among all AHL blueliners. After Bakersfield's Isaac Howard (17th) and Quinn Hutson (27th) answered to knot things at 2-2, Phillips and Justin Bailey scored in the final two minutes of the period to give San Diego a 4-2 edge heading to the first intermission. Bailey's goal at 18:18 snapped a nine-game scoring drought; he leads the Gulls with 19 goals on the season.
Bakersfield clawed back to within one when Matvey Petrov snapped home his fifth goal from the right-wing circle at 31:01 of the second, but Tristan Luneau answered at 37:39 to restore the two-goal cushion at 5-3. Luneau, whose goal was his ninth of the season, has now collected points in nine of his last 10 games (5-10=15 in that stretch) and ranks tied for third among all AHL skaters in points during March (5-8=13). He leads Gulls defensemen with 33 points on the year.
Nikita Nesterenko made it 6-3 at 54:34 of the third, his fifth goal of the season and second multi-point performance in his last four games. Rhett Pitlick pulled the Condors within two at 57:02 with the extra attacker on, but San Diego sealed it with an empty-net goal at 59:06 to complete the 7-4 final. Cal Burke was credited with that goal, his second of the season, giving him three points over his last three games.
Tomas Suchanek earned the win in goal with 15 saves. The Gulls improve to 28-21-8-4 on the season.
Bakersfield, now sitting at 31-19-10 with 72 points, got contributions from rookie standouts Howard and Hutson, who each scored and added an assist in the first period. Hutson, whose 27 goals and 52 points continue to lead all AHL rookies, wasn't enough to keep the Condors competitive as San Diego's depth wore them down over 60 minutes.
The Gulls host the Calgary Wranglers on Sunday, March 22.
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