LIVE: Gulls Win Fifth Straight
Nov 27, 2021By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls defeated the Bakersfield Condors 2-1 in tonight's game at Mechanics Bank Arena.
Buddy Robinson put San Diego ahead, scoring his second of the year with 7:45 remaining in regulation.
Brayden Tracey filtered a puck down to Vinni Lettieri, who accepted the pass on his backhand. As two Condors turned their attention to him, the center fed a backhand pass to a wide-open Robinson at the opposite side of the net. He slammed it home for his second goal in as many games.
Both Lettieri (1-1=2) and Tracey (0-2=2) recorded multiple point performances. Tracey extended his point streak to four games, and has multi-point nights in three consecutive contests (3-4=7).
Ostap Safin evened the score, collecting his first goal of the season with 21 seconds remaining in the middle frame. The left wing took a cross-ice pass from Dmitri Samorukov and snapped a shot past the sliding Lukas Dostal for the game-tying tally.
As part of Bakersfield's Teddy Bear Toss, the period ended after the goal. The teams will start the third period with an extra 21 seconds.
Jacob Perreault appeared to give San Diego a 2-0 lead earlier in the period, snapping a shot from near the goal line that sailed past Bakersfield goalie Olivier Rodrigue and off two posts. The referee initially called a goal, but video review overturned the call on the ice.
Dostal has 11 saves through two periods. His counterpart for Bakersfield, Rodrigue, stopped 15 of 16 shots.
Lettieri, reassigned by the Anaheim Ducks earlier today, opened the scoring at 3:42 of the first period.
Tracey started the play, forcing Vincent Desharnais to turn over the puck below the goal line. The right wing sent a puck to the slot, where a wide-open Lettieri quickly tucked the puck past Rodrigue and into the top of the net for his sixth goal of the season.
Dostal stopped all six shots he saw in the first period. The 2018 third-round selection of the Anaheim Ducks is 3-1-0 in his last four starts with a 2.52 GAA and .912 SV%.
Rodrigue stopped seven of the eight shots he faced in the opening frame. The rookie enters the game at 2-3-1 with a 3.41 GAA and .853 SV%.
Tonight marks the fourth meeting between the Gulls and Condors during the month of November with Bakersfield taking two of the first three contests (2-1 overtime win Nov. 12, 4-2 win Nov. 13) and San Diego earning a 3-2 shootout win Nov. 5. The Gulls own a 31-21-2-2 mark all-time against the Condors, with a 14-12-1-1 record in Bakersfield. Jacob Perreault paces the Gulls in production against the Condors with 2-2=4 points in the first three matchups, followed by Trevor Carrick (1-1=2) and Nikolas Brouillard (0-2=2).
Brouillard enters tonight riding a career-high five-game point streak (2-6=8) and has already matched his career best with three goals on the season. He comes into the game leading all AHL defensemen in scoring during the month of November with 3-9=12 points in eight games. In the Gulls history book, Brouillard’s 12 points in the month of November ranks only behind Brandon Montour’s pace in November 2015 when the former Gull collected 4-11=15 points in 12 games during the calendar’s eleventh month.
The St. Hilaire, Quebec native leads San Diego blueliners in assists (9), goals (3), points (12) and plus/minus (+6), while ranking first among all club skaters in assists and sitting tied for second in scoring. Among AHL leaders this season, Brouillard sits tied for sixth in points, tied for seventh in goals and tied for ninth in assists.
The Gulls also received reinforcements before puck drop. The Anaheim Ducks reassigned center Benoit-Olivier Groulx and right wing Vinni Lettieri before puck drop. Lettieri returns to the lineup tied for second on the team in goals (5).
Seth Griffith enters the game riding a league-leading 13-game point streak, one he's carried since the start of the season. The forward also leads the AHL with 12 points on the power play and is second in power play assists (8).