Gulls Bi-Weekly Report 11

By Thomas Harrington

The Gulls played only four games over the past two weeks and had a record of 2-2-0. Several of the players acquired at the deadline have fit in nicely, and while Gage Alexander won’t replace Lukas Dostal, he’s played very well and become San Diego’s starter with Dostal in Anaheim.

Gulls Beat The Silver Knights Twice

The Gulls started out by hosting Henderson for a pair of games. Neither team scored in the first period, but Benoit-Olivier Groulx opened the scoring early in the second, and newcomer Chase Priskie doubled the lead late in the period. This was Groulx’s first game back after being injured for about a month and Priskie’s third goal in two games with San Diego. Neither team scored in the third. Alexander stopped all 26 shots he faced for his first career shutout, and the Gulls won 2-0.

The next night, playing in his second game with the Gulls, Andrej Sustr opened the scoring a few minutes into the game. Henderson tied the game early in the second and then took the lead, but Priskie tied the game late in the second. In the third, Justin Kirkland scored early, and Josiah Slavin scored into the empty net to give the Gulls a 4-2 win.

Gulls Can’t Rally Past Wild

San Diego then hosted the Iowa Wild. Iowa scored twice in the first period to take a 2-0 lead, but Michael Del Zotto and Brent Gates, Jr. both scored early in the second to tie the game. Unfortunately, the Wild scored twice in the second period after that, including a goal with just three seconds to go in the middle frame. Iowa scored two more times in the third period, including an empty net goal, and won 6-2.

San Diego Can’t Slow Down Coachella

For the final game, things started out well as Dylan Sikura scored his first goal since joining the Gulls, but Coachella Valley tied the game before the period was over. The Firebirds took the lead just 22 seconds into the second, but just over a minute later Slavin tied the game. Sikura scored his second of the game to make it 3-2 shortly after that. But Coachella Valley scored two unanswered goals to finish the period and take a 4-3 lead. Coachella Valley scored four goals in a row to start the third period, but Chase De Leo did score late. San Diego lost 8-4.

Final Thoughts

Over the next two weeks the Gulls will play in six games. They’ll start out by hosting the Iowa Wild again, before hitting the road and playing against the Calgary Wranglers for a pair of games. The Gulls will then return home to host Tucson before heading back on the road to Iowa for a pair of games.

The Gulls only have about a month left in the season and the playoffs are firmly out of reach. Hopefully they can have more games like the two against Henderson. Alexander has mostly played well since joining the Gulls, and several of the new players have made good first impressions. Pretty much all of the players acquired at the trade deadline are free agents this summer, so it will be interesting to see if any of them are re-signed before July 1st.

Listen to our show by clicking below or visit us at Podomatic, Rumble, Spreaker, or YouTube.

Support us by becoming a DucksNPucks patron! Members can win game tickets, Ducks gear, and more!

Want to start your sports media career? Then Join The Puck Network!

DucksNPucks is part of The Puck Network, which covers the entire NHL. There are openings to cover your favorite team(s) and earn school credits! If you are interested, then apply by filling out the form here: Join Our Team. What are you waiting for? Start your sports media career TODAY!

March 21st, 2023