Gulls Biweekly Report 4

By Thomas Harrington

The Gulls have seemingly righted the ship over the last two weeks, going 4-1-0 and winning their last four games in a row. This win streak has put San Diego in a much better position than they were in two weeks ago.

Gulls Even Split Against Roadrunners

Things didn’t start out great for the Gulls when they traveled to Tucson to take on the Roadrunners. Benoit-Olivier Groulx got the scoring started just over two minutes into the game, but Tucson tied the game 11 seconds later. They followed that up with another goal less than a minute later, and made it 5-1 before the first was over. Chase De Leo scored 36 seconds into the second to try and give San Diego some life, but the Roadrunners scored again later in the period to make it 6-2. Neither team found the back of the net in the third.

The next night, the Gulls were seeking revenge against Tucson. Neither team scored in the first, but the Roadrunners had made it 2-0 by the time the second period was half over. Sam Carrick made it a one-goal game late in the period to give San Diego some life. Carrick scored his second of the game early in the third to tie it, and Josh Mahura put the Gulls on top a few minutes later. Late in the third, Groulx scored and the Gulls won 4-2.

Gulls Double Up Reign

The Gulls then traveled to Ontario to face the Reign. Charlie Sampair and Andrew Poturalski made it 2-0 in the first, but Ontario got on the board early in the second. Carrick restored the two-goal lead, but Ontario scored in less than a minute to tie the game before the middle frame was over. In the third, Maxim Golod scored his first career AHL goal to put the Gulls up 3-2, and Antoine Morand made it 4-2 with an empty net goal with a second to go in regulation. It was his first of the season.

Morand was then traded to Tampa Bay, along with a second round pick, for Alexander Volkov. For more on the trade visit here: Ducks Acquire Volkov

Gulls Extend Winning Streak To Four

San Diego then returned home for a pair of games. They faced Bakersfield in the first game, and Mahura and De Leo made it 2-0 in the first. Neither team scored in the second, and Nikolas Brouillard made it 3-0 early in the third with his first career AHL goal. The Condors scored to make it 3-1, but Brouillard scored into the empty net to give the Gulls a 4-1 win. The Gulls finished things off by facing Tucson again. The Roadrunners got on the board late in the first, but Hunter Drew tied it in the second. In the third period, Matt Lorito was the only player to score, and San Diego won 2-1.

Final Thoughts

The Gulls will play six games over the next two weeks. They’ll start out with a pair of games, first against Ontario and then against San Jose. They’ll then head to Ontario to face the Reign again, before coming home to play Ontario for the third time in four games. The Gulls will finish things off with a pair of games in Tucson.

The Gulls have had an up and down season. They started the year on fire, then hit a slump, and have now returned to their winning ways. Hopefully this streak can continue. Olle Eriksson Ek has been one of the primary reasons for this turnaround, as he is 5-1 in the six games that he’s played. I wouldn’t say that he’s taken the net from Lukas Dostal, but Eriksson Ek is certainly playing better right now. If Dostal can return to his early season form, the Gulls will have a very good goaltending tandem, to say nothing of veterans Jeff Glass and Anthony Stolarz.

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March 31st, 2021