Photo: AHL
By Thomas Harrington
The San Diego Gulls played in six games over the past two weeks, three of them against the Iowa Wild. The Gulls went 1-3-2 in those six games. Calle Clang and Conor Hvidston have both joined the team to end the season, Clang from the SHL and Hvidston from the WHL.
Gulls Come Up Short Against Wild
The Gulls started things off at home, hosting the Iowa Wild. San Diego had an amazing start in this one, as Justin Kirkland scored twice early in the first and Brayden Tracey scored in the final second of the period to make it 3-0 after one period. However, the script was flipped in the second as Iowa scored three straight goals to tie the game. Neither team scored in the third and the game went to overtime, but neither team scored in the extra session and the game went to a shootout. Chase De Leo and Kirkland were both stopped and the Gulls lost 4-3.
Gulls Get Downed By Wranglers Twice
The Gulls then traveled to Calgary for a pair of games. The Wranglers dominated the first game from start to finish, as they scored twice in the first period, twice in the second period, and twice in the third period to win 6-0.
The second game against Calgary was a much closer affair, as Benoit-Olivier Groulx opened the scoring 54 seconds into the game. The Wranglers responded with three straight goals and held a 3-1 lead after the first. Neither team scored in the second, De Leo scored the only goal of the third, and the Gulls lost 3-2.
Gulls Lose In OT To The Roadrunners
San Diego then went back home to host Tucson. Goals came fast and furious in this one, as Pavol Regenda and Groulx both scored in the opening minutes, before the Roadrunners responded with a pair of goals less than a minute apart to tie the game. Glenn Gawdin then scored to give the Gulls a 3-2 lead after the first period. Chase Priskie scored early in the second to make it a 4-2 game, but Tucson responded with two goals of their own to tie the game at 4-4. In the third period, Tucson took the lead, but Dylan Sikura responded to tie the game at 5-5. The game then went to overtime, where Tucson found the game winner and won 6-5.
Gulls Earn A Split In Iowa
The Gulls then traveled to Iowa for a pair of games. The Wild opened the scoring late in the first, and Gawdin tied the game in the second, but Iowa took the game over from there. They scored three straight goals in the second period, added another in the third period, and won 5-1. Gage Alexander was pulled in this game, and Clang made his AHL debut.
The next night, Clang was the starter for the Gulls. Iowa took the early lead, and Gawdin tied it, but the Wild scored again and had a 2-1 lead after the first. De Leo and Groulx both scored in the second to give the Gulls the lead, and then Groulx scored his second of the night into the empty net in the third and San Diego won 4-2. Clang made 20 saves in his first career AHL start. Hvidston made his AHL debut in the two games against Iowa but was scoreless.
Final Thoughts
The Gulls only have two more weeks left in the season and will play in five games. They’ll start out with their final three home games, hosting San Jose and Calgary twice. The Gulls will then hit the road for a pair of games in Colorado to finish the season.
San Diego’s difficult season is almost over. A number of new faces have joined the team in recent weeks, both at the trade deadline and after. The Gulls will get at least one more new face as the newly acquired Judd Caufield has signed his entry-level deal with Anaheim and will join San Diego on an ATO. Lastly, Andrej Sister was reassigned to the Gulls today.
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April 4th, 2023
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