PREVIEW: Gulls, Condors Meet In Bakersfield In Second Half Of Home And Home Series
Nov 13, 2021By Paige Burnell/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls carry a modest two-game point streak into Bakersfield tonight when the rivals finish a home-and-home series with the Condors at Mechanics Bank Arena (7 p.m., PT; TV: AHL TV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).
“They’re a good team…win our battles and go out there and have our feet moving,” Gulls left wing Max Golod said about the matchup. “Those are the keys I think.”
The Gulls split their season series with their Pacific Division rivals thus far, earning a 3-2 SO win over the Condors on Nov. 5 and dropping a 2-1 overtime decision last night. San Diego owns a 31-20-2-2 mark all-time against the Condors, with a 14-11-1-1 record on the road.
A major message heading into tonight for San Diego is to stick to their structure. The team's improved play translated into the Gulls earning points in three of the four points in their recent homestand (2-1-1-0) and points in four of their last six games (3-2-1-0).
“We just maybe…just lacked a little bit of execution and that ended up putting us in a bad situation,” head coach Joel Bouchard said following last night's loss. “ I liked the way we dig, we stuck with it mentally. Those are tough games to play against a good team…Just got to learn from everything and it’s going to be a process, but we’re in deep this week. Let’s see how we do.”
Additionally, some Gulls have been rewarded on an individual level as Jacob Perreault extended his career-long point streak to six games after nabbing an assist on the Gulls’s lone goal versus the Condors last night. He has collected 3-6=9 points over the stretch and 4-7=11 points overall to maintain his position as the Gulls leading scorer.
The Condors are 4-4-1-1 this season, with three of those wins coming on home ice. Seth Griffith leads the charge, entering tonight with an 11-game point streak. It's tied with Springfield's Scott Perunovich for the longest streak in the AHL.
Philip Broberg, who earned two assists in Bakersfield's win last night, enters this matchup second among AHL defenseman in assists (9). He's collected four points (0-4=4) in his last four games.