PREVIEW: Gulls Host Canucks In Homestand Finale
Feb 1, 2023By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls close their four-game homestand tonight against the Abbotsford Canucks on Women in Sports Night (7 p.m. PT; TV: AHL TV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).
Throughout the night, the Gulls will be honoring the plethora of ways that women participate in sports and make them better. From a special puck drop with the Director of Hockey Operations, Jillian Reddin, to intermission programming featuring a local women’s hockey team to a shadow program for college students and a guest PA announcer, this night will highlight all the great ways women are leading the way in sports.
San Diego enters this week searching to snap a two-game losing skid. The team dropped both games of a weekend back-to-back with the Bakersfield Condors and Ontario Reign and, with the American Hockey League’s All-Star Classic rapidly approaching, they know winning before the break is crucial for a team fighting to remain in the playoff hunt.
"We've implemented some things recently that have helped," Gulls assistant coach Kris Sparre said. "The challenge is now that we're running out of time to do what we want to do, which is make the playoffs. Good is helping us, but we need to start getting some points. The moral victories are kind of going out the window now. It's time to start putting some wins together that are going to translate to points on the board to help us get into the playoffs."
Coming off the losses – a 4-3 setback against Bakersfield and a 7-2 loss to Ontario on Disco Night – the Gulls entered the week determined to use practice to reset before a three-game slate this week.
"Practices have been high intensity, kind of focusing on our systems," Gulls center Josh Lopina said. "I think that's the biggest part of our game. When we stick to our systems, play predictable, play the way we know we can play, I think we're successful against teams. That's kind of been the message in practice. Just stay dialed in, do your job, play to the system and I think we can hang with anyone in the league."
The Gulls hold a 1-2-0-0 record against the Canucks this season after losing 5-4 on Dec.14 and splitting their first two games against the Canucks, winning for the first time in Abbotsford, 3-2, in a shootout on Oct. 29 and falling 7-3 on Oct. 28. Nikolas Brouillard recorded four assists (0-4=4) on Dec. 14, setting career highs for assists and points earned in a single game. The blueliner leads the Gulls in points production against the Canucks with six points this season (0-6=6), while Rocco Grimaldi sits just behind with five points (2-3=5) following a three-point effort (1-2=3) on Dec. 14. Christian Wolanin leads all Canucks defensemen with five points (0-5=5) after posting three assists on Dec. 14.
"They're a fast team; they play with a lot of structure," Sparre said. "You can tell, especially away from the puck, (they) really move in units of five up and down the ice. We're going to break down their structure, really earn our offense. They have a pretty heavy team; they're fast. For us, if we can really grind them in their end, extend our offensive zone time, that's when things will break down and we'll be able to find our chances."
Abbotsford enters tonight battling their own recent struggles. The Canucks are riding a three-game losing streak and have just one win in their last eight games (1-5-1-1). Three days ago, the National Hockey League’s Columbus Blue Jackets claimed Lane Pederson off waivers. A known thorn in San Diego’s side, Pederson led the Canucks this season with 17 goals. In his absence, Abbotsford will lean on rookie Linus Karlsson (14-17=31) and veteran Phil Di Giuseppe (13-16=29) to fill the void.
Despite their setbacks last weekend, San Diego sees improvements, especially in the team’s offensive output.
"I think we're a little more determined in the offensive zone to win pucks back," Sparre said. "That's the first foundation of offense is getting the puck. We've been heavy on it, we're protecting it, and then we're getting to the net for those second and third chances. I think our offensive zone movement has helped, activating our defensemen off of the blueline, getting them involved a little bit more, trying to break down the opposition's structure. We're finding more time, we're finding more plays, guys are getting more confident. It's unfortunate we were unable to get that win on Friday (against Bakersfield) even before the Saturday game, because I thought we played a really good game. Bit of a setback on Saturday. We're moving in the right direction."
The defense is key to the improvements, as San Diego’s blueline accounted for 32.1% of the team's offense (25-of-78 points) over the last 12 games. Leading the charge is Michael Del Zotto. Since joining the club on Dec. 19, the veteran’s 4-9=13 points in 15 games played with San Diego marks the most points earned by any Gulls blueliner. Del Zotto tied a career high for assists in a season after earning his 17th helper on Jan. 27, posting 1-3=4 points in his last three games.
For Del Zotto and his teammates, tonight represents an opportunity for the Gulls to take yet another step forward.
"It's an opportunity for us to keep moving in the right direction," Lopina said. "I think I see a lot of positive things in our game. Trending the right way. I think it's more about us than anyone else, like I said. Any team can win on any given night in this league. It just comes down to if we do the things right we know we can. It should be a good game tomorrow."