With Bakersfield winning earlier in the day the Gulls knew their fate was sealed to face their division rivals on the road and so entered the regular season ending game with pride on the line and the opportunity to get a final tune-up in before heading to Bakersfield in a week. Coach Dineen kept lines the same but gave Dostal the start on the back to back.
It took until the five minute mark for things to open up with neither team willing to commit the first mistake. Axel Andersson made a great defensive play as he got in the right spot to make a key block on what would have been a clear high danger opportunity for the Eagles.
Colorado kept the Gulls pinned in their zone with some good cycling play and broke the deadlock off of a lucky bounce in front as a Keaton Middleton shot bounced off Sampo Ranta in front, then another Gull before loping over Dostals head and into the net. 1-0 Eagles.
Hunter Drew was called for cross checking on the next shift and the Gulls were sent to the penalty kill for the first time that night. Colorado kept possession in the San Diego zone for the entire man-advantage but the Gulls managed to survive the two minutes and try to push play back the other way.
Josh Mahura prescribed a dose of the Eagles own medicine as he received a pass back to his position at the left point, wound up and blasted a slap shot that went right through Annunen and the partial traffic in front of him. 1-1 tie game.
Josh Mahura was called for hooking on the next shift but the Gulls did a perfect job preventing the Eagles from getting set in their zone for the first minute and a half of the kill but the Eagles did manage to gain the zone and just as time expired in the penalty a wrist shot from the right point deflected off of a defender and by Dostal. 2-1 Eagles on two unlucky bounces.
Colorado took a 2-1 lead to the first intermission and a slight lead in the very low shots 5-3.
San Diego started the second with a great opportunity on an exquisite breakout that allowed Brouillard and De Leo to find space with speed in the neutral zone and come into the Eagles zone on a two on one but the former’s saucer pass refused to lie flat for the La Mirada native at the finish.
Andrew Poturalski drew a penalty as the Eagles young star Jean-Luc Foudy draped himself all over him in a text book holding call but the Gulls could not convert on the man advantage with Alex Limoges getting the best look at its conclusion.
Teams exchanged chances as time ticked away, this time the Gulls veteran line providing the majority of the punch while the Eagles Kaut and Burke continued to give the San Diego defense headaches.
Josh Mahura was given a dubious tripping call (drink) with just over eight minutes left in the middle frame, the Gulls had possibly the best chance of the two minutes with Lettieri and Agozzino getting a two on one shorthanded but the Eagles rookie net-minder stood tall preventing Agozzino on follow up rebound opportunities also.
San Diego controlled the Eagles zone for much of the final five minutes of the period but could not find a clear opportunity as time expired, finding themselves still behind by one heading to the second intermission but even in shots 16-16.
Colorado controlled play for much of the first three minutes but Bryce Kindopp earned a penalty shot when he broke up an Eagles play in the neutral zone and headed in on a breakaway that he was subsequently held and hauled down on. Awarded a penalty shot on the play he looked ever much the seasoned sniper as he swung in from the left, measured and fired a wrist shot high over the shoulder of Annunen to tie things up.
San Diego slowly took the lead in shots, as they continued to try find a way through Annunen while Dostal was forced to make the odd big save on an Eagles counter rush.
The Gulls net-minder was called upon to make his best save of the game as he stretched to get a toe on a cross-crease feed in the dying minute and teams headed to the extra session to find a winner.
Teams played the possession game in the extra session until Andrew Agozzino drew a hooking call with 2:04 left to put the Gulls on the Power Play. San Diego controlled the zone but it took just over a minute into the man-advantage for Vinni Lettieri to measure a perfect shot-pass to Andrew Agozzino standing off to the side of the net which he neatly deflected in. Gulls win 3-2.
Post Game Notes:
Silver Linings
The Bakersfield win meaning the Gulls enter as the third seed and have to head on the road isn’t all bad news. It also means fans can travel to Bakersfield to actually support the Gulls in person. I wish I could be there with you fam! #Assemble
Who Comes Back?
A conversation on the latest episode of the Around The A podcast had me pondering this week. The topic centered around Free Agency and how it should return to normalcy this summer with teams coming back for the next season and a Calder Cup playoff being something clubs will be able to aim for once again. No doubt the Gulls and other teams that participated this season have a slight advantage by being able to audition certain players to see if they fit their system. In the class of free-agents brought in this year I for one would like the Gulls to bring back Lettieri, Agozzino and Poturalski but its pretty evident that Matt Lorito did not gel with their system. I would also like to see Trevor Carrick, Nik Brouillard and Keegan Lowe back but in the words of Shania Twain – Jeremy Roy did not impress me much.
Who Is Coming?
We can expect to see Brayden Tracey next season as well as possibly Blake McLaughlin. Artyom Galimov is a possibility. With the crowded defensive core I am not sure we see Thimo Nickl although Mathew Hill is a maybe but if he does sign a contract and go professional, I can see him starting in Tulsa. So it will be a bit of a lean year in terms of new talent coming in, unless of course the Ducks draft a kid out of Europe at the upcoming draft (*cough* Eklund *cough*).
Scoring Leaders
It is unfair to judge scoring winners by this season given the disparity in number of games played between different divisions and teams. So if you measure it by Points Per Game – your leading scorer overall would be Chicago’s Morgan Geekie. The Gulls highest PPG leader is Trevor Zegras with 1.24 per game. As it is, Andrew Poturalski topped all scorers with 43 points in 44 games and Chase De Leo came fourth with 35 points in 37 games. Bo Groulx finished tied for fourth in rookie scoring with 29 points in 42 games while Limoges finished 14th with 21 points in 23 games, also good for 21st in Rookie PPG with 0.91 points per game.
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