With the call ups of Simon Benoit, Sonny Milano and the Captain Sam Carrick the Gulls saw some players that sat out the first game come into the line-up – including Jack Badini, Vincent Marleau and Greg Pateryn.
Notable scratches and assumed injured included Niklas Brouillard and Axel Andersson. With Max Golod and Greg Printz also scratched.
First Period:
The Gulls appeared perhaps a little too over excited to start – feeding off the home crowd electric atmosphere and taking back to back penalties through the first ten minutes of action.
The penalty run continued and the Heat broke through while skating on a delayed call – beating Dostal on a rush that they patiently spent time to set up on their own side of the red line. 1-0 Heat.
San Diego started to settled down – earning a Power Play as Alexander Volkov was tripped after making a nice zone entry into the Stockton zone. Alex Limoges tied things up on the man advantage – striking a one-timer from the right circle off a very nice feed from Jacob Perreault. 1-1 tie game.
Minutes later the Gulls found themselves on the Power Play again but could not connect this time as the veteran unit was able to setup but couldn’t find an open lane while the “youngsters” unit elected to try catch the Heat off guard on the rush. Neither method provided results as teams headed to the first intermission tied at one a piece with shots 12-16 for the Heat.
Second Period: San Diego Gulls 1 – Stockton Heat 1
With the scoreboard blocking action for the first four minutes of play it was tough to see exactly how well or bad the Gulls were doing.
As the score board was eventually cleared the Gulls were caught being a little too casual in their zone and a bad clear from Brogan Rafferty lead to a turnover down low and a Stockton Heat goal that Lukas Dostal had no chance on. 2-1 Heat.
The Gulls again tried to make up for the mistake – eventually generating some momentum and enjoying two separate Power Plays but could not come away with an equalizer.
Brendan Guhle was called for high sticking on an errant stick lift that caught Bryon Froese up high and the Heat capitalized with the man-advantage, winning the face-off and firing a shot from the point that Dostal could not track after a deflection in front. 3-1 Heat.
San Diego heading to the second intermission down by two and behind in shots 23-14, needing a complete turn around in the final frame in front of their opening night fans.
Third Period: Stockton Heat 3 – San Diego Gulls 1
It wasn’t a great start to the third as the Heat added to their lead from a point shot that beat Dostal through traffic in front. 4-2 Heat.
But the Gulls hit right back via a gifted Power Play and a great wrist shot from Brogan Rafferty walking the line to clear a shooting lane. 4-2 Heat.
But once again over excitement got the better of San Diego as some poor passing lead to a turnover and a breakaway that Dostal could not stop. 5-2 Heat.
Then moments later the Heat struck again – once again beating Dostal via a point shot that he could not track through a chaotic mass of bodies in front. 6-2 Heat.
Another chance with the man advantage went begging as the Gulls fumbled their way through the remainder of the game. The only highlight coming in the form of Jacob Perreault almost scoring on a spinorama play that might have worked if he went for the pass instead of the shot on the two on one.
Mercifully the game wound down without any further damage as the Gulls dropped their home opener 6-2, unable to muster much of a comeback once the score started to get out of hand.
Post Game Notes:
New Team Who Dis 2: The Sequel
The same unfamiliarity issues from last week still remained today although not quite as pronounced. The score makes it look like they were but that was more of the Heat following a set strategic game plan that took advantage of the major weakness in Dostals game. His size – and traffic in front. The Gulls did not do a good enough job of boxing out and clearing his vision, something they have to be sure to do moving forward.
Changes Needed
With the assumption that the following players are not injured I would like to see Nik Brouillard come in to replace Brendan Guhle tomorrow. Axel Andersson to replace Larsson (who was playing his off side on this game) and Greg Printz to replace Adams-Moisan on the fourth line. Guhle was given an “A” tonight which is weird given you have a former Penn State Captain right there in Limoges. I hate to be down on the kid so early in the season but he really didn’t look good and this new Ducks approach of keeping players accountable should be reflected through both teams.
Pure Perreault
The only stand out player for the Gulls was Perreault. In a losing effort he was trying things. Creating on the rush. Causing turnovers in the neutral zone. Setting up Power Play markers. Everything he could. This is no time for panic stations just yet as its only game two, but it does worry me that there aren’t really any true high skill level play drivers on this squad like Poturalski, De Leo or Groulx did last year. Lettieri should have shown more than he did tonight but he also needs more of a supporting cast. If none of the new comers meet the expectations of what they were brought in for – it could be a very long season. Sorry I went negative again, this was supposed to be a positive note to end on. My point is Jacob Perreault will be at least fun to watch this year, even if every game ends up like this one.
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