Tucson, Arizona. After yet another disappointing last few minute loss the San Diego Gulls hoped to respond on the back to back in Tucson but would be doing so without one of their veteran defenders.
As noted in yesterdays post game recap – Dillon Heatherington was not seen in yesterdays action since the first period so it was assumed he would be out of action for today’s game and indeed he was. However – joining him on the injured list was another veteran – Carson Meyer. Which allowed Yegor Sidorov to draw back in and slot in on the third line.
Yesterdays second line of Sam Colangelo, Jansen Harkins and Coulson Pitre was kept together while Jan Mysak also drew back in and rejoined the fourth line in the place of Nico Myatovic.
Tyson Hinds came back in – taking the place of the injured Heatherington on the top pairing with Tristan Luneau, the two other pairings remained the same.
Oscar Dansk was given the start with Calle Clang backing up.
Dillon Heatherington was listed as out with injury and no prognosis, Carson Meyer was listed as day to day and Nico Myatovic was the lone healthy scratch with an expected call-up from Tulsa yet to be announced.
First Period:
The first began much as the middle frame of the game the night before. The Gulls were mostly on the back foot and playing chase in their own zone for much of the first six or seven minutes but did manage to keep the Roadrunners to just the one shot on net.
San Diego did manage to mount a slight response and were awarded the games first power play for their efforts as Tristan Luneau was high-sticked in the Tucson zone.
Between both units the Gulls were able to hold the Tucson zone but only really saw their best chances come from the Sidorov unit – which were at least looking to break the Roadrunners box with some adventurous passing. As time expired on the minor the fourth line jumped the boards to attempt to keep momentum going and Jan Mysak was fearless in taking the puck from down low and right to the net to create a chance but was stopped.
Mysak was roughed up while laying prone which Nathan Gaucher took exception to and we saw two minutes of four on four as a result. As the ice opened up so too did the chances and as both players returned to the ice and we returned to five on five a rush lead by Yegor Sidorov saw Coulson Pitre collect a dislodged puck with speed as the Belurusian was leveled by a late open ice hit. Pitre then spotted and sent a perfect pass to Josh Lopina at the back door to make it 1-0 Gulls.
Minutes later Jansen Harkins joined the party as he was spotted with speed to create a partial break, making no mistake on an inside outside move to make it 2-0. 2-0 Gulls.
With under two minutes left the Gulls almost made it 3-0 when Captain Ryan Carpenter jumped on a rebound right in front and had time to move to his forehand but probably should have gone straight for the backhand shot as he was stopped.
The Roadrunners had perhaps their best chance of the period as Oscar Dansk spat out a rebound that fell to his right side but his diving save kept things at 2-0.
The Gulls up by two goals after the first twenty minutes and looking a lot more composed as they lead in shots 9-7 the shot map showing clear as day why they were ahead on the scoreboard.
Second Period: San Diego Gulls 2 – Tucson Roadrunners 0
Tempers continued to flare as the two very familiar rivals continued to get to know each-other even more. Another four on four sequence to start the second saw the Roadrunners make the first strike of the second as their leading scorer Egor Sokolov was spotted by Andrew Agozzino coming off the bench on a change to go in alone on a break, beating Dansk with a hard accurate shot. 2-1 Gulls.
It was all Tucson for the next few minutes after the goal – trapping the Gulls fourth line in their zone and wearing them down while probing Oscar Dansk to get the equalizer.
San Diego did manage to turn the tide ever so slightly but the Roadrunners still had the distinct advantage in chances while taking the lead in shots. Oscar Dansk had to be sharp to be equal to a Travis Barron one-timer chance in front to keep things at 2-1 at the nine minute mark.
Tucson was clearly the hungrier team, even when the Gulls did manage to gain their zone it was all they could do to retain possession and the slightest mistake was immediately pounced on to push play back the other way.
A rare break in the flow of play saw the Gulls given a Power Play when former Gull Andrew Agozzino was found guilty of holding the stick. Just as Aaron Cooney was announcing that as compared to last night the Gulls really needed to take advantage of this man advantage a San Diego dump in bounced very fortuitously off the glass to fool Roadrunners goaltender Mathew Villalta as he skated out of the net to retrieve it. Sam Colangelo there to finish the easiest power play goal of his career thus far. 3-1 Gulls.
The Roadrunners came back with a push but the renewed confidence was evident in the San Diego game as they played a much tighter man to man structure in their own zone. The buzzer sounded to send the Gulls to the second intermission with a 3-1 lead despite being thoroughly outplayed and out shot 8-4 on the period.
Third Period: San Diego Gulls 3 – Tucson Roadrunners 1
It was a terrible start to the third as the Roadrunners immediately put San Diego under pressure and they got one back just over a minute in as both Noah Warren and Pavol Regenda allowed Montana Onyebuchi to walk the puck from the circle all the way to the net and through the legs of Oscar Dansk. 3-2 Gulls.
Sensing blood in the water the Roadrunners continued to push and forced Coulson Pitre into taking a slashing penalty to break up a would be offensive threat.
San Diego settled into a much better defensive structure on the penalty kill and erased the minor with relative ease.
It was mostly all Roadrunners as time moved on in the period – the Gulls surviving by doing all that they could to keep Tucson to the perimeter and harrying their every step. They also got some help from the pipes – as a potential game tying goal hit the post at the midway mark of the period.
With all of their continued possession it felt like only a matter of time until the Gulls took a penalty and sure enough Rodwin Dionicio was called for tripping as he felled Kailer Yamamoto coming down the right side into the San Diego zone.
San Diego killed the minor and held firm through the waves of attack seen after including a heart stopping moment when a loose puck dropped in the crease and saw a pile of bodies quickly form around it. Tristan Luneau emerging the hero as he single handedly retrieved it, took it around the net, slid it off the boards to himself and then beat two Tucson attackers to it to get it out of the zone.
Tucson pulled Villalta with just over two minutes remaining but some strong work from Ryan Carpenter, Jansen Harkins and Nikita Nesterenko saw the later tally the empty net insurance marker with a minute remaining. 4-2 Gulls.
San Diego skating away with a 4-2 win in enemy territory despite being outplayed for much of the contest.
Post Game Notes:
Time To Make The Right Choices P2
If it wasn’t immediately obvious from the Gulls record thus far this season it was hopefully painfully obvious during this game as each and every-time the fourth line took to the ice they spent the majority of it under duress in their own zone. Not to be completely hard on them – there were some bright moments, lead by Jan Mysak and Nathan Gaucher – in the offensive zone. But overall – they were a liability and I believe most of the blame can be placed on Travis Howe. I get that you still need to deploy a tough guy in today’s AHL game and particularly given how young and inexperienced this San Diego team is they do need a protector but at the same time – he isn’t helping them win. At all.
Praise To Dansk
He might have still looked a bit shaky in moments and you didn’t get that aura of “cant be beaten today” from him but he was definitely a difference in the win today. Not entirely stealing the win but the Gulls had no business getting two points without him. Hopefully this gives him more confidence moving forward given Clang has emerged as the clear number one thus far this season.
Warren Needs More Time
In addition to sitting Howe I would also suggest sending Noah Warren to Tulsa to get his feet a bit more under him. It did seem a little harsh to me to throw him right into the AHL in his first pro season when expectations for his development aren’t exactly urgent. It makes more sense to me to send him to Tulsa and bring up Andrew Lucas to provide more stability and more importantly – puck rushing ability on the back end. Create a winning environment first, give the kids more confidence as a result of winning – and then you can be better about sharing the ice time around.
Looking Good Team
Though bit harsh that they made you watch the game from the penalty box.
Oh yeah. Drink! (Jeff Bush sighting)
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