San Diego, California. With bodies consistently coming back and finding themselves finally back on form, the San Diego Gulls welcomed the Toronto Marlies to Pechanga Arena for the first time ever.
Yegor Sidorov returned from injury and joined the line-up which also featured newcomer Justin Bailey and recently returned Sam Colangelo and Nikita Nesterenko. The sudden increase in depth seeing Judd Caulfield dropped to the fourth line while Josh Lopina sat out his second straight game as a healthy scratch.
Rodwin Dionicio was rewarded with his offensive output of late, keeping his spot in the defensive pairings while Andrew Lucas and Roman Kinal sat out.
Calle Clang was given the start with Oscar Dansk backing up, Josh Lopina, Travis Howe, Andrew Lucas and Roman Kinal were the healthy scratches while Jaxsen Wiebe was the lone injured player.
First Period:
The veteran heavy Marlies took the initial lead in shots and controlled possession for much of the first five minutes with the Gulls only really threatening via risky pinch and stretch pass plays.
Calle Clang had to be sharp as the Marlies created odd-man rush and one-on-one moves in tight but he turned each aside while getting set just in time for any follow up opportunities.
Toronto kept up their concerted and coordinated effort, breaking through on a sequence which saw them make line changes in the offensive zone while Jan Mysak became a liability without a stick. The AHL’s leading scorer Alex Steeve making it 1-0 Toronto as he hammered a blast from the high slot by Clang. 1-0 Marlies.
San Diego had the better of the chances and opportunities for the remainder of the period, coming close on a shift featuring a combination of Tristan Luneau and Dillon Heatherington but it was not enough and they took the 1-0 deficit to the first intermission. Shots were 10-7 Toronto after the first twenty minutes with the shot map showing the visitors enjoying the better quality of chances.
Second Period: Toronto Marlies 1 – San Diego Gulls 0
San Diego came out of the intermission with some push – putting the Marlies on the backfoot and despite some missed calls not going their way they eventually earned one as Jan Mysak was tripped trying to reach a loose puck off a face-off win.
Toronto appeared to have seen the tape on the Gulls man advantage zone entries and set-up but as the second San Diego attempt failed on entry – Tristan Luneau flipped the script, regained a loose puck in the neutral zone and fed a streaking Sasha Patujov who showed further confidence to beat three Marlies players as well as the goaltender to make it a 1-1 tie game. 1-1 tie game.
San Diego rode momentum following the goal and spent an elongated shift in the Toronto zone in which they likely should have made changes – much like their more experience opponents did earlier in the game – but did not and saw their forward movement halted as Tyson Hinds was called for hooking in the offensive zone attempting to keep possession going.
As a veteran team would – the Marlies made San Diego pay with the man advantage. Setting up and feeding the bumper man in the slot to retake the lead. 2-1. 2-1 Marlies.
Another call to Tyson Hinds – this time an interference infraction, saw them go down a man once again as time approached six minutes remaining in the middle period.
Toronto continued to own the slot while the Gulls could not contain the internal feeds that were seemingly executed with too much speed for them to counter. But this time Calle Clang was there to make the difficult saves and they were able to erase the minor.
With San Diego continuing to drive forward momentum the calls started to go their way and on one such man advantage they evened things up as a great transition from Rodwin Dionicio saw him draw multiple Marlies defenders his way before dropping to Jan Mysak at the blue line who then hit Nikita Nesternko and then turned and spotted Justin Bailey driving the lane. The newest Gull getting a warm welcome from the Pechanga faithful as he fired it into the Toronto net to tie things up at 2. 2-2 tie game.
The Gulls continued to drive play for the remainder of time in the period to take a distinctive advantage into the second intermission. San Diego starting the final frame all even at two and keeping things close on the shots. The shot map showing the shift in momentum in the middle frame.
Third Period: San Diego Gulls 2 – Toronto Marlies 2
It was all Marlies for the first five minutes of play and Calle Clang was suddenly called back into action as the Gulls defense again struggled to pick up the late man coming off the bench with the Marlies changing on the fly.
San Diego started to mount a response as time started to approach the midway point of the period but Toronto proved too skilled and too experienced as they quickly regained their lead and then added to it to make it 4-2 as time passed over the halfway mark.
The Gulls – as they have all season – would not give up and got one back as Rodwin Dionicio was set-up expertly by Yegor Sidorov on the man advantage to make it 4-3. His blast from the high slot proving too much for the Marlies netminder. 4-3 Marlies.
One last effort in the final few minutes of play saw the Gulls pull Clang and send a hail mary pass to the front of the net where multiple San Diego players stood at the back door but the play went the other direction as Kyle Clifford retrieved the puck and headed up ice to hit the empty net. 5-3 Marlies.
The Gulls again would not give up but could not make up the two goal deficit as they went down 5-3 with several cross-checks exchanged from all sides at the final whistle.
Post Game Notes:
Bailey vs Regenda
My first real look at Justin Bailey and I like what I saw. He has speed and compete. Qualities that had slowly faded from Regendas game before his exit. At his prime Regenda was a force, particularly if he was playing with any kind of emotion. I fondly remember him getting targeted and roughed up on some calls that likely should have been made, then responding by throwing his considerable weight around the rink to disrupt pucks and then getting the last laugh with a game tying or game winning goal generally scored in close off a stick handle, deflection or a rebound. But something changed in him at some point this season. I am not sure if it was a post injury thing or perhaps he was close with Coach Dave Barr and when he left – so too did Regendas…. inspiration? Enthusiam? Either way something changed this season and I guess management had finally decided it would not come back.
Justin Bailey on the other hand – brings what San Diego was missing from Regenda. Drive, speed and although he lacks the same size or hitting ability he makes up for it with his hands and feet as well as veteran experience. He brings a much needed spark on offense, draws calls with his speed or just creates space by drawing players to him on the rush.
His goal tonight was clutch but also savvy and becoming of the more experience player – following and reading the play to see an opening developing off the rush.
Dionicio Update
So I have missed a few games (at my count ten) and in that time Rodwin Dionicio has returned from the dog box and appears to have cemented himself back in the line-up above the likes of Andrew Lucas and Roman Kinal. Watching him tonight did provide some insight as to why – his natural vision and seemingly unconscious ability to make the right move on offensive to contribute to or create a dangerous play is invaluable. His rush and pass-off on Baileys goal was instrumental in ensuring the scoring play could happen as he drew in Marlies attackers before distracting them with subterfuge on what was clearly not the drawn up typical man-advantage zone-entry.
I do still worry over his attitude. With now two instances this season of poor behaviour keeping him out of the line-up. The first being the benching after a very poor effort shift that saw a Gulls player verbally admonish him on the bench until another a stepped in. The other being the recent spitting incident that saw him suspended one game. The fact he is back in the line-up despite the strong and consistent play of Andrew Lucas is either a good thing in terms of the Ducks confidence in him – or a bad thing in that they are perhaps shopping him and his abilities ahead of the upcoming Trade Deadline.
Nature vs Nurture
Today’s game – and others the Gulls have played against veteran heavy squads this season was an example of AHL clubs total reliance on their parents club current trajectory. The Marlies are laden with veterans that are either AHL journeyman with vast experience and shining resumes or previous NHL regulars now in the twilight of their career. There isn’t much room for developing kids but that’s OK because their parent clubs have been drafting so late or with so few draft selections available to them that there aren’t that many to fill the spots. I know this sounds like it fly’s directly in the face of the veteran rule but it can be done with the right amount of balance. I won’t go into too much detail on it now – perhaps I will in a later stand alone article but just something I thought I would note as a potential hope for the future. Once the Ducks are finally in the position the Leafs are now they will start to fill holes in the Gulls line-up with proven veterans rather than focusing on developing the overflow of youth coming through.
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