After a close and hard fought victory over their closest and oldest rivals the San Diego Gulls hoped to do some more giant slaying as they welcomed in the Central Division leading Milwaukee Admirals.
Jan Mysak was announced as making his debut and did so centering the fourth line while Josh Lopina remained on the wing of the Gaucher line. Brayden Tracey – who left the last game with an injury – returned to the line-up. Eddie Matsushima made way for Mysak. All other pairings and lines remained the same.
Calle Clang was given the back to back start after his first star effort in the previous game.
Drew Helleson and Judd Caulfield remained with Jaxsen Wiebe on the injury list. Tomas Suchanek was given the night off and joined Kyle Crnkovic as well as Eddie Matsushima and Anthony Costantini as healthy scratches.
First Period:
Starting with the Gaucher line the Gulls spent the first shift under pressure with the Admirals forcing the issue early and causing turnovers in the San Diego zone. The second line picked things back up again before the top line made it look easy as they buzzed the Milwaukee zone. Chase De Leo skating smoothly with the puck and circling into the high slot before realizing he had time and space to shoot with traffic in front. 1-0 Gulls on their first shot of the game.
The hitting picked up as play went on and as time approached the ten minute mark the Gulls appeared to be thoroughly out working the Admirals but for perhaps the L’Heureux line which would cause the occasional chaos in the Gulls zone.
Milwaukee swung back momentum ever so briefly for the next few minutes before San Diego took it back through some good work from the fourth and the top line.
In the final minute of the period some great work from the Nesterenko line saw the aforementioned former Boston College forward cruise by and find a rebound in front that he slipped by Askarov for the 2-0 lead. 2-0 Gulls.
San Diego taking a 2-0 lead over the Central Division leaders while trailing in shots 10-8 with the shot map showing chances were relatively even through the first twenty.
Second Period: San Diego Gulls 2 – Milwaukee Admirals 0
In what has traditionally and recently been their least favorable showing in a game the Gulls not only held their own to start the second but drew a penalty Jusso Parssinen was called for slashing just after the five minute mark.
With the first unit gaining the zone and keeping the puck set around the perimeter they forced the advantage as one of the Admirals players broke his stick. Glenn Gawdin eventually finding a seam to wire a shot that Askarov stopped through traffic but which Andrew Agozzino was able to pounce on the subsequent rebound. 3-0 Gulls.
The Admirals came with an immediate push back and were given a Power Play themselves as Tyson Hinds was called for holding down low.
The penalty killing units (one of which featured the Mysak) made quick and short work of the chaotic and most disorganized looking Admirals man advantage.
All of the Gulls hard work and effort was temporarily let down by a bad penalty as a miscommunication lead to a too many men penalty and the Admirals this time looked a lot better with the man advantage, spreading the Gulls wide as they passed around the perimeter and opening a lane long enough for Joakim Kemmel to wire a hard shot that squeaked by Clang. 3-1 Gulls.
With Milwaukee playing with confidence it felt like their momentum might peak toward yet another tally but Chase De Leo had other ideas. As he turned over a puck in the neutral zone then made a magic inside-outside move to lose his man and immediately bust into the Milwaukee zone with acceleration he drew three defenders to him before sliding the puck high to an open Glenn Gawdin. The veteran former Stockton Heat forward picking his spot and beating Askarov. 4-1 Gulls.
The goal halted any ongoing momentum the Admirals had started to create and allowed San Diego to take back control to wind down the period.
The Gulls playing one of the better second periods of late to take a 4-1 lead to the second intermission and a 19-16 lead in shots, out-shooting the Admirals 11-6 on the frame.
Third Period: San Diego Gulls 4 – Milwaukee Admirals 1
It was all Milwaukee for the first five minutes of the third as the Gulls decided to forget that a three goal lead is the most dangerous lead in hockey.
Seemingly content with sitting on the lead while giving up possession the Gulls were forced into a delay of game penalty as Trevor Carrick sailed the puck over the glass.
This time the San Diego penalty took matters into their own hands – preventing the Admirals from getting set and eventually taking the fight to them in the final few seconds to successfully kill the minor.
No sooner had play returned to five on five than the Gulls went right back to the box as Chase De Leo was called for slashing on a play that looked as though it could have been called interference on the Admirals part also.
The sequence of successful to bad man advantage showings continued as the Admirals this time were able to get set and were able to beat Clang via a rebound in the high slot as the Gulls goaltender lay prone after making back to back to back saves in the crease. 4-2 Gulls.
Yet another Power Play to the Admirals was awarded as Admirals pest Zach L’Heureux was deemed to have been caught with a high stick during a battle in front of Clang. Straight off the resulting offensive zone face-off it initially looked as though the Gulls had reason to cry foul as the Admirals scored an easy goal into an empty net while Calle Clang lay prone off to the side but on replay it was shown the San Diego netminder had fallen of his volition with no contact from opposing players causing the issue with balance. 4-3 Gulls.
Sniffing a game tying goal the Admirals pulled Askarov for the extra attacker with just over a minute left but San Diego responded with their veteran line and the trio combined to turn the puck over and find Chase De Leo in space – the Captain ensuring he made the red-line before wiring a shot from long range into the Milwaukee empty net. 5-3 Gulls.
San Diego taking the victory to go 4-1 on the current home-stand despite Clang’s best attempt to make things interesting in the final few minutes.
Post Game Notes:
Mysak and McIlvane Line Combinations
It made sense to start Mysak on the fourth line – to at least give him some time to adjust to his new team. However – I think it would make more sense for he and Josh Lopina to swap places for the next game. Give Lopina his fourth line pivot duties back and allow Mysak to join the “shutdown” line that McIlvane appears to be attempting to make of the Tracey-Gaucher-? trio. He started that line tonight and appeared to attempt to hard match them against the Admirals currently most potent line of L’Heureux and Kemell to mixed success.
As for Mysak himself – I thought he had good debut. Nothing too flashy but didn’t make any glaring miscues either – other than possibly being the odd man out on that too many men call. He even came close to getting his first goal as a Gull on debut on what appeared to be a set play with Andrew Agozzino and a shot from the point that seemed to be deliberately sent wide to rebound to the left side of the net. As the game got close he – along with the fourth line – were benched so I didn’t see much of him in the third and is another reason why he shouldn’t be on that line; from what I know of his game he would have been one of the better players to have out there defending a lead.
Scoring by Committee
It has been mentioned a few times on the broadcast recently that the Gulls are close to leading the AHL in number of ten+ goal scorers. With the acquisition of Jan Mysak they now have nine but with call-ups they currently have seven on the active roster. Judd Caulfield is just one away from joining the club and should do so once he returns from injury and Brayden Tracey is just two away. It has felt like that sort of season for the Gulls – where both scoring and defending has needed to be a team-effort.
Black Aces are Coming
Pat Verbeek has confirmed in a recent podcast that 2020 second round pick Sam Colangelo would be signed at the conclusion of his senior season. The 6’2″ right wing has had a good bounce back season with Western Michigan after transferring from North Eastern in the summer. He has 39 points in 35 games and his Broncos are currently in the first round of the 2024 NCHC Tournament facing the third seeded St Cloud State. They lost their first game of the best of three series today and play again tomorrow.
Meanwhile the CHL playoffs start just over a week from now, Yegor Sidorovs Saskatoon Blades are the top team in the East while Connor Hvdiston’s Swift Current Broncos are second and Vojtech Ports new team – the Moose Jaw Warriors are third. Nico Myatovic’s Seattle Thunderbirds are languishing in ninth place in the West – 15 points out of a playoff spot. In the OHL Rodwin Dionicio and the Saginaw Spirit are second in the Western Conference, Carey Terrance and the Erie Otters are fifth, Konnor Smith and the Owen Sound Attack are seventh while Coulson Pitres Flint Firebirds have secured the final playoff spot in the same conference. In the Q – Noah Warren and the Victoriaville Tigres are third in the West while Tristan Luneau has not returned to action and has been ruled for the season after the illness that prevented him from competing in the World Juniors back in December.
Of that bunch you can expect Colangelo to join the Gulls first, followed by Myatovic and then possibly Coulson Pitre but I wouldn’t expect any further help before the seasons end.
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