Two more games, one more win.
So, the beat goes on for SDSU’s men’s ice hockey team.
The Aztecs travel to the University of Utah for another pair of games this weekend to wrap up the 2023 portion of their 2023-24 ACHA Division 1 season. SDSU carries a cumulative 5-9-1 record into the two games against the 20th-ranked Utes (7-6-2).
The SDSU program continues to build momentum after a 1-20-1 start in its first M1 season in 2022-23.
The Aztecs ventured to Phoenix Nov. 17-18 to engage Grand Canyon University in a weekend set. The Southern California visitors pulled off a 4-2 win in the series opener before leaving Arizona smarting from a 6-0 loss administered by the Antelopes the following day.
With eight games (four home games) remaining on their season schedule, the Aztecs obviously want to add a few more wins to their sophomore slate before entering their inaugural campaign in the Western Collegiate Hockey League in 2023-24.
GCU opened scoring in the Nov. 17 game as Ricards Landmanis beat SDSU goaltender Garrett Fuller (39 saves on 41 shots) at 6:45 of the second period. The Aztecs scored the equalizer off the stick of Eastlake alumnus Braden Mayer at 19:59 – just a tick before the end of the period.
The goal was Mayer’s fourth of the season to go with seven assists as he moved into a tie for second in team scoring with 11 points.
Benjamin Oakland knotted the score for the Antelopes at 2:39 of the third period. SDSU finished scoring as Mason Brown notched his sixth goal of the season off passes from Cameron Ferraz and Marcus Kim. Nolan Conrad sealed the key road win with an empty net goal at 19:31.
Even though the Aztecs finished 0-for-9 on the power play in the two weekend games, they kept GCU 0-for-7 on the power play.
Cameron Ferraz: 4 goals, 9 assists – 13 points
Mason Brown: 6 goals, 5 assists – 11 points
Braden Mayer: 4 goals, 7 assists – 11 points
Marcus Kim: 3 goals, 7 assists – 10 points
Lucas Bellig: 2 goals, 7 assists – 9 points
Max Kathol: 2 goals, 6 assists – 8 points
Sean Yeo: 1 goal, 5 assists – 6 points
Kolby Hennessy: 4 goals, 1 assist – 5 points
Luke Desmarais: 3 goals, 2 assists – 5 points
Cameron Henderson: 1 goal, 3 assists – 4 points
Logan Okanski: 2 goals, 1 assist – 3 points
Sean Devaney: 2 goals, 1 assist – 3 points
Toby Petrus: 1 goal, 2 assists – 3 points
Nolan Conrad: 1 goal, 1 assist – 2 points
Garrett Fuller: 4-8-1, 4.27 GAA, 0.991 save percentage
Brody Hsiao: 1-1, 4.86 GAA, 0.854 save percentage
AHL Notebook
Gulls end 13-game winless streak, start new two-game points streak
The San Diego Gulls are hosting their annual Winter Wonderland on Saturday, Dec. 16, at Pechanga Arena. Included in the event is a pre-game tailgate (4 to 5:30 p.m.) with real snow, live reindeer, food truck vendors and an appearance by Santa and Mrs. Claus.
Highlighting the evening will by the Gulls’ annual Teddy Bear Toss to benefit patients at Rady Children’s Hospital. Fans are encouraged to bring a plastic wrapped plush toy and toss it onto the ice upon the Gulls’ first goal in the game. A Hawaiian shirt giveaway also is on tap.
Game time is 6 p.m. against the Henderson Silver Knights.
The Gulls got back in the win column last Saturday with a 3-1 win over the visiting Chicago Wolves to snap a lengthy 13-game winless spell (0-10-3). The timely victory, which doubled as the team’s first home ice win this season, coincided with the return to the lineup of captain Chase De Leo. The La Mirada native picked up an assist on the game-winning goal to highlight his season homecoming.
The Gulls bench erupted in joy after Josh Lopina sealed the win with an empty net goal with 2:15 to play in regulation. Players behaved as if they had just won the Stanley Cup.
Judd Caulfield and Robert Hagg also scored goals in the game while goaltender Tomas Suchanek stopped 23 of 24 shots in his American Hockey League debut.
“It was so much fun (coming back),” De Leo said. “So grateful to get back with this group. It’s been a tough stretch for them, so they deserve this win, and the fans definitely deserve this win. Just want to give them something to get excited for and cheer about.”
While not playing winning hockey in recent weeks, it was evident watching the team that the Gulls were steadily improving.
The Wolves won last Friday’s series opener, 6-4, as former Gull Rocco Grimaldi earned first star of the game honors with one goal and three assists. The Gulls fought back from an early 3-1 deficit to trail 5-4 entering the third period.
The game pitted the teams with the two worst records in the 32-team league, with Chicago being No. 31 and the Gulls being No. 32.
The task now will be to produce more wins to climb up the 10-team Pacific Division standings.
“It’s huge,” De Leo said. “It’s a tough league, though. You have to control the highs and the lows. I know it sounds cliche and boring, but you really have to stay even keeled. Like I said, it’s a tough stretch here, so you got to celebrate this one extra hard. Get excited, feel good about ourselves, and go on a roll here. We have to turn this thing around and get back to winning hockey.”
The Gulls celebrate their first home ice win with their fans.
Caulfield scored his third goal of the season at 11:39 of the first period, poking a shot between Wolves netminder Adam Scheel and the post. Rookie Olen Zellweger (second round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, 34th overall) picked up his 10thassist of the season.
Grimadi remained hot on the weekend by notching his seventh goal of the season (and fifth point in two nights) when he tied the game, 1-1, at 8:28 of the second period. Former Gull Max Comtois recorded the secondary assist on the game-tying goal.
Hagg put the Gulls ahead 2-1, at 16:56 of the period by tallying his first goal of the season. Andrew Agozzino recorded his 11th assist of the season on the primary helper. De Leo picked up a point in his season debut to start the scoring play.
Chicago remained within striking distance until Scheel left the ice for an extra attacker with just over two minutes remaining in the third period. However, as soon as Scheel got to the Chicago bench, it all proved in vain as Lopina cleared a long shot into the vacated cage.
San Diego out-shot Chicago 25-24 and neither team scored in three power play chances apiece.
The Gulls improved to 3-10-3 while the Wolves dropped to 4-9-1-1.
The Gulls will attempt to make it two wins in a row when they host the Central Division-leading Texas Stars (9-4-2-1) on Wednesday, Nov. 29.
De Leo said following the same blueprint from Saturday’s home ice victory should remedy the team’s tough luck start in the standings. The Gulls are nine points out of the final playoff berth in the division with 56 regular season games to go.
“Yeah, absolutely. I think we got to stick with it,” said De Leo, who overcame a lengthy injury last season to post 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in 22 AHL games. “There’s going to be highs and lows, like I said, but we got to worry about ourselves. It was a winning hockey team here once. It was like the playoffs every year and that’s the expectation as far as I’m concerned. I’m part of this group. That’s what we are going to be working towards.”
The Gulls’ renewed fortunes appear to have coincided with t he return to the lineup of team captain Chase De Leo. Photos by Phillip Brents
“I think we played mostly three periods,” San Diego head coach Matt McIlvane said. “We needed a great goalie for bits of the second and I think Tomas (Suchanek) is the story of the game in my mind. And you know, you just feel for the guys and the smiles, and you know, the relief. They put in a lot of work to be able to get that feeling and we’re thankful that they can celebrate it.”
At 20 years, six months and 26 days, Suchanek is the youngest goaltender in Gulls history to earn a win in net. The Czech native was recalled from the Tulsa Oilers after recording a 3-3 record, 2.68 goals-against average and 0.908 winning percentage in six ECHL games.
“It’s a good feeling,” Suchanek said. “I know these boys like what this means so much. So, it’s really great that I could win this game for them, and it’s a great game and a great feeling. I know these guys worked so hard and the whole staff to get this win finally, and I’m happy that I could be on the ice with them.
“I’m just like, trying to learn every single day as much as I can. Try to get better every day, and I know the results will come. My dream is of course to be signed to an NHL deal and I’m just trying to get every single day better and that’s my goal.
“Of course, it’s great right now. We wanted this win and now let’s get more wins.”
“It’s just impressive,” De Leo acknowledged in regard to the San Diego netminder. “Honestly, it shows his character, his work ethic, and just his determination, honestly, to not give up. It’s not easy being in situations, people don’t really see what’s on the outside if you don’t have a contract going into the year. It’s tough mentally, but for him to be able to battle through that and come earn this win tonight for us. Stood on his head, I don’t know how many saves it was. I think I was standing the whole game cheering for him. So, I’m just so excited for him. He definitely deserves it and he got us that win tonight.”
“All Tomas has done since he came into our organization is perform,” McIlvane said. “And he’s got such a high compete level and an unbelievable attitude. You know, it’s easy to root for a kid like that. We’re really fortunate to have such great depth in our goaltending.
“We’ll be excited for some rest and then from there, we got a couple great practice days and a strong Texas team coming in that we’ll have to be real ready for.”
Moving forward
The Gulls built on their first home ice win of the season with a gritty 6-5 overtime loss to the Stars, earning standings points in their second consecutive game. The Gulls trailed, 3-0, before engineering a spirited second-period rally to close the score to 4-3, then tie the contest twice, 4-4 and 5-5, in the third period.
De Leo earned first star honors in leading the comeback with a goal and two assists. He scored the 4-4 goal and assisted on the 5-5 goal by Nikita Nesterenko. In two games since his return to the lineup, De Leo has collected four points (one goal, three assists).
Nesterenko received second star billing with one goal and two assists while rookie Ben King completed the San Diego three star sweep with two goals as the game’s third star.
Suchanek made 28 saves on 34 shots. Texas took the only four shots in the three-on-three OT period, with Fredrick Karlstrom one-timing a shot over Suchanek’s shoulder off a pass from Oskar Beck. The goal was Karlstrom’s seventh of the season while Back picked up his 11th assist.
Each team scored one power play goal in front of the 4,908 fans in attendance.
The Stars entered Wednesday’s game as the top scoring team in the league and with the league’s best power play. Kyle McDonald scored just 17 seconds into a power play to boost the Stars to a 3-0 lead.
But goals by King and Lopina trimmed the Texas lead to 3-2 to start the second period. King’s second goal, assisted by Lopina and Drew Helleson, made it a new game at 4-3 to end the period.
De Leo (55 goals, 87 assists – 142 points) surpassed Kalle Kossila (51,90 -141) for third place on the Gulls AHL points leaderboard. Only Sam Carrick (86, 95 – 181) and Corey Tropp (64, 93 -157) have recorded more points.
After suffering through a franchise-worst 13-game winless streak, the Gulls (3-10-4) are suddenly toying with a two-game points streak (1-0-1).
“For me, I think the story of the game is the comeback,” McIlvane said. “For our guys to be down three, not the start that you want, for sure, especially against a great team like Texas, and then being able to be able to find a way to keep fighting. Being able to learn a lesson that we can score in bunches, put in five on the board today. That’s a big deal. We’re happy to be able to fly back. Wish that we had that extra point.
“I thought we had a lot of guys who played well, but I thought our team game was pretty strong. When you play a team like Texas, defending the rush becomes a big deal. They scored goals on the rush that don’t need to happen, really from our side, but I think that there’s been a lot of guys putting in a lot of work and it’s nice to see some progress.”
De Leo did not down-play achieving his mark in team history.
“It’s obviously great,” he said. “I think any time you get recognition is huge and a lot of work. A lot of time goes into this. My family sacrificed everything. It’s not easy coming from California and making it to this level, so I owe everything to them and obviously, my main goal is to get back to winning playoff hockey and doing whatever I can to get the team back there.”
The Gulls now embark on a five-game Midwest road trip (two games in Chicago, one game in Milwaukee and two games in Rockford) before returning home to the Winter Wonderland festivities.
“This will be fun,” the San Diego coach said. “It’s just us, we’re on the road, and we get to go spend some time together, play some great opponents, new opponents in some cases, and keep building on our progress.”
