2023-2024 Game 17: San Diego Gulls vs Texas Stars

After snapping their club record 13 game winless streak the San Diego Gulls hoped to build on their first home victory of the season as they welcomed the visiting Central Division leading Texas Stars.

Ben King back in for the departed Jaxen Wiebe who was sent to Tulsa earlier in the week but Coach McIlvane made no other changes to the lines or pairings much to my chagrin and rode the hot hand, giving Tomas Suchanek his second straight AHL start.

First Period:

The Gulls came out with a physical intensity that you could tell the Stars were not anticipating and despite the wide difference in records – San Diego looked the better of the two teams for the first few minutes of play.

As both teams exchanged penalties in the early goings it did feel like one of the better games the Gulls had played with the odd egregious mistake made (such as a Nesterenko attempted clear that went to the very high slot).

However it would be the Stars that struck first as a point shot handcuffed Suchanek and after he made the initial stop, the puck trickled by him and over the goal line. 1-0 Stars.

Smelling blood in the water the visitors pushed forward their advance and quickly went up 2-0 as an outnumbered rush allowed Texas to hit a trailer with time and space, leaving Suchanek no chance to make the stop. 2-0 Stars.

The Gulls still saw their chances – earning a Power Play as Nesterenko was hauled down on a partial break that he almost made good on. Then after being unable to convert – Blake McLaughlin generated a great chance in front as he made a nice move on the rush to setup Judd Caulfield in front.

Nathan Gaucher was called for holding on a penalty so obvious it could have been called tackling and on the ensuing Power Play the Stars made it look as though San Diego may as well not have even tried, executing via some quick crisp passing and before the Gulls could even get set, the puck was in the back of the net. 3-0 Stars.

Things went from bad to worse as Pavol Regenda went down and was seen to be writhing in pain after he attempted a hit in the Texas zone but appeared to slip as he went into it. He was helped off the ice.

San Diego finished the period on the Power Play as the Stars were called for too many men but you could see from the looks on the players faces as the buzzer sounded and they made their way to the first intermission – it was looking like it was going to be another long night.

San Diego down 3-0 after the first twenty minutes and trailing in shots 13-7.

On a positive note, the shot map showing four of those seven shots were high danger chances so perhaps a touch of bounces and luck not going the Gulls way.

Second Period: Texas Stars 3 – San Diego Gulls 0

Starting the period with the man advantage it took all of the thirty seconds remaining on it for the Gulls to finally get set and generate a chance in the Texas zone but as time expired, they held possession and momentum until Ben King was called for slashing to halt that momentarily.

Having killed the minor the puck finally fell the right way and some space opened up for Nikita Nesterenko to feed Ben King with a nice pass off the boards and into open space. The former WHL leading scorer looking off a potential Olen Zellweger pass to wire a low shot that beat Stars goaltender Matt Murray. 3-1 Stars.

The Gulls kept up momentum after the goal and were awarded another Power Play as Alex Petrovic was called for holding when he prevented Judd Caulfield from making a power move in front of the Stars net.

Once again being unable to convert – San Diego still held onto possession and continued to generate chances. Josh Lopina was denied a sure goal down low as he was slashed at the moment of truth, the Gulls were given their fifth Power Play of the game.

Starting with the second unit, the Gulls were able to establish the zone right away and a great move by Nikita Nesterenko to skate behind the Stars net but at the same time send a pass back out in front to a parked and ready Josh Lopina who gave the Gulls their second of the night and Lopina’s career high fifth of the season. 3-2 Stars.

Just like it felt like things just might be going the Gulls way for once a series of bad bounces combined with a comedy of errors gave the Stars back the two goal lead. Suchanek caught wildly out of position on the play. 4-2 Stars.

Refusing to give up and sensing momentum was still with them the Gulls struck right back as Ben King scored his second of the night, slamming home a rebound after Josh Lopina fired a shot on net that initially hit Nikita Nesterenko before landing at King’s feet. 4-3 Stars.

Chase De Leo almost tied it up on the following puck drop as he intercepted a Stars breakout pass but sent his shot high and wide. While Andrew Agozzino appeared to draw a call but was given one himself at the same time as he and Lian Bischel fought for a loose puck. The Gulls appeared to treat the four on four as a penalty kill, battling to prevent the Stars from entering their zone and immediately giving up possession when they saw safe to do so. Time wound down on the period with some extra curriculars as the Stars Chase Wheatcroft was seen to give Drew Helleson a spear after the whistle. The Gulls fighting back to make it 4-3 take the period in shots 11-10 while trailing 23-18 overall. The shot map showing showing San Diego increasing their chances in the low slot and being rewarded for them while at the same time needing to reduce the volume of shots from the Stars.

Third Period: Texas Stars 4 – San Diego Gulls 3

Keeping up their push to start the third the Gulls were given yet another Power Play as Colton White was tripped coming through the neutral zone.

Once again unable to convert, San Diego kept up momentum but slowly watched it start to subside as the Stars began to re-exert some dominance. A Stars Power Play that quickly turned into an extended four on four as Robert Hagg was tripped down low gave the Gulls an offensive zone face-off that suddenly set the arena alight as a face-off win lead to a point shot from Trevor Carrick that spat out a rebound sitting perfectly for Chase De Leo to convert. 4-4 tie game.

In a perfect microcosm of the Gulls season the celebrations were short lived as the Stars held possession with the remainder of the four and four to cycle and cross-up in the San Diego zone, eventually setting up a low slot chance that Suchanek kicked right back out to the slot and was subsequently slammed home. 5-4 Stars.

Once again the story was not over yet as a face-off on the edge of the Stars zone was won by Chase De Leo to send Nikita Nesterenko a step ahead of the Stars defence, the former Boston College forward using the jump to wire a perfect shot that stunned Murray from the high slot. 5-5 tie game.

An uneasy tension fell over the still charged arena as teams played to a five-all stalemate to end regulation and we headed to overtime. The Gulls coming back from 3-0 down to earn a point by giving it everything they had in front of their home fans.

Overtime

The Gulls best opportunity to snatch the win and the extra overtime point came in the form of an Andrew Agozzino breakaway but his shot rang off iron that echoed sadly around the arena. The Stars for the most part maintained and held onto possession for much of the session and with just over a minute left they were able to switch up some San Diego defenders to create an opening which they made no mistake on to beat Suchanek. 6-5 Stars win.

Post Game Notes:

Slowly But Surely

You get the sense that the team is finally starting to gel and come together. The bounces are coming. The Power Plays are coming. They are starting to believe in themselves despite all odds. I don’t have as high as expectations as I did at the start of the season but at this point I will just be happy to see them put up a respectable attempt at making the playoffs as a bottom seed. It’s becoming more and more evident now what one of the major issues is though – or not so much issue, but disadvantage compared to other teams….

Need More From The Vets

Broken record, play that song again, I know I know but like I said last week, the Gulls played light and day better after they received an injection of veterans like Chase Priskie, Dylan Sikura and Josiah Slavin last year. I don’t mean to disparage all of the current veterans in this sweeping statement but this years group need to be better. Who has been doing all of the scoring lately? Ben King x 2, Josh Lopina x 2, Judd Caulfield, Robert Hagg, Chase De Leo and Nikita Nesterenko. Agozzino has 13 points in 17 games, he should be at least a point per game player, Glen Gawdin has 7 in 15. Trevor Carrick – leads the team in scoring…. as a defenseman. I rest my case. On the positive side…

Let The Kids Play

It’s time to let the kids play, sure they are going to and continue to make mistakes but they are also starting to contribute in a huge way, it feels like the best an only opportunity for the Gulls to put together any attempt at a climb out of the cellar. Hand the reigns over and let the kids fly.

Regenda Out

That didn’t look good for Regenda. As he writhed in pain in the lower left corner of the Texas zone in the second period you could see he was clutching his knee. Replays saw a stumble and slip as he went in for a hit on a Stars player so perhaps he caught an edge and twisted it. Either way – I’d say he is out for at least a month. Not ideal for the Gulls to lose one of their top scorers and best forwards but it’s not something that can be helped. I wonder if this means a quick recall for Jaxsen Wiebe or if it opens up a spot for Sasha Pastujov to get in and feed off the vibes the team is creating of late.