San Diego, California. After a tough 2-1 shootout loss to the Reign on Teddy Bear Toss night the San Diego Gulls looked to keep their point streak going as they tried to climb further out of the Pacific Division cellar.
Again the lines and defensive pairings remained the same, only the goaltenders switched again – as Calle Clang came back in to start, giving Oscar Dansk a rest after he stole the point against the Reign.
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 sat out his sixth straight game as a healthy scratch along with Anthony Costantini.
First Period:
Despite a strong start from Nikita Nesterenko it felt like the rest of the Gulls did not heed my warning regarding not taking the Silver Knights lightly as their forecheck swarmed, pressured and immediately forced a Tristan Luneau turnover down low before pouncing on the loose puck at the side of the net. Calle Clang having no chance at the backhand shot shoveled over his right shoulder. 1-0 Silver Knights.
Time flew by on the period and it took until the 10:20 mark for the Gulls to finally get some semblance of their usual attack form. This time it was lead by the “money men” that I had called out in a previous post game note as Pavol Regenda and Nikita Nesterenko traded shots and passes before the later grabbed a rebound and sent it home after a great shift. 1-1 tie game.
Sasha Pastujov drew a cross checking call on the shift right after the goal and San Diego sent their man advantage to the ice. The first unit could not convert but a new look second unit featuring Andrew Lucas at the point directing traffic gave the Gulls the lead as Yegor Sidorov made a nice move to fake a shot, draw the puck in and tuck it behind a Silver Knight to create a screen before sending it top corner. 2-1 Gulls.
San Diego hunted for further chances in the Henderson zone and as the Silver Knights survived the initial barrage they turned things the other way and got another easy one by Clang who did not appear to be his usual sharp self. 2-2 tie game.
Yegor Sidorov was assessed a minor for hooking in the final four minutes of the period with the Gulls killing the penalty then attempting to create something to retake the lead but time was against them. San Diego taking a 2-2 tie into the first intermission despite out-shooting the visitors 14-6. The shot map telling the tale of the period.
Second Period: San Diego Gulls 2 – Henderson Silver Knights 2
San Diego spent almost the first five minutes of the middle frame shooting themselves in the foot as simple plays were looked off and frequent turnovers resulted.
Both teams seemed to settle into a game of casual neutral zone warfare with little to no chances seen by either goalie until the midway point when Judd Cauflield received a pass from Yegor Sidorov at the Henderson blue line and expertly kept it on side while moving forward, then taking extra skill to wait and find a seam to feed a streaking Sidorov at the far post for the give and go goal. 3-2 Gulls on his second of the game.
Henderson attempted a response and appeared to take back momentum, slowly increasing their shot total to make things look relatively even for both sides.
San Diego eased back into things and added to their total after some great work that started with Judd Caulfield and then was followed up with a tally from the fourth line. Jan Mysak started the play by puck handling into a lane and driving the net to finally fire off a backhand that was stopped but the rebound sat perfectly for Jaxen Wiebe who punched it home. 4-2 Gulls.
Another Gulls miscue gave the Silver Knights further life as Andrew Lucas saw the puck blow up off his stick near the slot and the loose puck slid straight to Cal Burke who sent it home. 4-3 Gulls.
San Diego responded with the fourth line who held the Henderson zone for the remaining few minutes of the period and the Gulls took a 4-3 lead to the second intermission, shots were 15-7 for the visitors through the second set of twenty minutes to make it an even 21-21 split overall. The shot map showing a switching of stories of sorts.
Third Period: San Diego Gulls 4 – Henderson Silver Knights 3
As if switching things up again the Gulls this time were the more urgent squad to start the period and their speed through the neutral zone saw a fifth goal as Nathan Gaucher was sprung on a partial break by Yegor Sidorov. His smooth stick handling moves shifting Akira Schmid enough to allow his back-hand to find space above him but it hit the post. Thankfully Judd Caulfield followed up on the play and quickly cleaned up the rebound past the prone Schmid. 5-3 Gulls.
Henderson responded immediately with some push that saw the Gulls resort to zone clearances and getting the puck as far as the neutral zone for quick changes before the Gaucher line briefly stemmed then turned the tide back in San Diego’s favor.
The short lived momentum was broken up by a tripping call to Roland McKeown but once San Diego erased the minor and play returned to five on five the top line went right back to the attack – both Pavol Regenda and Nikita Nesterenko looking strong as they fed off each-other to create chances. Unfortunately their hard work was undone by a Silver Knights rush back the other way leading to Calle Clang making several high danger chances in front while the Gulls defense desperately tried to crowd the crease but were unable to regain the puck and a shot from the high slot through the maze of bodies got by him. 5-4 Silver Knights.
Back to back shifts after the goal in the San Diego zone saw the Silver Knights think they had the equalizer but it was shown on the replay that Henderson’s Mitch McLain physically shoved Clang back then kicked the puck into the net. Surprisingly the Officials ruled in the Gulls favor and called back the goal.
The wake-up call sent San Diego the other way and they pressed to get another via the top line once again but defensive structures on both sides appeared to be forgotten and the Silver Knights were gifted another golden opportunity to tie it up but Calle Clang made his best save of the night, pushing out to challenge and flash the glove with precision.
Henderson pulled their goaltender for the final minute and a half of play and won the face-off to keep play in the San Diego zone but Calle Clang was defiant in ensuring he did not allow one more goal behind him.
The Gulls taking the 5-4 win to extend their point streak to four games.
Post Game Notes:
Slow Simmer
The win puts the Gulls into a tie with Bakersfield in points but slightly behind in points percentage given the Condors have played two games less. It also places them just three points back of Tucson for the final playoff spot and firmly back in the playoff hunt. It has been another slow start to the season but despite the injuries and call-ups – the Gulls are starting to slowly get hot.
Love For ….
Yegor Sidorov has been an absolute force these last few games and as he is gaining in confidence he is starting to take over the game more. Team-mates are realizing he is always with them on a rush, passes are connecting and he is also getting under opponents skin. He appears to be doing whatever he can to get noticed and it is definitely working – case in point he threw some pretty big hits tonight, not something you would expect from a sniper/play-maker and it definitely generated some appreciation from the Pechanga faithful.
The Gaucher, Sidorov, Caulfield trio has been the Gulls most deadly line of late. Over the last four games the Gulls have scored 12 goals, the Sidorov line were responsible for 7 of those and 4 of them were by Sidorov himself.
Andrew Lucas is also coming on. This is no surprise to me given I knew what he was about and could not understand why he did not make the roster to start the season in the first place. His opportunities have increased and he is showing that with the elevated confidence in his abilities he is out to prove he might be another college diamond in the rough. No exaggeration I would say he is the best puck rusher on the Squad right now – that is including Tristan Luneau.
Meanwhile In Anaheim
The Ducks have not had a great showing on their East Coast swing thus far – dropping a shoot out loss in Montreal and then getting embarrassed 5-1 in Ottawa today. They have now lost four straight despite various important pieces starting to come back. Do they change things up and play the parts that were working? IE Helleson? Or do they send them down? As it is Helleson is the most likely candidate to come back down once they return from their road swing and although Colangelo was a healthy scratch today he is the only spare forward at the moment so likely stays up until Zegras and/or Fabbri come back.
Somewhat ironically the Gulls don’t really need help on the blue line right now but having Colangelo back would definitely be a huge help. We can expect all of them likely back for a short stint over the NHL All Star break at the very least.
Meanwhile In Tulsa
Despite being with the Gulls – Sasha Pastujov still leads the Oilers in scoring closely followed by Ruslan Gazizov – the next call-up should another injury or call-up shake the San Diego roster. Gazizov has 14 points in 19 games.
Vyacheslav Buteyets leads the team in wins with eight and has emerged the incumbent number one having played the most games, holding a 8-6-0-0 record.
2024-2025 Game 25: San Diego Gulls at Tucson Roadrunners
Tucson, Arizona. After seeing their point streak ended at the hands of a 2-0 shut-out the …