2021-2022 Game 36: San Diego Gulls vs Tucson Roadrunners

After getting a much needed win the previous night the Gulls braced themselves for the onslaught of a very determined Roadrunners outfit. Forward lines were shuffled so the Curran-Groulx-Lettieri line that found some consistent progress midway through yesterdays game could be kept together and Alex Limoges was FINALLY reunited with Lucas Elvenes on a line centered by Bryce Kindopp.

Eriksson Ek was given the start on the back to back while the Gulls officially announced that Roman Durny was done for the season with a groin injury and Brayden Tracey remained out with an upper body injury.

First Period:

Starting the game with the Groulx line, they picked up right where they left off – creating some space and leading to a two on one break just thirty seconds in.

San Diego kept up the pressure, maintaining possession and spending the next few shifts in the Tucson zone, a Jacob Perreault tripping penalty didn’t slow them in the slightest and as his penalty expired a weird bounce off the end boards from a Brendan Guhle dump-in went straight to Nik Brouillard who wasted no time firing it into the Tucson net recently vacated as goaltender Josef Korenar went to settle the dump-in. 1-0 Gulls.

The Gulls continued to dominate possession with the Roadrunners looking completely overwhelmed and it felt like another tripping minor, this time assessed against BO Groulx – would be a minor speed bump but Michael Carcone had other plans.

Once again the Gulls failed to give him the proper coverage and respect due his one-timer from the side-boards and once again he punished them to tie things up on the Roadrunners first shot of the game. 1-1.

The goal gave the Roadrunners life and they started to slowly turn momentum, picking up the hitting and getting more time in the Gulls zone. Once again Michael Carcone was left alone at the right side boards and once again he made the Gulls pay. 2-1 Roadrunners on their second shot of the game. Sigh.

San Diego had some good possession and momentum in the final minute of the period, coming close but unable to get a clear shot through a maze of bodies in front as Josef Korenar lay prone after making one big stop but exited the frame down by one despite thoroughly outplaying the Roadrunners through the first twenty minutes. Shots were 7-3 for San Diego.

Second Period: Michael Carcone 2 – San Diego Gulls 1

San Diego earned a Power Play a minute into the first frame as Kodie Curran was tripped trying to carry the puck from the San Diego zone. Lucas Elvenes had a great opportunity on a one-timer in a similar spot to the Michael Carcone office but was stopped. BO Groulx took matters into his own hands on a great zone entry and rush, burning by his defender and swinging the puck back into the low slot where a waiting Danny O’Regan slammed it home five-hole to tie things up at two on the Power Play. 2-2.

However, things went from good to much much worse for the Gulls. A great chance for Lucas Elvenes at one end quickly turned to a rush and an odd breakdown the other way as the Roadrunners found the back of the Gulls net via a series of unfortunate bounces. 3-2 Roadrunners.

I did say it got worse. Minutes later an outlet pass was picked off by Matias Maccelli and he went in on alone on Eriksson Ek, sending it top shelf to make it 4-2.

The Gulls got one back on the second of a back to back power play span as Danny O’Regan drew defenders to him before spinning a backhand pass behind him to Brogan Rafferty. The former Canuck using the time and space allowed to send a bomb by Josef Korenar. 4-3 Roadrunners.

It was a matter of two steps forward one step back however as Michael Carcone was again allowed to get behind the defense unhindered to receive a pass in space and slip it by Eriksson Ek as Greg Pateryn helplessly tried to close in on him. 5-3 Roadrunners.

San Diego once again dominated and did so for the remainder of the period but could not solve Korenar despite coming close on several chances. They headed to the second intermission down by two but again leading in shots, increasing their total to 23-11 and needing a huge breakthrough in the third to come away with back to back wins.

Third Period: Tucson Roadrunners 5 – San Diego Gulls 3

BO Groulx drew a call fifteen seconds into the third but despite holding the Roadrunners zone for the majority of the man advantage, the Gulls could not solve Korenar.

Tucson appeared to step up their efforts in slowing down the play as San Diego were unable to enjoy the same amounts of consistent zone time and opportunities shown through the first two periods with the clock now ticking.

The Gulls pulled Dostal with 4:28 left and while patiently keeping the Tucson zone the Gulls won puck battles while fighting to find clear shooting lanes. Lucas Elvenes had an opportunity to shoot from within close but smartly skated into space and sent a pass to Vinni Lettieri at the high right circle, the veteran firing a blast by Korenar to make it 5-4 with 2:14 left.

A final goal mouth scramble in the dying seconds almost resulted in the tying goal but it was too little too late as the Roadrunners clung on to take the win.

Post Game Notes:

Hey Eriksson Ek! Not All Your Fault

Making only three saves on eight shots may appear as though he took the night off but Eriksson Ek was beat by two cross-ice one-timers, one unpredictable unfortunate miscue/bounce, a breakaway and a partial break. Not exactly the easiest of stops and paints the picture of how leaky the San Diego defense was compared to Tucson tonight, it has been another common trend all season but on paper the Gulls defense should be one of the better in the league – but to put it succinctly. It has not met expectations at all.

Wow Defence So Bad Much Why

The first thing I can think of that has changed very recently is Kodie Curran being moved up to forward. He has consistently been the Gulls best if not one of the best defenders and is presence is most definitely missed on the back-end. I get that there is an excess of defenders and not enough quality up front but perhaps Brogan Rafferty might be less of a defensive trade-off? It shouldn’t really even come to this. In the past when the Gulls were under performing or had an excess of a certain position but were lacking in another they made a move and they made it before things got as bad as they are now. Which leads me to.

Trades Coming?

I’m not saying this is as sure a prediction as I might say it would be if this were an NHL team, trades involving AHL players are rare outside of the trade-deadline window and even rarer between AHL teams but at the very least this roster needs a shake-up or some sort of message sent and as I mentioned in the last games post-game notes, the over-abundance of defenders to forwards is more than a bit ridiculous.

Perreault Growing Pains

Jacob Perreault has been uncharacteristically quiet since returning from injury and it has been a good long while since I have seen him draw a penalty, something that was so regular an occurrence that I put it on my drinking game card. Perhaps league officials also noted that as he appears to be getting the opposite of the benefit of doubt of late and tonight was given a rare embellishment call with no accompanying minor going the other way (which is usually the case). BJ MacPherson has also called him out on the broadcast, saying he doesn’t like the way he always looks to the officials when he is felled or feels a call against him was missed. Why the sudden crackdown on the kid? I couldn’t say, but hopefully this is just a learning curve as he navigates this early development in his pro career.