In the Gull first game after dealing Antoine Morand they were joined by new College signing Alex Limoges.
Veteran Matt Lorito was also returned to the line-up, presumably from injury and Olle Eriksson got the start in net looking to add to his and the Gulls win streak.
Bakersfield enjoyed a lot of the possession and chances early but San Diego did have the odd opportunity. BO Groulx firing a pass from behind the net to find Bryce Kindopp in the high slot on one occasion but the rookie winger was stopped.
Andrew Poturalski drew a holding call in the Bakersfield zone and the Gulls headed to the Power Play with just over six minutes gone. The man advantage looked uninspired and appeared to be on its way to become a victim of the overly aggressive Bakersfield penalty kill when Captain Sam bounced a pass to himself and got by two Condors players to retrieve it, then fired the puck to an open Josh Mahura on the rush. The third year defensemen opening the scoring just as the Power Play was about to expire. 1-0 Gulls.
It was all San Diego from there with the Gulls getting another two Power Play opportunities including a brief five on three as they ran rough-shod over the Condors.
Chase De Leo doubled the lead when he picked up a loose puck in the crease and fired it home after a great play from the newcomer Alex Limoges to get the puck in front from behind the net. 2-0 Gulls.
Bakersfield were awarded a Power Play of their own with Charlie Sampair given a holding penalty on a play which really could have been a coincidental minor but felt like an even-up call. The Gulls were able to kill the first minute of the penalty without too much trouble thanks in most part to Olle Eriksson Ek coming out to challenge at the right times.
San Diego went into the first intermission up by two and playing some of the best hockey they have played for the month of March. Shots were 13-7 for the Gulls after twenty.
The Gulls started the second needing to extinguish the remainder of the Sampair minor and did so without allowing the Condors to get set.
From there it was all San Diego once again as they starved the Condors of both space and possession, at one point it looked like they were on a permanent Power Play.
The Condors started to slowly shift momentum and had the Gulls under some mild pressure toward the tail end of the period but San Diego still pounced on the odd man break whenever it was presented including a great chance from BO Groulx but the rookie center was denied on the partial break and possibly may have been hooked on the play with no call.
San Diego were able to slow things down and finish the period still up by two and ahead in shots 22-15 but you got the sense they would need to re-exert the same dominance they showed in the opening period if they wanted to preserve the win with another twenty minutes to go.
It wasn’t the start the Gulls wanted to begin the third as they allowed the Condors to come at them while at the same time looking night and day different from their first period selves.
Gradually they awoke from their slumber but not before the Condors almost drew equal in shots.
Both teams traded penalties as time ticked away while the Gulls still held their two goal lead and San Diego suddenly started to find their game once again.
San Diego struck the final killing blow as BO Groulx created a play on the rush, delayed and fed Nik Brouillard in the high slot. The defender-turned-forward sent a perfect hard shot top shelf to make it 3-0.
As the Gulls locked it down and appeared to be earning Eriksson Ek his first AHL shutout, Keegan Lowe was found guilty of taking a needless tripping penalty with under four minutes left. The Condors were able to setup and get one by the rookie goaltender off of a one-timer from the nearside that he had no chance on. 3-1 Gulls.
Bakersfield pulled their net minder a minute later and a combined effort from Brouillard, Kindopp and Trevor Carrick ended in a 4-1 lead as the Gulls forced a turnover off of some sloppy play from the Condors.
San Diego coming away with the win, their third straight, moving two games above .500 and ahead of Colorado by points percentage to slide into third in the Pacific.
Post Game Notes:
Strike a pose. Limoges.
First look at the new guy and you can already see why he is a two time Hober Baker nominee. I tweeted it during the game but seeing how he handles the puck, uses his size to protect it down low, stick handles through traffic and is unafraid to go to the net as well as his 6’1″ 201lb frame – he reminded me a lot of Corey Perry. Of course I didn’t see any of the irritant aspects of Perry’s game but everything else caused some fond memories of the former Duck. He fit almost right in, got a primary assist on the De Leo goal and almost created two others for himself. Needless to say I am very impressed with him so far.
Too Fast Too Mahura
Josh Mahura is too good for the AHL. It doesn’t make a heck of a lot of sense that the Ducks aren’t giving him more opportunity when he could be lost in the Seattle expansion draft if they do not make some moves to protect him but I guess for now – all we can do is enjoy the fact that he is with the Gulls. San Diego’s recent turn around of fortunes could be attributed to many things but one of the main ones is probably the arrival of Mahura, he joined the team for that two game stint in Tuscon and the Gulls have won three of those four since. He has stepped in and become the number one defensemen that was missing when Jamie Drysdale was called up.
Hey now, you’re an Olle Star
The Olle Eriksson Ek redemption story continues as the Ducks 2017 fifth round pick has now strung together three straight wins and four on the season through five starts. He looked particularly sharp in tonight’s game, making key stops on multiple breakaway opportunities – one of which he made the stop using a sort of stand-up style hybrid. With Gibson returning from injury it would appear that Lukas Dostal will be sent back to the Gulls but at this point I would advise riding the hot hand and sticking with Olle – I for one feel more confident with him in net of late.
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