San Diego Gulls Bi-Weekly Report 2

By Thomas Harrington

The Gulls played six games over the past two weeks, going 2-4-0, continuing their middling start to the season. Their two wins were pretty dominant, but the Gulls were lackluster in their other four games. San Diego started things off with a three-game losing streak, but finished up by winning two of their most recent three games.

Condors Edge Gulls

San Diego started out in Bakersfield, battling the Condors. This was Pavol Regenda’s first career AHL game after being assigned to the Gulls; he started the year in Anaheim. Neither team scored through the first two periods, but the Condors scored the first goal of the game just 40 seconds into the third period. A few minutes later, Regenda scored his first AHL goal and first goal in North America to tie the game. However, 20 seconds later, Bakersfield retook the lead. They then made it 3-1 a couple minutes later. Benoit-Olivier Groulx scored late in the game to make it a one-goal game, but that was it and Bakersfield won 3-2.

Admirals Earn Back-To-Back Wins Against The Gulls

The Gulls then returned home to host Milwaukee for a pair of games. The Admirals scored the only goal of the first period and neither team scored in the second. In the third, Milwaukee scored two early goals to make it a 3-0 game. Regenda scored his second goal in as many games and San Diego lost 3-1.

The Gulls were looking for revenge the next night, but came up short again. Former Gull Keaton Thompson opened the scoring in the first period, and Milwaukee made it 2-0 in the second. Jacob Perreault scored in the third to make it 2-1, but former Gull Kiefer Sherwood scored into the empty net to give them back-to-back 3-1 wins.

Gulls Blow Out Silver Knights

After losing three straight, the Gulls traveled to Henderson, where they played their best game of the season and one of the most dominant games in franchise history. In the first period, Groulx opened the scoring on the powerplay, and then Perreault, Drew Helleson, and Justin Kirkland all scored in the opening frame to make it 4-0. It was Helleson’s first career AHL goal. In the second, the scoring party continued, as Groulx, Rocco Grimaldi, and Danny O’Regan all scored in the first 10 minutes to make it 7-0. Neither team scored in the third, and the Gulls handily won the game. Grimaldi led the way with four points, while Kirkland had three, and Lukas Dostal stopped all 28 shots he saw.

Gulls Lose To Condors, but Take Down The Reign

San Diego returned home to host Bakersfield. Neither team scored in the first two periods, but the Condors scored two quick goals in the third period and won 2-0. The Gulls then traveled to Ontario to face the Reign. Neither team scored in the first, but Grimaldi scored 22 seconds into the second to give San Diego the lead. Perreault then doubled it a few minutes later, and Luka Profaca scored his first career AHL goal to make it 3-0. Ontario scored in the third, but Nikolas Brouillard scored into the empty net to give the Gulls a 4-1 win.

What’s Next?

The Gulls will play six games over the next two weeks, which will include a four-game homestand. The Gulls will start out traveling to San Jose to face the Barracuda. They’ll then return home to face Grand Rapids for two games, followed by Tucson and Coachella Valley. The Gulls will then travel to Henderson to face the Silver Knights again.

Austin Strand and Glenn Gawdin had both been called up from the Gulls as Anaheim has had some injury issues. Regenda has also been called back up after getting four points in four games with the Gulls. Both Perreault and Groulx had a bit of a slow start to the season, but have been better lately and could be among the next group of players called up to Anaheim if more forwards are needed. Dostal continues to be impressive between the pipes and at this point is just waiting for an opportunity to get called up. For his efforts, Dostal was named the AHL Player of the Week.

The Gulls continue to be an inconsistent team and currently find themselves towards the bottom of the Pacific Division. The good news is that there’s still a lot of season left for them, and they’ve shown flashes of greatness. If they can play better on a much more consistent basis going forward, they’ll start moving up the standings.

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November 14th, 2022