San Diego Gulls Bi-Weekly Report 3

Photo: San Diego Gulls

By Thomas Harrington

The Gulls played four games over the last two weeks, going 3-1 and winning their last three games in a row. The only loss in that stretch came against Tucson, the team that has really had San Diego’s number all season long.

In the Gulls’ first game, San Diego traveled to Tucson to take on the Roadrunners. The first period was scoreless, but Tucson scored three goals in the second to take a commanding 3-0 lead. Giovanni Fiore got the Gulls on the board early in the third, but Tucson made it 4-1 about halfway through the final period. The Gulls did mount a late comeback attempt, as Jaycob Megna and Corey Tropp scored to make it 4-3. Unfortunately, Tucson scored 13 seconds later, essentially ending the game at that point. The Roadrunners finished things off with an empty net goal and won 6-3. Sam Steel picked up his first career AHL assist on Megna’s goal.

The Gulls then returned home for three straight games, starting with two against Colorado. In the first game, Colorado got on the board late in the first. In the second, Ben Thomson and Sam Carrick scored to give San Diego a 2-1 lead, but Colorado tied things up before the period was over. In the third, Troy Terry scored his fourth career AHL goal to give the Gulls a 3-2 lead, but Colorado was able to tie it up a few minutes later. With less than six minutes to go in regulation, Chase De Leo scored his third of the season to give San Diego the 4-3 win.

The next night, Colorado was looking for revenge, but San Diego got on the board to start things off. Playing with the Gulls on a conditioning stint, Maxime Comtois scored his first career AHL goal in his first career AHL game. There was no scoring in the second, but Colorado tied the game up just a couple of minutes into the third. Less than a minute later, Max Jones put San Diego back on top, but Colorado tied it up again. With just over seven minutes to go in regulation, Terry scored to give the Gulls the 3-2 victory.

San Diego Gulls Camo Jersey

The Gulls finished things off by hosting the Bakersfield Condors. Tropp opened the scoring in the first, and San Diego led 1-0 after the first. In the second period, De Leo and Tropp both scored in the opening minutes of the period, and Terry scored in the final minutes of the period to make it 4-0. Bakersfield did score once in the third, but that was it and the Gulls won 4-1.

The Gulls will have five games over the next two weeks. The good news for San Diego is that they will not have to play Tucson over the next two weeks. They’ll start off with two more home games, taking on Ontario and then Stockton. San Diego will then travel to Stockton to take on the Heat again, before returning home to host Manitoba for two games.

Over the last couple of weeks, Terry has been San Diego’s most dangerous player. He’s played in nine AHL games and has scored a point in every game, totaling six goals and 13 points. Given the injury and scoring issues in Anaheim, Terry is likely playing himself back into a spot in Anaheim’s lineup. Josh Mahura has played some solid defense for the Gulls; he was rewarded with a call-up and played in his first career NHL game against Colorado. Isac Lundestrom has only played in one game with the Gulls and recorded two assists. While he’s struggled offensively with the Ducks, he’s incredibly smart for a rookie. If he can start scoring with the Gulls, he’ll probably be back in Anaheim soon as well.

Other than Tucson, the Gulls have played well recently, and find themselves in the middle of the Pacific Division. They will need to keep playing like this and find a way to beat Tucson if they want to get back to the Calder Cup Playoffs.

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November 20th, 2018