Gulls Celebrate Mexican Heritage Night, Drop Weekend Series To Milwaukee
Nov 5, 2022By Brett Pickler/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls dropped their weekend series against the Milwaukee Admirals, falling 3-1 on the teams first-ever Mexican Heritage Night tonight at Pechanga Arena San Diego.
"We’re definitely starting to trend in the right direction," Gulls right wing Bryce Kindopp said following the game. "We’re starting to do a lot of good things and if we keep playing that way, some bounces are going to start going our way, but we definitely still have a lot to work on. So, keep trending in the right direction and some things to work on and we need to turn these into wins."
The Gulls fed off the energy of a crowd celebrating and recognizing Mexican culture, which included a rousing rendition of the American and Mexican national anthems by Mariachi Continental de San Diego, the Gulls. An aggressive forecheck from forward Dmitry Osipov. He delivered a massive hit below the goal line, creating a chance in front of the net. San Diego continued this momentum on the power play.
Looking to jump out to an early lead, the Gulls displayed their playmaking abilities. They dissected the Admirals penalty kill, moving the puck at will while creating multiple scoring chances. Forward Jacob Perreault slid a cross-ice pass through the legs of a Milwaukee defender for a grade-A opportunity as the penalty expired.
Following a scrum in the San Diego zone, the ice opened up as the teams skated 4-on-4. Milwaukee gained control of the puck and skated up the ice on an odd-man-rush, taking the lead on a back-door finish from former Gull Keaton Thompson with 5:11 remaining in the first.
The early deficit did not faze the Gulls and with time running out in the first period, they re-established pressure in the offensive zone. Forward Rocco Grimaldi snuck in through the back door, gearing up for a one-timer. He ripped a shot at the net, but was robbed by the outstretched blocker of Admirals netminder Devin Cooley. Defenseman Austin Strand continued the attack by intercepting a pass and firing one last shot before the period ended.
The Gulls came out of the gates flying to open the second period, making it clear their battle with the Admirals was far from over. All four lines controlled the puck and dominated in the offensive zone, forcing Milwaukee to ice the puck multiple times to break up the onslaught.
"It’s definitely a huge part when you can get all four lines rolling and get some energy," Kindopp said. "It makes the game a lot easier, it gives the top lines a little bit more rest and then the other lines can try and get some energy. It just kind of puts everything into a groove. When everybody’s playing, the energy is really high so that’s a huge part too."
San Diego nearly tied the game when Grimaldi stole the puck as the Admirals were breaking out of their zone. He went in on a breakaway but could not get enough on the shot after being stick checked from behind.
A late power-play opportunity turned the tide, as Milwaukee broke through to extend its lead to 2-0 with under two minutes left in the middle frame. San Diego’s penalty kill had allowed just one opponent power-play in its last 23 chances, but saw the streak snapped on Philip Tomasino’s man-advantage tally.
Entering the third period down 2-0, the Gulls continued their attack. Forward Hunter Drew for the final frame with a huge hit on the forecheck. Strand followed suit with an open ice hit in the neutral zone.
These hits gave the Gulls a second wind. They pushed the pace for the entire period, generating rush after rush. Grimaldi seemed to take control the game at this point, throwing his body around and leading the offensive surge. Despite this, San Diego could not break through the Milwaukee defense.
The Gulls luck turned around as center Benoit-Olivier Groulx flipped a puck out of the zone to regroup. The puck took a favorable bounce, giving San Diego possession. Perreault received a pass and flew around the defender for a breakaway. Pulling the puck to his backhand, he roofed the puck and cutting the Admirals’ lead in half. Left wing Pavol Regenda recorded an assist, extending his first career AHL point streak to three games.
"I mean it was kind of a breakdown in our own end," Perreault explained. "The puck just went loose. Reggie (Gulls forward Pavol Regenda) got it. He kinda passed it to me and then I, you know there was the D coming at me. I tried to poke it around him, he got it. Went back to Reggie. Reggie got it back to me and then I kinda had a small breakaway and I just tried to fake the goalie out and go to my backhand. A lot of things happening, but it felt good to just put it home. At the end of the day, we didn’t win, so that’s what matters."
From here, the physicality from both sides began to pick up. Each time a player gained possession of the puck, he was immediately hit. This reached a boiling point at the 14:45 mark as Gulls forward Sam Carrick drew the attention of the Juuso Parssinen. Both players attempted to drop the gloves but were held back before any punches could be thrown, making it 4-on-4.
San Diego continued to pressure the Admirals but could not find the back of the net. In the final minute, the Gulls would pull their goalie in a last-ditch effort to even the score. They were not able to mount an attack as former Gull Kiefer Sherwood would ice the game at 3-1 with an empty net goal.
Olle Eriksson Ek played excellent in this contest, stopping 31 out of 33 shots to giving the Gulls a consistent edge throughout the game.
"I thought he competed," Gulls head coach Roy Sommer said. "You know what, he’s had two great weeks of practice. I got to give it to him. He battled in practice, hasn’t got a lot of playing time (or) starts. He came in tonight and gave us an opportunity to win."