The San Diego Gulls dropped a 5-3 decision to the Abbotsford Canucks on Sunday afternoon, wrapping up their weekend series north of the border. Abbotsford struck first with a pair of early goals from Ben Berard and Nils Åman to take control, but the Gulls answered late in the opening frame as Sasha Pastujov buried a power-play marker with just one second remaining to cut the deficit in half. The Canucks quickly restored their two-goal lead early in the second period, though San Diego continued to generate chances and broke through midway through the frame on Drew Elliott’s first professional goal, making it 3-2 heading into the third.
The Gulls carried momentum into the final period and evened the game just 57 seconds in, as Pastujov netted his second power-play goal of the night. However, a costly double minor midway through the period shifted the game, with Danila Klimovich capitalizing on the man advantage to give Abbotsford the lead back. The Canucks added an insurance marker from Bennett Schimek later in the frame, sealing the 5-3 final despite San Diego outshooting Abbotsford 32-21.
