Gulls Fight Back To Earn Point In Overtime Loss

Nov 12, 2021

By Paige Burnell/SanDiegoGulls.com

Olle Eriksson Ek stopped a season high 34 of 35 shots faced and Maxim Golod tied the game late in the third period, but that was only enough to earn the Gulls one point as they lost to the Bakersfield Condors 2-1 in overtime tonight at Pechanga Arena San Diego.

WATCH: Eriksson's Ek Great Save | WATCH: Golod's Tough-Angle Tally  

San Diego failed to quickly settle into their game, and an early penalty proved costly. Brad Malone opened the scoring at 10:53 of the opening frame, a power-play tally to force the Gulls to play catch up.

With an assist on the goal - his ninth of the season - Bakersfield's Seth Griffith stretched his AHL-leading point streak to 11 games, collecting 5-9=14 points over that time. 

“We were right there,” Gulls head coach Joel Bouchard said. “We just maybe, at the beginning of the period, just lacked a little bit of execution and that ended up putting us in a bad situation. I liked the way we dig, we stuck with it mentally. Those are tough games to play against a good team.”

Bakersfield finished the first period with 16 shots, a season high for shots taken by a Gulls opponent in the opening stanza.

“They came out of the gate pretty hot so it was good for us to stay in the game, get out of the first period down only one, but that’s part of building as  a team,” Golod said. “Just our structure and not getting blown out of games. Maybe earlier in the year we were getting lost in the d-zone, but we stayed composed and that step came back to us.”

Eriksson Ek didn't let the early goal faze him, settling in with several dazzling stops to keep his team down by one.

His best came late in the second period. Malone caused a turnover in his own end and brought the puck up the ice, entering San Diego's end with a 2-on-1 chance. He kept the puck and tried to fire a wrist shot through Eriksson Ek, but San Diego's netminder charged out of his crease and kicked away the attempt.

As he fell to the ice, defenseman Jacob Larsson helped deny a streaking Cooper Marody to keep San Diego within striking distance.

The Gulls regained their composure in the third period, which translated into Max Golod tying the game with his first goal of the season at 13:25. 

“I’m happy for Max, you know?” Bouchard said. “The kid wants to do so well. He’s invested, you like to see the young guys having success and those are tough games to play. We didn’t have many guys that had a great game. I think our goalie was rock-solid and it had nothing to do with structure. It’s mostly just a little bit of execution and grit and to see a couple young guys with the tying goal, it’s good.”

Jacob Perreault nabbed the assist to extend his point streak to six games, collecting 3-6=9 points over the stretch. He lead San Diego in both assists (7) and points (11) and finished the night tied for the team lead in goals (4). 

With nothing decided in regulation, the game went into overtime, where Bakersfield would grab the extra point. Marody delivered the final blow, converting on a rebound after a net-front collision left Eriksson Ek out of position. The tally marked Marody’s third point in two games, with defenseman Philip Broberg collecting his second assist (and point) of the night. 

“Just got to learn from everything and it’s going to be a process, but we’re in deep this week,” Bouchard said. “Let’s see how we do tomorrow.”