PREVIEW: Gulls at Barracuda
Feb 18, 2019The Gulls can see the light at the end of the tunnel as they conclude a club record long six-game, 11-day road trip today against the San Jose Barracuda at SAP Center (1:15 p.m. PT, Radio: Mighty 1090). These two teams meet for the second time in three days and the seventh time this season. San Diego has won five consecutive games over San Jose this season, an all-time record, and are coming off an 8-3 win just two days ago here in San Jose. In addition, they are 5-1-0-0 through six games in the 10-game season series where the Gulls have outscored the Barracuda 30-16.
The score sheet was filled up on Saturday as the Gulls set a new season high with three power-play goals while also tying a club record for goals in a single game with the last coming on Nov. 17, 2017 vs. Tucson. Fourteen different Gulls recorded a point as they erased a 15-point gap from Dec. 14 to tie the Barracuda with 60 points and second place in the Pacific Division. Since Dec. 14, where the Gulls ranked last in the league standings, the Gulls have gone to collect points in 23 of the last 27 games, posting a 19-4-2-2 record while San Jose sat atop the standings with a .786 points percentage.
Sam Carrick scored two power-play goals, his 23rd and 24th goals of the season, bringing him to a tie for third in goals among AHL leaders. One of San Diego’s all-time scoring leaders, Kevin Roy made his season debut and recorded two assists in the process. Roy ranks fifth in all-time with 30-53=85 over 115 games played with the club. In addition, he joined Kalle Kossila, Jacob Larsson, Jaycob Megna, Corey Tropp and Andy Welinski to appear in a game in each of the four seasons since the San Diego joined the AHL.
“I felt good, it was great to be out there with the guys,” said Roy following his first game back with the Gulls. “They’ve been rolling so it was just good to get out there, try and contribute and get a big win. (We need to) work hard, do what we do best and approach the game like any other game. Every game is important, every point is important. Play as a team and get the win.”
Two of the Gulls’ most consistent forwards continued their dominant streaks. Chase De Leo netted his 16th goal to push his career-high point streak to eight games (7-4=11). His eight-game point streak now ranks second among active leaders. In addition, Corey Tropp scored a goal for the fifth consecutive game, his 16th goal of the season, while his five-game goal streak (6-1=7) ties the longest of his career to match his previous streak set Feb. 28-Mar. 10, 2017 (5-3=8).
While the scoring came in bunches for San Diego, at the other end of the ice, Jeff Glass was just as impressive. The goaltender stopped a season-high 40 shots, including some highlight-reel saves that kept the momentum going strong for the Gulls.
“He was huge. We saw a couple of big saves by him on their power play,” said Carrick on Glass’ performance. “Throughout the game, (he was) just so calm and steady in there. He gives us a lot of confidence that we can play our game. We can play our game and make plays. If there’s a breakdown, we know he’s going to be in there standing tall for us.”
San Jose enters the game with only four wins their last 10 games (4-4-1-1) which has seen the Bakersfield Condors overtake them for first atop the division. Despite giving up eight goals two days ago, the Barracuda goaltending tandem of Josef Korenar and Antoine Bibeau place the club tied for second in the AHL with a 2.71 GAA this season. Up top, forward Alexander True lead the club in scoring (15G/23A) and assists and co-leads in goals, while Francis Perron co-leads in goals and is second in scoring.