San Diego, California. Looking to keep the wins coming in December the San Diego Gulls headed home to take on the Bakersfield Condors.
Once again Coach McIlvane made no changes to either the forward lines or the defensive pairings from the previous game – staying with what was working but again that meant that Rodwin Dionicio remained a healthy scratch.
Calle Clang got the start – backed up by Oscar Dansk.
All injuries and healthy scratches from the previous game also remained the same – consisting of Dillon Heatherington, Carson Meyer and Travis Howe among the walking wounded and Rodwin Dionicio sitting out his fourth straight game as a healthy scratch along with Anthony Costantini.
First Period:
In an eerily similar look to their previous game the Gulls looked sluggish, out of sorts and had no coordination to start the game.
They did see some time on the Power Play as veteran Seth Griffith was called for hooking within the first two minutes but as the Condors killed the minor it was all Bakersfield as play returned to five on five and things went from bad to worse as Jan Mysak was called for a high sticking call that drew blood and so earned the double minor on the play. Bakersfield slowly wore down the Gulls with the man advantage and took the opportunity allowed with the extra time to break through as Cam Dineen potted his first of the year. 1-0 Condors.
The Gulls only really started to settle into a rhythm in the final quarter of action and as teams exchanged Power Plays it was definitely apparent that San Diego looked the more deadly with theirs.
Time expired on the opening frame with the Condors enjoying the 1-0 lead and a 13-7 advantage in shots but the Gulls showing glimpses of their dominant unstoppable fore-check. The shot map showing Bakersfield outplayed the hosts for the majority of the period but that the Gulls remained still in the hunt.
Second Period: Bakersfield Condors 1 – San Diego Gulls 0
A physical determination set in to start the second and was made evident by a heavy hit laid by the Condors Ronnie Attard on Judd Caulfield at the Bakersfield blue line. Nathan Gaucher immediately dropped the gloves with Attard in a very brief scrap that was cut short by Attard seemingly cutting his hand on Gauchers visor.
Just as it felt as though San Diego was generating some carryover momentum from the finish of the first frame – Jaxsen Wiebe air mailed the puck over the glass on the full and it was an anxious couple of minutes on the penalty kill with Calle Clang looking strong even when his own players made things more difficult by deflecting passes straight to a nearside Condors stick.
San Diego were given a Power Play of their own as Wiebe excited the box and Josh Brown was called for holding as he attempted to retrieve a loose puck. The first unit were used for the almost the entire two minutes and with some initial misfires earlier on they eventually broke through via the trigger man – Sasha Pastujov on a somewhat broken play. The Ducks 2021 66th overall pick taking a pass on the left side (not his usual right side one-timer position) and faking an initial shot then wiring a hard and high wrist shot that Rodrigue made the initial stop on, the puck’s forward momentum trickling by and past him to tie the game up at one a piece. 1-1 tie game.
It was all Gulls for much of the remainder of the period until one mental lapse after a TV timeout saw the San Diego blue line pairing of Tristan Luneau and Tyson Hinds looking at each other in confusion as the Condors won the center face-off and immediately sprang a man at the blue line to go in on Clang alone. The Condors re-taking the lead against the grain. 2-1 Condors.
San Diego attempted an instant response and spent the final few minutes of the period in the Condors zone testing the visitors net but headed to the second intermission down 2-1 despite out-shooting their opponent and as shown on the shot map – having the slight edge in chances.
Third Period: Bakersfield Condors 2 – San Diego Gulls 1
The trend of scoring against the grain continued – with San Diego largely controlling play for the first couple of minutes of play but seeing the visitors strike again on a partial two on one break that saw Phil Kemp wire a perfect top corner shot over the shoulder of Calle Clang as he blazed down the right side. 3-1 Condors.
San Diego did not wallow in the two goal deficit and went right back to the attack. The foreshadowing of the Gulls dominant forecheck seen in the first period suddenly came to the foray as they suddenly became an endless wave of rushes, cycles, hitting and shots on the Condors net.
Yegor Sidorov got the party started as he found the puck in the high slot and wired a shot past Rodrigue to bring the Gulls within one once again. 3-2 Condors.
Then less than a minute later Roland McKeown kept things going as he found another puck in the high slot after the same trio of Sidorov, Gaucher and Caulfield turned the puck over down low and created havoc in front of the Condors net. 3-3 tie game.
With the crowd behind them and looking for the knock out punch the Gulls continued to push – Nathan Gaucher once again creating a chance in front by forcing a turnover and then perfectly placing the puck for Judd Caulfield in the high slot who was stopped.
After a TV time out Coach McIlvane came right back out with the Gaucher line and their hard work was carried over to the top line which saw Nikita Nesterenko collect a puck down low and attempt a wrap around, as the rebound bounced across to the right Coulson Pitre was there to fling it just past the sliding Olivier Rodrigue to give San Diego the lead on his first AHL goal. 4-3 Gulls.
Bakersfield shifted momentum ever so slightly and had San Diego on their heels for much of the remaining five minutes of play but the Gulls clogged the neutral zone, collapsed down low and prevented any chances in close.
With just over a minute left the Condors pulled goaltender Olivier Rodrigue for the extra attacker and with both sides winning an equal amount of draws in the San Diego zone that saw the Gulls attempt two long range shots that missed it would be Judd Caulfield rewarded by disrupting and chasing down a Condors face-off win to net his first of the season and seal the win. 5-3 Gulls.
San Diego taking the win and their first win streak of the season.
Post Game Notes:
Standings Update
The two wins bring the Gulls out of the cellar and firmly into second to last place in the Pacific while also placing them just three points behind Bakersfield and six behind Tucson for the last playoff spot. The 6-12-1 record still looks more than a little daunting but if the Gulls can stay hot – they can slowly but surely chip away at it. Seven of their nine games in December are against Pacific Division rivals including one against the Silver Knights and another against these same Condors so there is a good chance they can come away from December either at .500 or close to it.
#FreeDinicio
This marked the fourth straight game Dinicio had been scratched and Duck faithful are starting to notice. I still hold firm that it is tough love for how he reacted to the Officials in his last game after not being awarded a call on an obvious slashing call but as pointed out to me on twitter – I will keep an eye on his straight line speed if and when he does eventually make it back into the line-up. I don’t believe his edges need any work, he has shown great ability to shift away from fore-checkers on numerous occasions.
Gaucher Love
I keep meaning to show some love for Nathan Gaucher. The Ducks late first round pick in 2022 is still finding his scoring touch in the AHL but his leadership qualities are shining through a lot lately. This is the second time in as many weeks that he has immediately challenged an opposing player after a hit on a team-mate and you get the sense that come the end of the season – don’t be surprised if you see an A on his sweater.
He has also been the main driver of play for not only his line but the Gulls offense as late. He did not earn a star for this game – earning just the one assist but he featured in the creation of three of the five goals by causing turnovers in the Condors zone. I am beginning to think that this might be the last season we see of him in a San Diego Gulls uniform.
Injury Updates and Upcoming Movements
It was noted on the broadcast for this game that Dillon Heatherington is expected back before Christmas so that means within the next week or so. I would assume that means Roman Kinal is sent back to Tulsa as a result and Dionicio is kept in San Diego as the spare until he is eventually let out of the dog box.
The Ducks also recently acquired Jacob Trouba from the New York Rangers in exchange for Urho Vaakanainen and a fourth round pick in 2025. Which likely means Drew Helleson will be returned once Trouba joins the Ducks on their upcoming road-trip. Ducks fans bemoaned the trade for what it does to create a log jam for the defensive pipe line but I see it as one in one out – with Cam Fowler soon to be moved before the trade deadline. The Gulls defensive depth is already starting to look crowded again but I don’t see that as a bad thing. When you can deploy ECHL call-ups that look as good as they do in the AHL such as Lucas and Kinal, it can only provide a better chance to succeed. Now if only the forward group could be bolstered in a similar way with perhaps some more proven scorers and play drivers….
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