2022-2023 Game 33: San Diego Gulls at Milwaukee Admirals

Putting together three wins in their last four games the San Diego Gulls headed further east on the road to take on the third in the Central Milwaukee Admirals. It had been announced earlier in the week that Blake McLaughlin had been sent to Tulsa while the Gulls in turn were assigned Nathan Bealuieu on a conditioning loan from the Ducks. As I mentioned in my previous games notes – Colton White was sent back up having completed his conditioning stint.

Forward lines remained largely the same with the exception of Josh Lopina being promoted to the third line to center Weinger and Perreault while Kindopp dropped back to the fourth between Drew and Howe. Beaulieu slotted right into the spot vacated by White to be paired with Strand. All of the current injury list remained the same with Osipov, Nijhoff and Profaca the healthy scratches.

Lukas Dostal was given the start with Olle Erikkson Ek backing up.

First Period:

With how little these two teams see each other it wasn’t any surprise that it took some time for them to feel each other out. With a total of four shots between them through the first six minutes of action, the Gulls were given the first advantage of the game when Kevin Gravel was called for cross-checking as he brought down Grimaldi who was setup in front of the Admirals net.

San Diego struggled to get set in the Admirals zone and the Power Play largely fizzled but they continued on momentum as play returned to five on five and the recently assigned Nathan Beaulieu stepped up to intercept a pass in the neutral zone and find himself with time and space coming into the Milwaukee zone on the left side, seemingly surprised by all the time and space he measured and fired a shot that beat Nashville prospect Yaroslav Askarov low glove side. 1-0 Gulls.

As play started to open up after the goal and the Gulls continued to threaten in the Milwaukee zone, the Admirals almost tied things up against the flow of play as highly touted prospect Phil Tomasino drove in on Dostal but the Ducks third round selection stayed with the play and made the stop.

Milwaukee were awarded a Power Play of their own when Frank Hora was called for slashing just after the midway mark of the period and although Dostal was called upon to make a few high danger chances, the Gulls defensive units did a relatively good job of keeping all shots to the perimeter as they killed the minor.

With the Admirals continuing to push but the Gulls successfully diffusing and countering all attacks, they exited the first period up by one but trailing in shots 16-7 thanks in part to the Admirals power play.

Second Period: San Diego Gulls 1- Milwaukee Admirals 0

Starting the period with the second line, the Gulls peppered chances on Askarov including one final wrist shot from Brayden Tracey from the left circle that he gloved to end the sequence.

Time flew by with little to no stoppages as play continued in a tightly contested yet flowing style that saw both goaltenders seeing pucks from varying distances and angles.

As Milwaukee made a push back at the midway point of the period the Gulls responded first through some hard work from the fourth line, which was quickly followed by a shift by the Grimaldi line that looked much like a Power Play with how they ran the Admirals zone.

With the second line successfully keeping the zone and playing keep away while creating space up high the puck found Glen Gawdin in space at the top of the slot, the veteran forward making no mistake as he wired a shot that beat Askarov high glove side. 2-0 Gulls.

The Gulls continued to keep momentum for the remainder of the period, looking once again like an almost perfect and well polished road-team but for a couple of missed passes as they skated to the second intermission up by two while lagging in shots 27-15. The shot map indicating that Lukas Dostal was again proving the difference.

Third Period: San Diego Gulls 2 – Milwaukee Admirals 0

Just when it felt Milwaukee might mount a comeback right from puck drop – as Keifer Sherwood broke in on Lukas Dostal on partial break – the Gulls turned it around by adding to their lead on the penalty kill. With Drew Helleson in the box for tripping as he hauled down Sherwood before he could make a move on Dostal – the Gulls penalty kill set to making the Admirals Power Play look not very good.

With multiple pass intercepts and generally standing up to prevent entry at their blue line – BO Groulx was sent on his own up ice off a nice feed from Rocco Grimaldi where he went in alone on Askarov and fired a shot that beat him glove side once again. 3-0 Gulls.

With teams exchanging a few more penalties through the next ten minutes, the Gulls struck again – this time with the man advantage as Navrin Mutter was assessed two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Gulls second unit gained the Milwaukee, set up shop and again looked both an experienced and well-oiled unit as Brayden Tracey received a pass on the left side with time and space to wire a perfect wrist shot that beat Askarov through traffic. 4-0 Gulls.

With less than eight minutes remaining it felt like a Gulls win was a foregone conclusion and the rest of the game was merely played as a formality and then Evan Weinger chased down a loose puck that two Admirals defenders were struggling to control in-between the hashmarks, stripping them with ease and then masterfully shifting Askarov to open his pads before sliding it five hole as he sped by. 5-0 Gulls.

The Gulls winning two in a row with Dostal logging back to back shut outs facing 40+ shots in both games as San Diego won on the road in convincing fashion.

Post Game Notes:

The Bakery what more can you say

Lukas Dostal was the difference again tonight and it feels as though his recall has elevated his game to another level – he seems to be in game-stealing god-mode lately and seems hell bent on dragging the Gulls up the standings on his own. Not to say he hasn’t always played that way this season, but he is finally getting some goal support and that is all he needs to steal a victory. He also looking far more aggressive, coming right out to the top of his crease to make a big stop on multiple occasions tonight, a sure sign of his growing confidence. Dostal currently has a 2.69 GAA and a 0.922 Save Percentage but look for that to rise with his recent 100% save rate. It also helps that San Diego seems to have their collective expletive together and are playing a much more coordinated and error free game lately. It does give hope for things continuing to get better.

Moving up

With tonight’s win the Gulls are now only five points back from Bakersfield, seven back from Henderson and nine back from San Jose. The top seven teams from the ten team Pacific Division qualify for the playoffs this season so catching the Barracuda is where the Gulls need to aim for and at this point, its not impossible; or not as impossible as I thought was a month ago. This will sound like a broken record as I said the exact same thing last year but all they need to do is make the playoffs – the black-aces coming at the end of this season as well as those eligible players the Ducks choose to assign at the end of their season will help with the rest. Tonight’s game felt like the Admirals were a little too complacent in how they viewed the Gulls – possibly looking no further than their position in the standings and although the Pacific Division teams may not do that; it does give San Diego a small advantage.

So what has changed?

I wish I could give a definitive answer for the Gulls much improved play but the truth its a combination of a lot of factors. The moves made to bring a heavier presence and more stability on the back-end. Getting their goaltenders back. Returning to a strategy of staying with the simple play and then growing in confidence as that play is rewarded with more goals for and less against. But what I noticed the most tonight (despite the Gulls being out-shot once again) was the fact that players were more willing to take the shot. That was the most frustrating thing for me earlier in the season – seeing players pass up the obvious shooting opportunity to attempt to force a play that wasn’t there and causing a turnover in the process. Almost every single time tonight I saw the player end the attacking sequence with a shot on net – which was 99% of the time the right and best option. Only once do I remember seeing the wrong option made – Brayden Tracey attempting to pass to the side on a 50/50 play when he had little to no choice but to shoot, if only to force a face-off in the Milwaukee zone. If the Gulls can keep this up – I honestly think they can string more than a few wins together and climb their way back into the playoff picture in time for more help to arrive in the form of the black aces.