PREVIEW: Gulls Search For Win In Final Regular-Season Game Against Iowa
Apr 2, 2023By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls conclude their regular-season series with the Iowa Wild with a matinee puck drop at Wells Fargo Arena (1 p.m. PDT; TV: AHL TV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).
Today marks the fourth and final meeting between the Western Conference foes this season. Iowa won the first three meetings, outscoring San Diego 17-8 in those victories. The stretch includes a 5-1 win yesterday, extending the Wild’s point streak to a fifth game (4-0-0-1). Nic Petan posted a season-high 2-2=4 points, giving him 3-5=8 points against the Gulls this season. Marco Rossi continued his strong play against the Gulls, finishing with three assists. He enters tonight with 3-4=7 points in three games against San Diego.
"Yeah, it's tough," Gulls captain Chase De Leo said following yesterday’s loss. "Honestly, I thought we played really well. The only chances they got kind of came from us. They play a patient, boring (game), similar to Bakersfield, a Condors-style game where they just trap up the neutral zone and just wait for you to make a mistake and they capitalize on it, ultimately, and that was the difference."
The Gulls enter the day looking to snap a seven-game losing streak. They’ll turn to rookie netminder Calle Clang, who made his American Hockey League debut yesterday in relief of Gage Alexander. He stopped all four shots he faced in over 13 minutes of third-period action. Assigned by Anaheim to San Diego earlier this week, Clang went went 22-15-0 with two shutouts, a 2.52 goals-against average (GAA) and .906 save percentage (SV%) in 43 career games with Rogle of the SHL. In 2022-23, the 6-2, 190-pound goaltender went 12-10-0 with one shutout, a 2.69 GAA and .901 SV% in 25 appearances with Rogle.
He joins fellow rookie Connor Hvidston as new faces to make their debut this weekend.
"I thought he was good," Gulls head coach Roy Sommer said of Hvidston. "You know, he made some plays and was in the right spots. Didn't see a whole lot of ice time - no special teams - but they got a regular shift and he did what he was supposed to do. And then Clanger (Gulls goaltender Calle Clang) got a little taste of the American (Hockey) League. We got him in, so at least he won't go in cold going into his first American (Hockey) League start."
To find success against Iowa, De Leo believes his team needs to simplify its approach.
"I think it's just play simple," he said. "As boring as it is sometimes, I think they're a good example of it. They kind of wait for the other team to make a mistake, kind of sit back and play that patient game. They don't waste a lot of energy turning pucks over at the blue line, so I think that's a good example, a good lesson for our group to play that boring game sometimes and it doesn't have to always be so cute."
Sommer added to his captain’s assessment.
"We just have to stay with it," he said after yesterday’s loss. "If they get up a goal or two, don't get rattled. Stay with the game plan and we'll be fine, but it seems like we're so fragile, they get up a couple of goals and it's like the world ended. (We) really shouldn't think like that. You know, there's been games that we've been down and we've clawed back in them. You look at the Tucson game, we score with a couple of minutes left on a great play by (Dylan) Sikura, and then that could have happened tonight. We just have to stick with it."