After having a much better showing against the Heat despite missing key veterans to call-up, the Gulls moved onto Bakersfield to close out their road-trip.
The only change to the line-up that faced the Heat was Vincent Marleau drawing in and Morgan Adams-Moisan coming back out. Lukas Dostal was once again given the start in net.
First Period:
I wasn’t sure how I felt about the Gulls play through the first five minutes. They exposed Dostal to some pretty dangerous chances but also allowed him to see the shots while not allowing them too in close.
They also caused two separate turnovers in the Condors zone, the first of which could have resulted in a great chance but failed completely in execution. The second ended in a goal after the Gulls successfully held the zone and got set. Axel Andersson received a pass at the right point and saw space in front of him so swiftly skated into it and into the high slot to create his own chance. His shot was stopped but he collected the rebound, turned down low and fired it back to his defensive partner Trevor Carrick. The veteran defender getting the Gulls on a board with a blistering point shot that beat the Condors through traffic. 1-0 Gulls.
A hooking call to Kodie Curran gave the Condors a chance to get even but Lukas Dostal stood equal to any and all shots sent his way while the Gulls did a good job of keeping everything to the perimeter and collapsing on rebounds.
Bakersfield were the better team for the rest of the period as both the shot totals and shot map will show but Lukas Dostal looked to be once again on his game, stopping at least two more high danger chances from turnovers and bad man-on-man coverage. Shots were 9-6 for the Condors after the first twenty.
Second Period: San Diego Gulls 1 – Bakersfield Condors 0
San Diego had the better of possession and chances to start the second frame, getting some forward momentum going with an oppressive forecheck that kept the Condors from getting much movement going at all.
The minutes flew by with the Gulls keeping forward momentum and spending much of their time in the Bakersfield zone but unable to get a clear chance on the Condors net.
Jacob Perreault gave the Gulls their first Power Play of the night as he reacted to a stick getting him up high coming into the Condors zone. San Diego kept the puck in the zone for all but the final ten seconds of the man advantage but try as they might they could not get the puck to bounce right for them as they created several rebounds and had Bakersfield scrambling as their penalty killers looked visibly tired.
San Diego continued to carry momentum forward and finally broke through in the final few minutes of the period as both Jacob Perreault and BO Groulx outnumbered the Condors down low, turned a puck over and the later then slammed it up and over the Bakersfield net-minder from a severe angle in close. 2-0 Gulls.
San Diego taking a deserved two goal lead into the second intermission while taking the lead in shots 19-16 overall by out-shooting the Condors 13-7 on the period.
Third Period: San Diego Gulls 2 – Bakersfield Condors 0
As expected the Condors came out with some aggression to start the third and had the Gulls flat footed on the defensive side of things for the first five minutes of action.
San Diego soon took things back under control – starting with a flawless penalty kill that saw both BO Groulx and Greg Printz kill over twenty seconds each on their own. As Brogan Rafferty emerged from the box and took a pass to set forth on a clear cut breakaway he drew a slashing call in the process.
The Gulls once again spent nearly the entire two minutes in the Condors zone, retrieving pucks and looking to set up Perreault on the half boards for the one-timer. Toward the end of the man advantage they almost completed back to back very pretty tic-tac-toe shot-passes but again the puck would not go for them. The signs are there though, the Gulls Power Play is starting to look very dangerous.
Bakersfield pulled their goaltender with under two minutes remaining but the Gulls were ready and immediately forced a turnover, Alex Limoges had the best chance to hit the empty net but was blocked. He still managed to retrieve the puck and find a trailing Nik Brouillard who swept it in curling style. 3-0 Gulls.
A final whistle scrum started by Brendan Guhle roughing up his man ended in a very quick line-brawl as the Gulls took the 3-0 win to stay in the playoff hunt.
Post Game Notes:
New Top Line Who Dis
With each player having points in their last four games, the top line of Limoges – Groulx – Perreault has been quietly a becoming a force. San Diego desperately needs more offense, they are among the worst in the league in generating shots and are repeatedly out-shot even when they do collect two points. Getting one line hot is a good start, getting another going would be even better. I am looking at you Elvenes-Gates-Tracey. There is potential for something special there.
Axel Andersson A++++
I can’t say enough good things about this kid. He is by far the best Gulls defender on the ice lately, it used to be close between he and Curran but Andersson has elevated his game and continues to keep raising it. His speed, rush-ability, puck protection, gap-closing and IQ are getting to be NHL quality and he really could be a found gem as a forgotten piece in the Kase trade. The only worries I have for him now is ongoing injury concerns and a tendency to try to overdo things sometimes, as was evident on a turnover in the Gulls zone in the first period tonight – in his defense his team-mates didn’t seem to be on the same page as him but in that instance he should just take the simple play.
More Shots Please
It might be asking too much, I should just be happy that the Gulls out-shot an opponent in a win. But they could have saved themselves some additional anxious moments if they just got some more shots on net. Case in point. The BO Groulx goal was a result of just throwing the puck on net. There were numerous other occasions in the game when a player could have taken a shot in a great scoring position but went for the extra pass. It’s too late in the season to be doing that. The pucks need to get on net.
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