2019-20 San Diego Gulls

[WhatTheDuck]

I haven't been watching, but they have been missing Carrick, Comtois, Poturalski, and Sherwood for quite a while now. And now Jones, Lundestrom, and Larsson have been called up again. They are definitely not as deep/talented as they were.

This was the reason I thought we may grab one of the forwards available on waivers the other day, hate to see the Gulls so shorthanded.

 

[MMC]

 

[duxfan1101]

Gulls up 2-0 after 1. Goals by Kopacka and Wideman (primary assist to Kopacka). Pollock (the new PTO guy) has assisted on both goals. Corey Tropp also fought the same guy twice in the first period. Here is the 2nd one:

 

[KaseMeOutside]

Kopacka has 2 goals looks good

 

[duxfan1101]

Gulls win 4-3 in a shootout. Kopacka with 2 goals, 1 assist, and the shootout winner. He also led the team with 5 SOG.

 

[HansH]

Wideman's goal was a bullet of a one-timer off the feed from Kopacka - it was a relief to go up 2-0.

So, bright side, yes , they won. I'm still concerned at the team's distressing ability to squander 2- and 3-goal leads, especially in the third period. It's got to be demoralizing to be up 2-0 in the 2nd and look up to be down 3-2 in the third...

That said, yay for the points, and I'm glad I was so wrong on my prediction for the game

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

How has Sherwood looked? Surprised he hasn't had a callup once.

 

[duxfan1101]

How has Sherwood looked? Surprised he hasn't had a callup once.

He's been injured for like a month

 

[MMC]

 

[duxfan1101]

Gulls up 2-0 after 1 over Ontario. Sherwood is back, but Wideman, Guhle, and Broadhurst all have the flu.

 

[HansH]

How has Sherwood looked? Surprised he hasn't had a callup once.

Has been out for 11 games after running his knee into the goalpost on an empty-net situation - first game back is tonight in Ontario.

 

[duxfan1101]

Gulls win 6-1. Goals by Kloos, Hakanpaa, Sherwood (first game back), Mahura, Morand, and Dostie. Dostie had 3 points, Hakanpaa was +5, Mahura and Dostie were +4.

 

[HansH]

Gulls lose 3-2 in OT tonight at home to the Reign. Dostie's PP goal was nicely done to open the scoring, the Ontario equalizer on the PP felt a little inevitable. The go-ahead goal in the 2nd was a moment of pure comedy - Villalta was out behind the Ontario net, felt pressured, threw the puck out front, where Kloos was off-balance (literally on one skate), his stick outstretched being held by one hand... and the puck hit off the heel of Kloos's stick and deflected right into the empty net. Kloos himself even shrugged more than celebrated once it was clear what had happened.

Unfortunately, that was the Gulls' last home goal of the calendar year, and Ontario equalized again on the PP late in the second before winning in OT. Both teams now sit at .500, the Reign with the points lead for the 4th and final playoff spot from having played five (yes, five) more games than the Gulls. The Reign finish the calendar year on New Year's Eve in Bakersfield (currently 6th place), while the Gulls finish that same night in Tucson facing the 23-6 (obviously first-place) Roadrunners.

 

[McDonald19]

Hunter Drew’s first AHL fight.

 

[Opak]

Original Gull and AHL star Chris Mueller returns to San Diego, as Patrick Sieloff is traded to Syracuse.

Mueller had 33 goals last year for the Marlies, one short of being tied for AHL's Rocket Richard equivalent. He was also tied for 9th in the league in scoring, despite playing only 60 games.

Mueller was a big time player in San Diego's "inaugural" 15-16 AHL season. He led the team in goals and points during the regular season (60GP - 20G 57PTS), was San Diego's top player during the playoffs, where he had 4 goals and 11 points in 9 games. Also wore an "A" during the season.

The Gulls now have two of last season's top-10 scorers in their roster: Mueller and Poturalski (although the latter has been injured since forever).

 

[MMC]

Stolarz and Wideman named to the AHL All Star Game

 

[duxfan1101]

Gulls add Mueller, Carrick, Sprong, and Wideman into a much better looking lineup.

 

[Kalv]

Sprong with another point and +2

 

[duxfan1101]

Gulls lose 2-1 in a shootout in a game they dominated for a good portion. Oh, and this happened

 

[ducks8]

Beautiful hit

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Hakan-POW! I gotta admit, that's punny!

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

Kinda looks like a 7-10 split pickup.

 

[Exit Dose]

I always thought Dostie had potential. I'd still give him long odds for making the NHL, though.

 

[HansH]

Wideman sat last night - I'm not 100% sure why, but I think he took an awkward spill into a net post at some point Friday night, so may be nursing some bruises or more. Broadhurst was taken to the locker room to be looked at after an apparent injury in the second last night, but was back out on the ice before the end of that period. Different look between Friday and Saturday, with Sprong and Sherwood being called back up to the Ducks between the games, replaced on the ice with Tropp and Gates. Pollock also sat (I assume as a healthy scratch), and Sideroff got his minutes. Johnston was in the lineup instead of Wideman.

While the SOG were definitely dominated by the Gulls, getting some scoring finish is absolutely essential -- the only goal came on a wide-open 1-on-0 breakaway by Carrick (outlet pass from Dostie well-executed, and Stolarz set the team record for assists in a season by a goalie on the play)... but none of the other numerous opportunities panned out, including SEVERAL 5-0n-3 moments for De Leo that SHOULD have been easy goals, but the puck kept fluttering, bouncing, or otherwise evading his stick as he was to his right of the crease. The domination in SOG on Saturday was a relief from prior games, but the trend of just having the mental lapse at the wrong time late in the game is just going to keep biting this team in the rear end if they keep allowing other teams to hang around within 1 or 2 goals.

 

[HansH]

I always thought Dostie had potential. I'd still give him long odds for making the NHL, though.

I love Dostie's work ethic, but think his size is going to keep him an AHL player.