Getting straight back into the win column with a 2-1 shootout victory over the Canucks at home the San Diego Gulls headed out on the road again to close out their season series with the Iowa Wild.
This time Sasha Pastujov made way for Blake McLaughlin to come back in on the fourth line, the newly recalled Anthony Constantini was inserted right into the line-up for Colton White who was noted as being absent for “personal reasons”. All other lines and pairings remained the same.
Jacob Perreault still remained out with an injury and Tomas Suchanek was given the start in net with Minnesota native Alex Stalock backing up. Calle Clang, Sasha Pastujov and Travis Howe were the healthy scratches.
First Period:
It was a physical and friction filled first few minutes as teams renewed acquaintances after their most recent meeting a few weeks ago back in San Diego. You got the feeling there was some leftover bad blood from a loss that the Gulls still felt incredibly hard done by. Jaxsen Wiebe dropped the gloves as well as his opponent in a short center ice tilt after back to back net-front scrums as the Wild tried to intimidate the Gulls in their own zone.
Given the amount of chances San Diego had created either side of the fight and net front scrums it felt inevitable that they would open the scoring and that they did as Tyson Hinds made an excellent keep at the blue line then immediately sent the puck on net where Pavol Regenda gathered it in, stepped out and roofed a shot high and around Wild goaltender Peyton Jones. 1-0 Gulls.
Throwing the same line right out there again – the Gulls took a quick 2-0 lead as they bullied the Wild around their own zone, setting up back to back chances in front before Pavol Regenda once again found a puck in front and buried it for the 2-0 lead. 2-0 Gulls.
Some much too nonchalant defending in their own zone as a defensive pairing and mid-change line got caught on the ice too long resulted in their lead cut to 2-1 as the Wild beat some lazy looking Gulls players staring at a loose puck in the slot. 2-1 Gulls.
Keeping the pressure on the Wild got a tying goal on a near goal-line shot that appeared to hit the post and come back out but which the Iowa players immediately celebrated. The eventual replay showing that it did indeed look like a good goal despite the lack of overhead cam replay. 2-2 tie game.
Time expired on the period with Iowa still pressuring the San Diego zone and the Gulls took a 2-2 deadlock to the first intermission having surrendered the two goal lead. Shots were 9-8 for the Wild on the frame, the shot map showing the Gulls having the better of the chances and the Wild picking their spots to get even.
Second Period: San Diego Gulls 2 – Iowa Wild 2
Starting the middle frame with a jump the Gulls earned their first Power Play of the game as Brayden Tracey jumped onto the ice to intercept a Wild breakout pass, setting up a scoring chance that was only denied by a slash on Pavol Regenda at the last moment.
The Gulls did not struggle as much this time to get a zone entry – as they had in their previous few games without Olen Zellweger, but they could not convert and an Iowa counter attack as the penalty expired almost resulted in an undeserved 3-2 lead for the home team but Tomas Suchanek scrambled to recover as his team-mates slowly made their way back.
Time crept by slowly on the frame as the action flowed from zone to zone and then back again with neither team able to break the tie.
Even with the exchange of Power Plays in the final five minutes of play – the score remained at 2-2 as the period came to a scoreless conclusion. Shots were 12-8 for Iowa on the frame and 21-16 overall.
The shot map showing the Wild having the better of the frame and continuing to pepper Suchanek from that left side circle.
Third Period: San Diego Gulls 2 – Iowa Wild 2
Starting the period at four on four which then became a brief Power Play the Gulls kept up their momentum after returning to five on five and literally out-muscled the Wild to retake the lead. Jaxsen Wiebe battling to get a deflection on a shot and then following up on the rebound to bat it in to the nearside as he was falling. Blake McLaughlin started the play by using his speed to gain the zone and carry the puck around the net before feeding Trevor Carrick at the point for the shot that Wiebe deflected. 3-2 Gulls.
The hitting picked up and that created more space for the Gulls to skate through on transition as they kept possession and the pressure on.
Andrew Agozzino breaking through to give San Diego back their two goal lead after some great work from the top line to earn an offensive zone face-off. Trevor Carrick taking time to measure and fire a shot that hit a body in front then eventually land at the feet of the wide open Agozzino at the right side. 4-2 Gulls.
After erasing a minor to Drew Helleson taken soon after the goal the Gulls defended the lead until within the final five minutes of the frame as the Wild pulled their net-minder for the extra man. Mason Shaw finishing off a passing play to the slot to beat Suchanek. 4-3 Gulls.
With just over two minutes left the Wild pulled their netminder again but this time the Gulls were ready – Nikita Nesterenko intercepting a pass in the San Diego zone and immediately sending an accurate bullet from his own zone to hit the vacated net. 5-3 Gulls.
Nathan Gaucher followed that up with under a minute left as he chased down a loose puck, sent it back to the point and then was able to receive it back down low to deposit it into the yawning cage. 6-3 Gulls win.
Post Game Notes:
Good Time To Get Hot Pavol
With a goal in the previous game and another two in this one, Pavol is well and truly back baby! He now leads the team in goal scoring once again with 14 on the year. His re-emergence could not have come at a better time with injuries and call-ups now starting to test the Gulls depth. Speaking of which..
Yay For Depth
I was somewhat surprised to see the Costantini in the line-up for this one and even more curious about what Colton Whites personal reasons were for being absent. Costantini has 12 points with Tulsa this year, 14th on the team in scoring – so not exactly stellar numbers; however he didn’t look too out of place in this game. His decision making in the offensive zone is what stood out to me the most – where it was even noted on the broadcast that he looked over the easy shot option and sent the puck down low to a wide open winger beside the net instead. He also made some very good head-man passes from his own zone. Defensively he definitely needs some work – he was on the ice for that second Wild goal in the first period and looked a lot out of his depth attempting to prevent that play. Will be interesting to see if Colton White is out for a while and we see a lot more of Costantini moving forward or if this is just a one game replacement.
Fourth Line Conundrum Part One
Continually cycling the fourth line spot winger out every game is Coach McIlvanes only answer to the excess personnel he currently has at forward but it has me wondering – with essentially everyone playing so well right now; what happens when Jacob Perreault comes back? Somebody will need to drop out of the top nine and I couldn’t really single out any one player to demote right now – at a guess, possibly Caulfield but that isn’t to say he hasn’t played well enough to be in the top nine, he would just be a victim of the numbers given he has not shown up on the scoresheet as much as his play has dictated. Meanwhile the fourth liners are quietly producing at a rate that would suggest keeping them in the line-up. Wiebe has three goals on the year now and four points in 18 games while McLaughlin looked good in this game also. As for Pastujov? Well I am sure I will have something to say about him in the next games post game notes….
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