Weekly Update: Nov 10 – Worrying Signs

San Diego are being outshot 349 to 271 by opponents and are on a 4 game losing streak

The Gulls have only one game over a 10 day period but there is still plenty to report on…

News and Observations

Comfortable Combinations

Even with all of the upheaval and roster shifts, there have been a few constant combinations that Coach Eakins has managed to stay true to.

Dostie + Sideroff + Thomson: When Dostie and Sideroff are in the lineup they play their best when they are together; add Thomson to that mix and the trio have generated a good amount of scoring chances – Thomson has been the only one able to convert so far but given time to develop further chemistry I would like to see what these three can do.

Jones + Steel + Terry: It is a combination that is only two games old but Terry and Jones have had a few games more to gel already as pair. The balance of size, speed, skill and play-making ability across this line should be giving opposing teams fits, but it hasn’t been wholly consistent just yet. Terry and Jones are more often than not doing something to create a chance but Steel has yet to find his rythmn – he was coming on toward the end of the most recent game so I would say watch this space– this line is just waiting to break out.

Team Leaders

Want to know why Jacob Larsson was called up? He still leads the team in +/- despite being with the Ducks for the Gulls’ last four games.

Sample size is still too small to get an accurate read on shooting percentage (for example, Luke Gazdic currently leads the team with 33.3%) but I do find it interesting that Jack Kopacka sits tied for third with Terry with 20% – having tallied 2 points in 3 games before going down injured.

Corey Tropp now leads the team in points with eleven while Kossila and Fiore are tied first in Power Play goals with two each.

Special Teams

As mentioned in the last game-wrap, San Diego is fourth in the league in Power Play percentage with 26.3 – only one other team in the Pacific is above them (Bakersfield – third with 26.8).

They sit tenth in Penalty Kill with 84.8% – the Barracudda are just above them with 85% and Colorado are 5th with 86.7%.

Not surprisingly but eerily similar to their parent club, the Gulls sit last in Power Play opportunities with 38.

Rookie Scoring

Troy Terry is still hanging in there in the rookie scoring stakes – he has 9 points in 6 games and is only 4 points behind the leader. His points per game has dropped to 1.5 which is still good for tied third place.

Josh Mahura is tied for fifth in rookie scoring among blue-liners with 6 points in 9 games.

In The Net

The recent losing streak has plummeted the numbers for both Kevin Boyle and Jared Correau. Boyle has a GAA of 3.66 – putting him 44th and Correau has 4.09 – placing him 49th. Jared Correau has a (in the grand scheme of things) slightly respectable 0.900 SV% good for 26th and Boyle is sporting 0.887 which has him 39th.

Correau has jumped up in the Shots Against category. He currently sits 9th in the league having faced 240 shots through 6 games – averaging 40 shots a game. For comparison, Eric Comrie of Manitoba has also played 6 games but faced 195 shots for a slightly more normal average of 32.5 shots per game average. So what does that say about the way thing are trending? Well, much like their parent club the Gulls are giving up too many shots. This sounds like a broken record owing to the stats I kept on how many shots the Gulls faced last season vs how many games they won but here we go again…

Shot Disparity Take Two

It is getting hard to find the motivation to keep saying the same thing over and over again. The early season outcomes thus far are eerily familiar to last year and harbor some worrying signs for the season in terms of shot statistics. San Diego has been outshot 349 to 271 thus far, that’s 349 shots over 9 games, which averages out to 38.78 shots per game. You can speak to allowing only the perimeter and minimal danger shots all you like, but allowing almost 40 shots per game to fall on your goaltender is going to result in a higher percentage going in – than say – allowing 20 to 25 shots.

When your team is generating an average of 30.1 shots per game but allowing 38.78 against, you are relying far too much on your goaltender and spending too much time in your own zone.

The statistics do not lie but it is hard to place exactly what in Eakins’ system is causing the year to year disparity; San Diego for the most part are looking better than the Ducks in terms of moving the puck on the breakout and executing a speed system that emphasise quick puck movement. Potentially where they are falling down is positional play once the opponent has gained the zone. If memory serves, the goals allowed have mostly either been from broken down plays and men being open, or odd-men rushes due to defense men activating too quickly.

One final point: of the three San Diego wins thus far – two have come with them scoring first. The sample size is too small to tell a tale just yet but it could indicate that this year’s team isn’t quite as good at coming from behind as in years past.

Up Next:

It’s military appreciation weekend! With a home-stand with the new-comer Colorado Eagles – the Eagles sit 3rd overall in the Pacific with 6 wins in 10 games and are lead by the undrafted Andrew Agozzino. They also feature Martin Kaut – the guy I picked that the Ducks might have selected in this past year’s draft. He currently has 5 points in 10 games as a rookie.

Fri, Nov 9: 7pm vs Colorado Eagles – get a free Camo Hat!

Sat, Nov 10: 7pm vs Colorado Eagles – Gulls rocking specialty Camo Jerseys.