Gulls Biweekly Report 7

By Thomas Harrington

The Gulls finished off the regular season with eight games, going 4-4-0. Unfortunately, that record led to the Gulls finishing third in the Pacific Division, trailing Henderson and Bakersfield.

At one point, San Diego lost three in a row during this final eight-game stretch, costing them a shot at home ice advantage in the Pacific Division Championship Tournament.

Gulls Earn Split Against The Roadrunners

The Gulls started their final eight-game stretch with a pair of games at home against the Tucson Roadrunners. In the first game, the Roadrunners took the early lead, but Vinni Lettieri tied the game before the contest was five minutes old. Late in the period, Tucson took the lead again. Then 44 seconds into the second, Alex Limoges tied the game, and Bryce Kindopp put the Gulls on top four minutes later. In the third, Kindopp scored a shorthanded goal to make it 4-2, and Hunter Drew stretched the lead to 5-2 a minute later. Tucson did score one more time, but that was it for the scoring and the Gulls won 5-3.

Tucson got their revenge in the next game, as San Diego suffered their worst loss of the season. It was 0-0 until the Roadrunners scored two goals in the final minutes of the opening period, and then they scored five times in the second to make it 7-0 after 40. Limoges did score a pair of goals early in the third, but Tucson responded with two of their own, and they won 9-2.

Gulls Drop Pair Of Games Against Reign

The Gulls then faced Ontario for a pair of games, one on the road and one at home. In the first game, Ontario took the early lead, but Matt Lorito tied it, and then Greg Prints scored his first career goal to give the Gulls the lead. Early in the second, Drew made it 3-1, but Ontario responded quickly to make it a one-goal game again. Late in the middle period,  Chase De Leo made it 4-2. Unfortunately, Ontario took the game over in the third, as they scored three goals in the first 10 minutes of the period to take the 5-4 lead, and then scored late into an empty net to take the 6-4 win.

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The Gulls then returned home for their final home game of the season and finished the season series against Ontario. The Reign scored the only goal of the first period, and then scored two early goals in the second to take a 3-0 lead. Andrew Poturalski put the Gulls on the board, but Ontario scored two more times before the period was over to make it 5-1. The Gulls did try to mount a comeback in the third, but fell short. De Leo and Limoges scored to make it 5-3, but Ontario responded with a goal of their own. Kindopp scored a powerplay goal to make it 6-4, but Ontario finished the game off with an empty net goal and won 7-4.

San Diego Downs Bakersfield

The Gulls finished the regular season with four straight on the road, starting with a contest in Bakersfield. Limoges continued his hot streak with the first goal of the contest, but the Condors tied the game late in the first. Jamie Devane scored the only goal of the second to give the Gulls a 2-1 lead, and Poturalski and Coddie Curran both scored in the third to give the Gulls a 4-1 win.

Gulls Take Two Out Of Three Against Eagles

San Diego then traveled to Colorado to finish the season with three straight games against the Eagles. Colorado scored two goals midway through the first to take a 2-0 lead, but De Leo made it 2-1 before the first was over. Neither team scored in either the second or third periods, and Colorado won the first game.

Limoges opened the scoring in the second game against Colorado early in the first period, and Kindopp and Nicolas Brouillard both scored in the second to make it 3-0. The Eagles scored in the third to make it 3-1, but Lettieri scored into the empty net to give the Gulls the 4-1 win.

In the final game of the regular season, Colorado scored the first goal of the game, but Josh Mahura tied it for the Gulls. Late in the first, the Eagles retook the lead. Neither team scored in the second, and Kindopp scored the lone goal in the third on a penalty shot. The game went to overtime and the Gulls were awarded a late powerplay. On the man advantage, Andrew Agozzino scored to give the Gulls the 3-2 win.

Final Thoughts 

With the regular season now done, the AHL Pacific Division will have a Pacific Division Championship, even though no Calder Cup will be awarded this season. The Pacific has been the only division in the AHL to decide to have some kind of postseason, and many players voted against this.

However, this tournament will happen, and the Gulls are the third seed. They will face the Bakersfield Condors in a best of three series, with game one being tonight. All games will be played in Bakersfield. The two teams played each other eight times during the regular season, and the Gulls came out on top five times, however, only one of those wins came on the road.

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May 21st, 2021