Gulls Looking to Rebound vs. Bakersfield
Oct 19, 2024By Nick Aguilera/SanDiegoGulls.com
Sometimes it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.
After last night’s thrilling comeback attempt against Coachella Valley, the Gulls are right back at it to face the Bakersfield Condors tonight at Mechanics Bank Arena (7 p.m. PT; TV: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio: Gulls Audio Network).
Friday night saw the Gulls nearly erase a five-goal deficit in the third period, but ultimately ended in a 6-5 loss.
"That's an encouraging third period," defenseman Roland McKeown said. "For me, it's a little score adjusted. We got to do it earlier, but nonetheless, it's good to see fight back and push and obviously give the fans something to cheer about. It was a full building and loud fans, so I'm glad we gave them a bit of a show at the end."
Still searching for that elusive first win of the season, San Diego will be looking to start hot out of the gate. After last night saw them down 3-1 after the first frame, head coach Matt McIlvane made getting a solid start a point of emphasis for tonight’s matchup.
"We were slow with the puck, and we were slow to react in a lot of situations," McIlvane said. "I thought that carried into the second period, where we get behind. I understand that they were up 6-1 and maybe the game plan changes a little bit for them, but all of sudden we got something that we can latch onto and have success. That's what we did in the third period. It's too little, too late and not enough early."
After Oscar Dansk got the start in last night’s contest, Calle Clang should see the net tonight. Clang came in in relief against Coachella Valley and stopped seven-of-eight shots faced.
The Gulls will stay on the road for the rest of October, with four of their next five games coming against Canadian teams. Their first stop after tonight will be Abbotsford for a back-to-back next weekend.