2025-2026 Game 69: San Diego Gulls at Bakersfield Condors

Bakersfield, California. Riding high on a three game win streak to start the month of April but then dropping a tough loss in Bakersfield on a back to back the San Diego Gulls hoped to turn things around again as they looked to clinch their first playoff spot since the 2021-2022 season.

Once again the top two lines stayed intact but the third line was tweaked as Nikita Nesterenko and Yegor Sidorov came in, Lucas Pettersson and Cal Burke were scratched to make room.

Newly signed ATO Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Matt Basgall made his professional debut as he came in for Konnor Smith who was on ice for three Condors goals in the 5-3 loss yesterday. The defensive pairings were also switched up with Roman Kinal moving up to the top pairing alongside Roland McKeown, Nik Brouillard moving back to his natural left side alongside Tristan Luneau and the right shot Basgall paired with Stian Solberg.

Damian Clara was given his first start of the season with Calle Clang backing up.

Lucas Petterson, Cal Burke, Herman Traff, Drew Elliott and Coulson Pitre were the healthy scratches.
Tomas Suchanek did not make the trip north.

First Period:

Despite appearing to start better in their play than the snippets I caught of them in their previous game the Condors still lead in shots by 7-6 by the first TV time-out.

As time approached the midway mark a rush led by Jan Mysak into the Condors zone saw his speed draw defenders to him before leaving it for Yegor Sidorov who used the time and space allowed to fire a laser that was in and out before Bakersfield goaltender Matt Tomkins could react. 1-0 Gulls.

Bakersfield made a push after the goal but were called for interference – giving San Diego the first Power Play of the game. Bakersfield made short work of the man advantage utilizing an overly aggressive penalty kill that meant the Gulls never really got a look other than a knuckle puck one-timer from Pastujov early on.

The pace picked up after play returned to five on five and the opportunities came thick and fast, first Roger McQueen was narrowly denied his second goal in as many games on a timer and then Sam Colangelo was stopped on a breakaway, before Bakersfield countered with a game tying goal that beat Damian Clara top corner from a severe angle. 1-1 tie game.

Nik Brouillard was called for cross-checking with under three minutes remaining, and the Bakersfield Power Play kept San Diego under siege for the entire two minutes including a bogus “high sticking” call to Tristan Luneau meant a brief five on three for the Condors which the Gulls were able to kill but as they got too casual in the neutral zone a Bakersfield break burned them as they took the lead 2-1 on a three on one rush. 2-1 Condors.

San Diego starting well but surrendering two goals after some questionable calls from the Officials.

Shots were an even 14-14 after the first set of twenty with the shot map showing chances relatively even but the Condors able to penetrate more down low.

Second Period: Bakersfield Condors 2 – San Diego Gulls 1

The first five minutes of the second were a tight checking affair with the Condors largely having the better of play and San Diego lacking cohesion as they tried to get their speed game going.

The fourth line got some fore-check going and the Bakersfield response cost them as a very obvious interference call drawn by Judd Caulfield saw the Gulls take to the Power Play. After losing the initial face-off the Gulls took a few seconds to get set but once they did Matthew Phillips use the space allowed by the goal line to attempt a pass through the crease but the puck bounced in off the bodies in front. 2-2 tie game.

The back and forth continued but the fourth line continued their hard work as Nathan Gaucher gave San Diego the lead back as he scored an eerily similar goal to the Condors first goal as he went top corner from a severe angle right as the net was coming off its moorings. 3-2 Gulls.

San Diego kept on rolling as the top line struck after Ryan Carpenter deflected a point shot that left a rebound to land neatly for Justin Bailey at the side of the net. 4-2 Gulls.

On the very next shift Nico Myatovic further silenced the Bakersfield building as he deflected a Matt Basgall point shot by Tomkins to make it 5-2.

It was all Gulls as the Bakersfield arena sat in stunned silence. Matthew Phillips drew a holding call in the Condors zone. The San Diego Power Play looked dangerous with both units but could not convert after several good looks.

San Diego continued to control play and earned another Power Play to close out the period but headed to the second intermission with the 5-2 lead and the remainder of the man advantage to carry over to the third. Shots were 12-8 Gulls on the period and 26-22 overall. The shot map showing San Diegos dominance.

Third Period: San Diego Gulls 5 – Bakersfield Condors 2

San Diego played out the carry over man advantage conservatively and then went back to the attack as play returned to five on five as they looked to defend their three goal lead.

Yegor Sidorov was sprung on a partial break but was robbed by a desperate left pad stop as he shifted Tomkins from left to right with a nice in and out move.

Some bad communication and gap control from the Gulls allowed Bakersfield to get back in the game as the rookie Tommy Lafreniere was allowed too much time to tee up a shot in the low circles. 5-3 Gulls.

Bakersfield continued to press and Damian Clara had to be sharp on deflections, point blank setups and other chances created as time ticked to seven minutes remaining.

With three minutes left the Condors sporadically pulled Tomkins for the extra attacker but the Gulls frustrated their attempts and with just under two minutes left they outnumbered Bakersfield in their own zone, forced a turnover and a point shot from Luneau made it 6-3 Gulls.

A hooking call to Roman Kinal saw the Gulls down a man with a minute left but by then they had victory firmly in their sights as they closed down shooting lanes and kept sticks in passing lanes as best they could. Stian Solberg putting the exclamation mark on matters as he hit the empty net from his own red line. 7-3 Gulls.

San Diego taking the win and officially clinching their first post season position since the 2021-2022 season.

Post Game Notes:

Win The Second Period Win The Game (again)

After surrendering three goals in the second period against the Condors last night to go down 5-3 the Gulls repaid the favor tonight, netting four in the middle frame to take control of the game. What have we learned during their lead up to clinching a playoff spot?

Win the second period win the game.

Defensive Details

Nik Brouillard did not have his best game tonight, strangely playing his “off” side – which is for him; playing on the left as a left shot defender. It is a unique um talent? Much like the Ducks were short of left shot defenders before Tyson Hinds recall, now so are the Gulls but for the scratched Konnor Smith who from the brief amount of the game I saw last night; did not play well at all. This opened the door for Matt Basgall to make his debut and he did not look out of place; picking up his first professional point on the Myatovic goal but as a right shot defender it does make it slightly awkward to juggle the pairings.

I liked Basgalls game – nothing flashy, very good first pass and active with the head-man pass – reminded me a lot of Ian Moore. He could be a nice pick-up for next year if the Ducks either offer him an ELC or try to get him on an AHL deal. The scouts likely kept a close eye on him while overlooking how 2025 second round pick Eric Nilson did in his freshman season, Of course that also means Bagsall has now likely already surpassed Smith on the depth chart.

Basgall was a +3 tonight and his defensive partner Solberg was a +4. Roger McQueen meanwhile was a -2 and but for a couple of nice looks throughout the game including a far too unselfish play where he passed up a clear shooting opportunity for the backdoor pass, he looked a little out of sorts; perhaps playing too much hockey in too short amount of time.

One last thing – Stian Solbergs empty net tally was his eleventh goal of the season, one shy of both Brandon Montour’s tally in 2015-16 and Owen Zellwegers in 2023-2024.

Clara Cool In Net

Damian Clara has clearly learned a lot this last year, he looked night and day a different goalie from the quite raw product we saw at the tail end of last season. He looked very good earning his first win tonight – there were still some things he will need to tidy up and some weaknesses that teams might take advantage of once they get more looks at him but for now his movement in tracking the play is flawless and his size lets him see through layers of traffic without too much effort. He was only beat by some lateral outnumbered attack plays and that one top corner shot from near the goal line which was pretty much a perfect shot.

It was interesting that Suchanek did not make the trip but I believe Calle Clang will be the number one for this post season drive.

Magic Number Watch Who Will Be The First Round Opponent

As of right now it appears the Gulls are on a collision course with possibly the worst first round match-up they could have hoped for in the Colorado Eagles. The Eagles did manage to lose to a desperate Roadrunners squad the night before but vanquished them in overtime tonight. San Diego has managed to beat them three times this season but lost the other five times – for possibly their best season record against them of recent memory.

With three games left – against Tucson, Ontario and Coachella Valley there is a chance they could string together three wins and surpass the Condors but they would need Bakersfield to lose all of their remaining games preferably in regulation although they can afford for one of them to be in overtime. The Condors next face the red-hot Silver Knights, before a home and away with the Barracuda so there is hope there but if Gulls did manage to move into sixth spot they would have a date with said red-hot Silver Knights and likely would want to avoid that too. Ideally like I said in my last post game notes the Firebirds would be the best match-up but that seems very much out of reach now. I guess on the bright side – the Eagles, like the Gulls, will have their parent club in the playoffs (yes I know the Ducks haven’t clinched yet but I can’t see them missing now) so wont be receiving any help.