Corey Schuneman celebrates the opening goal.
San Diego, California. After earning a split in Tucson and then learning a very harsh lesson against the Firebirds in their most recent matchup on Thursday the San Diego Gulls hope to rebound against a San Jose team that had not had a great start to the season.
With Pavel Mintyukov being placed on injured reserve in Anaheim – veteran defender Travis Mitchell was called up. Meaning both Roman Kinal and Konnor Smith stayed in the Gulls line-up. The forward lines remained the same largely – but with a swap of Sean Farrell to the second line and Yegor Sidorov to the third.
Laurent Brossoit was given the start once again with Damian Clara backing up.
Cruz Lucius and Travis Howe were the healthy scratches.
San Diego came out with some ferocious fore-checking that had the Barracuda overwhelmed in their own zone through the first three minutes and rolling line changes from the Gulls. A bad bounce saw a clear-cut breakaway for San Jose but Brossoit turned aside the chance with his left pad.
San Jose tried to switch the momentum after the opportunity but the Gulls went right back to dominating the Barracuda zone, generating chances off a rush from Phillips and back to back attempts at a backdoor play on a good cycling shift from a transition between the Traff and Carpenter line.
San Jose took back momentum as time crossed over the midway point and suddenly the Gulls found themselves trying not to relive their previous mistakes as the Barracuda looked to be targeting the frequently open back-door play.
A strong shift from the Carpenter line – started by the Captain himself leading a two on one break into the San Jose zone ended in the Gulls starting the scoring as a recovered puck found its way to the point and Corey Schueneman given time to wind up and wire a laser top corner. 1-0 Gulls.
San Diego kept up the attack and generated more chances while relying on some quick reactions from Brossoit in their end whenever a defender got caught out of position.
Yegor Sidorov was very unlucky to make it 2-0 as he was setup on a perfect one-timer for a goal that would have been a buzzer beater but he was robbed by the Barracudas veteran goaltender Eric Comrie.
San Diego taking a 1-0 lead into the first intermission and a 13-8 lead in shots but the shot map showing the Gulls defense looking very questionable as all of the Barracuda chances came from the slot.
San Jose came out firing to start the period, throwing the body and “running around” as the Gulls found themselves under physical assault. Matt Basgall was on the end of one such hit and was slow to get up but he did return to the action a few shifts later. Another such hit on Gaucher saw Konnor Smith step up and challenge the Barraudas Libor Hajek, a short lived bout saw Smith drop the over-matched San Jose player with a right.
The Gulls used the momentum gained from the fight to almost double the lead as a play that saw all three forwards crash the net after a loose puck in the crease but Eric Comrie somehow located and kept it out.
Some more extra curricular’s saw Herman Traff put the Gulls down as he was given the extra two minutes for roughing after a tussle in front of the Gulls net.
San Diego killed the minor but found themselves still on their heels as the Barracuda kept the pressure on. Anton Wahlberg sprung himself on a breakaway as he pressured the point and knocked the puck loose but he was stopped on an inside outside move.
San Jose continued to keep possession and momentum while the Gulls just tried their best to keep chances to a minimum as they struggled to gain the Barracuda zone with speed.
The Barracuda started to “run around” again and a collision in the neutral zone saw Ethan Procyszn head to the Gulls bench clutching his fore-arm.
San Diego withstood the continued Barracuda attack with mismatched lines to make-up for the Procyszyn absence and they headed to the second intermission still ahead by one goal while coming out even in shots on the period at twelve a piece. The Gulls leading in shots 25-20 overall with the shot map showing the Gulls still allowing far too many looks in the slot but also generating a lot of their own.
The Gulls appeared to have received further instruction between periods as they came out with a much more polished and committed game to start the third. Locking down the neutral zone and providing a physical wall at the blue line they forced turnover after turnover and won battle after battle coming out the victor after every physical encounter.
San Diego earned their first Power Play of the game as time approached the midway point of the period as Stian Solberg was slashed in his own zone.
The Gulls had trouble getting set for the first half of the man advantage but eventually were able to settle in the San Jose zone and get some movement going around the perimeter – trying to find the bumper or a one-time option at the flanks. The Barracuda to their credit did an amicable job of shutting down most opportunities and killed the penalty but the Gulls kept up the pressure and a nice rush and entry led by Phillips and Wahlberg saw a shot by Jet Woo in the high slot create a rebound that James Hamblin pounced on. 2-0 Gulls.
The San Diego coaching staff put the Procyszyn line out immediately following the goal and almost made it 3-0 after Drew Elliott chased down a lob pass that he was just inches from getting his stick to before the San Jose net-minder did as he was forced into coming out to play it.
The Gulls looked much better in protecting their lead as they stayed with the recipe – pressuring on the fore-check and keeping up the offense while locking down the neutral zone. Matthew Phillips took a stick to the face whilst attempting to play a juggling puck in mid-air and the Gulls went to the Power Play with less than five minutes left in the period.
This time San Diego made them pay on the man advantage as some good passing in the Barracuda zone allowed Anton Wahlberg to step out in front from the side of the net and muscle a chance on net, the ensuing chaos saw James Hamblin once again connect with a loose puck to get his second of the night. 3-0 Gulls.
Despite their being four minutes left the Barracuda pulled their net-minder on the very next shift and despite the Gulls initially playing it conservative, San Jose broke Brossoits shutout bid and started some doubts in everybodyss minds as they got one back to make it 3-1 with just over three minutes left. 3-1 Gulls.
Nico Myatovic put those fears to rest as he used his speed to chase down a loose puck, beat his would be defenders and skate in on the empty net to make a ballsy backhand top shelf move. 4-1 Gulls.
San Diego then shut things down and managed to enjoy the majority of possession for the remaining time of the game as they skated away with a deserved 4-1 win.
Defensive Doubts
It was noted during the action that the Gulls cannot afford to lose another defenceman. Matt Basgall getting shaken up by a heavy hit along the boards early in the second prompted the comment but thankfully he returned to action a few shifts later. With the Ducks now missing Pavel Mintyukov (day to day) on defense as well as Ian Moore (week to week) it prompted the call-up of Travis Mitchell. A lot of fans were upset that the most deserving Stian Solberg did not get the summons but I can see the Ducks logic here. The Ducks were in the midst of a tailspin with some high pressure games (including the highest of all – against the Flyers) – its not the right environment to throw a rookie into the fray. Give it a few months – maybe after Christmas; would be a better time if the opportunity presents itself. But I digress, the Gulls defensive depth has already been tested – it does not need to be tested further. If someone were to go down – Jackson Niedermayer would likely be the recall from Tulsa (1 assist in 2 games) but I am hoping replacements will be coming from the other direction once Mintyukov and Moore recover.
The Gulls have allowed 23 goals through 8 games – tied for fifth worst in the division and tied for 14th worst in the league. Not horrible but if they cant pick up the offense (tied for 13th in league and 6th in division with 25 goals) it is something they can improve on. Dave Manson as a former NHL defender is clearly deploying a more defensively responsible conservative style as much as he can within the Ducks system so it will be interesting to watch moving forward.
Trustworthy Trio
Speaking of more defensively responsible, the fourth line have been getting a lot of ice lately and are routinely being used as a response following a goal either for or against as well as one to be trusted in the final minutes defending a lead. It makes sense – looking at the stats they are the only forwards other than Wahlberg (team leader in scoring), Gaucher (kind of his whole thing) and Myatovic (same thing) to be a positive +-. Elliott is a +2 while both Traff and Procyszyn are both a +1. Drew Elliot is the stand out – his speed and dog-with-a-bone fore-check has been causing all sorts of problems for opponents. It is interesting to find Traff on this line given he has shown he has a lot of skill but I am also intrigued to see how it works out given he (as I have said many times before) plays a similar style to Judd Caulfield. Watch this space.
Looking Ahead
The win brings the Gulls back up to .500 but still good for seventh place in the division by points percentage with a 4-4-1 record, they have one more matchup for the first month of the season as they welcome in the second in the division by points percentage Henderson Silver Knights. The Knights are riding a three game win streak and have been the stingiest team in the division, allowing just 15 goals through 6 games but also sputtering on offense with just 17. Then the as always division leading Eagles come to town the very next night for the Gulls first true test of the season.
Tucson,Airzona. After starting the season 2-3-1 and sitting in the middle of the Pacific as…
So I wrote an article years ago as a fun little piece that was in…
Ducks Rookie Face Off San Jose, California In their second and final game of the…
Ducks Rookie Face Off San Jose, California I missed some of the first period and…
Buffalo, New York. I am late posting this - but here is my annual Anaheim…
It is that time of year again! Like in years past - this post will…