After a franchise worst 0-3 to start the season, the Gulls returned back to San Diego for their home opener hoping that the Pechanga Faithful could help turn things around.
Earlier in the week it was announced Isaac Lundestrom had been reassigned and I speculated he would slot in on the first line with Daniel Sprong and Kiefer Sherwood. In the shuffle – Brent Gates Jr was assigned to Tulsa of the ECHL.
However coach Dineen changed up the lines once again, keeping De Leo and Kloos together and placing Kopacka on a line with Lundestrom and Sprong. Sam Carrick was announced as the third Captain in rebooted franchise history. Corey Tropp and Chris Wideman drew back in. Broadhurst and Moldenhauer were sat.
Both teams traded low-danger chances early and essentially spent the first five minutes feeling each-other out after their last encounter ended in a somewhat chippy fashion.
San Diego appeared to be generating the better of the chances by the midway point of the first period but the Heat would strike first after some intense forechecking from Heat Captain Bryon Froese that saw him strip the club from Jani Hakanpaa. He then fed the slot and the resulting shot bounced free back to Froese at the nearside for him to tuck by Stolarz.
The Gulls came back with a push and had came close on two opportunities – Jack Kopacka finding Lundestrom in front of the by himself but the Swedish forward shot it wide; Sprong followed that up with a chance from the left hashmarks but Gillies got his rising shot with his shoulder. Antoine Morand also had a few chances but either was a split second too late to finish a move or made the wrong play – he was definitely noticeable as actively driving play and the timing will definitely come as he gets used to the pro game. Shots were 11-10 for the Gulls after the first twenty minutes of what had been the best San Diego had played thus far this season.
The visitors had the better of play to begin the second period, hemming the Gulls in their zone for the majority of the first eight minutes and starving them off possession.
San Diego were eventually able to push back, getting some chances through Sprong and Carrick but a Stockton odd-man break lead to Patrick Sieloff making a desperation sliding pokecheck to deny Zac Rinaldo. Rinaldo fell on the play and the Officials deemed it as a trip. The Heat capitalized on the Power Play to make it 2-0 through a very pretty back hand shot by Captain Bryon Froese at the right side of the net.
Again the Gulls tried to make a push to get on the board this time through a rush by Sam Carrick and Antoine Morand. A post-whistle scrum after this chance lead to Hunter Drew joining the fray to prevent the Heat from going after Morand who was attempting to stand up for himself.
With four minutes left in the period Jani Hakanpaa was called for tripping and just as it looked as though the Gulls aggressive penalty kill might have erased the infraction the scored again via Ryan Lomberg who had snuck down into the slot. The period ended 3-0 Heat with shots 22-19 for Stockton. Not the best period for the Gulls.
The third period was… well it wasn’t pretty. Much like the second period the Heat came out the better team and carried play. Taking it to the Gulls with their relentless forecheck.
This time the Gulls did not have a response and things got ugly fast. Stockton poured on two more goals to chase Stolarz at the 8:10 mark and soon after Simon Benoit dropped the gloves with Heat forward Martin Pospisil in a further attempt to fire up his team-mates.
Soon after Antoine Morand sent a beautiful pass up ice from near his own goal line to hit Daniel Sprong in stride but the former Penguin was stopped on the opportunity. Less than a minute later Jack Kopacka executed almost the same play but from within the neutral zone and this time Sprong was able to finally solve Gillies to give the San Diego faithful to cheer about.
The Gulls tried to continue momentum but continued to be frustrated by Gillies and the collapsing Heat defense. Eventually losing by a final score of 5-1 to drop their fourth straight to start the season. Shots were 37-24 for the Heat.
The final shot map for the game tells the tale of how the Heat were able to prevail.
Post Game Notes:
Not much to say here. The Power Play still struggled to get zone entries and players made some errant passes that again looked like a lack of familiarity. The Penalty Kill looked good in places, I liked the aggressive forecheck which seems similar to what Anaheim is doing to start the season but there were points where it exposed the Gulls to the risk of a dangerous counter-rush. Overall there was a lack of awareness and/or desperation from both the forwards and defense with the only bright point being the play of Anoine Morand. The rookie out of the QMJHL seemed to be the only Gull who came to play tonight and if more than one player can elevate his game each outing – perhaps San Diego might get their first win of the season.
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