Gulls Bi-Weekly Report 10

By Thomas Harrington

The San Diego Gulls have been playing their best hockey of the season recently. They had a seven-game winning streak and climbed within shouting distance of the playoffs. While a berth in the postseason is still highly unlikely, if they can keep playing like this over the next month, they will have a chance.

The Gulls started out by hosting the Abbotsford Canucks. Coulson Pitre scored the only goal of the first period, and Abbotsford responded with the only goal of the second. Pitre scored his second goal of the night just a couple minutes into the third, and Sam Colangelo made it 3-1 shortly after that. The Canucks fought back and scored twice to tie the game, but Tristan Luneau put San Diego up for good, and Nikita Nesterenko scored into the empty net to give the Gulls a 5-3 win.

San Diego then traveled to Bakersfield for a pair of games. Neither team scored in the first period, but Yegor Sidorov opened the scoring in the second. The Condors tied the game 40 seconds later, but Roland Mckeown restored the lead before the period ended. In the third, neither team could find the back of the net until Bakersfield pulled their goaltender, and then both Dillon Heatherington and Ryan Carpenter scored into the empty net to give San Diego a 4-1 win. The Condors opened the scoring late in the first and made it 2-0 early in the second. Justin Bailey put the Gulls on the board, and then Sasha Pastujov tied the game. Carpenter gave San Diego the lead, but Bakersfield tied the game at 3-3. Early in the third Nesterenko restored the Gulls’ lead, but the Condors tied it, and the game went to overtime. In the extra session, Carpenter scored his second goal of the night, and San Diego won 5-4.

The Gulls then hosted the Calgary Wranglers in what was Ville Husso’s first start with his new club. Neither team scored in the first, but Bailey scored just five seconds into the second period, and Pastujov made it 2-0 two minutes later. In the third, Easton Brodzinski, playing in his first game with the Gulls and second AHL game ever, scored his first career AHL goal. Nathan Gaucher scored into the empty net to give San Diego a 4-0 win. Husso stopped all 34 shots he saw in his Gulls debut.

Unfortunately, the next two games didn’t go as well. The Gulls hosted Coachella Valley in a high-scoring affair. The Firebirds struck first, but Jan Mysak tied the game. Coachella Valley retook the lead, but Carpenter and Pastujov both scored less than 10 seconds apart to make it 3-2 after the first period. In the second, San Diego ran into penalty trouble, and Coachella Valley scored three powerplay goals, and then a fourth one early in the third to take a 6-3 lead. Nesterenko scored twice, but that was it. The Gulls lost 6-5, ending their seven-game winning streak.

The Gulls finished things off with Bakersfield coming to town. The Condors scored the only goal of the first, but Sidorov and Nesterenko put the Gulls ahead in the second. Bakersfield tied the game before the middle frame was over. In the third, the Condors took the lead, then Bailey tied the game, then Bakersfield retook the lead again, then Sidorov tied the game again. Neither team scored after that, and the game went to overtime, then a shootout. Nesterenko scored San Diego’s only goal while Bakersfield scored twice and won 6-5.

The Gulls will play five games over the next two weeks. They’ll start out on the road, traveling to San Jose and then Ontario. They’ll then return home to host Ontario, and then the Colorado Eagles will visit for a pair of games.

Recently Colangelo has been up with the Ducks with Trevor Zegras suspended. With the trade deadline just days away, it will be interesting to see if the Ducks move any veterans to give a chance to some San Diego players. If they do, Sidorov, Pastujov, Nesterenko, and Luneau all deserve a shot in Anaheim based on their recent play.

Similar to the Ducks, the Gulls have played well enough to have an outside shot at the playoffs. Even though neither team will probably make it, it does feel like both Anaheim and San Diego have taken steps forward this year. They key will be continuing that progress next season.

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March 5th, 2025