PREVIEW: Gulls Set To Welcome Canucks For Historic First Matchup
Dec 15, 2021By Paige Burnell/SanDiegoGulls.com
The more home games, the merrier for the San Diego Gulls.
The Gulls will host the Abbotsford Canucks, the American Hockey League’s newest team, for the first time in the club tonight as they continue their seven-game homestand at Pechanga Arena San Diego (7 p.m., PT; TV: AHL TV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).
“Yeah, I know a lot of guys on the team, a lot of good buddies of mine,” Gulls defenseman Brogan Rafferty said. “They’re a fast team, highly skilled. They’ve got a lot of really good forwards and a solid defensive core and a good goalie in net. So, we’re expecting a fast, up-tempo game and we’re going to stick to our structure and our defensive-zone coverage and rely on that like we did against the win in Ontario and hope for the best.”
Abbotsford officially joined the league this summer, becoming the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks. Before the move, the NHL’s Canucks aligned themselves with the Utica Comets. Rafferty played with those Comets during his first professional season in 2019-20, recording 7-38=45 points in 57 games.
The Gulls will look to continue their home-ice success against their newest division foe. San Diego opened its team-record homestand with a 3-1 win over one of the Pacific’s best teams, the Ontario Reign, extending their point streak at Pechanga Arena to five games (4-0-1-0). For the Gulls, home ice really does provide its advantages.
"I haven’t been in a rink yet that has the atmosphere that we have, to be honest," Rafferty said. "So, our fans are outstanding and we love the support that we get from them and it really get us energized for the games and you know, if we’re down or up a goal, it keeps us into it and gives us energy."
The Gulls penalty kill is at its best and its most consistent at home, as the team ranks third in the AHL with an 82.3% kill rate. Furthermore, the team allowed only one power play goal on 15 opportunities in their last three home games, a whopping 93.3 % success rate.
San Diego’s home power play also boasts impressive numbers as the team ranks fourth in the AHL with a 27.3% success rate overall and a 55. 6% conversion rate through its last three matches at Pechanga Arena.
"Well, I think our whole game overall is better," Gulls head coach Joel Bouchard said. "Obviously, a lot of new guys coming in left and right and Dan Jacob is like me - we’re process guys and if you look at the way we played the first two weekends and taking stride from there, the penalty killing just maybe took a weekend more and a couple of adjustments that we’ve made. It’s always a process to know a group and to know who you’ve got and how can you approach."
A major factor in the team’s success is the stellar play of Olle Eriksson Ek. The Swedish netminder stopped 26 of 27 shots faced in the win over the Reign and ranks second in save percentage (.942) and goals-against average (1.64) among AHL goaltending leaders since Nov. 5 (min. 300 minutes played).
Brayden Tracey is also boosted by his home base, collecting 4-2=6 points in his last three home games. He enters tonight riding a three-game point streak (2-1=3). Tracey’s +12 rating both leads the Gulls and ranks third among AHL rookie skaters. Additionally, the right wing is tied for the team lead in assists and points with 7-10=17, which also marks the seventh highest point tally for a first-year skater.
Greg Pateryn (1-1=2), Danny O’Regan (0-2=2) and Jacob Perreault (1-1=2) all enter tonight with points in back-to-back games. This is Pateryn’s first point streak in a Gulls uniform and his first since Feb. 13 - Feb. 14, 2021 with the Colorado Eagles.
“Better. Every week I’m looking for better,” Bouchard said. “Adjustment, how can we get better in our overall game and concept and pushing some guys…to have their best performance. It’s kind of the mindset you have to have, it’s like more of the same and better.”
Two Canucks enter with impressive streaks of their own. Nic Petan is riding a six-game point streak, collecting 3-6=9 points during that run, while Sheldon Rempal is on a four-game assist streak.
Sheldon Dries powers the Abbotsford attack. He’s second in the AHL with 12 goals and ninth with 12-8=20 points.
“Well, they’re going to be aggressive for sure. They’re going to come hard at us, they’ve got some big bodies,” Bouchard said. “It’s going to be a hell of a challenge.”
The Canucks are coming off a 5-2 loss to the San Jose Barracuda on Dec. 12 and are 8-8-2-1 in their inaugural season. The team’s 3.16 goals per game average sits in the AHL’s top ten and the same goes for Abbottsford’s overall power play success rate.
“Execution is huge. Playing against a lot of my buddies tomorrow, is very exciting,” Rafferty said. “The homestretch here; we’re going to try to take advantage of and get really up for every game and try to go on a tear.”