PREVIEW: Gulls, Condors Set For Rivalry Matchup In Bakersfield
Nov 27, 2021By Paige Burnell/SanDiegoGulls.com
Fresh off sweeping a four-game regular-season series with the San Jose Barracuda, the San Diego Gulls look to carry their momentum to Bakersfield when they face the rival Condors at Mechanics Bank Arena (7 p.m. PT, TV: AHL TV, RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).
"We’re coming together really good right now," Gulls left wing Brayden Tracey said. "We’re a really tight room, really tight room. If we just keep building off of it, if we follow the structure, we keep going with that and keep pushing, teams might struggle with us. We have a good group in here."
The Gulls hold a 31-21-2-2 all-time record against their Pacific Division rivals and are 14-12-1-1 on the road. The Condors have a 2-0-0-1 edge in the this year’s season series.
San Diego moves into their matchup with a 7-6-1-0 overall record and with a season-high four-game winning streak in tow. Leading to its recent success is the Gulls lethal power play that ranks first in the league with a 26.4% success rate.
Over the Gulls last two games, the team has capitalized on the man advantage four times in seven opportunities. In Friday’s game, the power play started the offense and secured the team’s win in the third period.
"Our habits are kicking in," Gulls head coach Joel Bouchard said. "Our third periods have been good since the Bakersfield game. We’ve learned and grown a lot. Our second period today was probably one of our best periods of the year of our second periods so obviously, a coach will look for sixty perfect minutes-that’s not going to happen. But again, we came back to grit and principle and buying in and I’m very proud of the way the guys just kind of stick together through that kind of adversity the games will bring you because they will bring you. It ain’t going to be perfect all the time, but I’m happy the way we clawed on mentally and physically in games."
Brogan Rafferty and Bryce Kindopp scored the power-play markers last night. For Rafferty, the goal is his third of the season, and his second on the power play. Kindopp’s tally – the eventual game-winning goal – is his first power-play goal of the year, and gave the second-year Gull points in consecutive games (1-1=2).
Nikolas Brouillard collected an assist to push his career-high point streak to five games (2-6=8). The defenseman leads the Gulls in assists (9) and leads all American Hockey League defensemen in scoring during the month in November with 3-9=12 points.
Additionally, Brayden Tracey scored a goal and added an assist, putting forth a second straight multi-point effort and collecting 3-2=5 over the last two games. The rookie leads the Gulls with a +8 rating.
The power play is certainly clicking for the Gulls, but the team is also finding success in the execution of a heavy and defensive-minded game.
"I feel that the guys are seeing the results of all the effort and we’re on top of them," Bouchard said. "We’re not giving them an inch and you know, they’re not perfect and we were far from where we want to be in a lot of ways, but I like the way guys are buying in. They bought in and when we’re asking them stuff on the bench, they’re doing it on the ice and so this is the good news, but we have a game tomorrow. I don’t get too high, I don’t even look at standings, I don’t get too low. It doesn’t matter to me, I’m looking at the process, I’m looking at how we invest in the game and how our young guys are contributing and growing because we do have a lot of young guys in the lineup."
They will need to do this again when facing the Condors, who are 6-5-1-1 this season and boast a roster of veteran players.
“Come out fast is the main thing,” Tracey said. “If we have a good start, push them and put them on their heels a little bit, we’ll generate some stuff. But, they’re an older team, they’re really good. They fight hard, they battle so our compete level is going to have to go way us tomorrow.”
Seth Griffith is on a league-leading 13-game point streak that began at the start of the season. The forward also leads the AHL with 12 points on the power play and is second in power play assists (8).
Cooper Marody is on a four-game point streak (3-3=6) and put forth a multi-point performance (1-2=2) in the Condors most recent game, a 4-3 loss to San Jose on November 17.
Even without their win streak, the Gulls have everything they need to succeed against Bakersfield if they follow through with their style of play and perform within the identity they’re establishing.
"I believe this is four games now," Tracey said. "We try not to look at that, but obviously that’s a boost for us. I mean we’re finally coming along as a team and building together, building some chemistry so everything is rolling good right now."