Gulls Open Road Schedule Against Condors in Bakersfield
Feb 19, 2021The San Diego Gulls aim for their seventh consecutive win and their fourth against the Bakersfield Condors as they travel for their first road contest of the 2020-21 season tonight at Mechanics Bank Arena (6 p.m. PT - Radio: Gulls Audio Network; Stream: AHLTV).
San Diego won each of the first three contests of its season series with Bakersfield, including a sweep of a season-opening, back-to-back series (Feb. 5-6).
Goaltender Lukas Dostal earned wins in all three games, stopping a combined 106-of-113 shots for a .938 save percentage and 2.33 goals-against average. Trevor Zegras leads the Gulls in scoring against the Condors, posting 2-3=5 points with a +4 rating and 11 shots in three games.
In San Diego’s last win against Bakersfield - a 4-3 victory on Wendesday at FivePoint Arena - the Gulls improved to a league-best 6-0-0 and extended their club-record season-opening win streak to six games. With the win, San Diego became the first Pacific Division club to begin a season with six consecutive victories since the division’s inception in 2015-16.
Many of the team's first-year players helped power the Gulls to the win. Rookies Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Jacob Perreault recorded their first professional goals, while Jamie Drysdale recorded an assist, extending his point streak to three games (1-3=4), Rookie Bryce Kindopp added his first career AHL points with an assist, and Dostal stopped 37-of-40 Condors shots for his league-leading fifth win of the season
“I think it all started when we came a few weeks early to just skate,” Perreault said while explaining the rookies early-season success. “We got to go to camp and gain experience from all those older guys and see how they play. Coming down, I think we’ve being doing a good job. We’ve got a great group of guys in practice. They’re always pushing to get better and they’re making us feel really comfortable. Especially at a young age, it’s good to have those guys.”
The promising young Gulls team is comprised of 20 NHL Draft selections, including 13 by the Anaheim Ducks. Four were chosen in the first round by Anaheim - Zegras (ninth overall in 2019), Brayden Tracey (29th overall in 2019), Drysdale (sixth overall in 2020) and Perreault (27th overall in 2020).
Bakersfield enters tonight still search for its first win of the season. The Condors are 0-5-0-0 to start, with three of those losses courtesy of the Gulls. Bakersfield's offense is recording only 1.6 goals per game, while the team allows opponents to average 3.6 goals per game.
Cooper Marody is a bright spot on the struggling Bakersfield team, leading the team in points (2-1=3) and goals. All of Marody’s three points have come in the last four games.
Following tonight’s game, the Gulls will return home to play the Colorado Eagles on Saturday, Feb. 20 (7:30 p.m. PT) at FivePoint Arena. The game is available locally on Fox 5 San Diego.