Gulls Kick Off Final Road Trip in Bakersfield
Apr 10, 2024By Nick Aguilera/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls are hitting the road for their final extended road swing of the 2023-24 American Hockey League season, beginning with their final matchup with the Bakersfield Condors tonight at Mechanics Bank Arena (6:30 p.m. PDT; TV: AHL TV; Radio: Gulls Audio Network).
The Gulls are coming off two losses to the Tucson Roadrunners over the weekend. There was a stark difference between the two, as the Gulls got bounced 4-1 in the opening matchup before dropping a thrilling 3-2 shootout loss on Sunday. Even though the latter ended with the Gulls on the wrong side of the shootout, progress was made within the young San Diego locker room.
"Much better game by us," Gulls center Andrew Agozzino said after Sunday’s loss. "More complete game. We had a good chance to win. It was a tough break on that faceoff goal late in the third period, but more than enough in every aspect of the game to win."
Sunday saw the AHL debut of Andrew Lucas, who collected his first assist on Agozzino’s third-period goal. Lucas is one of four new faces who have joined the Gulls over the past two weeks alongside forwards Sam Colangelo and Nico Myatovic and fellow blueliner Konnor Smith.
"I thought he played really well," assistant coach Jason Clarke said. "Any time you're coming from college hockey and play in the American League, it's a big step. I thought he did a really good job of settling in and making some easy plays real early in the game. Didn't complicate things and as the game went on you could see him start to get a little bit more confidence as the game progressed. So, as for a first game out of college hockey, I thought he played a really good game."
San Diego will look to play spoiler from here on out, as all five games on the road trip are against playoff teams looking to secure the best possible seeding in the postseason. That includes Bakersfield, who are fighting to climb out of the bottom half of the playoff bracket.
"I think we just need to continue to compete every day," Clarke said. "Not making the playoffs is not a fun thing, but you have got to be able to have some pride and continue for guys to play well and finish the season. Guys need to understand that the season is not over, and we just need to continue to develop and play as hard as we can every night."
One last matchup between the Gulls and the Ontario Reign at Toyota Arena follows tonight’s contest on Friday (7 p.m. PDT).