2022-2023 Game 58: San Diego Gulls vs Henderson Silver Knights

Coming home after back to back overtime victories in Tucson the San Diego Gulls looked to keep momentum going as they welcomed in the Henderson Silver Knights. Welcoming back both BO Groulx and Justin Kirkland from injury as well as the recently acquired Andrej Sustr the Gulls line up suddenly looked the strongest it has all season.

Coach Sommer did some mixing and matching with the new assortment of players – placing Sikura on the top line in place of Regenda and dropping the later to the third line with Lopina and Kindopp. While Kirkland drew in on the second line with Groulx and Gawdin. Leaving Tracey, Gates and Osipov to make up the last line. Two defensive pairings remained the same while Sustr was matched with Brouillard on the third pair leaving Wichers and Profaca to draw out. Jacob Perreault was the only other healthy scratch – indicating he was close to returning from injury also.

Gage Alexander was given the start – his third straight.

First Period:

The San Diego Gulls started the game strong, peppering Silver Knights goaltender Isaiah Saville with five straight shots before the Silver Knights were able to answer but a tripping penalty assessed to Michael Del Zotto allowed Henderson to briefly stem San Diegos momentum.

San Diego survived the minor then were given a Power Play of their own when Gage Quinny was also given a tripping minor. They too could not convert with the man advantage and both teams continued to exchange penalties.

Henderson had perhaps their best chance of the night on the Power Play as Brayden Tracey sat in the box – again for tripping – but Gage Alexander showed great reflexes with his glove to snag a deflection in front from out of the air to keep things scoreless.

San Diego was given another Power Play – once again for a tripping call but again Alexander would be asked to come up big as an easy Henderson interception lead to a two on one break. The young net-minder sprawling out to kick out a low shot then desperately lunge and deflect aside the resulting rebound that the initial shot was designed to generate.

Things settled down for the remainder of the opening twenty and despite Alexander being asked to make some big stops, the Gulls enjoyed the majority of possession and subsequent shot total 11-6 for the first frame.

Second Period: San Diego Gulls 0 – Henderson Silver Knights 0

The up-tempo style from the first period carried over to start the second and San Diego broke through via a welcome return from BO Groulx to the scoresheet.

After receiving a perfect breakout pass from Michael Del Zotto, Glen Gawdin gained the Henderson zone with speed and spotted Groulx driving the Henderson net on the left side. The former Stockton Heat wiring a pass to his center that was neatly taped in on a nice one timer. 1-0 Gulls.

The frenetic action continued and time quickly approached the midway point of the period then all of a sudden there was only five minutes left in the middle frame.

A cross checking penalty to Dysin Mayo gave the Gulls their first Power Play of the period and as the veteran unit came onto the ice after the first unit could not convert, some nice possession and keep-away cleared some lanes wide enough to allow a Chase Priskie one-time blast to beat Saville. 2-0 Gulls, his third goal in two games. It should be noted that Priskie also got away with a trip just moments earlier as he fought for a puck at the nearside boards. The Henderson bench was visibly upset after the goal was scored.

San Diego looked to avoid any immediate push back from the Silver Knights by delivering a heavy forecheck after the goal and a huge hit from Pavol Regenda resulted in a fracas in the Henderson zone. When the dust settled Regenda was given an elbowing call for the initial hit and an offsetting roughing call with his Henderson combatant Brayden Pachal.

San Diego killed the minor and allowed time to wind down on the period to take a 2-0 lead into the second intermission as well as a dominant 26-14 lead in shots.

Third Period: San Diego Gulls 2 – Henderson Silver Knights 0

The visitors predictably came out with a big push to start the third but San Diego were able to diffuse and deflate their attack before responding with some of their own.

BO Groulx felt it had been too long since the Pechanga faithful had seen one of his patented heavy hits and proceeded to paste Silver Knights veteran forward Byron Froese into the boards on a hit that earned him a boarding minor as well as another fracas between the two sides.

San Diego were able to kill the minor and as play returned to five on five they strangely reverted to a conservative and complacent style – exchanging the aggressive forecheck they had deployed earlier in the game for a passive dump in and change strategy.

Subsequently the Silver Knights enjoyed far more possession and their shot total jumped ahead to close the once dominant gap held by the Gulls.

As the visitors continued to press and the San Diego defensive zone structure continued to shrink in on itself – Andrej Sustr was forced into taking a penalty as he hooked a Henderson forward driving the net.

The Gulls penalty kill was structured and collapsed around Alexander before Olli Juolevi drew a call of his own when he won a puck battle and attempted to play the puck out but was tripped in the process.

The eventual San Diego Power Play looked very good but featured too many shots sailing high or wide and play returned to five on five with four and a half minutes remaining.

With four minutes left the Silver Knights pulled Saville for the extra attacker and contained the Gulls within their zone as they fished for an opening to beat Alexander.

The Gulls made several long range attempts at the empty net but could not convert but it did not matter as the Gulls took this one 2-0 for Gage Alexanders first AHL shutout – the youngest by a netminder in team history.

Post Game Notes:

Who are these guys and where have they been all season?

Yes I realise the team has not been at full strength for longer than a few days all season but it can’t all just be veteran presence providing this sudden uptick in stellar play? The San Diego Gulls entire style seems to have changed – from the aggressive forecheck (I spotted all three forwards at the Henderson goal line without possession at one point in the second frame) to the swift and easy breakout. Is it a confidence thing? Is it the instant coming together of techniques and abilities that have been there all season but just didn’t have the right personnel to make it work? Whatever it is it can only get better as Jacob Perreault seems to close to returning while we know Nikita Nesterenko is going to be joining the team any week now. It begs the question, is it too little too late?

Playoff hopes still alive?

Andy mentioned during the broadcast that were the Gulls to make the playoffs they would likely face the Coachella Valley Firebirds – who they actually match up and play relatively well against. I still feel like its way too much of an impossibility at this point but for shits and giggles, here is what has to happen for the Gulls to make the playoffs.

With the win tonight the Gulls now sit at 37 points – with a still very terrible 18-39-1 record and a 0.319 win percentage. The seventh and final playoff spot is currently held by the Roadrunners who are on 56 points and a .491 win percentage. Making up 19 points in 14 games – if that’s the rough target the Gulls need to hit – would mean winning at least 9 more games and earning an extra time point. Not impossible but not overly likely given they have a schedule that features a heavy dose of Iowa, Coachella, Calgary and Colorado to finish. I might start to really believe if this sudden surge in confidence continues and the win streak rolls on unabated but I also prefer to err on the side of “don’t get your hopes up”. Watch this space though – it would be incredibly freaking awesome if this team somehow snuck into the playoffs.

Is this the dawning of the Gage of the Alexander?

With Anthony Stolarz now out for the season and Dostal now up with the Ducks for the foreseeable future a new hero has emerged in net. I have to admit I am pleasantly surprised by the accelerated development of Alexander so far given he seemed to have finished his junior career with a whimper – traded from team to team without being able to get net time. But Alexander is proving me wrong – I am trying to temper my expectations because I remember when Eriksson Ek first debuted and was eventually given the net for more than a few games and also looked very good in the process. Either way the winds of change are here – Dostal will be with the Ducks next year regardless as its likely Stolarz gets dealt in the summer. Calle Clang maybe… possibly might come across next season and setup a tandem for the Gulls with possibly a third veteran signed by the Ducks to provide injury depth and mentorship for the young goaltenders on their affiliate.

What I have seen from Alexander is a kid who battles hard to make the save. He is still very raw with regards to positioning and reads but there have been flashes and were again tonight – of what he is capable of. Big goaltenders are usually only beaten by quicker passing plays but Alexander has shown he has very quick reflexes that can only get better with some solid positioning instilled into his game as he learns. It’s actually kind of ironic that Stolarz is likely the odd man out because Alexander reminds me of a younger version of him.