Gulls Win Streak Hits Five With Comeback Victory
Troy Terry ties career-high with three points in the win.
Jan 18, 2020The Gulls began the second half of their regular-season schedule by scoring two third-period goals to comeback and beat the Bakersfield Condors 4-3 tonight at Mechanics Bank Arena. San Diego extended their win streak to five games and now have points in six of the last seven games (5-1-0-1). The Gulls capitalized on the man advantage and now have five power-play goals over the past six games (5-24, 20.8%).
“We’re just taking it game-by-game,” said Gulls head coach Kevin Dineen. “Now Bakersfield knows that we’re right there in the thick of it. We’re working to get there with Ontario. Take advantage of the games we have in hand. More than anything, we’re just playing a really good brand of hockey right now and we followed through with it on the road.”
Sam Carrick scored a goal and added an assist (1-1=2), marking his 65th goal with San Diego which surpassed Corey Tropp (64) for first on the franchise’s all-time goal list. Terry picked up a goal and two assists (1-2=3), extending his point/assist streaks to five games (2-6=8) as the right wing has now picked up points in each of his first five games with San Diego this season. Gulls netminder Anthony Stolarz made 31 saves in the win.
“He’s got the ability to dominate this league and that’s what he’s done since he’s been down here,” said Carrick regarding Terry’s presence on the ice. “I think it’s great for his confidence. We’re going to use him as much as we can while we got him. You just watch him out there and he makes it look easy. He’s a great guy to have on the team.”
San Diego came out of the gates strong, scoring the opening goal on their first shot of the night, 1:31 into the contest. The Gulls brought the puck down the ice on an odd-man rush after digging it out of their zone. Justin Kloos sent a pass to Brendan Guhle before he flipped it over the shoulder of Bakersfield netminder Shane Starrett for his third goal of the season. Comtois also picked up an assist on the play, extending his point streak with the Gulls to three games (1-3=4).
The lead lasted just 1:09 of play as the Condors answered quickly to tie the game 1-1. On a similar play to the opening score, Bakersfield brought the puck down on another odd-man rush, a 2-on-1 opportunity. Markus Granlund dished the puck over a diving Jani Hakanpaa and Jakob Stukel collected it, brought it to the other side of Stolarz and scored an answering goal.
Bakersfield took two penalties in the opening frame but killed both of San Diego’s opportunities. Shortly after the second Gulls power play expired, the Condors capitalized for their second goal of the night with 30 seconds remaining in the first period. Granlund threw a shot at Stolarz and the puck hit a couple of sticks battling in front before deflecting into the net.
The Condors held a 2-1 lead heading into the middle stanza also leading in shots, 12-11 despite being shorthanded for four minutes of the period.
Stolarz came up with a big save midway through the second period after Ryan McLeod dished the puck through a few San Diego defenders. Kirill Maksimov received the pass and had a partial breakaway coming down the right wing. After a few moves, Maksimov tried to put the puck five-hole, but Stolarz closed his pads and denied the chance.
Logan Day’s stick caught Isac Lundestrom in the face behind Bakersfield’s net and the Gulls were given a four-minute power play as the stick infraction drew blood. The Gulls netted their second of the night, the first power-play goal of the game. Chris Mueller lost the puck behind the net, but Terry got to the loose puck and threw it to Kiefer Sherwood in the slot. Sherwood wasted no time getting a shot off, beating Starrett five-hole at the 13:41 mark of the second frame.
Sherwood took San Diego’s first penalty of the night as he was sent to the box for tripping with just over three minutes remaining in the period. The Gulls penalty kill kept rolling as the club stopped the chance and has now been successful on 15 consecutive penalty kills, negating 26 of opposing teams’ last 27 power plays (96.3%).
Shortly after Bakersfield’s power play concluded, Granlund picked up his second goal and third point of the night as the Condors retook the lead. Colby Cave took a pass in the slot and fired it on net. Stolarz made the initial save, but Granlund found the rebound and capitalized with 38 seconds left in the middle frame.
“I think we have to simplify a little bit,” said Sherwood between periods. “Make a few stronger plays and giving their transition a little too much right now. If we keep playing north and get pucks in deep, hopefully we can have a good third period.”
Carrick took that advice to heart when he tied the game 3-3 at the 10:14 mark of the third and final period. The Gulls held the puck in the Condors zone on an extended forecheck before Terry got the puck to Carrick on deep in the zone. Carrick closed in on Starrett, brought the puck around a defender and found the back of the net with a quick wrist shot. Chase De Leo also recorded an assist on the tying score.
Exactly two minutes later, Terry gave the Gulls their first lead of the game since the start of the first period. Terry displayed an incredible individual effort, bringing the puck from one end of the ice to the other. After getting around multiple defenders, Terry fired a shot from the faceoff circle that trickled through Starrett for the score. Defenseman Josh Mahura picked up the lone assist on the play.
“We didn’t have the start we wanted to,” added Carrick. “One thing that was great for us was our goalie Anthony Stolarz. He’s been awesome for us. We were able to grab momentum as the game went on and we had a huge third period for us.”
The Gulls held the lead and beat the Condors for the second time this season, improving to an all-time record of 23-17-1-2 against the Condors. The Gulls will return home to face the Tucson Roadrunners on Tuesday, Jan. 21 (7 p.m.).