Gulls Close Preseason Schedule Against Condors
Jan 31, 2021With the regular season right around the corner, the Gulls will put the finishing touches on their preseason schedule Sunday with a matchup against the Bakersfield Condors.
San Diego enters play Sunday 2-1-0-0 in the preseason after a comeback win over the Ontario Reign Friday at Honda Center. The Gulls scored twice in the final 3:26 of regulation to erase a two-goal deficit and force overtime. Isac Lundestrom scored the game winner for San Diego 59 seconds into the extra frame, part of a two-goal night for the 2018 first-round pick.
“You can just see the patience and the composure,” said Gulls Head Coach Kevin Dineen of Lundestrom, who was recalled by Anaheim on Sunday. “Before, we talked a lot about him taking advantage of offensive opportunities and he obviously did that tonight, scoring two big goals. That was a great moment for us and what we hope was a great confidence booster for [Lundestrom].”
With the victory, the Gulls improved to 7-5-0-2 all-time in exhibition games.
San Diego welcomed two new additions to the lineup Friday, defenseman Trevor Carrick and right wing Matt Lorito. Carrick, the brother of Gulls captain Sam Carrick, is a veteran of 395 career AHL games and a two-time AHL All-Star. Lorito, who signed with San Diego as a free agent Friday, was a member of the 2017 Calder Cup champion Grand Rapids Griffins and recorded an assist in his Gulls preseason debut Friday.
Bakersfield returns several of its top scorers from a season ago, including Joe Gambardella, Tyler Benson and Cooper Marody. Marody has led all Condors skaters in assists in each of the past two seasons. Gambardella has appeared in 50 games each of the past three seasons for Bakersfield, posting a career-high 29 goals in 2018-19. The Condors roster also includes former Gull Adam Cracknell, who helped guide San Diego to the 2018-19 Western Conference Final. Cracknell led San Diego in postseason scoring, registering 7-9=16 points in 15 Calder Cup Playoff games.
The Condors lost 4-2 Saturday at Ontario in their first preseason action.