Looking for their 8th straight win and 13th straight point the Gulls stuck with the same line up with the exception of swapping Josh Mahura for Keaton Thompson. It should also be noted that this was Trevor Murphy’s first time back in the building of the team he began his pro career with.
San Diego began the period shakey and a blue line turnover led to a two on none breakaway for the Admirals. Kevin Boyle bit on the initial backhand fake and was left in no man’s land for the easy put in. 1-0 Admirals.
The Gulls answered right back courtesy of Troy Terry finishing off a missed shot that bounced fortuitively to him at the side of the net as he and Sam Steel flew in on a two-on-one off of a nice pass from Simon Benoit.
The game clamped down briefly as both teams attempted to stifle neutral zone play but slowly began to open up again. San Diego got chances mainly by the Steel line (including some very sweet moves from Terry) and the Admirals attempted to send a cherry picking forward behind the Gulls defense. But San Diego would get the second strike off the back off some good pressure from the Steel line that was followed up by the Carrick line. With the man in question getting his twentieth off of a very nice pass from Josh Mahura on the wing.
The period ended with San Diego enjoying but as yet unable to convert on the man advantage as Max Jones was slashed on a breakaway with less than two minutes left.
Milwaukee kept the Gulls on their heels for much of the second and managed to tie things up on the power play when Max Jones was called for a very weak slashing penalty, Blackwell getting his second of the night off a feed in the slot that broke the Gulls penalty killing box.
But the Gulls struck right back once again, Max Jones led the charge on the very next shift, winning a puck battle down low and feeding Matt Berry in the slot to retake the lead.
San Diego kept up the pressure and tilted the ice in their favour, breaking up plays and generating out numbered rushes. Their hard work was rewarded with an Adam Cracknell goal from near side the net as he batted in a rebound out of midair over the glove of the Admirals goaltender. Luke Schenn had fired the shot from the point that caused the aerial opportunity.
The Gulls kept right at it, bullying and essentially having their way with the Admirals who attempted to get some form of spark back by starting a small scuffle with Korbinian Holzer but on the very next face-off a Gulls attack and shot through traffic bounced around and eventually got by the Admirals netminder. The goal was eventually given to Jones after it was deemed that his stick touched it last.
The rest of the game did not see any further scoring and although the Admirals did creep up in the possession and shots stakes, the Gulls frustrated the home team and kept their high danger chances to an absolute minimum. I think I could remember maybe only one great save that Boyle was forced to make throughout the rest of the remaining twenty three minutes. San Diego took the win with a final score of five to two to extend their points streak to thirteen games. The longest in club history.
2024-2025 Game 13: San Diego Gulls at San Jose Barracuda
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