Gulls Face A Tough Test In Matchup With Admirals
Jan 6, 2023By Brett Pickler/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls head to the Midwest for a showdown with the Milwaukee Admirals at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena (5 p.m. PT; TV: AHL TV, RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).
The Gulls are looking to build on their 3-0 victory against the Henderson Silver Knights on Jan. 1. However, the Admirals will be a bigger test. Milwaukee sits in third place in the American Hockey League with a record of 18-10-2 and hold two wins over the Gulls this season. They are also the most disciplined team in the league with only 278 penalty minutes. This will be a good test of San Diego’s ability to play at even strength. Gulls head coach Roy Sommer noted this when discussing what the team was focusing on during practice in preparation for tonight.
“I think the big thing was we're just kind of suring up our D zone, our offensive play, worked on the power play again,” said Sommer. “Milwaukee’s going pretty good right now the last time we ended up, we played them. I mean, it was a pretty good test. I mean, both games were close. I feel the way we're playing right now that if we continue to do that, I think we'll come out of the trip pretty good.”
San Diego is playing well lately, winning three out of their last four outings. During this stretch, the Gulls combined for 14 goals with multiple players stepping up. Right wing Pavol Regenda is leading the charge with a four-game point streak where he recorded 2-3=5 points. This scoring streak is not a surprise as he is now seeing more consistent minutes on the top line and has adjusted to North American ice. Another player making their mark in the offensive zone is left wing Brayden Tracey. He was recently paired with right wing Rocco Grimaldi and it resulted in instant success. Tracey registered 2-4=6 points in their five games together. By skating with Grimaldi, it allows Tracey to utilize his playmaking ability and capitalize on the extra ice given to him.
Even with San Diego’s recent success, they still need to be aware of the Admirals weapons. Right wing Kiefer Sherwood leads Milwaukee with 13 goals this season and 3-2=5 points in his last four games. Earlier this year, he registered 1-1=2 points in a two-game set against the Gulls. Right wing Luke Evangelista is another weapon the Gulls must focus on. He leads his team with 18 assists this season and has 1-2=3 points in his last two games. Evangelista is not the only playmaking threat on the wing as left wing Cole Schneider has 1-3=4 points in his last two games, with the three assists coming in the same game on New Year’s Eve against the Grand Rapids Griffins.
“I think it's going to be a really good challenge for us,” Gulls defenseman Frank Hora said when talking about the Milwaukee lineup. “I haven't given a look at the standings at least, and we just got to keep winning games and just take one weekend after another here. Got a long stretch to go still so should be a challenge this weekend and see where are we at.”
The Gulls will need to play a strong defensive game in order to shutdown the Admirals. One addition that will help is defenseman Nathan Beaulieu, who is joining the team on a Conditioning Loan from the Anaheim Ducks. This season in the NHL, Beaulieu registered 0-3=3 points in 22 games. The former first-round pick also recorded 30 penalty minutes. Another player that will help San Diego defensively is goaltender Lukas Dostal. Dostal was reassigned to the Gulls after posting a 2-3-1 record with the Ducks, highlighted by a 46 save win against the Edmonton Oilers. He was reassigned to San Diego before the game on Jan. 1 where he went on to shutout the Silver Knights in a 39 save performance. This outing also moved him into first in team AHL history with four career shutouts. Dostal’s confidence appears to be high so this will give San Diego an edge heading into tonight’s matchup.