2021-2022 Game 57: San Diego Gulls vs Iowa Wild

After allowing the Wild to tie a tentative one goal lead late in the game and then escape Pechanga with a further two points in overtime, the Gulls looked to get revenge in their final meeting with the Central Division visitors.

Brent Gates drew back into the line-up as Jacob Perreault was announced as being out due to a lower body injury. I can assume that was the dangerous knee-on-knee near the end of the third period I distinctly remember happening just after he dramatically threw up his hands after getting an elbow to his head behind the play.

First Period:

It took until the 9:58 minute mark to get the games first stoppage because the action was non-stop from puck drop. The Gulls top line (with Robinson in place of Perreault) setting the tone and generating chances early with the other lines following suit. The Wild came back to threaten via their ferocious forecheck but San Diego held the majority of possession and lead in shots 8-6 at the halfway mark.

The Wild were able to switch momentum as more frequent stoppages occurred and were able to take advantage of some poor Gulls coverage in front to make it 1-0 with seven minutes left in the first.

The Gulls decided to give the Wild a taste of their own medicine as Greg Printz lined up and absolutely laid out Cale Addison with a huge open ice hit as he skated the puck out of the Iowa zone. A Wild player immediately made Printz answer for the hit and somehow the Gulls ended up with the penalty after the dust settled.

With the Gulls killing the minor for HEAVY EMPHASIS ON THE AIR QUOTES HERE “Interference” to Printz, the Wild drew another call with twenty seconds left in the period as BO Groulx was called for high sticking to set up a five on three that would carry over to the second period. The Gulls heading to the first intermission down by one but playing much better than the score dictated.

Shots were 17-12 for the visitors after the first twenty minutes.

Second Period: Iowa Wild 1 – San Diego Gulls 0

San Diego began the middle frame killing off the remaining time off both penalties then set about getting back to the attack.

The Gulls finally got a Power Play when Kindopp was tripped coming out of a puck battle while the Iowa play by play guys bemoaned it as an “unlucky penalty” and that he “stood on his stick”.

Meanwhile San Diego set up in the Iowa zone and used almost the entire two minutes to wear down the Wild before finally sliding some slap-passes through the box and a brilliant deflection on one such play by Bryce Kindopp got the game tying goal. 1-1 tie game.

The Wild responded via the Rossi and Rau combination and almost got another go-ahead goal through their skill and chemistry but Lukas Dostal was there to make the stop and hold through the pressure.

As play started to open up again the Gulls took advantage of the time and space and Buddy Robinson finished off a pass from Alex Limoges after he striped the puck off Cale Addison behind the Iowa net. 2-1 Gulls.

Iowa again tried to respond but the Gulls quickly fought it off and just seconds later got on the board again as Lucas Elvenes gained the Iowa zone pulled up at the half circles to assess the situation and fired a seemingly harmless shot toward the net that bounced in off a Wild defender. 3-1 Gulls.

The Gulls had another Power Play with just over six minutes left in the period but could not convert this time as play became noticeably more chippy.

The Wild began to switch momentum back in their direction and forced Dostal to make some less than routine saves by switching up the Gulls and opening up a free-man.

The chippiness continued and boiled over in the final minutes as Hunter Drew took exception to a hit on Axel Andersson behind the play taking on two Iowa Wild players while a scrum broke out in his wake.

As the buzzer sounded and teams were supposed to head to their respective dressing rooms, Olle Eriksson Ek had words for the Wild goaltender Zane McIntyre (who had been giving love taps to Alex Limoges all night and also approached a few of the scrums in his end as if wishing to start something) and Dominic Turgeon cross-checked Brayden Tracey from behind without warning.

The camera then cut away but from audio it sounded as though both coaches tried to calm things down and eventually get their teams to their respective dressing rooms. The Gulls exploding for a 3-1 lead and dominating in shots 13-15 on the period to take a 25-22 lead overall.

Third Period: San Diego Gulls 3 – Iowa Wild 1

San Diego again had to kill a minor to start the period – this time from the result of the fracas at the end of the second which again – somehow ended up being their fault.

But as they successfully killed the minor they were awarded a Power Play of their own, then as that one expired, another and during that one a twenty second five on three as the Wild began to visibly get frustrated that their behind the play tactics would actually be called in this game as opposed to the very loosely called game the night before.

Iowa were able to kill the first twenty seconds of the five on three but as play turned to five on four Brent Gates played cat and mouse with his marker by the right circle – puck handling closer and closer to him before wiring a shot right shoulder over McIntyre. 4-1 Gulls.

As time slipped by the halfway point of the third it felt as though the Wild might be shifting things back in their direction – along the same vein as the game yesterday as the Brouillard-Kindopp-Drew line found themselves outmuscled down-low and unable to transition up ice. Iowa were able to force a turnover and find an odd-man opportunity in front of Dostal and it was all of a sudden 4-2 Gulls.

Needing a response the Gulls did the complete opposite, as they went into complete zombie mode and allowed the Wild to come right back and get another odd man opportunity, making it 4-3 with seven and half minutes left.

Tempers soon flared and Hunter Drew was given the gate – with his minor served by Brayden Tracey. Thankfully the Gulls were able to regain composure and kill the penalty although not without their hearts in their throat as John Lizotte found space to slide the puck into a yawning empty net but his shot slid harmlessly across the front out and out the other side just after the penalty expired.

BO Groulx was also given a penalty with three and a half minutes remaining as he was sent to the box for holding. AHL lost visual feed for the majority of the kill and as we got a video feed back it was just in time to see the Gulls successfully shut down the neutral zone while Danny O’Regan intercepted and shot the puck from the red-line to hit the empty Iowa net to make it 5-3 Gulls.

San Diego narrowly avoiding embarrassment by taking the win and moving back above .500

Post Game Notes:

The Anti-Veteran Effect

This is something that has been bugging me but it feels like whenever the veterans come back from the NHL the Gulls cannot seem to play a full sixty minutes or just put in way less effort overall. I don’t know what it is but it just seems like the team takes their cue from the veterans and that cue appears to be “this isn’t that important to us”. That might be harsh but I don’t know how else to define it. Every other year when the vets came back from the NHL I wouldn’t be as concerned for it affecting team chemistry but this season it definitely seems to hinder or mess with whatever mojo they have going at the time.

Lopina = Vermette 2.0?

Watching Lopina consistently win face-offs in the defensive zone, kill penalties and also create or jump in on offensive chances made me realise who he reminds me of. One Antoine Vermette. The Ducks had Vermette in his twilight years – where he was still an ace face-off specialist but not much good at anything else. Lopina is like Vermette approaching his prime and still developing – a great all round player that was defensively responsible to the point of critical importance in tight games but also able to chip in the odd big goal. He could really be another great find for the Ducks and just one of a great many selections made in that 2021 draft that may just go down as their best since 2011. I will finally revisit that draft soon as part of my “The Kids Are Out There” series. Watch this space.

Power Play Arrangements

I haven’t touched on this yet but I keep meaning to. The Gulls Power Play this year hasn’t been awesome but it hasn’t been terrible either. It sits at 17th overall in the league, clicking at 19.5%. The secret to a good Power Play is dynamics and variety. The best power plays feature at the very least two threats – which makes it that much harder for the undermanned team to read and shut down. I both like and dont like what the Gulls have been doing with theirs lately.

I like that they seem to have a plan and set arrangements as well as set plays. A diamond formation that consists of Elvenes controlling things off the half wall and Brouillard or Rafferty controlling things from the point. Limoges or Tracey play the net front while Drew or Kindopp are the bumper. The Gulls have ten Power Play goals in their last eleven games – averaging almost a goal per game so the man advantage is definitely working and could be a big part of why they are enjoying this point producing run.

However – what I dont like, is it is still far too static for my liking. The strategy seems to be to wear down the opposing teams unit by playing keep away around the perimeter and forcing them to make the mistake first. It is a strategy I haven’t seen deployed too often and I guess for now – if it is working, then fine run with it but if and when teams eventually get wise that all they need to do is remain in formation and try to keep the Gulls from trying to penetrate their box – than I would like to see something with more movement. After-all – it has worked against San Diego so many times, why not learn from it and do the same. Move your pieces around and force opposing teams to either follow or switch up their assignments and then when they do – exploit the opening created. It isn’t exactly rocket science.