Suddenly in the mix of the Pacific by virtue of a five game win streak, the Gulls headed to Stockton to test their might against one of the top two teams in the Division.
Golod and Adams-Moisan drew back into the line-up with the absence of the recalled Vinni Lettieri and Buddy Robinson. Groulx stuck with the squad and his familiar line-mates for the second game in a row. Defensive pairings remained the same while Lukas Dostal got the start.
Axel Andersson, Kodie Curran and Brendan Guhle remained out with undisclosed injuries.
First Period:
San Diego started out much like they had in all of their recent contests – with a tenacious forecheck and offering little to no time or space for Stockton to gain control or possession. Brogan Rafferty had his legs taken out from under him as he was coming out from behind the Gulls net and San Diego went to their first Power Play of the game.
Both units managed to get some shots on net but nothing of any real consequence and as play returned to five on five the Heat managed to get on the scoreboard first via a shot from the point that was timed perfectly to penetrate multiple layers of traffic. 1-0 Heat.
San Diego had managed to keep the Heat without a shot up until that point, and continued to lock down the ice for the remainder of the period. Earning another two Power Plays but again being unable to generate any real high danger chances with the man advantage, the Gulls played out the remainder of the opening twenty minutes in the Stockton zone. Heading to the first intermission down by one but dominating in shots 7-1.
Second Period: Stockton Heat 1 – San Diego Gulls 0
Starting the period with seconds left on the carry-over Power Play the Gulls managed to gain the zone and get some more shots on the Stockton net but once play returned to five on five the Heat immediately set about securing the San Diego zone and enjoying more possession and pressure than they had in the game thus far.
Suddenly Lukas Dostal (who had yet to see any real shots through the first twenty minutes of play) was forced to make back to back desperation saves before the Heat once again got one by him, squeezing the puck by the near side post. 2-0 Heat.
The Gulls hit back with a rapid response after the goal, seeing their best chances of the night so far through a clear cut breakaway for Brayden Tracey and follow up chances after he was denied. Nik Brouillard was tripped in the Stockon zone recovering a puck and the Gulls headed to their fourth power play of the night. Again it was a sad sequence with the man advantage, with the Heat restricting any and all efforts to get the puck anywhere near their net.
Any semblance of momentum generated by the Tracey breakaway and follow up chances was erased by the Heat kill and the home team went right back to pressuring San Diego in their zone.
As Stockton generated back to back to back Power Plays, Lukas Dostal had to be very strong to keep it at 2-0.
With the Gulls finally getting a Power Play of their own in the final few minutes of the period the Stockton penalty kill finally did what had threatened to do all night as they forced a turnover in the Gulls zone and made it 3-0 shorthanded.
San Diego limped into the second intermission getting thoroughly outplayed and out shot on the period 21-3, and needing to come out with a massive response in the final frame or just forget about this one and try again tomorrow.
Third Period: Stockton Heat 3 – San Diego Gulls 0
In what felt a very familiar script, the Gulls started the period strong and drew a penalty when Nik Broillard was tripped.
It took San Diego over a minute to finally get set in the Stockton zone but the Gulls finally broke through – as Rafferty found O’Regan with a great cross-ice pass and the veteran center fired a blistering shot that beat Wolf clean. 3-1 Heat.
San Diego followed the goal with some great pressure started by the Groulx line and followed by the Perreault line, eventually resulting in forcing the Heat to clear the puck over the glass on the full.
The next few minutes saw a revolving line of players enter and leave the penalty box with the Gulls seeing their best chance on a Bo Groulx move in front that was only thwarted by a spectacular pad stop from Dustin Wolf.
Time continued to wind down and the Heat put the final exclamation point on the match when they scored soon after getting yet another Power Play with less than six minutes remaining in the game. 4-1 Heat.
San Diego had a Power Play in the final few minutes and did manage to generate some good chances on Wolf but it was too little too late as the Heat easily took the 4-1 win. The Gulls will look to reset and try again tomorrow, likely with Eriksson Ek in net.
Post Game Notes:
Close But No Cigar
This game was always going to be a true test and a measuring stick for how well the Gulls have really been playing. Their five game winning streak featured four wins over an under strength San Jose squad. The next three games include the top two teams in the division. San Diego did well to prevent any shots on Dostal through the first period but could not keep up the mammoth effort for the full sixty. Despite the score the game was a lot closer than it looked – at least through the first half of play.
You’re Hot Then You’re Cold
Jacob Perreault is now on a five game pointless streak after going eight straight with a point before that. Tracey was held without a point tonight as well, ending his three game point streak. Nik Brouillard picked up another assist on the O’Regan goal, giving him 13 points in 14 games.
This Is Fine
Sure it sucks to lose but we should probably get used to seeing a few more games like this. The Gulls simply came up against a deeper squad. The AHL is a development league and depending on how their parent clubs are doing – teams will go through waves of success and failure. This season the Gulls are entering a trough and as I have said previously, the product on the ice may result in a lot more pain this year but have heart and look toward the end of the season when all of the youngsters finish their junior or college seasons and join the team. Can you imagine Sasha Pastujov, Mason McTavish, Olen Zellweger, Sean Tschigerl and Blake McLuaghlin on this team? Not to mention possibly Henry Thrun as well. Ofcouse a lot of those guys will just be guests for the end of year party but McLaughlin should be joining them permanently. I am in the final stages of the 2020 entry draft update article and will post it shortly so look out for it.
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