2021 Feb 24th Weekly Recap: The True Test

Andrew Agozzino controls the puck behind the net. Credit San Diego Gulls.

The Gulls are now eight games into the season and but for a road-bump in Bakersfield, would still own a perfect record. They are currently 7-1-0-0 heading into a three game stretch in Henderson – a battle of teams that have started the season hot.

Despite the recent recall of Trevor Zegras – hopes remain high that San Diego will continue their strong play thanks to the emergence of depth scoring from the veteran line of Vinni Lettieri, Adrew Agozzino and Andrew Poturalski.

Game 4: 3-2 Win over the Colorado Eagles

• Anthony Stolarz got his first start of the season and Brayden Tracey was scratched to make room for the newly assigned Agozzino and Lettieri. Captain Carrick broke through a stingy Colorado defense and the veteran line took it from there.

Game 5: 3-2 Overtime Win over the Colorado Eagles

• Lukas Dostal returned to the net for this one and the Gulls again fell behind early only to tie it up by opening periods end – this time on the Power Play. It was a game of special teams as the penalty kill bailed the Gulls out more than they should have had to but could not prevent a late game-tying goal after Trevor Carrick was called for an unnecessary roughing penalty. Thankfully Jamie Drysdale proved the hero as he scored just fifteen seconds into the overtime session.

Game 6: 4-3 Win over the Bakersfield Condors

• Sonny Milano made his debut on a conditioning loan but the Gulls fell behind early yet again. BO Groulx and Jacob Perreault digging them out of a 2-0 deficit with their first pro goals by the end of the first period. A Carrick brother combo featured on the third goal and Vinni Lettieri got the game winner. This game also featured a very questionable knee-on-knee hit on Zegras.

Game 7: 5-1 Loss to the Bakersfield Condors

• It had to happen eventually. The Gulls headed into Bakersfield with no energy or life. The only bright sparks in the game being the play of Alex Dostie and Jacob Perreault as well as the consistently steady play driving ability from Trevor Zegras.

Game 8: 7-3 Drubbing of the Colorado Eagles

• A bounce back was expected but the Gulls essentially had their way with the usually stingy and defensively responsible Eagles for the entire first period. Pumping them for three goals in the first five minutes of action. They were guilty of being a little too overexcited and allowed Colorado to come back into the game through taking one too many penalties, but soon found their rhythm again.

So Long Z

In case you have been living under a rock. Trevor Zegras was recalled to Anaheim in time to make his NHL debut against the Arizona Coyotes this week. The first period was everything Ducks fans could have hoped for as the team jumped out to a two goal lead then followed that with a third to start the second. Then for whatever reason – Zegras was shelved and the Coyotes came back to tie things up and then eventually win the game. I won’t comment or speculate as I only saw the first period but its a situation to monitor moving forward. I don’t see the Gulls getting him back (if they do at all this season) until after the Henderson trip.

Special Teams Update

The Power Play enjoyed a slight jump owing to some egregiously penalty filled games. San Diego now sits 19th in the league with the man advantage with 12.9% scoring four Power Play goals on 31 opportunities. Sadly – again due to those games where they played more often down a man than at five on five – the penalty kill dropped from tied first to third in the league with a 90.6% kill rate. They have allowed just three Power Play goals while being shorthanded a total of 32 times and only Chicago has spent more time shorthanded.

League Leaders

Expect this to change – but Trevor Zegras is tied for the lead league in points with the Wolves Seth Jarvis and Tom Novak. He had four goals and five assists through eight games at the time of his recall to Anaheim. Jamie Drysdale sits fifth in scoring and first among defenders. He has three goals and five assists through eight games and is one point ahead of Henderson’s Ryan Murphy. Vinni Lettieri is quickly climbing the chart and his line is a reason the Gulls still have hope without Zegras. He has seven points in five games good for eighth overall in scoring, Andrew Poturalski has seven points in eight games while Andrew Agozzino has four points in five games.

Checking In On The Bakery

I really wish the AHL would let you qualify their goal-tending statistics by games played but taking a quick squint at the numbers for goaltenders who have played five games or more it looks as though the Silver Knights Logan Thompson is leading the league in SV% with 0.942 with Dostal second equal with a 0.933 – shared with the Marlies Andrew D’Agostini (who has been a great story this season also). As for GAA, Thompson leads the stakes there also with 1.81, D’Agostini sits alone in second place with a 1.86 and Dostal is third with a 2.61. So his numbers have fallen slightly and I have noticed some soft goals creeping in, they have tended to be the games opening goals so perhaps it’s some rookie game-start jitters. He is still only twenty years old and still learning the North American style and ice – Thompson is 23 and D’Agostini 27 – both North American born and trained, this is still a great start to the season for Dostal.

Golod Watch

Has anyone see Max Golod? The Ducks signed him to a three year entry deal in October and he was putting up some good numbers (seven points in ten games) for the Tulsa Oilers before going down to injury. The last we have seen is a mention on AHL Transactions back on the seventh of February stating he had been added to the Gulls from Tulsa but he is yet to appear on the Gulls website roster. What mystery injury did he go down with while in Tulsa and how bad was it? Did he escape the slight Covid outbreak on the Oilers a month or so back? Will we see him this season? Why are there Polar Bears on the island?

Next Up

A three game date with the Henderson Silver Knights and the first ever games for the Gulls against this new Pacific Division opponent. The Silver Knights had a great start to the season but much like the Gulls; dropped a game recently to the Bakersfield Condors. They are co-lead in scoring by defender Ryan Murphy and left winger Danny O’Regan with seven points a-piece. Rookie Peyton Krebs was third in scoring with five points in five games but he has been returned to the Winnipeg Ice this week as part of the WHL’s Central Division return to play. Much like the Gulls the rest of their team scoring is largely balanced across a mix of youth and veterans with the Gulls having the slight edge in players with four points or more. As mentioned earlier Logan Thompson leads all Goaltenders in both Save Percentage and Goals Against Average but it has been reported that Oskar Dansk has been assigned to Henderson and will see action against the Gulls for Wednesdays and Fridays games. Who will come out on top in this battle of current Pacific heavyweights and does the Vegas-flu span as far as Henderson?