Gulls Biweekly Report 5

By Thomas Harrington

The San Diego Gulls went 4-2-0 over the past two weeks, and they had an absolute offensive explosion in those six games. In their four wins, they scored six goals once, seven goals twice, and eight goals once. When they have a full lineup, San Diego’s forward group is one of the absolute best in the AHL.

Gulls Blowout The Reign

The Gulls started things out by hosting the Ontario Reign. Vinni Lettieri got the scoring started midway through the first, but Ontario scored twice to take a 2-1 lead heading into the second. Less than two minutes into the middle frame, Chase De Leo tied the game, and then Sam Carrick and Andrew Agozzino scored to make it a 4-2 game after 40 minutes. Bryce Kindopp scored a shorthanded goal a couple minutes into the third to make it 5-2. Carrick scored his second of the game later in the third, and with 20 seconds left in the game, Kindopp scored his second of the period to give San Diego the 7-2 win.

Barracuda Bury The Gulls 

The Gulls followed that game up by hosting the San Jose Barracuda. San Jose took the 1-0 lead, but Matt Lorito tied it before the first was over. In the second, San Jose made it 2-1, but Carrick tied it and De Leo gave the Gulls the 3-2 lead with 22 seconds left in the middle frame. In the third, the Gulls scored four straight goals, as Keegan Lowe, Kodie Curran, Agozzino, and Jacob Perreault all scored to make it 7-2. The Barracuda did score one more time to make the final score 7-3. This was Perreault’s first game back after missing about a month of action with an injury.

Gulls Earn Split Against The Reign

The Gulls then hit the road and traveled to Ontario. Perreault scored an early goal to give the Gulls the lead, but the Reign tied it up before the first was over. Ontario took the lead in the second, but Lettieri tied it up a few minutes later. Playing in his fifth career AHL game, Alex Limoges scored to give the Gulls the lead, and Curran made it 4-2 late in the period. In the third, Ontario scored two early goals to tie it, but Hunter Drew restored the lead seconds later, and Andrew Poturalski scored into the empty net to give the Gulls a 6-4 win.

The Gulls returned home to face Ontario again, but the Reign came out on top this time. They scored twice in the first to take a 2-0 lead, but Josh Mahura scored twice in the second to tie the game. In the third, the Reign took the lead half way through the period, and scored into an empty net to get the 4-2 win.

San Diego Earns Wild Win Over Tucson

The Gulls finished things up by traveling to Tucson for a pair of games. The first game was a wild one, especially in the opening period, as Agozzino scored to make it 1-0, and then the Roadrunners tied it. Brendan Guhle and Lorito both scored to give San Diego a 3-1 lead, but Tucson scored and it was 3-2. From his knees, Poturalksi made a great pass to Trevor Zegras who scored, and Guhle scored again late in the period to make it 5-2. Tucson scored early in the second, but Agozzino and Lettieri responded with a goal each and it was 7-3 after two.

In the third, Lorito scored early to make it 8-3, but credit to Tucson who didn’t give up in this one. They scored two goals to close within three, and then had a five minute major powerplay to end the game, which they managed to score once on, and San Diego won 8-6. The next night, Tucson was able to get their revenge, as they scored twice in the first, once in the second, and once early in the third to take a 4-0 lead. Benoit-Olivier Groulx did score late in the game, and the Gulls lost 4-1.

Final Thoughts 

The Gulls will play seven games over the next two weeks, starting out with a pair of games against Ontario, one at home and one on the road. The Gulls will then travel to Bakersfield to face the Condors, and then to San Jose for a pair of games against the Barracuda. They will then return home for a pair of games against the Silver Knights.

Zegras has been back in San Diego for three games now, playing center for the first time in over a year. He has two points in those games and had several other chances, but he doesn’t look entirely comfortable at center yet. The Ducks envision him as their future top center, and he has a ways to go before he gets there. Hopefully his time in San Diego will serve him well and we see him tear up the NHL either later this season or next season.

San Diego is a fun team to watch right now. They have skill up and down the lineup, solid defense, and good goaltending. When they are going, they are one of the most dynamic teams in the AHL.

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April 13th, 2021