PREVIEW: Gulls, Barracuda Meet In San Diego For Final Regular-Season Battle
Apr 5, 2023By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls open their final homestand of the regular season tonight, hosting their Northern California rival, the San Jose Barracuda, at Pechanga Arena San Diego (7 p.m. PT; TV: AHL TV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).
San Diego returns to home ice on a high note. The team snapped its seven-game losing skid on Sunday, taking down the Iowa Wild 4-2 in a matinee matchup at Wells Fargo Arena. Benoit-Olivier Groulx (2-0=2), Glenn Gawdin (1-1=2) and Michael Del Zotto (0-2=2) collected multi-point performances to lead the offense. Chase De Leo also added a shorthanded goal, the sixth of his American Hockey League career.
"We stayed out of the box, for the most part," Del Zotto said following the win. "Our power play took advantage. Our power play has kind of been buzzing lately. It certainly was no oil painting tonight, but we knew that last game, it was going to be a boring one. I think we just stayed patient. We were all engaged - every line, all six d(efensemen). (Gulls goaltender Calle Clang) Clanger obviously played well, too. Thought we were physical. We did all the little things for the whole night. You look at the shots, you look at the game. If we're being honest, it was ugly, but came out with the two points. Sometimes it's not always the way you script it up to win, it's not always the prettiest, but you get the two points and that's all that matters."
Rookie netminder Calle Clang impressed in his first AHL start, stopping 20 shots to record his first win.
"The American (Hockey) League, in general, is all about growth and development and any chance you can get in and get minutes, it's important," Gulls goaltending coach Jeff Glass said following the game. "Coming off a plane with the time change - and he had a lot going on - I do think it was great for him to get in and see a couple minutes (during Saturday’s loss in Iowa). [He] didn't get many shots, but to see a couple minutes and different sight lines, smaller rink, the whole thing and then today, it was just a little more comfortable for him. He went out and played really well for us tonight."
The team’s power play also continued its hot stretch. The Gulls went 1-for-4 on the man advantage in the win, recording eight power-play goals over their last eight games, operating at a 24.2% success rate (8-for-33) over the span. Gawdin scored the man-advantage tally and has accounted for 37.5% (3-for-8) of the team’s man-advantage goals over their last eight games.
The Gulls will lean on their special teams in their fourth and final regular season meeting with the Barracuda. San Diego is 1-2-0-0 against San Jose this season, grabbing a 5-2 victory on Jan. 11 at Pechanga Arena. The Barracuda won the other two matchups – both in San Jose – by a combined 11-0 score. Pavol Regenda leads all active Gulls with 1-1=2 points against the Barracuda this season, while Drew Helleson, Del Zotto, Brayden Tracey, Groulx, Luka Profaka, Nikolas Brouillard and David Cotton all have a point in the season series.
The Barracuda enter tonight in tight race for the seventh and final playoff spot in the Pacific Division. They sit five points back of the Tucson Roadrunners with five games remaining. They’ve dropped three of their last five games, including a 4-3 shootout loss on Monday night against the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
Former Gull Andrew Agozzino leads San Jose with 25-29=54 points but recalls and recent injuries impacted the team’s offensive depth. Rookie Thomas Bordeleau is currently with the National Hockey League’s San Jose Sharks, while William Eklund underwent shoulder surgery four days ago and will miss the remainder of the season.