PREVIEW: Gulls Look To Start 2023 With A Win
Jan 1, 2023By Brett Pickler/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls open the new year and conclude their three-game set with the Henderson Silver Knights today at Dollar Loan Center (2 p.m. PT; TV: AHL TV, RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).
The Gulls concluded 2022 with a 4-1 loss to the Silver Knights on Friday night, but were playing better in the lead up to the contest with two consecutive wins. Now, the team hopes 2023 will bring better fortunes for them. Currently, San Diego sits in last place in the Pacific Division. However, with the way their schedule is set up, San Diego still has a chance to climb the standings if they can put together wins within their division.
This season, San Diego dealt with inconsistent lineups due to injuries, but they appear to be getting close to full strength. Center Glenn Gawdin returned to the lineup two games ago and immediately went back to his scoring ways, recording 1-1=2 points in his last two games. His offensive skills helped give the Gulls’ offense the kickstart they needed.
In addition to him, right wing Pavol Regenda is finding his feet in the American Hockey League with consistent minutes. He is riding a three-game point streak, recording 3-3=6 points over this span. Regenda is also a valuable addition to San Diego’s power play, scoring two goals on the man advantage during this streak. This is an area that Gulls head coach Roy Sommer wants to address in today’s game.
“Well, I think power play (has) got to get more pucks to the net - we didn’t do a very good job with that,” Sommer said following Friday’s loss. “As a whole, we've got to win more battles in their end and take more stuff to the middle of the ice. They kind of gave us a perimeter, but I didn't think we attacked the net enough.”
The power play will be key for the Gulls, especially with the strength of the Silver Knights’ penalty kill. This season, Henderson ranks second in the AHL with an 87.7% success rate on the penalty kill. In this current series with the Gulls, they killed seven of eight power play opportunities. One reason for this is the play of goaltender Laurent Brossoit. This season, he leads his team with a 6-7-1 record. He also has a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.44 and a .915 save percentage (SV%). His consistency in net allows the Henderson penalty killers to be aggressive and attack loose pucks.
As a team, the Gulls look to improve upon their play in the defensive zone. Defenseman Colton White noted this following the loss to the Silver Knights when asked what the team needs to improve heading into tonight’s game.
“Limiting turnovers,” White said. “When you turn over the puck a lot, it generates offense for the other team. We just need to get pucks deep, play with some speed and get into the o(ffensive) zone.”