Tucson, Arizona. Riding high after back to back regulation wins the San Diego Gulls traveled to the desert to try close out the month of December with another W.
Wisely doing away with the 11-7 format the coaching staff went back to the traditional 12-6, sitting Roman Kinal and keeping Konnor Smith in the line-up. Travis Howe drew back in on the fourth line. All forward lines remained the same but defensive pairings were switched up again – placing Solberg back with McKeown and Hinds with Luneau. Noah Warren and Konnor Smith made up the third pairing.
Ville Husso got the start with Calle Clang backing up.
Roman Kinal and Cal Burke were the only healthy scratches.
First Period:
San Diego looked good to begin with – able to establish some of their fore-check game early on but Tucson carried most of the momentum in the early goings as the Gulls seemingly had no answer for their transition game.
The Roadrunners struck first as they forced a turnover in the neutral zone, fired a rush chance on Husso and banged in a rebound on the right side. 1-0 Roadrunners.
The Gulls attempted a response first via the top line but it was the fourth line who were the closest as Nathan Gaucher finished a hit to dislodge the puck which was sent right out to a waiting Travis Howe but the San Diego enforcer missed high and wide. The Mysak line carried momentum on the very next shift but after the TV time-out the Roadrunners were able to establish their speed and transition game once again.
Shots were 4-2 Tucson as time ticked over the midway mark and Konnor Smith was lucky not to be the cause of a 2-0 deficit as he sent a blind clear up the middle that was intercepted and sent right back on Husso but the experienced goaltender was equal to the stop.
The roadrunners sensed blood and it was all Tucson after the youngsters gaff. Stian Solberg was whistled for the games first penalty as he got his stick in the legs of a Roadrunners player along the boards behind the Gulls net. The Gulls were able to kill the minor but as he returned to the ice the Roadrunners still held the San Diego zone and the Norwegian found himself down a knee as he sacrificed one to block a hard slap shot. Barely escaping the ice as the Roadrunners attempted to take advantage of the temporary man advantage.
During the next TV time out Stian Solberg was helped to the Gulls dressing room to be checked.
It was largely all Tucson for the rest of the period as San Diego headed to the dressing room down by one and trailing in shots 12-6. The shot map backing up the numbers.
Second Period: Tucson Roadrunners 1 – San Diego Gulls 0
The second began much as the first had ended – with Tucson controlling play and piling the shots on the San Diego net via rush after rush. Stian Solberg thankfully returned to the ice and joined the top line in one rare Gulls flurry of chances in the Roadrunners zone before the hosts regained their stranglehold.
A too-nonchalant play by Ville Husso saw the puck end up behind him as he skated out to settle a dump in behind the net but could not track where it went after it bounced off his pads. The Roadrunners found it first and sent it out to the left right circle where it was one-timed by him. 2-0 Roadrunners.
On the next shift Nathan Gaucher attempted to wake his team up as he delivered a huge hit on the boards and tried to drop the gloves with the Roadrunners Julian Lutz but was given the roughing minor for his efforts as the Tucson player skated away.
San Diego managed to erase the minor and looked good doing it – as they created back to back shorthanded chances but as play returned to five on five their goal-tending let them down as Ville Husso again looked very ordinary when Artem Duda sent a backhand shot from the low circles that beat him near side. 3-0 Roadrunners.
With the Gulls justifiably frustrated at the lack of calls made in their favour they were finally awarded one when Judd Caulfield was able to draw the Officials attention to the two Roadrunners using his large frame as tow truck.
The aggressive Roadrunners penalty kill gave the Gulls some initial trouble off the offensive zone face-off but San Diego did manage to free up the puck and find Matthew Phillips alone in the slot but his chance was denied.
It was all San Diego for the final five minutes of the frame but it felt like they were up against not only the Roadrunners but also the Officials as they continued to let things go while whistling bogus off-sides that even the broadcast noted were bad calls.
Never the less the Gulls did look the better team as time expired on the period and they headed to the second intermission down by three, shots were 8-7 Roadrunners on the period and 20-13 overall. The shot map showing San Diego having the higher quality chances.
Third Period: Tucson Roadrunners 3 – San Diego Gulls 0
The Gulls started the third as they finished the second – driving play and throwing everything they could at Tuscon as they suddenly but surely flipped the ice.
A standout play from Stian Solberg ended in a Power Play opportunity as the rookie defender looked years ahead of his newly turned 20 age, holding the puck and skating in and around the Tucson net while threatening to throw the puck out front at any moment and getting tripped as he eventually attempted a wrap around.
On the resulting Power Play the Gulls moved the puck with confidence – creating several chances that had the Roadrunners scrambling before eventually getting on the board as Jan Mysak finished a great feed from Ryan Carpenter. 3-1 Roadrunners.
San Diego continued to pour it on after that and the Officials suddenly changed their tune, granting them another Power Play as Tristan Luneau drew a holding call.
The Gulls looked almost unstoppable as they made quick work with the man advantage, suddenly making high tier passing plays and making good on one such opportunity as Matthew Phillips was at the end of a perfect passing sequence. 3-2 Roadrunners.
Tucson pushed back but Ville Husso had returned to form and denied back to back chances in front.
Proving they were not done yet the Gulls did not wait until the final moments of the period before tying things up as Matthew Phillips and Sasha Pastujov combined on a goal that would have been a perfect candidate for the much lamented fox lazer puck trial of the 90s. His blistering one-timer going in and out of the Tucson net in less than a tenth of a second to tie things up at three. 3-3 tie game.
Seeing his two former snake-bitten team mates get off snide Yedor Sidorov seemed more determined than ever to do the same as he found himself at the center of two chances following the goal but the score remained deadlocked at three.
It should be noted that before the goal – Coach McIlvane switched up the lines to place Pastujov, Washe and Phillips together.
An overzealous Gulls fore-check got a bit out of hand as Roland McKeown was whistled for tripping with just over six minutes left.
San Diego killed the minor and the physicality picked up as well as the intensity as time ticked down to the final few minutes of regulation. The chances continued to come for both squads but sixty minutes wasn’t enough.
Overtime:
After trading initial chances early the Roadrunners took possession and it seemed as though the Gulls terrible luck in overtime may continue until in the final minute when Justin Bailey used his next-level speed to rush the puck himself, pull up to create separation and then use a trailing defender as a screen to fire a shot on net that beat the Tuscon net-minder through traffic provided by Tim Washe. 4-3 Gulls win in OT.
Post Game Notes:
Gulls vs Ducks Tactics
Someone asked me on X what the difference between the Gulls and Ducks game-play looked like and I will admit I had an answer to that earlier in the season but lately – I could not confidently give any insight due to not really having any time to see a full Ducks game from start to finish. I have really only been watching the highlights lately and only watching those when they win.
I can say that they rely on a two man fore-check with the third man in support. They deploy a quick breakout with one-touch passes whenever possible. On defense it feels like a standard zone defense which is what I believe the Ducks are deploying as well. So it isn’t a heck of a lot different really.
Call Ups?
On the note of the Ducks – in the midst of their current run of poor form I have seen a lot of eyes looking to the Gulls and who could be called up to provide a spark to the big club. Particularly there has been a lot of negativity surrounding Drew Helleson and demands for a Stian Solberg call up.
As much as the kid may deserve a look it would be a gross indignation to overlook Tristan Luneau, the Gulls best defender this season if not by the numbers. He has done his time and I firmly believe that once he is called up – it will be for the last time. How or when that happens remains to be seen but if the Ducks do finally give up on Helleson – he cannot be sent to the Gulls without being placed on waivers. I doubt any teams pass up the opportunity to nab a former second round selection with over 100 games NHL experience. If the Ducks want to maximise the value from the player they acquired in the deal for Josh Manson (along with a 2023 second round pick who became Carey Terrance who has since been dealt for Chris Krieder) they will likely need to package him in a trade deadline deal.
Power Play Heating Up and Line Combo Changes
The Power Play now has goals in five games straight including two in tonight’s contest. As the Gulls are getting wins – the confidence is building and it is flowing through to other key facets of their game. Aaron mentioned on the broadcast that Mike Babcock has been working on aerial passes to the slot and that definitely paid off on the Mysak goal. Hopefully he has some more of that in his bag of tricks because as I mentioned earlier this season – the fire-power on paper for these two units is too good to be not breaking through on the man advantage.
I also wanted to touch on the third period line changes that helped spark the comeback. Pastujov and Phillips instantly clicked while Nathan Gaucher has been coming on game by game lately. His hands are still not that great but put him with a finisher and I think you will see an instant uptake. Sidorov was looking good with Washe at points but I am not sure whose line he ended up on by games end. The real question is whether McIlvane keeps these changes for the next game.
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