IRVINE — Lukas Dostal saw plenty of pucks flying at him in an AHL game Wednesday, so when the Colorado Eagles sent one more in his direction with the final seconds ticking down, the San Diego Gulls’ goaltender figured he might as well take a crack at firing one back at the opposition’s empty net.

“I just thought, ‘Yeah, let’s try it,’” Dostal told reporters after the game in Loveland, Colorado.

So, Dostal left his crease, stopping the puck as it came around the boards, gained possession and fired it the length of the ice and into the Eagles’ net with 20 seconds remaining for the fifth and final goal in San Diego’s 5-2 victory, becoming only the 17th goalie in AHL history to score a goal.

“What a night,” Gulls coach Joel Bouchard said.

In fact, Dostal made 51 saves, two shy of Kevin Boyle’s franchise record set in 2017-18, and extended his winning streak to three in a row. His shutout streak reached 114:21 before he gave up two third-period goals, the second-longest in Gulls history behind John Gibson’s 137:13 set in 2015-16.

Dostal’s goal was the “cherry on top,” Ducks goalie coach Sudarshan Maharaj said Thursday. “Those 50 saves, knowing Lukas, those 50 saves are the thing that resonates most with him. But there’s no question that with the youthful exuberance of his, he feels great about that goal, for sure.”

Dostal, a 21-year-old Czech native, is among the Ducks’ top prospects, trailing perhaps only junior-level players Mason McTavish, a center who was the third overall pick in the 2021 draft, and Olen Zellweger, a defenseman who was the 34th player selected in ‘21, in his development.

“Any young goalie has to go through peaks and valleys and the key to the peaks and valleys is learning how to deal with the peaks and valleys,” Maharaj said. “It’s absolutely fantastic to see him – things weren’t going well for him at the start of the year – work and work his way through it.”

Dostal has rebounded from a rocky start to the season to record a 12-8-0 record with a 2.48 goals-against average, a .919 save percentage and one shutout in 22 games with the Gulls. He made his NHL debut earlier this season with the Ducks, going 1-1-0 in three appearances.

During his three-game winning streak, he’s stopped 105 of 109 shots for a .963 save percentage.

“Goaltenders are constantly under a barrage,” Maharaj said. “They’re under a barrage of criticism, they’re under a barrage from the other team, they’re under a barrage of criticism sometimes from within their own organization. This is where goaltenders who have the type of experience Lukas has had is so beneficial.”

Dostal has played for his national team during the World Junior Championships in 2019 and ‘20. He left home to play for Ilves in Finland when he was 18 and didn’t speak Finnish and didn’t know how to do his laundry. The Ducks picked him in the third round of the 2018 draft.

He then left Europe for San Diego in the midst of the pandemic last winter.

Except the Gulls had relocated to Great Park Ice in Irvine because of COVID-19 and didn’t play or practice in San Diego in 2020-21. Dostal was unfazed by any of it, posting a 15-9-0 record with a 2.53 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage in 24 games in the pandemic-shortened season.

“He’s a very mature kid mentally,” Maharaj said. “For some kids, that kind of success that he’s had recently might throw them off kilter for a little bit, but in the case of Lukas, he’s very, very grounded and he’s very focused. That (scoring a goal) is a wonderful experience.

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“But if you sat down and watched the highlights of his first NHL game (a victory Jan. 8 over the Detroit Red Wings), he’d be just as excited. Yes, it was a wonderful experience for him, but from a development standpoint, it’s another positive on a road he knows still has some trials and tribulations yet.”

ROSTER MOVE

The Ducks reassigned right wing Buddy Robinson to their AHL team in San Diego after he cleared waivers earlier in the day Thursday. He had one goal and three assists in a career-high 23 games with the Ducks. He also has two goals and two assists in 16 games with the Gulls.

Vegas at Ducks

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: Honda Center

TV: Bally Sports SoCal