Game 17: San Diego vs Manitoba Moose – Nov 30

The rematch and one in which the Gulls were looking to avenge their disappointing performance from earlier in the week. They had to do it without both Mahura and Welinski, as Mahura was called up while Sustr was sent down. It was assumed Mahura was called up just in case Lindholm could not go, but as it was he ended up sitting, along with Welinski.

Kalle Kossila was also announced as being sent down but did not appear to make it in time for the game.

The game started out with a simmering tension owning to the outcome of the previous meeting, and Manitoba drew first blood scoring with just under five minutes left in the period. However, Max Jones answered less than a minute later on an individual effort, bullying his way from below the goal line to the front to tie it.

In between periods it was announced that Kevin Boyle would leave the game due to illness.

The second was full of fireworks as the slowly simmering chippiness and resentment suddenly boiled over and resulted in three separate fights within a five minute span – the most memorable of which was Logan Shaw somehow forgetting that it is never a good idea to take on Corey Tropp. Tropp one-punched him to the ice with minimal effort.

Sam Steel was involved with Marko Dano for much of the night and there was one scrum behind the Moose net that seemed to incense the young rookie. Jones, Terry and Lundestrom were also involved in another scrum on the very next shift.

Among the 72 minutes in penalty minutes handed out in the middle frame alone, a match penalty was given to Sam Carrick for a dangerous elbow hit to the head.

The second concluded with no further scoring but plenty of promise for the third as the bitter distaste for each other was more than made evident through the first forty minutes.

The third began with much the same tone as the second – the subtle chippy and physical play, clutching and grabbing at every opportunity as well as plenty of whistles made for disjointed viewing, and when Marko Dano made a nuisance of himself by slashing Tropp in the back of the legs behind the play, Tropp made sure to get away from the ref holding him in the ensuing scrum to attempt some street justice. But Dano was too slippery and inadvertdely pile-drived Tropp as he was swinging and off balance.

Max Jones was feeling it all night – making a beautiful spinorama move as he entered the zone to shake off three Moose defenders but lost the handle at the final point of the spin.

With five minutes left and with Sideroff in the penalty box serving the roughing penalty assessed to Tropp- in addition to his game misconduct- Jo Blandisi found a loose puck near the blueline and sped up ice with Giovanni Fiore, moving on the left to create a 2 on 1 shorthanded. Blandisi looked off Fiore and fired a wrist shot short-side to take the lead.

San Diego killed off the remaining time on great team effort – particularly by Steel and Jones on the fore-check, winning puck battles and killing off one final penalty to Oleksy.

It was a gutsy win… and one that the Gulls needed for some much needed character building.