Gulls Faceoff Against Condors On Military Appreciation Night
Nov 11, 2022By Brett Pickler/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls will honor local veterans, service members and military support organizations when they welcome the Bakersfield Condors to Pechanga Arena San Diego for Military Appreciation Night (7 p.m. PT; TV: AHL TV, RADIO: Gulls Audio Network). The Gulls will be wearing a special camo-themed third jersey for the game.
"Those men and women mean the world to us, everything they do and their families too,” Gulls forward Rocco Grimaldi said. "Sometimes the family is overlooked with them and all that they sacrifice. So, it means the world to us and it’s a simple thing that we can play and honor them. Hopefully, we come out, have a great game, and give the fans a fun night and give them two points."
The Gulls and Condors continue their eight-game season series tonight. In the first matchup, the teams went scoreless through the opening 40 minutes. Bakersfield took over in the third period, scoring three goals within the first five minutes. San Diego would battle back but run out of time, dropping the game 3-2 in a game defined by the strong play of both goalies. The second contest is shaping up to be a similar story.
Gulls netminder Lukas Dostal is playing at an extremely high level. In his last four starts, the 22-year-old posted a .948 save percentage (SV%), stopping 146 out of 154 shots. Additionally, he collected his third career shutout in Tuesday’s 7-0 win against the Henderson Silver Knights. This ties Dostal with Reto Berra for most shutouts in San Diego’s American Hockey League franchise history.
Bakersfield also enters tonight with an impressive stretch of games from their goalies. Calvin Pickard and Olivier Rodrigue combined for a .940 SV% and a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.00 in their last three starts. Their play is directly linked to the Condors three-game winning streak.
However, San Diego’s confidence is high following their victory over the Silver Knights where 11 different players found the scoresheet. Grimaldi led the way with a 1-3=4 point night and forward Justin Kirkland tied a single-game career-high with 1-2=3 points. Defenseman Drew Helleson recorded his first professional goal while his defensive partner Jarod Hilderman picked up his first career assist and point later in the game.
"I think everything is coming together," Gulls defenseman Austin Strand said. "Guys are kind of building chemistry in the [defensive] zone, figuring it out. You know, just last game, just clicking in the offensive zone, which is what we needed to get rolling forward."
The Gulls play in the defensive zone also contributed to their high morale. Last game, San Diego killed all seven of their penalties, tying a season high (10.29 at ABB). The team’s penalty kill rate is now 86%, fifth in the American Hockey League as of November 10. The Gulls commitment to the defensive zone, mixed with their elite goaltending, is reaffirming the team’s status as one of the hardest opponents to play against.
Gulls head coach Roy Sommer noted the importance of home games and the need to start putting wins together as the season moves along.
"I think the big thing is, hey, it’s a Friday night," he said. "It’s in San Diego. You know, we got to start winning some home games and when the puck drops let’s be ready to go and start putting some games together here. We’d win one, lose one, win one, lose a couple. So, if we’re going to climb up in the standing, we got to start reeling in some wins."