Looking to claw their way out of the basement of the Pacific the Gulls were buoyed by the good news of the re-assignment of BO Groulx and the return from injury of Alex Limoges.
The top line last year of Groulx, Limoges and Kindopp was reunited while Josling and Marleau were sat to make room. Nik Brouillard went back to defense.
Axel Andersson and Kodie Curran remained out with injuries.
First Period:
It was a feeling out process to start as the two teams got re-acquainted for the first time this season. Then the Barracuda were introduced to the Gulls Power Play as Greg Printz was clipped by a knee coming across the San Jose blue line. The first unit could not get set, let alone into the San Jose zone – looking to force the pass when there was none there, before the second unit came on and at least got a shot on net.
As the penalty expired San Diego came with their first good sustained pressure of the game courtesy of the Golod line. They followed that up with more chances generated by the Robinson line. Then a bad turnover by Max Golod in the neutral zone lead to a San Jose counter-rush that Hunter Drew was forced to take a hooking penalty on and the Gulls went to the penalty kill.
Generating more chances than the team with the man advantage it felt like the San Diego kill that was so successful last year had come home, with BO Groulx single-handedly creating chances, getting clearances and most importantly suppressing shots.
The Gulls carried forward momentum from the successful penalty kill and opened the games scoring when Brogan Rafferty took a pass in space on the right wing, came in alone on Sawchenko and attempted a between the legs move that was stopped and initially looked as though either Danny O’Regan or Jacob Perreault deposited the rebound but the goal was eventually credited to Rafferty. 1-0 Gulls.
The Gulls didn’t let up, continuing to attack the San Jose zone either on the rush or on the cycle and doubled their lead on one such rush play where Vinni Lettieri received a pass with all kinds of time and space on the left win, firing a low wrist shot that beat Sawchenko on the far side. 2-0 Gulls.
San Diego continued to dominate for the remainder of the period as they headed to the first intermission up by two but behind in shots 14-10. The shot map showing that Lukas Dostal also played a big part in keeping them ahead – facing 4-5 high danger chances in front.
Second Period: San Diego Gulls 2 – San Jose Barracuda 0
San Jose came with a big push to start the second and quickly increased their lead in shots as Dostal calmly turned aside shot after shot and gloved down high danger chance after chance.
There wasn’t any particular catalyst to put the Gulls back in the drivers seat but all of a sudden they were back in the San Jose generating chances, eventually culminating in possibly the easiest garbage goal of Jacob Perreaults young AHL career. The young winger was allowed to stand in front of the San Jose crease to get a stick to a rebound not once but twice, and slip it by the down-and-out Sawchenko on the second try without a Barracuda player laying a hand on him. 3-0 Gulls.
San Diego started to let mistakes creep into their game and the Barracuda pounced, getting set in the Gulls zone after one such bad turnover and getting on the board on a great individual play from Nick Merkley as he corralled and dove with the puck but was somehow still able to roof it all in the same motion over the outstretched pad of Dostal. 3-1 Gulls.
Things went from bad to worse for the Gulls as Hunter Drew took a bad slashing penalty and after the worlds longest delayed call in which the Barracuda spent almost a minute in the San Diego zone, the Gulls finally touched the puck. San Jose then capitalised on the Power Play as Dostal was forced to make one save too many on a barrage of chances in front. 3-2 Gulls.
San Diego came back with a response courtesy of the top line as all three forwards sat camped out in front of the San Jose crease and Bryce Kindopp was the lucky winner to pot the rebound from a Brogan Rafferty point shot. 4-2 Gulls.
But San Jose fought back again, catching the Gulls on a change and creating an odd-man rush that was initially stopped but in the chaos nobody picked up Halbgewachs who had floated down to the front of the Gulls net. 4-3 Gulls.
The Gulls holding a suddenly precarious 4-3 lead and behind in shots 28-20, out shot on the period 14-10. The shot map showing once again that their failure to correct the high danger chances allowed in front of Dostal had lead to San Jose getting back into the game.
Third Period: San Diego Gulls 4 – San Jose Barracuda 3
San Jose tried to come with another push to start the third but the Gulls locked down the neutral zone and played the same trap hockey that chocked the life out of the failed comeback they attempted against Bakersfield last weekend.
The Groulx line had the odd sustained pressure in the San Jose zone but the other lines appeared to have been instructed to just dump the puck in and fall back to clog up the neutral zone.
Just as I bemoaned aloud that they only had a one goal lead and they couldn’t do this, the Gulls suddenly found life again. Consistently gaining the San Jose zone and throwing shots on the Barracuda net before recovering possession and passing it back to the neutral zone to keep it that way. Rinse. Repeat.
The officials decided to put their whistles away for what seemed to be the rest of the game and you could see the Gulls getting visibly frustrated with the lack of calls as they fought through hooks and grabs. You could even hear Vinni Lettieri scream “WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT” on the broadcast at one point.
Eventually Jacob Perreault finally got a call they could not overlook as he took a jab to the face during a battle at the San Jose bench. As the Gulls setup on the Power Play – they set about conservatively passing the puck around before firing a perimeter shot, rather than try to create a seam. Perreault continued to make a pest of himself as he goaded former Gulls Captain Jaycob Megna into taking another penalty to give the Gulls a five on three man advantage. The two man advantage was short lived but the remainder of the game was spent on the Power Play and the Gulls were able to kill of the time to take the win 4-3. Moving to 4-6-1 on the season and tied with Tucson for bottom of the Pacific but just just on win behind Colorado.
Post Game Notes:
Welcome Back Boys
Wishfully thinking that Limoges was possibly coming back this week and then getting confirmation of Groulx coming down was like Christmas come early. Having a dependable line that you can throw on when you need a goal or at least some forward momentum cannot be understated enough. Without it the Gulls have been relying on standout performances from someone stepping up and having a great game, not something that happens every outing and the reason they are in a 4-6-1 hole. Hopefully this reunion tour lasts long enough to create some good forward momentum and rolling confidence in the team.
Now That Was A Fun Game
Light and Day a much better and different game compared to the Bakersfield match-ups. Sure the Goaltenders may not be so fond of the run-and-gun rush style but it is infinitely better to watch than 90s New Jersey Devils neutral zone trap vs 90s Detroit Red Wings left wing lock type hockey we saw last weekend. The Gulls have another showdown with Bakersfield at the end of the month that I’ll be sure to set my alarm clock for in case I fall asleep during it.
Perreault The Pest
I have said it before but I’ll say it again (because I am not sure how many people read these) but Jacob Perreaults Pest Game is strong. So strong. So underrated. And largely unheard of. I wouldn’t call it Corery Perry-esque shenanigans but he definitely gets under opponents skin. Antoine Morand used to draw calls with his speed and tenacious work off the puck but Perreault draws them by straight up pissing people off. I’ll keep saying it here and calling it out whenever I see it because I think Ducks fans need to learn this.
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