Game 36: San Diego Gulls @ Bakersfield Condors

With the NHL All Star break the Gulls received a boost with Max Jones, Daniel Sprong and Chase De Leo announced as being reassigned during the brief intermission in the NHL schedule. The later of which was inserted into the line-up but Jones and Sprong did not appear to make it in time.

Jack Kopacka made way for De Leo to be inserted, slotting in on the top line with Carrick and Terry. Gates Jr took Kopacka’s spot on the fourth line alongside Broadhurst and Sideroff.

Bakersfield looked the more in control to start as they held possession off of the opening face-off but it only took the Gulls one chance to touch the puck and they executed a beautiful passing play between Comtois, Kloos and finally Brendan Guhle who had joined the rush on the right wing. 1-0 Gulls.

It took Bakersfield less than a minute to respond as they found open space with speed entering the San Diego zone, a cross ice pass between the circles lead Stolarz to bite hard on a bid that was easily maneuvered by him to tie things up. 1-1.

Things settled down slightly after that, although San Diego did appear to have trouble containing the Condors ability to stretch the ice on the attack.

Just after the halfway point Cooper Marody was called for high-sticking when he tangled with Simon Benoit down low in the Gulls zone to give the Gulls their first Power Play of the night. Despite the additional fire power in the line-up the man advantage did not look much different; the first unit could not get set at all and the second unit only had the one shot thanks to Isac Lundestrom carrying and finding space in the Condors zone to feed Brent Gates Jr.

With three minutes left in the opening period Logan Day was called for a delay of game and the Gulls were given their second chance with the man advantage. San Diego looked a lot better on both units thanks in most part to the offensive zone face-off to start the Power Play. Troy Terry gave the Condors headaches by keeping penalty killers at bay and opening up lanes to the slot for one timers by Mueller but Bakersfield were able to kill the minor. A breakaway as Day exited the box lead to chaos in the San Diego zone with Bakersfield eventually getting the puck by Stolarz via deflection to take the lead 2-1 with thirty seconds left in the period.

San Diego heading into the first intermission down by a goal and behind in shots 12-10, the shot map indicating the Gulls allowed far too many high-danger chances on Stolarz through the first twenty minutes.

With it looking unlikely that the Condors Cooper Marody would return to action due to a hard hit he received from Simon Benoit in the first period, the Gulls pressed the attack to start the second against an undermanned Condors forward unit.

Simon Benoit continued his very strong game by leading the offense from the blue line – on one shift, firing three shots from the point on net while Troy Terry buzzed the zone and dropped the puck off into soft areas but the Condors Shane Starret kept everything out.

The Gulls were given their third Power Play opportunity of the night as Isac Lundestrom was high sticked, blood was drawn on the infraction resulting in a double minor. The third time proved to be the charm as the Gulls evened the score after Kiefer Sherwood took advantage of a Condors defender missing a stick, finishing a pass that found him in the near slot from behind the net to tie things up at 2.

A few minutes after the game tying score it would be Sherwood that gave the Condors their first Power Play of the game as he was called for a very obvious trip that the Condors play-by-play announcer was very enthused about “The Condors FINALLY get a call”. Ok guy.

San Diego were able to kill the penalty but Bakersfield retook the lead on a counter-rush after the Gulls committed too many to the attack as Sherwood was sprung from the box. The puck getting by Stolarz as he lay down and out after aggressively committing to the initial chance. Granlund again proving to be the Gulls doom. 3-2 Condors.

The Gulls heading into an intermission down by a goal for the second time, shots were even for the period 11-11 but the Condors had the one shot advantage (23-22). The shot map showing San Diego making somewhat of a comeback but still allowing far too many chances down low.

San Diego came out with a push to start the final frame, controlling play and preventing the Condors from generating any kind of counter rush or sustained zone time for the first five minutes.

The Gulls had yet another chance with the man advantage as Brad Malone was called for boarding on Antoine Morand. San Diego’s Power Play had a few chances but could not convert. None the less – the Gulls continued their attack and Captain Sam Carrick evened the score just after the midway point of the final twenty as he skated out from the corner and was able to slide the puck through Starrett on a game-tying goal the Condors probably wanted to have better net front coverage on. 3-3.

Just moments later Troy Terry stunned the Bakersfield crowd by giving San Diego the lead, skating in and using the defender as a screen to fire a shot that squeaked through Starrett to make it 4-3 Gulls.

Bakersfield attempted a response in the immediate aftermath of the goal and the Gulls settled into a passive neutral zone trap. Slowly but surely they were able to shift momentum back in their favor and spend more time in the Condors zone.

With the goaltender pulled the Condors made one last push but came up short as San Diego refused to give up the blue line and Anthony Stolarz made the stop when needed to preserve the win. The Gulls fifth straight victory solidified fourth position in the Pacific for San Diego- the final playoff spot.

Post Game Notes:

Guhle in the Groove: Brendan Guhle has mostly had a season to forget thus far. The highly touted smooth-skating defenceman started the year with the Ducks but was dropped to San Diego when his play didn’t quite make expectations. He hasn’t exactly had a great showing with the Gulls thus far either but over the last four games he has been showing a renewed confidence and consistent flashes of the kind of player the Ducks hoped they were acquiring in the deal for Brandon Montour last season. He has three points in his last four including two goals.

Power Play Clicking: It has been malignant for the majority of the season but the most recent addition of Chris Mueller and the bonus of both Isac Lundestrom and Troy Terry has given the once ailing Gulls man-advantage renewed life. It still needs work with its zone entries but if San Diego gets an offensive zone draw – Mueller and Terry can be counted on to do the majority of the work. The Power Play has three goals in the last two games.

Standings Update: With the win the Gulls improve to 17-15-2, solidifying their spot in the final playoff position for the Pacific while still holding at least two games in hand on the rest of their division rivals.