Coach Dineen made some interesting changes to the line-up for this tilt, moving Trevor Zegras off of the top line and inserting him onto the second line alongside the newly reassigned Agozzino and Lettieri. The defensive pairings remained the same from the last game while Lukas Dostal was given the night off and Anthony Stolarz got his first start of the season. Brayden Tracey was left off with the extra forward sent down.
Lines were:
De Leo – S Carrick – Poturalski
Zegras – Agozzino – Lettieri
Lorito – Groulx – Morand
Dostie – Badini – Perreault
Lowe – Drysdale
T Carrick – Mahura
Benoit – Drew
Stolarz
Glass
The opening period started out well for the Gull as Trevor Zegras drew a call in the Eagles zone. But it was all downhill from there. The Gulls Power Play failed to generate any decent chances and as soon as it ended, Jamie Drysdale was called for tripping.
San Diego allowed the Eagles to get setup but kept most of the action to the perimeter for the man-advantage, looking to have killed the minor until Antoine Morand got caught flat footed and was called for tripping when he attempted to prevent his man from getting around him.
On the brief – seven second – five on three advantage, the Eagles won the face-off, immediately got the puck back to the point and let fly a hard and accurate blast courtesy of Greg Pateryn that beat Stolarz for an early 1-0 deficit.
San Diego were able to kill the remaining secondary penalty and were able to halt any further Colorado momentum thanks to a huge pad save from Anthony Stolarz before slowly tilting the ice in their own favour.
The rest of the period followed a formula of battle for control in the neutral zone and the odd skirmish in either end until the Eagles were assessed a high sticking minor as Hunter Drew was clipped up around the face. The Gulls Power Play looked much better but it is becoming increasingly evident that they are trying to force the play rather than perhaps falling back to the sure and simple. Andrew Agozzino with the best chance on the man advantage as Zegras found him alone at the right circle but his measured shot was stopped.
San Diego heading to the first intermission down by one, but even in shots 7-7 with teams looking relatively even for the period.
The second began much like the first – with both teams battling for control and possession of the neutral zone. San Diego headed back to the Power Play when Nick Henry was called for holding, then as Josh Mahura carried the puck through the neutral zone with 26 seconds left in the minor he was brought down by Ryan Wagner and the Gulls headed to their own five on three advantage.
Colorado did a great job of keeping San Diego to the perimeter for the majority of the increased advantage, only allowing a sever angle one-timer from Trevor Zegras that Colorado goaltender Peyton Jones was able to stop.
Just as the second minor to Wagner was expiring, Gulls Captain Sam Carrick jumped on a loose puck in the slot and executed a beautiful forehand to backhand move that beat Jones and tied things up 1-1.
San Diego carried momentum from the goal and were able to cycle attack after attack in the Colorado zone from all four lines until the last five minutes of the middle frame when the Gulls were called for a face-off violation and headed back to the penalty kill.
The Eagles looked particularly dangerous on this man advantage, finding space and peppering Stolarz with shots, on at least two occasions they had Stolarz out of position but a miscue or mad scramble from the Gulls defense kept the puck out.
The period ended with each side exchanging further infractions as first Simon Benoit went for holding the speeding Liam Foudy and then the Eagles were called for tripping Groulx as he aimed to bring the puck from their zone during the ensuing Penalty Kill. After forty minutes with scores tied and shots a narrow 23-22 lead for the Gulls, one got the sense this was one was going to possibly need extra time.
The remaining time of the four on four went by at a fervent pace as the ice opened up. Josh Mahura had a great chance finishing off a rush at the backdoor but was stopped. On the short Power Play the Gulls continued momentum and struck through a perfect one-time bomb from Vinni Lettieri. The shot was so hard it appeared to hit pipe and come back out but it was pure net. 2-1 Gulls on two straight Power Play goals.
The penalty exchanges continued as Jacob Perreault was hauled down whilst trying to get to the point on a defensive zone face-off but was given a coincidental minor on the play. The full two minute four on four again opened the ice up somewhat but did not generate nearly as many chances as the previous one.
Just as San Diego appeared to be generating momentum once again, with BO Groulx collecting a loose puck in the slot and firing a rebound just wide. The Eagles hit back – Ryan Wagner finding space on the rush and cutting in front of a Gulls defender to fire a shot that beat Stolarz top corner through the brief screen. 2-2 tie game.
But the Gulls hit right back, taking it to the Eagles and breaking through with the newly formed second line as Hunter Drew had time and space to fire a shot from the point into a mess of traffic in front. Vinni Lettieri was first to the rebound and snuck it past Jones to give the Gulls back the lead. 3-2 Gulls.
San Diego then contained and neutralized any further possible Colorado uprising by keeping the play in the Eagles end where they could. Most noticeably Zegras and Poturalski had been swapped – it is hard to pinpoint when exactly the change was made but I think it might have been near the start of the third period.
Colorado pulled Jones as the final minute ticked down and the Gulls made two attempts at the empty net through both Zegras and Mahura, near misses for each as the Gulls skated away with the 3-2 victory and opened the season a club tying record 4-0.
Post Game Notes:
Special Teams Get Going
The Power Play was the difference in this one. With how tight the Eagles were checking it was incredibly difficult for the Gulls offense to get any room at five on five. Getting not just one but two Power Play strikes was crucial for the win.
Veterans Vy For Attention
Sick of the kids getting all the love, the veterans took the spotlight tonight. Vinni Lettieri was first star with two goals including the game winner, Stolarz in his first appearance collected the second star stopping 31 shots and Captain Sam got a goal to get things started which gave him the all time franchise lead in scoring.
Drysdale Drops In
That said…. Jamie Drysdale made sure to represent for the kids tonight. Getting the third star on a two point night. It wasn’t just his offense that was impressive though. He looked like a seasoned stalwart back there, breaking up plays, hustling to loose pucks. Kid should not go back to Juniors.
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