2021-2022 Game 15: San Diego Gulls @ Bakersfield Condors

Riding high off a four game sweep of the San Jose Barracuda and a win-streak of the same length, the Gulls headed north to Bakersfield where they were joined by BO Groulx and Vinni Lettieri, assigned by the Ducks between games in their schedule.

Max Golod and Morgan Adams-Moisan drew out to make room for Groulx and Lettieri. Defensive pairings remained the same while Lukas Dostal got the start.

Axel Andersson and Kodie Curran remained out with injuries.

First Period:

Bakersfield began the game with the kind of style that has given them a winning record over the Gulls of late and it was only a strong response from Lukas Dostal that kept things scoreless.

San Diego turned things back in their favour via a great shift from the reunited Groulx line and the rest of the team carried momentum forward from there – getting back to their heavy and tenacious forecheck.

Brayden Tracey continued to remain red hot as he got in and forced a turnover down low – feeding the puck out to the front of the net all in one motion and Vinni Lettieri cashed in. 1-0 Gulls.

Time on the period went by with little to no stoppages and just when it felt like one of those games where the Officials would let everything go – Brayden Tracey was called for “interference” as he was deemed to have somehow taken out the vastly taller and bigger Desharnais on his drive to the Gulls net. It should be noted that a few shifts earlier Bryce Kindopp was taken out without the puck in plain view of the officials and no call was made.

San Diego killed the minor but were sent back to the kill again with seconds left in the period, Vincent Marleau was forced into a hooking call as he was caught flat footed with two different Condors behind him charging for a loose puck in the Gulls zone.

The Gulls heading to the first intermission up by one and ahead in shots 8-6 but with slightly over a minute of a half of the Marelau minor to kill to begin the second period.

Second Period: San Diego Gulls 1 – Bakersfield Condors 0

Starting the period on the kill the Gulls saw a few worrying moments but again Dostal was equal to the task and they were able to erase the minor.

San Diego were finally given their first power play of the game as Jacob Perreault was tripped while he stepped into a shot at the near side post. On the resulting man advantage he tried not once but twice to measure and wire a shot top corner – the second of which was initially called a goal on the ice but on further review was called back.

Bakersfield used the called-back goal to make a push, hitting the San Diego zone with some vigor and drawing the Gulls into taking more penalties.

San Diego killed a span of four minutes in which the physical intensity picked up but that the calls coming from the Officials were very much one-sided in favour of the home team.

Just as it seemed the Gulls might escape with their one goal lead the Condors found some open ice in the San Diego zone and were able to split their defensive formation with a perfect cross-ice pass. Dostal made it across but could not get set in time to stop the high shot from Ostap Safin. 1-1 tie game.

As it was Teddy Bear Toss night in Bakersfield the steady rain of Teddy Bears meant that there was really no point in trying to start the action back up so both teams headed to the second intermission with twenty seconds left on the clock.

Shots were once again 8-6 for the Gulls on the period as they lead 16-12 overall with the shot map showing they were still doing a decent job of keeping chances to the perimeter. If not for the poor luck with penalties being awarded in their favour they would likely be still leading.

Third Period: San Diego Gulls 1 – Bakersfield Condors 1

After playing the remaining twenty seconds of the second in what seemed like a matter of ceremony both teams settled down to officially start the third.

Bakersfield predictably were given another call when Brouillard was called for cross-checking down low in the Gulls zone. San Diego was able to kill the minor thanks to some strong body to body positioning and sometimes-too-aggressive play at the point before settling back into five on five play.

Chances and actual exciting play remained scarce as Bakersfield continued to deploy their neutral zone trap to prevent the Gulls being able to get any kind of speed coming through the neutral zone.

With eight minutes left on the period the Gulls were finally able to get some consistent pressure in the Bakersfield zone – again starting with the Groulx line and then followed by successive lines following their lead.

Vinni Lettieri received a pass on the cycle down low and no-look passed the puck out to a waiting Buddy Robinson who beat Rodrigue to put the Gulls back in front. 2-1.

Looking to close out the win, San Diego eased into a conservative strategy saved for playing on the road with a lead.

They were even strangely awarded a Power Play with three minutes remaining, something I am sure nobody saw happening but seemed in so much disbelief to be on the man advantage that they did absolutely nothing with it. The overly aggressive Condors penalty kill actually had the better of the possession and drew a call of their own toward the end of the man advantage as Limoges was called for tripping.

Bakersfield pulled Rodrigue to supplement their Power Play with a minute left of play and were able to win back to back face-offs but Lukas Dostal secured the win – cooly and calmly making the stop and ensuring no rebounds with several Condors hungrily waiting on his door step. Gulls win 2-1. Their fifth straight and jumping them straight into third place in the Pacific.

Post Game Notes:

Whats Up With Tulsa?

When is an affiliation not an affiliation? That is the question. So far the Gulls have sent three players to Tulsa but neither have stayed there very long. Currently they have none assigned after Roman Durny controversially was recalled due to being unable to find game-time with the Oilers. I get it that it is kind of tough to find room for a Goaltender or make a spot available for one but it is curious that right now he is just sitting without getting any game time while the Ducks presumably search around for a place for him to play. The very same reason they wanted an ECHL affiliate in the first place. It is even more curious that of the ECHL players or outside-signings used so far for the Gulls – none have come from Tulsa. Sean Josling appears to have been a Perreault connection while Adams-Moisan is a Bouchard via the Armada connection. Is there friction between the new Gulls coaching staff and the Oilers?

Dick Tracey Working Overtime

By assisting on both Gulls goals Tracey now has five points in three games and is hot on the heels of Jacob Perreault for the lead in team scoring – sitting just one point behind him with 14 points in 15 games. He is also tied with four other places for fourth in the league in +/-. I am most intrigued as to how much he has moved up the chart in offensive point share once Sean updates the numbers. I will also freely admit I was completely wrong about him possibly needing some ECHL time to start the season but in my defense, I still believe his exponential leap forward in development is due to the Joel Bouchard effect.

Started From The Bottom Now We Here

After starting the season 2-5-0 the Gulls have now gone 5-1-0 over their last six games, catapulting them from the bottom of the Pacific into sole possession of third place in the Pacific. They are now 8-6-1 on the year and sit just above Tucson with a .567 point percentage. Again take this with caution given how bad the rest of the Pacific has been relative to the top two teams – but if the Gulls can continue their winning ways – they put themselves in good stead to separate themselves from the peloton while attempting to catch the pace-setters.