Jaycob Megna (24) battles with the Condors. Credit San Diego Gulls.
With news that Isaac Lundestrom and Max Comtois had been officially assigned to the Gulls as well as the added bonus of Kevin Roy being deemed healthy – Coach Dallas Eakins made the difficult decision of sitting Jack Kopacka, Matt Berry and Adam Cracknell whose wife gave birth to their second child.
Both teams went through an initial five minute “feeling out” period but once the formalities were out of the way, things started to open up. The Condors had the best chance in the early goings as Jeff Glass was called upon to make a huge blocker save on an Ethan Bear blast from the point through partial traffic.
The Gulls best chance of the period came on a breakaway from Ben Street but his backhand move was stopped by Condors goaltender Shane Starrett. Sam Carrick was given a cross-checking penalty with four minutes left in the opening period but San Diego killed the penalty without too much difficulty and teams headed to the first intermission with shots 7 to 5 for the Gulls
Things opened up dramatically to start the second as Kiefer Sherwood was sprung on a breakaway by Max Jones but again – Starrett made the stop. The action continued at a torrid pace until some sustained pressure from the Condors at the midway point lead to successive icings from the Gulls.
Things got chippy after Glass made an important glove save on a hard shot from the point and players exchanged several cross checks and shoves after the whistle. Players came together again a minute later when Max Jones finished a check after another good Condors chance that Glass was again equal to and you got the sense that something would happen unless the Officials stepped in soon.
On the very next shift after the TV Timeout, Isaac Lundestrom was caught with his head down on a blindside hit when the Condors David Gust left his feet to floor the Swedish rookie. As he lay prone on the ice several Gulls went after Gust in retribution including Captain Jaycob Megna and veteran Trevor Murphy.
Gust was given two for interference and an extra for roughing matched by Murphy from the Gulls side and San Diego went on their first power play of the series.
Carrick and Tropp almost combined for the opening score but Carricks pass was partially deflected before it reached Tropp and Starrett was able to get across in time to make the stop. Soon after that, the Condors came back shorthanded on a three on one rush and veteran Brad Malone took a pass from Russel to open the scoring. 1-0 Condors. BJ McPherson again called out Josh Mahura for making a poor defensive play on the goal.
Bakersfield followed up the goal with some pressure in the San Diego zone and after hearing BJs comments I noted that Mahura did seem to be looking extremely out of sorts – not closing gaps, or looking confident enough to know when to pinch and leaving his man wide open all on the same shift.
San Diego managed to re-exert themselves in the final five minutes and drew a penalty in the final ten seconds of the period after Ben Street took a high stick in front of the Condors net. Jones had a point blank opportunity in the final two seconds but was stopped by Starretts left pad in an unbelievable stop to close out the middle frame. Shots were 18-17 for the Gulls after forty minutes.
With a minute and fifty seconds remaining on their man advantage to start the third period the Gulls were the first team to strike as some great pressure from Roy down low resulted in the Condors defender Laggesson sending a poor pass right into the slot which Justin Kloos snapped right up, out-waited Starrett and put it by him to tie things up. 1-1
San Diego followed up the goal with pressure in the Bakersfield zone but were unable to get any high danger chances to the slot area. The Condors retook momentum as they won a battle down low – eventually getting a chance on Glass and continued to push him into the net even after he held the post, eventually getting it in. Glass; visibly upset shoved the net off in a rage and could be seen to be screaming at the referee as he pointed at the ice for the goal. Once again the AHL Officials dont seem to understand when Goaltenders should or should not be fair game. 2-1 Condors.
On the very next shift the Gulls responded via the veteran line as both Sam Carrick and Corey Tropp went in hard on the fore-check, Carrick forcing a pass behind the net and Tropp coming in hard on the defender receiving it who fell as he passed into the slot where it was picked off by Street who then sent it across to Carrick to put it in. This time it was the Condors who were upset at the non-call on Tropp for potentially tripping his man but then again, the previous goal on Glass should not have counted either so as they say “suck it”. 2-2.
The hitting picked up once again as Trevor Murphy was on the receiving end of clean check that put his shoulders in an awkward position against the boards. The former Tuscon defender lay prone for several minutes but was able to play after the next TV timeout. Moments earlier Jeff Glass had Condors forward Polei attempt to get him off his game as he casually skated backwards into him.
San Diego battled well in the final eight minutes, getting some good time in the Bakersfield zone while keeping all Condors shots on Boyle to the perimeter but regulation could not decide the outcome for this one and both teams headed into overtime.
The Gulls made a strong push to start the extra session, hemming the Condors in their zone for consecutive shifts for the first four minutes until Max Jones was assessed a high sticking penalty behind the play. San Diego were able to kill the penalty but Bakersfield ran Glass flat on his back on their final chance of the minor leading to yet more animosity between the players. With the penalty killed, San Diego went back to the attack – finishing the first overtime just has they had started; dominating possession and shots. Finishing the period with 12 shots to the Condors 7.
San Diego started the second OT session as they did the first. Controlling play and keeping the Condors hemmed in their own zone for the first four minutes. But on one of the rare Bakersfield opportunities down low in the San Diego zone, Polei almost got one by Glass on a strong wrap around and Bakersfield feed off of the near-score from there. They held the Gulls on their heels for much of the rest of the period until perhaps the final four minutes when San Diego were able to get some sustained chances of their own through the Steel, Sherwood, Jones line.
The third OT saw both teams trading chances but you could tell that neither club were willing to make the first mistake, playing as conservative as they possibly could. The Officials also seemed unwilling to make any further penalty calls and the game grew progressively more chippy as a result. Players consistently took time to get back up off the ice after hard hits taken and physical exhaustion was visibly evident as the pace exponentially dropped.
The fourth overtime started with a huge switch in playing style as both teams opened things up and play began to go back and forth. I tweeted that it felt like somebody was going to score in this session purely based off of this tactical change. Sure enough four minutes into the frame Kevin Roy entered the Condors zone with speed, weaved is way in around a defender and drew another before dishing a nice feed to Comtois down low who made a power move to the front of the net to flick a neat backhander over Starrets shoulder for the Gulls win.
Mahura Mystery: It was noted on the broadcast that Josh Mahura had not seen the ice since the third period and despite some poor play earlier in the game, I dont think I saw any other glaringly bad mistakes from him to warrant being completely benched for multiple overtimes. He did take a hard hit at the 13:34 mark of the third so perhaps he was being rested due to that but we shall see if the smooth skating rookie will be in the line up for the next game.
Legend of Larsson: He didn’t show up on the scoresheet nor did he get much verbal recognition during the game but Larsson flew under the radar as having one of his better games of the season. He looked composed and completely engaged out there. Blocking shots, closing gaps and generally having himself a Hampus Lindholm-esque game.
Fresh Troops? It was noted on the broadcast as the overtimes stretched from singular to multiple that perhaps the Gulls should perhaps take advantage of their backlog of healthy scratches to give some of their regulars a rest for Game Two, given that it is now taking place less than 24 hours after Game One has ended. Cracknell, Berry, Kopacka at the very least could be re-inserted and on defense perhaps Thompson and Sustr. Not to mention the Black Aces Gates Jr. , Olson, Drew and Ruggiero.
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