2024-2025 Game 62: San Diego Gulls vs San Jose Barracuda

San Diego, California. Returning home after failing to pick up the full four points in Henderson and with just ten games left on the season the San Diego Gulls hoped to keep their now slim playoff hopes alive as they welcomed in the San Jose Barracuda.

Despite my misgivings about the 11-7 structure, Coach McIlvane went right back with the same line-up that lost to Henderson on the back to back.

Ville Husso got the start in net with Oscar Dansk backing up.

The injury list remained the same with still no further players returning from the emergency ward.

First Period:

San Diego started out relatively well, matching the Barracuda for pace and physicality while creating one high danger chance just after the five minute mark as Justin Bailey found the puck on his stick after a fortuitous bounce off the end boards.

However the Barracuda opened the scoring against the run of play, getting a lucky bounce on a blocked shot that saw Ville Husso way out of position and unable to make the save. 1-0 Barracuda.

The Gulls didn’t let the goal deter them, gaining and holding the San Jose zone for stretches across separate lines but their burgeoning momentum was halted by a slashing call to Rolan McKeown.

San Diego swiftly erased the minor, preventing the Barracuda from getting set at all with either of their units and as play returned to five on five a concerted attack by the top line saw the the Gulls tie things up via Rolan McKeown as the forwards wore down San Jose with a tight cycle game and the former Milwaukee defender stepped into the overlap. 1-1 tie game.

A follow up shift from the third line saw the Gulls earn a Power Play but were unable to convert via either new look units that featured Tristan Luneau paired with Stian Solberg on the top unit and Ian Moore paired with Rolan McKeown on the second unit.

The Gulls heading to the first intermission tied up at one but leading in shots 10-6. The shot map showing San Diego as having the better of the chances.

Second Period: San Diego Gulls 1 – San Jose Barracuda 1

The Barracuda came back with a push to start the second and as the Gulls stayed on their heels under the barrage, the visitors took back the lead as a bad pass in the neutral zone saw Ethan Cardwell able to lead a partial break and send a hard low wrist shot by Husso with speed. 2-1 Barracuda.

San Jose made another push after the goal but the top line sent the puck in the other direction and tied it right back up as Ryan Carpenter deflected a Tristan Luneau shot in front to make it 2-2.

It was all Gulls after the goal and as they continued to press the chances came, Tyson Hinds coming close to taking the lead as he collected a rebound and sent the puck just wide of an empty net.

Yegor Sidorov had another good chance on a following shift and soon after the Gulls went back to the Power Play as the Barracuda were called for too many men.

Just as it seemed San Jose might kill the minor and potentially take momentum as a result some dogged work by the second unit saw Ian Moore send a pass down to Nico Myatovic who spun and found Jan Mysak in the bumper. The Czech forward with just enough time to one-time a shot that beat the San Jose goaltender. 3-2 Gulls.

San Diego then followed up with another attack following the goal to prevent a Barracuda response to successfully take a 3-2 lead into the second intermission. Shots were 11-8 Barracuda on the period and 18-17 Gulls overall. The shot map showing Husso had to be sharp in the middle frame but the Gulls taking advantage of their chances.

Third Period: San Diego Gulls 3 – San Jose Barracuda 2

The pace was frantic to start the third with both sides exchanging chances. Husso calmly turned aside those he saw while the Gulls were treated cruelly by the goal post at the other end.

Justin Bailey displayed his trademark speed and snarl as he chased down a dump in and slammed a Barracuda player against the glass to free-up a puck and send it in front. Multiple San Jose players didn’t appreciate the clean hit and gave him multiple cross checks after to send the Gulls to the Power Play. However Carsen Twarynski was found guilty of interference less than ten seconds into the man advantage to even up the minors.

As time passed by the halfway mark the Barracuda were clearly in the drivers seat, with the Gulls taking their passive defense a little bit too far when they allowed San Jose Captain Jimmy Schuldt to walk out from behind their net and make a move in close on Ville Husso. Husso made the stop but it gave the sense that San Diego were in dire need of a shake up to take back control of their own destiny.

Back to back penalties to Jan Mysak and then Tyson Hinds saw the Barracuda have a lengthy five on three that it looked like the Gulls might escape from but San Jose broke through in the final minute of the sequence off a one-time shot that slid under Husso. 3-3 tie game.

The Gulls fought right back, almost taking the lead right back on a rush play and a subsequent follow up after a big hit thrown by Owen Lindmark at the blue line saw a shot not completely covered by the San Jose goaltender trickle behind and then get followed up in the back of the net but the Official had already wrongfully called the play dead.

Time expired on regulation time with the Barracuda controlling the Gulls zone and we headed to the extra session.

Overtime:

San Diego controlled the puck off the draw and generated some scoring chances via the trio of Jan Mysak, Tristan Luneau and Ryan Carpenter. I was curious to see how Stian Solberg would look with the extra ice allowed during the three on three session – he did not get to see much of the puck as Yegor Sidorov did much of the work on his shift, slipping in and out of Barracuda players in an attempt to draw them in but his team-mates could not initially cash in on his individual efforts. That is until a break by Sidorov down the right side saw Carsen Twarynski sneak in behind the defense and a perfect backhand pass by Sidorov found him at the back door. 4-3 Gulls win on a beautiful pass from Sidorov to a sneaky speedy Twarynski.

Post Game Notes:

What Could Have Been

I haven’t exactly given up hope yet but the odds are very much stacked against the Gulls. Just as it seemed they were on an unstoppable roll – injuries to both the Ducks and their own squad completely halted that. I would look at the Coachella game where Sasha Pastujov was clearly deliberately targeted and then injured as the turning point. With just ten games left and seven points out of the final playoff spot it feels like they have to win every single one of their remaining games to have a chance – the magic number is now 30 and the Eagles are closing in on being the first of the Pacific to be confirmed with a magic number of just three. I guess looking at it with some hope – the Roadrunners are still catch-able at this point and it would be somewhat ironic given they were responsible for knocking the Gulls out of their spot the last time San Diego were close to a playoff run. It is going to take a lot of luck some more concerted team-efforts and more time for the new players to get adjusted as well as potentially some bodies coming back from injury…

Injury Updates and Incoming Help

The Gulls had their Elite Member night this past week and with that always comes some great insider info. From what I could gather:

• Sasha Pastujov: Couldn’t or wouldn’t say when he would be back – only that he was “itching to be back ASAP”. Which I am taking as a very positive sign.
• Calle Clang: Is likely done for the season
• Tomas Suchanek: Also likely done for the season
• Nathan Gaucher: Was not at the event but was seen at tonight’s game in the stands wearing a sling, so we can assume it’s an upper body injury.

The Gulls released Easton Brodzinski before this game and also announced they had signed Drew Elliott to a PTO. The 21 year old played at the University of New Brunswick this season, notching 22 points in 26 games and contributing the one assist in five playoff games. He had spent the last five seasons before that in the Q where he put up middling numbers in the traditionally high scoring league. The best I could find on him is this draft profile from 2021 that indicates he had early potential but has settled into a more defensive forward role; not really going to push the needle but can fill in a spot on the forth line until the Gulls start getting bodies back.

I had hope that we could get one or both of Nikita Nesterenko and Sam Colangelo back before the Ducks last game on the 16th of April but given Colangelo returned from injury tonight and Nesterenko not only stayed in the line-up but scored a goal in their 6-2 win over the Bruins, I guess we will have to wait until the Gulls two very last games against the Reign and Firebirds before we see them.

Stats Update

Ian Moore has quietly had a strong start to his professional career. With his first multi point night tonight he now has two points in three games and a well earned third star of the game.

Meanwhile Tristan Luneau has flown under the radar while climbing the league scoring ladder. He now sits tied for third in assists in the league overall and tied for third in scoring by defenders. He is joint leader in rookie scoring by defenders with the Barracuda’s Luca Cagnoni and tied for fourth with Cagnoni in rookie scoring overall. Needless to say – his 47 points in 49 games leads the Gulls in scoring.