2021-2022 Game 26: San Diego Gulls vs Abbotsford Canucks

Playing the second of a back to back at home against the visiting Canucks, the Gulls hoped to bounce back from a 5-1 drubbing incurred the night before in Lucas Elvenes Gulls debut.

Marotte was given his third straight start while the Ducks iced the Gulls tandem of Dostal and Eriksson Ekk on the road in Chicago as Anthony Stolarz went into Covid protocol. The line-up remained the same to the previous selection that went down the night before. With Hunter Drew moved back to defense. Brent Gates moved to wing to play on the top line with O’Regan and Tracey while Bryce Kindopp was moved back to Center to anchor a line with Elvenes and Kindopp.

First Period:

The Gulls started the first six minutes with a ferocious intensity, looking the faster and more hungrier team but the Canucks deployed a layered defense in their own zone that meant any chances San Diego fired toward the net were blocked before they could reach it.

The Canucks quickly switched the momentum at the midway point of the period, spending time in the Gulls zone and earning a Power Play after Morgan Adams-Moisan was called for boarding.

Francis Marotte proved to be the Gulls best penalty killer during the sequence as he ensured the score remained even at zero, turning aside four shots on the kill.

San Diego pushed back after the successful kill and the hitting started to pick up with bodies flying on both sides, leading to the ice quickly starting to open up. Lucas Elvenes making a brilliant play at the Canucks blue line to delay then send Limoges in on a two on one with O’Regan but the Penn State alumni’s pass could not find the Gulls veteran center.

As the hitting and intensity continued to rise, Mike McKee lit a fire under the Pechanga crowd when he blasted Tristen Nielsen with a hit near the Canucks blue line. Two fights broke out immediately after as Abbotssford Assistant Captain Justin Bailey tried to go after McKee but Sean Josling stepped in.

The Elvenes and Limoges line continued to be the Gulls best play driver as the period wound down, with Limoges stick handling himself through three Canucks and into a fairly decent shooting position in the slot but unselfishly trying to make the extra pass to his line-mates when he really should have taken the shot.

With time expiring on the period emotions continued to run high when Justin Bailey hit Brayden Tracey as he went to go for a puck that was still in the air and was called for interference. The Abbotssford veteran screaming at the Officials all the way to the penalty box.

San Diego taking a narrow one shot lead to the first intermission and having a minute and fifty seconds left on the Power Play to start the second after a fiery first twenty minutes.

Second Period: San Diego Gulls 0 – Abbotsford Canucks 0

Starting the period on the man advantage the Gulls came up against an aggressive and determined Canucks penalty kill that did not allow them to get set at all.

San Diego had another chance on the Power Play minutes later as Bryce Kindopp was tripped going behind the Abbotsford net.

This time the Gulls were able to establish time in the Canucks zone – winning the offensive zone face-off and despite having it cleared after some chances. They were able to re-establish and get set to zip the puck around the Abbotsford box before Danny O’Regan was left with too much time on the right side to measure and fire a shot through traffic and into the Canucks net. 1-0 Gulls.

The Canucks fought back and put the Gulls down a man when McKee was called for tripping but San Diego repaid the visitors in kindness for their frosty reception on their initial Power Play by similarly preventing them from setting up.

Bryce Kindopp drew another tripping call with eight minutes left in the middle frame but a lengthy delay caused by a broken pane of glass behind the Canucks net meant the Gulls quickly mounting momentum evaporated as they again struggled to gain and get set in the Abbotsford zone.

As San Diego killed another Mike McKee tripping call with some anxious moments in the final seconds of the minor, Hunter Drew brought the Pechanga arena to their feet again as he wired a snap-shot from the high circle that beat Abbotsford goaltender Artus Silovs bar-down through light traffic. 2-0 Gulls.

The Canucks were given a Power Play on a very dubious slashing call assessed to Lucas Elvenes in the final few minutes of the period which on the replay – was difficult to make out. Able to establish possession in the Gulls zone they wasted no time in creating several high danger chances as the seconds ticked down – eventually beating Marotte from the slot after he was down having just made a spectacular save at the right post. The Gulls penalty killing box in disarray. 2-1 Gulls.

The period ended with some fireworks as Bryce Kindopp was on the receiving end of a cheap shot behind the play and as he lay prone Morgan Adams-Moisan came in to challenge any and all Canucks in the vicinity. The Gulls taking a one goal lead as well as a one shot advantage to the second intermission, up 17-16 – the shot map showing the Gulls with the two high danger chances and mostly keeping Abbotsford to the perimeter on the frame.

Third Period: San Diego Gulls 2 – Abbotsford Canucks 1

The Gulls faced some major adversity to start the second as Morgan Adams-Moisan was called for high sticking and given a five minute major as his stick came up and caught a Canucks player up high, taking his helmet off in the process. We couldn’t see it on AHL TV nor on the AHL TV replay but was described by Andy Zilch and BJ MacPherson as they were able to access a replay we could not.

San Diego settled into the kill and looked a little shaky at first but suddenly found themselves with the upper hand as Danny O’Regan and Alex Limoges came close on a shorthanded goal – then on the same sequence were handed a gift as a Canuck player had the puck roll of his stick at their blue line to put the two Gulls forwards on an odd man rush once again. This time Limoges finished the play for the shorthanded goal and his fifth on the season, lifting a gigantic monkey off his back in the process. 3-1 Gulls.

Marotte was again called upon to come up with some big saves with the Canucks spending some time in the Gulls zone with the lengthy man advantage, one such stop was a magnificent glove save at the back door.

You could sense the momentum swing in the San Diego direction and minutes later the Gulls got another via a point shot from Trevor Carrick that found its way through a maze of bodies in front. 4-1 Gulls.

Emotions continued to run high as Brent Gates was hit awkwardly and high in front of the Canucks bench leading to Brogan Rafferty immediately tackling and bear-hugging the offending player to the ice, taking a roughing penalty in the process. The Canucks were able to get set in the Gulls zone and a shifty move by Jack Rathbone at the point allowed him to make his way around Vincent Marleau then fire a hard shot-pass to the backdoor where the Canucks Justin Bailey tipped it by Marotte. 4-2 Gulls with just under five minutes remaining.

Abbotsford pulled Silovs with three minutes remaining and the Canucks spent a good minute and half in the San Diego zone but the Gulls collapsed in front of Marotte to prevent any high danger chances. Brayden Tracey missed a wide open net on a two on one rush then couldn’t collect the rebound as it spun off the boards but Nik Brouillard made sure the gaff was immediately forgotten about as he dropped the gloves with Danila Klimovich. The Quebec native withstanding an initial barrage of rights while the Pechanga arena cheered before countering with a flurry of both lefts and rights that sent the Canucks player to the ice and the crowd onto their feet.

The Canucks managed to get one more back with just one second left in regulation but the Gulls came away the clear victors – 4-3 on a well deserved team effort win, Francis Marotte’s first in the AHL.

Post Game Notes:

Drew kid s.N.I.P.e city

Drew now has three goals in his last four games, two of which has seen him switch back to his original position of defence. He has 12 points in 25 games already equaling his career high set last season in 33 games. You might not think those are NHL call-up numbers but I could see him getting a look either by the end of the season or the start of next year if he keeps this development trajectory on track.

Much Ado About Marotte

If you had asked me at the start of the season that the Gulls would be deploying a tandem consisting of a 26 year old ECHL tryout with no previous ties to the organization and a goal-tending consultant for a stretch of three games and counting, I would have said what the fuck happened and where the hell is Eriksson Ek and Durny? But here we are. Francis Marotte has come in and stole the show, looking every bit the AHL level goaltender that the Gulls coaching staff must have seen in him when they brought him on board earlier in the season. He has shown little to no faults in his game and looks to be getting better and better as he continues to see more action. My only concern is – what happens when bodies start coming back? Does he get relegated back to third string?

Limoges and Elvenes the new Legolas and Gimli

I didn’t see yesterdays game but from the get-go you could see why Bouchard placed Elvens and Limoges together. Elvenes is the play-making forward that Limoges has been missing all season. There were moments in this game where you could see them trying things but still learning where each other will be. I believe it is only a matter of time before we start seeing them becoming a dominant force. All that is really needed is for Limoges to start shooting more, there were a couple of plays tonight where he opted to force the extra pass instead of taking the shot and you can see it is because he isn’t confident in the puck going for him right now. Hopefully with his goal tonight we will start to see him start firing it at every opportunity – with Elvenes setting him up in the process.

Standings Update

The weekend split has the Gulls second to last in the Pacific by points percentage but easily able to leap into sixth place with just a couple more wins. They will need to put together some consistent win stretches to get back into playoff contention – which may be a tall ask if the Ducks continue to have COVID decimate their line-up. Here is hoping they have reached the peak of their outbreak and we start seeing a more positive flow of movement of players coming back to San Diego rather than being called up.