LIVE: Gulls Down Condors 5-3
May 21, 2021The San Diego Gulls took down the Bakersfield Condors 5-3 in Game 1 of their Pacific Division Semifinals matchup at Mechanics Bank Arena.
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Trevor Zegras sealed the win with an empty-net goal with four seconds left in regulation.
The rookie center finished with four points (1-3=4), establishing new club records in points and assists in a playoff game.
Bakersfield once again came within one on a Tyler Benson goal with just over two minutes left in regulation.
Andrew Agozzino stunted Bakersfield's momentum, picking up his first goal of the postseason at 5:02 of the period.
The Condors strike twice in under a minute to climb back within one.
Seth Griffith recorded his first goal of the postseason, scoring on the power-play with 9:34 remaining in regulation.
Bakersfield broke through with a power-play goal at 9:34 of the final frame.
The home town received a fortunate bounce, as a Brad Malone centering feed hit the stick of Simon Benoit and beat Lukas Dostal for the goal.
Second Period Recap
Sam Carrick doubled San Diego's lead with his second power-play goal of the game at 3:10 of the middle frame.
With San Diego on a 4-on-3 man advantage, Trevor Zegras collected a drop pass at the blue line and worked his way down from the point. The rookie center found Vinni Lettieri with a cross-ice pass, and the veteran did the rest, catching the Condors guessing he'd shoot and sliding it over to a wide-open Carrick at the far post.
The Gulls captain didn't miss, sliding the puck into a wide-open net for his second career multi-goal playoff game and his first with San Diego.
Lettieri joined in on the scoring, collecting a power-play goal with 1:17 left in the period.
Jamie Drysdale held the puck at the point, waiting for the veteran winger to find his spot in the faceoff circle. The rookie gave Lettieri the puck and he wasted no time blasting a one-timed shot over Skinner and into the top corner of the net.
With 1-1=2, Lettieri recorded his first career multi-point playoff performance.
First Period Recap
Carrick opened the scoring, grabbing his first goal of the postseason with a power-play tally at 15:24 of the opening period.
With Vincent Desharnais serving a minor for hooking, the Gulls went to work in Bakersfield's zone. The team moved the puck quickly, with Vinni Lettieri feeding Andrew Agozzino, who spun and send a soft pass to Jamie Drysdale. The rookie defenseman skated down from the point and leaned into a shot, sending the puck toward Stuart Skinner.
Carrick, cutting in front of the crease, stuck out the blade of his stick and tapped it past the Bakersfield goaltender for the goal.
Rookie netminder Lukas Dostal stole the show in the first period, making two highlight-reel saves to keep the Condors off the board.
His first came at the 7:50 mark of the period. Bakersfield created a 2-on-1 opportunity in the slot, with Cooper Marody feeding a cross-ice pass to Tyler Benson. Dostal ranged over with his glove, catching just enough of the shot to deny on the American Hockey League's top regular-season scorers.
Dostal struck again as the period neared the halfway mark. Former Gull Adam Cracknell dug a loose puck out to the slot, where Ostap Safin sent a quick backhand pass to a streaking Max Gildon. The defenseman didn't elevate his shot, and Dostal took full advantage, sliding cross-crease to make the phenomenal pad save.
The rookie netminder went 15-9-0 with a 2.87 goals against average (GAA) and .916 save percentage (SV%) in 24 games this season. He ranked second among American Hockey League goaltenders in saves (813) and third in wins (15).
Skinner was the only AHL goalie to eclipse 20 victories this season, going 20-9-1 with a 2.38 GAA.
San Diego and Bakersfield meet for the second time in a playoff series. The Gulls prevailed in the first postseason matchup, eliminating the Condors in six games (4-2) in the Pacific Division Finals in the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs. Three of the six games reached overtime in the hotly contested series, including Game 1, the fifth-longest game in American Hockey League history (124:20), which Max Comtois ended at 4:20 of the fourth overtime.
The Condors (.628 point percentage) and Gulls (.602) finished second and third in the Pacific Division, respectively. San Diego claimed the eight-game season series against its California rival with a 5-3-0-0 record. They recorded the only road win between the two teams this season, a 4-1 victory on May 8.