PREVIEW: Gulls Look to Snap Losing Streak Against the Eagles | San Diego Gulls

Oct 25, 2022

By Paige Burnell/SanDiegoGulls.com

The San Diego Gulls return to Pechanga Enviornment San Diego tonight, seeking to fly previous the Colorado Eagles and to their first residence win of the season (7 p.m., TV: AHL TV, RADIO: Gulls Audio Community).

The Gulls enter tonight with a 1-3-0-0 total document after consecutive losses to the Ontario Reign final weekend. This recreation marks the crew’s first Wednesday night time matchup (San Diego is 37-30-4-1 all-time on that day of the week) and what the crew sees as a possibility for a fast turnaround.

“When you have an off night time, you don’t actually get time to dwell on that,” Gulls proper wing Bryce Kindopp stated concerning the time between video games. “You get proper again to it like we are able to right here on Wednesday. It’s going to be a grind, however whenever you’re doing it with these guys, it’s fairly simple and enjoyable.”

The Gulls plan to focus extra on defensive particulars to unravel a Colorado crew that left them with a 1-5-0-0 season document (13-11-1-0 all-time) in 2021-22. 

“Our defensive recreation needs to be higher, that’s for positive,” Gulls assistant coach Kris Sparre stated. “You noticed that within the second recreation on Ontario, our particulars – we received away from it a bit of bit, however we had a extremely, actually good final two days of observe the place guys had been dialed in and I believe we’re actually going to place an emphasis on that tomorrow.”

Defenseman Nikolas Brouillard was definitely “dialed in” as of late, posting 2-4=6 factors in 4 video games this season and rating tied for third amongst AHL leaders in assists and factors manufacturing from Oct. 14-21. At present, the blueliner is ranked tied for second in factors and tied for third in assists amongst AHL defensemen (as of Oct. 25). Moreover, Brouillard tops the Gulls’ leaderboard in each assists and factors whereas being tied for the lead in targets. 

Brouillard additionally positioned amongst Gulls crew leaders in offensive manufacturing in opposition to the Eagles final season with 2-4=6 factors in six contests. 

“I don’t suppose they’re going to be a lot totally different than they’ve (been) since I’ve performed them in my final couple years right here,” Kindopp stated. “All the time a quick, bodily, actually good crew to play in opposition to so it’s going to be a great problem for us. I do know they’re going to be flying round so I count on the identical.”

Colorado’s pace and skating capacity makes the correct execution of the Gulls protection and forecheck much more vital.

“They play with a number of tempo, much like what we noticed with the Ontario crew,” Sparre stated of the Eagles. “So, they’re a great skating crew, bodily. We’ll must carry each of these parts – match them if not carry a bit of bit extra on our end- and I believe we ‘re going to be okay.”

The Gulls will look to Brayden Tracey to be on the helm of the groups’ forechecking recreation, particularly for the reason that left wing utilized it to attain an unassisted aim in Saturday’s 5-1 loss. Tracey can also be averaging a point-per-game with 2-2=4 factors in his final 4 contests, marking the best level complete in his first 4 video games of the season in his AHL profession. 

San Diego additionally has the added insurance coverage of the goalie tandem of Lukas Dostal and Olle Eriksson Ek. Dostal, who will seemingly get the beginning tomorrow, has fairly the historical past with the Eagles. 

Within the Gulls 5-2 win over the Eagles on Mar. 2, 2022, Dostal turned the primary goaltender within the historical past of the Anaheim Geese group (NHL or AHL stage) and sixteenth goaltender in AHL historical past to attain a aim in a recreation (seventeenth together with playoffs). Dostal additionally made a career-high 51 saves on 52 photographs within the win.

The Gulls goaltending shall be integral in caging the Eagles, who come into the sport with a 2-2-0-0 document after a 4-2 loss to the Calgary Wranglers on Oct. 22. San Diego must be careful for Colorado defensemen Keaton Middleton (1-0=1) and Andreas Englund (1-0=1), who accounted for each of Colorado’s targets within the loss. 

Moreover, the Gulls might want to floor left wing Charles Hudon, who’s on a four-game level streak (4-3=7) that started firstly of the season on Oct. 14.

“Once you’ve received two groups which are enjoying laborious and enjoying quick, that’s what this recreation is all about and I believe we’re at our greatest when groups are difficult us in that division.” Sparre stated.