Gulls Biweekly Report 3

By Thomas Harrington

The San Diego Gulls played five games over the past two weeks and had a record of 1-4-0. Their lone win ended a club record 13 game losing streak. In an odd stat, the Gulls have used three goaltenders this season, and each of them has one victory.

Checkers Edge Gulls

The Gulls started things out by hosting the Charlotte Checkers for a pair of games. In the first game, Ben King opened the scoring late in the first period. In the second, Charlotte scored twice to take the lead, but Pavol Regenda tied the game before the period was over. Neither team scored in the third and the game went to overtime, where the Checkers found the game winner and won 3-2. The next game was a low scoring affair, as Charlotte scored the only goal of the game in the first period and won 1-0.

Gulls Come Up Short In San Jose

The Gulls then traveled to San Jose to face the Barracuda. Things didn’t start well in this one, as San Jose scored the only goal of the first period, as well as two early goals in the second to take a 3-0 lead. Andrew Agozzino put the Gulls on the board, but San Jose responded with two more goals and held a 5-1 lead after two periods. In the third, the Gulls fought back, but it was too little too late. Regenda, Nathan Gaucher, and Trevor Carrick all scored, and San Diego lost 5-4.

The Losing Streak Is OVER!

San Diego then returned home to host the Chicago Wolves for a pair of games. King opened the scoring in the first game, but Chicago responded with a pair of goals to take a 2-1 lead after the opening period. The second period was a high-scoring affair: Regenda tied the game, then Chicago took the lead, then Olen Zellweger scored, then Chicago scored twice, and Jacob Perreault scored in the final minute of the period. Chicago had a 5-4 lead after two periods. The Wolves scored the only goal in the third and won 6-4.

In the final game, Judd Caulfield opened the scoring in the first, but Chicago tied it in the second. Robert Hagg put the Gulls back on top before the period was over, and Josh Lopina scored into the empty net in the third to give the Gulls a 3-1 win. Tomas Suchanek made his AHL debut and stopped 23 of 24 shots to get the win. This was Chase De Leo’s first game back after being injured in the preseason and he had one assist.

Final Thoughts 

The Gulls will play six games over the next two weeks. They’ll start out by hosting Texas for a game before hitting the road for five straight games. The road trip will start with a pair of games in Chicago, then a game in Milwaukee, and finish with a pair of games in Rockford.

There aren’t many players showing they should be called up to Anaheim anytime soon, but there are a few. With three goals and four points in his last five games, Regenda has been San Diego’s most dangerous forward this season. Carrick and Zellweger have been dangerous and can bring some serious offense from the blueline.

Despite the season being only 16 games old, it looks like the Gulls will once again miss the playoffs. At this point, rather than focus on getting back into the playoff race, the Gulls should focus on playing better hockey and improving their overall game. If that doesn’t happen, expect roster changes to happen, possibly soon.

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November 29th, 2023