Gulls Bi-Weekly Report 11

By Thomas Harrington

The San Diego Gulls played five games over the last two weeks and had a record of 3-1-1. The playoff race is incredibly tight, but the Gulls do find themselves in the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division. If they want to hold on to that spot, the Gulls are going to need to be even better down the stretch.

San Diego Downed By Tuscon

The Gulls started things off with a trip to Tucson, the top team in the Pacific, and the Roadrunners looked like it in this game. Neither team scored in the first period, but Tucson took the lead just over a minute into the second period. Sam Carrick tied the game, but the Roadrunners scored again to retake the lead. In the third, Tucson scored two more goals and won 4-1.

Gulls Double Up Heat

Next up, the Gulls traveled to Stockton, the team that San Diego is chasing in the standings. With less than five minutes to go in the opening period, the Heat took the lead, but Josh Mahura tied the game before the first was over. In the second, Alex Broadhurst scored early and Chris Mueller scored late to make it 3-1. Stockton scored just 29 seconds into the final frame to make it a one-goal game, but Max Comtois scored into the empty net to give the Gulls a 4-2 victory.

Gulls Go 2-0-1 Against Barracuda

The Gulls then traveled to San Jose for three straight games, all of which went to overtime. In the first game, Alex Dostie got on the board early, but San Jose scored twice in the first to make it 2-1. Neither team scored in the second, but the Barracuda made it 3-1 just 22 seconds into the third. Less than a minute later Troy Terry responded to make it 3-2, and then Terry tied the game with less than six minutes to go in regulation. In the extra session, Comtois scored to give the Gulls a 4-3 win.

In the second game, Justin Kloos made it 1-0 in the first, and Chase De Leo made it 2-0 just over two minutes into the second. However, San Jose responded and scored two goals in the final two minutes of the period to tie the game. Neither team scored in the third, and San Jose scored the game-winner just 37 seconds into the extra period.

In the final game, the Barracuda scored an early shorthanded goal and a powerplay goal late in the first to make it 2-0. Mueller scored the only goal of the second to make it 2-1, and Carrick scored a shorthanded goal in the third to tie the game. With seconds left in overtime, Isac Lundestrom won the game for the Gulls.

The Gulls will play five games over the next two weeks. They’ll start out with a pair of games in Tucson to finish off their current seven-game road trip. San Diego will then return home to host the Barracuda before traveling to Ontario to take on the Reign. The Gulls will finish things off by hosting Stockton.

Ducks Use All Non-Emergency Call-Ups

Anaheim has already made use of their four non-emergency call-ups from San Diego, and injuries have actually forced them to use emergency callups as well. Anthony Stolarz was just called up to the Ducks and Jani Hakanpaa has been with Anaheim for the last few games. Isac Lundestrom was called up for a day and then sent back down today. Brendan Guhle was just returned to the Gulls, and he could head back up to the Ducks if any more blueliners get hurt. Terry has also been called up and reassigned to the Gulls and is another possibility to make his way to Anaheim if other injuries happen. 

Final Thoughts

There’s only about a month left in the AHL regular season. The Gulls have done a good job to climb back into a playoff position after a terrible start. However, they have no time to relax and congratulate themselves; the Ontario Reign are right behind them in the standings. The Gulls have been playing very well lately, but they will likely need to be even better if they want to hold off the Reign.

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March 9th, 2020