Gulls Split Preseason Series With San Jose
Jan 21, 2021The San Diego Gulls fell 4-1 to the San Jose Barracuda tonight, wrapping up an evenly split two-game preseason series at FivePoint Arena.
Before the game, the Anaheim Ducks assigned goaltender Anthony Stolarz, defenseman Kodie Curran and forward Isac Lundestrom to the Gulls. Stolarz spent the majority of last season with San Diego, posting a 21-12-6 record, setting a new AHL career high in SV% (.922) and tying a personal best in wins.
Curran, who signed a two-year contract with Anaheim in June, played the last two seasons with Rogle BK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), collecting 24-62=86 points in 97 games. Curran was named the SHL’s MVP and Defenseman of the Year for the 2019-20 season after posting 12-37=49 points with a +8 rating.
Lundestrom, a first round selection by Anaheim (23rd overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft, recorded 6-15=21 points in 43 games with San Diego last season.
San Jose got on the attack early as a Gulls offensive zone turnover resulted in an odd-man rush for the Barracuda. Lean Bergmann set up Kurtis Gabriel in front of the net and Gabriel beat Stolarz for the game’s opening goal just 32 seconds into the contest.
"I think they came out with a lot of speed early," said Gulls head coach Kevin Dineen. "We certainly, after our last game, were feeling pretty good about ourselves. It was a good lesson for our players in knowing that this is a pretty good league. There are some good players out there. They came very hard at us and I felt like we got caught off guard. Those are the kind of things you’re glad happens in training camp, that these lessons are learned. You’re playing against good players and you need to be prepared every single night."
The Barracuda extended their lead with a couple of power-play goals. The first was scored by Jayden Halbgewachs, who evaded a Gulls defender in front to send a forehand shot past Stolarz at the 4:50 mark of the opening frame.
Later on in the period, San Jose struck again on the man advantage as Antti Suomela one timed a shot by Stolarz, pushing the Barracuda lead to 3-0 with 4:42 remaining in the first.
San Jose struck again in the second period, with Kyle Topping snapping a wrist shot past Stolarz at the 11:18 mark of the middle frame, extending the Barracuda lead to four goals.
"We’re a development league and part of the development process is not always a smooth road," said Dineen. "There are going to be bumps along the way, whether they are personal or as a team. I was happy with stretches of our game tonight, but at other times there are some hard lessons to be learned. That certainly played out tonight."
Late in the third period, Sam Carrick put the Gulls on the board. Shortly after San Diego finished killing a minor penalty, Jack Kopacka poked a loose puck towards Sam Carrick at center ice. Carrick rushed ahead on a breakaway and beat Sam Harvey with a wrist shot over the glove, cutting San Jose’s lead to 4-1, the eventual final score. Carrick has collected 3-1=4 points in two preseason games.
San Diego continues its preseason schedule with a two-game series against the Stockton Heat, beginning Monday, Jan. 25 (6 p.m.) at FivePoint Arena.