Gulls, Condors Open Pacific Division Semifinals Series Tonight

May 20, 2021

The San Diego Gulls head north for the first round of the Pacific Division Playoffs, meeting the Bakersfield Condors for a best-of-three semifinal series at Mechanics Bank Arena.

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.

“The intensity and the value of every minute in the game goes up exponentially,” said Gulls head coach Kevin Dineen. “It’s a good way for players to test themselves. It’s a long road to get there, from summer training, to training camp to a long season and then all of a sudden the important stuff really begins at the end. It’s good that our players will get a feel for that.”

San Diego and Bakersfield will 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 Gulls will welcome back several familiar faces into the lineup for the postseason run, including captain Sam Carrick and rookies Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale. Carrick, who co-owns the Gulls all-time games played record (216), posted 14-10=24 points in 27 AHL games. Zegras ranked third among AHL rookies in points per game (1.24, min. 10 games played). Drysdale co-led AHL defensemen in goals and ranked tied for second in scoring at the time of his NHL recall.

“Three highly skilled players that have had some very solid success for us,” said Dineen. “Sam has added a very important dynamic to the San Diego Gulls over the last four years. They’re a big part of our hockey team.”

“I think we have a deep group offensively, defensively and in the net,” said Gulls forward Chase De Leo. “Obviously Coach [Kevin Dineen] has a lot of experience both as a player and knows what it takes. He’s a blue collar, hard-working guy and that’s what he expects from this group. Expect to see that this weekend. We’ll be ready to battle.”

Special teams will remain a focus for the Gulls as they enter the playoffs. San Diego finished second in the AHL on the penalty kill (154-for-181, 85.1%) and eighth on the power play (20.2%).

Bakersfield was one of the AHL’s best teams on home ice this season, posting a 14-4-0-0 record at Mechanics Bank Arena. The Condors offense is powered by the dynamic duo of Cooper Marody and Tyler Benson, who both finished tied for second in the AHL in scoring behind Andrew Poturalski. Marody also won the Willie Marshall Award as the AHL’s leading goal scorer (21).

“It’s exciting. They’re a good team and have been since I came to the west,” said De Leo. “It’s going to be a good series. We’ll expect a tough battle.”