San Diego, California. After back to back wins on the road the San Diego Gulls returned home to take on the San Jose Barracuda with yet more injuries announced for their starting line-up.
Yegor Sidorov remained out with injury and joining him on the suddenly long list of the walking wounded was Noah Warren and Carson Meyer. Jeramie Biakabutuka and Travis Howe drew back in to fill the gaps left by injury with Howe slotting back in on the fourth line and Coulson Pitre moving up to the second line to take Meyers spot on the recently overtly effective second line.
Oscar Dansk was given his third straight start on the back to back with Buteyets backing up while Calle Clang, Travis Howe, Jaxsen Wiebe, Yegor Sidorov, Noah Warren and Carson Meyer were the listed players with injuries.
First Period:
Less than a minute in and the Barracuda’s first chance came off the stick of the very recent former Gull Pavol Regenda and the follow up pressure saw the visitors go down a man as Collin Graf was called for tripping.
It took until the second minute of the man advantage for the Gulls to finally get set and put some shots on the Barracuda net but it was too little to late and the minor was erased before they could mount much if any momentum.
San Jose opened up the ice and got their speed game going – taking the early lead on a rush that saw Scott Sabourin depositing a loose puck behind Dansk as he crashed the net and was too strong for the two Gulls defenders within his vicinity. 1-0 Barracuda.
A push back started by the Gaucher line that was carried over through the top line saw the Gulls generate some shots on the San Jose net but the visitors held firm while keeping the game flowing in their desired direction and speed of play.
San Diego kept building momentum until getting rewarded as Rolan McKeown found himself with time at the blue line but with not many options so he sent a seeing-eye shot on net that deflected off a skate near the crease and bounced high over the goaltenders glove. 1-1 tie game.
San Jose immediately hit back – keeping the Gulls under pressure through relentless forecheck and taking advantage of an under power fourth line to take back the lead as Josh Lopina was too slow to get to his man in front and prevent a deflected shot-pass from the near-side boards. 2-1 Barracuda.
Judd Caulfield continued his growth as a power forward by drawing a call as he dragged three San Jose players in his wake en-route to attempting to create his own partial break and the Gulls went to the Power Play. On the man advantage the Gulls were able to get set quicker than their previous instance but were again not able to find the back of the San Jose net in the allocated time allowed.
Time expired on the opening period with both teams in the midst of trading odd man rushes as the Gulls headed to the first intermission down by one but taking a narrow lead in shots to the break. Shots were 10-9 San Diego with the shot map showing the visitors enjoying the better of the quality chances.
Second Period: San Jose Barracuda 2 – San Diego Gulls 1
San Jose came out with the better push to start the second but the Gulls responded with a swap of forwards as Coulson Pitre switched placed with Sam Colangelo in an attempt to keep the second line going by throwing together some familiar chemistry.
Travis Howe tried to get his team-mates going but instead took a cross-checking call to put his team down a man against the fourth best Power Play in the league.
The Gulls were able to kill the minor thanks to some good initial fore-checking and then shutting lanes down once the Barracuda were eventually able to get set and as play returned to five on five it didn’t stay that way for long as the penalty parade continued for the next few minutes. With the Barrauda enjoying the majority of the calls that saw a disjointed four on four sequence end in a one minute man advantage for the visitors and another kill for the Gulls while the frantic speed of play carried past the midway point of the frame.
Some sustained pressure from the Gaucher line once again saw the Barracuda with no answer but still able to keep the puck from crossing their goal line as San Diego sent further wave after wave into their zone. A delay of game call earned by the relentless onslaught saw the Gulls take to the PP in the Barracuda zone and immediately cash in as Justin Bailey got revenge on his old team by looking off a pass to Sasha Pastujov in the slot and wiring a shot that beat the San Jose netminder blocker side. 2-2 tie game.
San Jose attempted to push back as the hitting began to pick up in earnest but it was all Gulls as Sasha Pastujov and Sam Colangelo became an insurmountable force across two separate lines while briefly collaborating during changes.
The Gulls tying things up and taking all of the momentum into the second intermission. Shots were 10-6 Gulls on the period and 20-15 overall with the shot map showing them continuing to build through their forecheck but still needing to tidy up the low slot in their own end.
Third Period: San Diego Gulls 2 – San Jose Barracuda 2
San Diego kept up their strong play from the the middle frame and Judd Caulfield drew his third penalty of the game as he was tripped attempting to take a shot from the high slot on a three on two rush.
Justin Bailey continued his revenge tour as he played a give and go with Captain Ryan Carpenter to find time and space in the slot and wire a shot that beat the San Jose goaltender low stick side. 3-2 Gulls.
The Gulls fourth line almost cost them another goal as the Barracuda kept them out of sorts and at their mercy but thankfully sent their high danger chance high over the net.
Further adversity presented itself as Jan Mysak was called for tripping one minute into a four on four sequence that occurred off camera when some scuffles broke out between timeouts. Some strong play from Nathan Gaucher and Judd Caulfield helped erase the rare but dangerous four on three penalty kill.
Play began to get chippy and the Barracuda were awarded another Power Play despite the infractions seemingly being of equal measure from both sides. The Gulls were able to erase the minor again but momentum had shifted to the visitors as they continued to own possession while pressing for the equalizer.
Things got tense as time approached four minutes left in regulation but the Gulls held their cool and played some of the best defensive hockey they have all season to keep San Jose from acquiring the extra attacker until well into the final minute of play. When the Barracuda did manage to pull their netminder a great save and then heads up play by Dansk saw him coolly play the puck, slide a pass to Sam Colangelo who then weaved his way through the neutral zone and drew defenders before feeding Nathan Gaucher in space. The empty net goal from Gaucher sealing the win and the Gulls first three game win streak of the season.
Post Game Notes:
Dare We Believe?
It usually takes until after the Trade Deadline for the Gulls to start putting together consistent win streaks but their elevated play arriving earlier than usual gives hope that perhaps they can claw their way back to a playoff spot before its too late? It doesn’t help that the Henderson Silver Knights have also suddenly got hot but that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, so long as San Diego can keep putting together wins to get back within striking range of the those teams still clinging to a playoff spot. Bakersfield currently occupies that spot which makes the upcoming weekend encounter that much more important but San Diego needs to keep things going against Abbotsford at home first. The win today puts the Gulls just one point behind Henderson and eight shy of Bakersfield, if they can put together another six points over the next three games the previously impossible suddenly looks very real.
Despite The Injuries
Perhaps the most surprising and best aspect of all the Gulls strong play lately has been that it has come despite missing the play-driving and sniping talents of Yegor Sidorov as well as Carson Meyer coming in and out of the line-up not to mention Calle Clang and Noah Warren now going down. The Meyer injury has hurt them the most as his absence tests the Gulls now suddenly shallow forward depth, the roll on effect was immediately obvious in this game as the reliable Coulson Pitre was promoted from the fourth line into the top six.
You Are Only As Good As Your Fourth Line
Everything was clicking for the Gulls tonight, everything except the fourth line. Coach McIlvane wisely recognized this and limited their ice time to just the one shift in the third while double shifting the rest. I’m not sure if it shows how important a player Coulson Pitre is or if Travis Howe is that detrimental that he could bring an entire line down by himself but it’s something that needs to be fixed if the Gulls hope to keep this streak going. Josh Lopina looked completely lost out there and Nico Myatovic was mostly invisible.
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