With Buddy Robinson clearing waivers earlier in the week the Gulls received an extra veteran depth injection which meant Nik Brouillard could then move back to defense.
Lukas Dostal fresh off his career high save and goalie-goal performance was given his seventh straight start.
First Period:
Given how physical the previous game became as it went on, the Gulls expected a determined and potentially violently angry Eagles response.
Colorado did come with some ferocious force in the Gulls zone to start but it would again be the Gulls to score first – once again on the man advantage as Jacob Perreault was tripped behind the Eagles red line while attempting to handle the puck. The San Diego Power Play looked just as flawless and dangerous in the previous win – taking the puck from the face-off and fanning out before quickly moving the puck to Danny O’Regan in the high slot. The veteran scorer given too much time and space to wire a shot high into the Eagles net. 1-0 Gulls.
The Eagles continued to deploy the same neutral zone transition with speed style that they threatened to overwhelm the Gulls with at times in the previous game but this time the Gulls did not do as good a job of clogging up the neutral zone to prevent it and they sliced through on a broken play that ended in a rebound goal for Dylan Sikura. 1-1 tie game.
San Diego spent much of the remainder of the period under siege as the Colorado attack found it much easier to infiltrate and get set in the Gulls zone. It felt like only a matter of time before another goal came and come it did as former Gull Keifer Sherwood gave his new team a 2-1 lead on the Power Play with Jack Badini sitting in the box for a tripping penalty.
The Gulls came back with a push after the goal and drew a call but the Eagles found themselves on a shorthanded break and beat Dostal a tad too easily off the rush. 3-1 Eagles as time expired on the period. San Diego out-shot 11-4 on the period and looking very ordinary as opposed to the previous match-up.
Second Period: Colorado Eagles 3 – San Diego Gulls 1
Starting the period with 30 seconds left on a carry over man-advantage the Gulls had one chance during the span before the Eagles killed the minor and took the puck the other way to set up in the San Diego zone, immediately firing one by Dostal at their first opportunity to spell an end to his night. 4-1 Eagles.
Olle Eriksson Ek came in relief of Dostal and the Gulls responded with a push to finally get some more chances on the Eagles net.
Things calmed down somewhat after the change as both teams exchanged chances for the next few minutes
Despite looking better by virtue of not bleeding goals the Gulls did still look slower and overall more tired compared to their previous win. This was emphasized by the Eagles next goal as Andreas Wingerli beat Kodie Curran in a foot race for the puck and shifted it by Eriksson Ek all in the same motion. 5-1 Eagles.
As expected, emotions got the better of things and Brayden Tracey was assessed a five minute major for boarding when he did not hold up on a hit on the Eagles pest Ryan Wagner soon after the goal.
Colorado looked to have put a dagger – no more a sledgehammer through the hopes of any Gulls come back with a goal on the Power Play but then back to back shorthanded breaks and breakaway goals from Buddy Robinson and Bryce Kindopp brought San Diego back to 6-3 with six minutes to play in the period.
The Gulls continued to make a push as they erased the rest of the major and play returned to five on five but again the Eagles started to shift things back the other direction as well as picking the chippy and physical play back up.
Time wound down with teams skating at four on four after the latest fracas involving Hunter Drew and Mikhail Maltsev and the Gulls headed to the second intermission down by three but looking a lot more likely to make up that deficit than they had in the earlier goings. Shots were 12-8 on the period and 23-12 overall for the hosts.
Third Period: Colorado Eagles 6 – San Diego Gulls 3
Drawing a call in the first minute of the third the Gulls settled into a brief four on three advantage and made it count before it could revert to a five on four as Jacob Perreault was left with too much time and space on the left side to wire a one-timer into the Eagles net. 6-4 Eagles.
As play returned to five on five it became a battle for possession with minimal scoring chances created. You got the sense that if the Gulls were to complete the monumental come back they would need to do it on special teams.
Eriksson Ek took a massive gamble to come way out of his net and prevent a Keifer Sherwood breakaway but in the ensuing chaos he could not get set when he eventually made it back to his net and was beat in the process. 7-4 Eagles.
That was the final blow and the Gulls knew it, content to wind down the clock and reset for the rematch tomorrow.
Post Game Notes:
Overworked Bakery
I completely get the coaches call to go with Dostal to start – it would have been criminal to not play him after his performance on Wednesday. What I don’t agree with is leaving him in to start the second period, or even after that third goal late in the first. It was clear after that third tally that he was not on his game at all and clearly looked out of sorts which is largely because I dont know – he FACED OVER 50 SHOTS IN THE PREVIOUS GAME? Not to mention starting the previous six. You need to rest your goaltender, or you risk burning them out. Dostal was clearly burnt out to start this game.
Welcome Back JP
Jacob Perreault looked 90% back to his old self tonight. Assisting on Danny O’Regans power play goal and getting one himself on a night where he also drew two calls with the token embellishment call thrown in as well. The over-acting issues are still kind of there – in the final moments of the game he threw up his hands and dropped his stick when he appeared to catch an elbow up high but he has to have learned by now that the Officials have him on their radar and won’t give him the benefit of the doubt anymore – especially with antics like that. Dropping his stick left him without one for the rest of that shift and the Eagles almost got another as they pressed, a very silly play by the young forward.
Another Scoring Leader Change
Perreault wasn’t the only Gull to have a two point night. Nik Brouillard picked up two assists to move into first on the Gulls in scoring. He now has 8 goals and 19 assists for 27 points in 42 games while Danny O’Regan moved into a tie with Alex Limoges for the lead in goal scoring with 11. Vinni Lettieri also had a two assist night.
Looking Ahead
Thankfully the loss doesn’t dent the Gulls playoff hopes too much and as I write this the Reign are hopefully en-route to handing the Silver Knights their fourth straight loss, bringing the Gulls that much closer to them in the standings. I have faith that the Gulls can come out and execute like they did Wednesday night to take an extra two points tomorrow and that leaves them with Stockton and Bakersfield to close out the road-trip this Wednesday and Friday. Again as I write this both teams are locked in a 1-1 battle but Stockton has been having a few consistency hiccups lately, dropping games to Abbotsford and Ontario in February but thoroughly dominating for much of the rest of the month. Bakersfield have fared much worse in the previous month and could be ripe for the Gulls to steal two important road points from.
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