San Diego County’s greatest hockey player? Monday’s Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Toronto seems to speak for itself.
Longtime La Mesa resident Willie O’Ree, who played seven seasons for the original San Diego Gulls in the Western Hockey League, has gained hockey immortality after being elected with the latest class into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
The honor is a truly deserving one for the pioneering O’Ree, 83, who earned distinction as the first black man to play in the National Hockey League.
O’Ree was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builders Category along with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman for their work in helping grow the game.
O’Ree made history on Jan. 18, 1958, when he took the ice for the Boston Bruins in a game in Montreal, breaking the color barrier in the NHL.
He rejoined the NHL in 1998 as the director of youth development for the NHL/USA Hockey Diversity Task Force. Particularly through the league’s Hockey is for Everyone program, O’Ree has helped champion the initiative that has introduced more than 120,000 children of diverse backgrounds to the game and established 36 local grassroots hockey programs geared toward economically disadvantaged youth.
The Hockey is for Everyone initiative uses the game of hockey – and the NHL’s global influence — to drive positive social change and foster more inclusive communities.
Earlier this month as street hockey rink in the Boston neighborhood of Allston, Mass. was named in O’Ree’s honor.
In O’Ree’s own words, when opportunity presents itself, the game grows.
Bettman said he is personally honored to be included into the same Hockey Hall of Fame 2018 class as O’Ree.
“Just getting to know him over the 20 years, seeing the way he interacts with young people and the difference that he makes in their lives, was absolutely one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had as commissioner,” Bettman, who has overseen the league’s growth from 24 teams to 31 teams and an increase in annual revenue from $400 million to $4 billion during his 25-plus years as commissioner, told the NHL.com website.
O’Ree, who played in more than 1,000 professional hockey games (though almost all of them in the minor leagues), has received the Order of Canada, his native country’s highest civilian honor and the Lester Patrick Award from the NHL for his outstanding service to hockey in the United States. He is a member of the San Diego Hall of Champions and the New Brunswick Hall of Fame.
His induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame may be overdue by some accounts.
After O’Ree made hockey history as the first black man to play in the NHL, another black player would not skate in the NHL again until Canadian Mike Marson suited up for the Washington Capitals in 1974.
There’s little question that O’Ree, who has been dubbed the “Jackie Robinson of hockey,” has helped forward change in the game since he played 45 games for the Bruins from 1958 to 1961. (As an additional honor, he became the first black man to score a goal in the NHL on Jan. 1, 1961., finishing his brief NHL career with four goals and 10 assists.)
The NHL of that era was confined to just six teams in the northeastern corner of North America. The league’s player pool was almost exclusively Canadian-born, including O’Ree, a native of New Brunswick.
The NHL of today has gone global. Thirty countries can claim players in the NHL.
Since O’Ree’s barrier-shattering debut, 85 other blacks have played in the NHL. The league boasted 24 black players last season.
P.K. Subban, a defenseman for the 2017 Stanley Cup finalist Nashville Predators and one of the league’s most prominent black players, called O’Ree a role model to any player from a different country or minority background.
Greatness isn’t always measured in the number of goals or assists but in actions on and off the ice. O’Ree certainly qualifies in that regard.
Grant Fuhr, a five-time Stanley Cup champion and six-time all-star who was best known for his play with the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s and who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003, presented O’Ree with his Hall of Fame plaque during Monday’s televised ceremonies.
O’Ree was well spoken in delivering his acceptance speech.
“At the age of 14, I set two goals for myself – to play professional hockey and one day play in the National Hockey League,” O’Ree told the captivated audience. “All I wanted was to be a hockey player. All I needed was the opportunity. To be here tonight is simply overwhelming. There are no words to explain how humble and grateful I am to be part of the Hockey Hall of Fame. I thank the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee for the incredible honor and offer heartfelt congratulations to my fellow inductees.
“Believe it or not, on Jan. 18, 1958, when I stepped on the ice with the Bruins, it did not dawn on me that I was breaking the color barrier. That’s how focused I was on making my dream come true. I didn’t realize I had made history until I read it in the paper the next day. I have spent 67 years of my life in hockey. Now as the NHL’s ambassador I travel across North America introducing boys and girls to the game I love. We do focus on life lessons. Hockey teaches us, most importantly, (about) setting goals. My mission is to give them the opportunity like the one I was given.
“When I lost the sight in my right eye, playing junior (hockey), the doctor told me I would never play hockey again. I refused to accept that. His words did not discourage me. They fueled me to try harder, to never give up. Three years later I broke the color barrier.”
O’Ree thanked Bettman for his ongoing efforts in helping make the game “more diverse and inclusive each day.”
“True strength comes from diversity and inclusion. It makes kids better, it makes families better, it makes the game better,” O’Ree said.
O’Ree’s election to the Hockey Hall of Fame follows on the ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of his history-making feat earlier this year.
The current edition of the Gulls will honor O’Ree’s induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame by hosting Willie O’Ree Night on Friday, Nov. 16, at the Valley View Casino Center.
Besides honoring O’Ree, the American Hockey League club will hand out special Willie O’Ree bobbleheads to fans in attendance. Face off is 7 p.m.
The Gulls issued a statement Monday evening congratulating O’Ree, a San Diego County resident since his retirement as an active player in the 1979, on his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
“Willie is rightfully honored and takes his place among legendary players and figures of the sport,” the statement read. “His impact on and off the ice has been insurmountable and will leave a lasting legacy. Willie broke the color barrier over 60 years ago on Jan. 18, 1958, and his tireless work to grow the sport of hockey with the National Hockey League for over 20 years has left just as large an impact.”
Because of O’Ree, hockey is truly for everyone.
Next Gen
Elisha Reece, intriguingly, a much younger La Mesan, is following in O’Ree’s trailblazing footpath on the ice.
A freshman on the San Diego State University men’s ice hockey team, Reece bears somewhat of a resemblance to a young O’Ree and, more importantly, possesses many of O’Ree’s famous trademarks.
In referencing the latter, Reece has employed his speed, ability to win crucial face-offs and fearlessness to bang into the corners to emerge as one of the Aztecs’ top scorers in just his first season on the team. He collected a goal and two assists in SDSU’s latest win, a 5-2 decision over Arizona State University last Saturday, Nov. 3, at the Kroc Center that upped the team’s record to 6-4-1.
In 11 games this season, Reece has recorded two goals and five assists for seven points to rank second (to teammate Derian Theberge) among freshmen scorers on the team.
Theberge, Reece and Mickey Sullivan constitute an all-freshman line that looks to be an exciting combination to watch in the coming years. Theberge picked up two goals in last Saturday’s game while Sullivan had an assist.
“There is a lot of diversity on the team, not just different ethnicity, but people from all over the country,” Reece said.
That the 2018-19 Aztec team represents a cross-section of current society owes much to O’Ree through his pioneering efforts 60 years ago as well as by his two decades of more recent service as an ambassador in the NHL’s diversity program.
The seed that Wayne Gretzky planted in his trade to the L.A. Kings during the late 1980s O’Ree watered to make it grow over the ensuing decades.
Reece met O’Ree during the Gulls’ inaugural open house in February 2015.
“It was interesting to talk to someone from a different time and hear his struggles,” Reece said. “It put a lot of things into perspective. For me, there are no excuses. It’s motivation.”
Reece is one of three East County players on this season’s SDSU team.
Fellow freshman Mason Cook, a Lakeside resident and 2018 graduate of Santana High School, collected a goal and two assists in last Saturday’s game. Reece and Cook join junior Isaac Miller, a Helix High School alumnus, on the team.
Cook and Miller have both recorded two goals and three assists this season.
Reece, who attended e3 Civic High School, a public charter secondary located at the San Diego Central Library, started playing ice hockey at the Kroc Center in the third grade after being introduced to the sport through a video game.
“I played the game and got into a hockey fight and begged my parents to play,” Reece said.
Marty Mayer was Reece’s first house league coach at the Kroc Center.
“He would come to the skate and shoots, he was always here,” said Mayer, whose son, Aaron, leads SDSU in scoring with 22 points (nine goals, 13 assists) in nine games.
“He worked hard and had fun.”
“I guess I was a bit of a rink rat,” Reece admitted. “My father was an athlete, he played football and baseball, attended SDSU, and always supported me in youth sports.”
As for making the transition from video game player to ice hockey player, well …
“It was a lot harder than I thought,” Reece admitted. “I had to go to games and watch other players, and go from there.”
Now younger players are watching him to learn how to play the game.
More recently, Reece played for the Poway Hawks in the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League and last season for the San Diego Sabers in the Western States Hockey League, an Amateur Athletic Union-sanctioned junior hockey league.
“There seems to be a lot of dedicated fans here (supporting the Aztecs),” Reece said. “I think our team has a lot of chemistry.”
Cook, who also learned to play hockey at the Kroc Center, earned distinction as the first four-year player to graduate from the Hawks high school club team.
“Every game I was here,” Cook said. “I’d go to the skate and shoot at the Kroc and I’d stay to watch the Aztecs play. I thought it would be amazing some day to play for the Aztecs.”
Now he is.
“I just want to do the little things to help the team win, to make plays to help everyone else,” Cook said. “It’s been an amazing season so far.”
Miller is entering this third year on the SDSU team but has switched roles from center to defenseman.
“It’s just about having more patience,” Miller said. “Be more reliable and not pushing up a lot more.”
The Aztecs appear to be holding their own in their first season in the PAC 8 Conference with a 4-3-0 conference record, including last weekend’s split with ASU. The Sun Devils won last Friday’s match-up by a 5-3 score that included an empty net goal.
Miller picked up an assist in that game.
“I like playing teams from larger schools (in the PAC 8),” Miller said. “They have more recognizable names. They’re interesting to play against and put up a good fight. We just didn’t have the right mind-set in the first game (against ASU).”
SDSU will play the University of Oregon prior to a Gulls game on Jan. 19 at the Valley View Casino Center as part of Aztec Hockey Night. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. face-off. Ticket vouchers include the Gulls’ AHL game that evening against the Bakersfield Condors.
SDSU and Oregon will rematch the next afternoon at the Kroc Center.
The Aztecs will face off second semester action with a two-game series Jan. 11-12 at the Kroc Center against the University of Iowa and play at UCLA on Jan. 18.
SDSU will meet Long Beach State University in a non-conference match-up Friday, Nov. 16, at the Poway Ice Arena and conclude first semester play with a two-game series at the University of Washington Nov. 30-Dec. 1.
Hot on ice
Eastlake High School alum Aaron Mayer and Otay Ranch High grad Devyn Taras continued to pile up the points for the Aztecs. Mayer had one goal and two assists in last Saturday’s game while Taras chipped in with a pair of assists.
While Mayer continues to lead the team in scoring, Taras has solidified his hold on third place with 17 points (nine goals, eight assists). Mayer tops SDSU with three game-winning goals while Taras has two game-winning goals.
“I like being in front of the net and scoring the dirty goals off rebounds,” Taras said. “Aaron is a pretty nifty guy. He likes to get close in front of the net, so I like to pick up the scraps.”
Santana alum Mason Cook joined Mayer and Taras on the same line for the series closer against ASU. The trio collected two goals and six assists between them.
“Coach is seeing who works best with who,” Taras said. “We kept motivating him (Cook). He knows the role he has to play. He can get in front of the net. He scored finally.”
The freshman line of Elisha Reece-Derian Theberge and Mickey Sullivan was just as productive with three goals and three assists. Sullivan has one game-winning goal to his credit this season.
SDSU out-shot ASU 36-24. Nick Ilvento stopped 22 shots to improve to 4-1 on the season with a 2.97 goals-against average and .902 save percentage.
ASU is 4-7-0 on the season, 4-2 in conference play.
Photo gallery by Phillip Brents
AZTECS TIP-TOE PAST LONG BEACH STATE, 4-3, TO IMPROVE TO 7-4-1 ON SEASON
The San Diego State University men’s ice hockey team got some production from players outside of its top three scorers to edge Long Beach State University, 4-3, in a non-conference game played Friday, Nov. 16, at the Poway Ice Arena.
Tyler Smith led the Aztecs (7-4-1) with a goal and two assists in the game while Zac Mencimer and Adrien Wisch each collected a goal and assist. Andrew Hoy chalked up one goal while Elisha Reece, Derian Theberge , Tristan Macalolooy and Mason Cook each picked up an assist.
Long Beach State out-shot SDSU 44-21 and led 2-0 before the Aztecs rallied with four unanswered goals to take a 4-2 lead by the end of the second period.
Francis Lemay and Luke Miller each scored goals to push the Forty-Niners (8-4-1) to a 2-0 goal. Lemay scored just 23 seconds into the game while Miller doubled the Long Beach State lead at 14:01, assisted by Lemay.
Hoy scored at 17:53, assisted by Macalolooy and Mencimer to halve the Forty-Niner lead.
Smith scored at 2:06 of the second period to tie the game, with assists to Wisch and Cook. Mencimer put the Aztecs up, 3-2, with a goal at 17:13, assisted by Smith and Theberge.
SDSU added a goal just 1:05 later to double up Long Beach State as Wisch scored, assisted by Smith and Reece.
Lemay scored his second goal and third point of the night just 50 seconds into the third period but Aztec netminder Austin Hathcoat managed to hold the Forty-Niners scoreless the rest of the game.
Hathcoat finished the game with 41 saves to improve to 3-1 on the season with a 3.84 goals-against average and .879 save percentage.
Smith moved into sole possession of fourth place in team scoring with 11 points on six goals and five assists. Theberge ranks fifth with nine points on six goals and three assists.
Reece is sixth overall with eight points on two goals and six assists. Cook (two goals, four assists), Mickey Sullivan (two goals, four assists) and Hoy (one goal, five assists) are all tied with six points.
Adam Moroz stopped 17 of 21 shots to pick up the loss for Long Beach State.
SDSU closes out the first semester of play with a two-game set at the University of Washington on Nov. 30-Dec. 1.
Washington is ranked 19th in the latest ACHA Division 2 men’s top 20 poll.
Poll #2 – ACHA Division 2 Men
1. University of Mary
2. University of Northern Colorado
3. Boise State
4. (tie) University of Oregon
4. (tie) Northern Arizona University
6. Dakota University
7. (tie) Montana State
7. (tie) Williston College
7. (tie) Eastern Washington
10. (tie) MSU-Denver
10. (tie) Utah State
12. CSU-Northridge
13. Grand Canyon University
14. (tie) BYU
14. (tie) University of Providence
14. (tie) Weber State
17. University of Texas
18. Dallas Baptist University
19. University of Washington
20. University of Denver
La Mesa resident Willie O’Ree, who became the first black man to play in the NHL in 1958, is honored by the San Diego Gulls during Willie O’Ree Night on Nov. 16. Photo courtesy San Diego Gulls
SAN DIEGO GULLS HONOR WILLIE O’REE ON SPECIAL NIGHT
Four days after being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, 83-year-old Willie O’Ree returned to his adopted hometown of San Diego to a hero’s welcome.
The American Hockey League San Diego Gulls honored O’Ree with Willie O’Ree Night at their Nov. 16 game against the visiting Bakersfield Condors. All fans in attendance received a special Willie O’Ree bobblehead, the first of its kind to honor the first black man to play in the NHL.
The Gulls faced off the evening festivities with a 20-minute on-ice pregame ceremony highlighting O’Ree’s recent induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame as well as O’Ree’s seven-year playing stint with the original San Diego Gulls of the Western Hockey League, which occurred from 1967-74 in the same building the current edition of the Gulls occupy.
Video clips, most of them in black and white, introduced fans to O’Ree’s career from his days with the Quebec Aces, the Bruins’ affiliate in the Quebec Hockey League, to his history-making debut with the Bruins in January 1958 and subsequent playing days in San Diego.
The AHL Gulls presented O’Ree, who attended the event with his wife, daughter and son-in-law, with a custom watch denoting his Hockey Hall of Fame induction and a custom portrait highlighting his seven years with the original Gulls.
At the close of the ceremony, players from both teams took turns shaking hands with O’Ree as did the teams’ respective coaching staffs and on-ice officials.
San Diego head coach Dallas Eakins gave O’Ree a hug.
“It doesn’t get any better than this,” O’Ree told the 10,020 fans in attendance. “I have been a San Diego Gull since back when I first came in 1967 and I still think that the finest fans I have had to play for are the ones right here in San Diego.
“I’m glad that I’m alive and be able to be here and still watch hockey games and watch the Gulls play. I think they’re a fantastic team. I honor and have the highest respect for the San Diego Gulls hockey club.”
The Gulls wore throwback WHL Gulls jerseys for the game against the Condors, appropriately rewarding O’Ree with a 4-1 victory.
O’Ree logged just 45 games in the NHL, recording four goals and 10 assists. Besides being the first black man to play in the NHL, he also was the first black man to score a goal in the NHL.
Video clips from that era also highlighted reaction of the day to O’Ree breaking hockey’s color barrier, some of which was not supportive.
“Fans would yell, ‘Go back to the South’ and ‘How come you’re not picking cotton?’ Things like that,” O”Ree recalled. “It didn’t bother me. I just wanted to be a hockey player, and if they couldn’t accept that fact, that was their problem, not mine.”
O’Ree played in more than 1,000 professional games, albeit mostly in the minor leagues. He played 13 seasons in the WHL, appearing in 785 games with 328 goals, 311 assists and 639 points in six seasons with the Los Angeles Blades (1961-67) and the Gulls (1967-74). He logged
He also played in 50 games with the AHL New Haven Nighthawks during the 1972-73 season, scoring 21 goals and 45 points.
He scored 30 or more goals four times during his 13 years in the WHL, recording 38 goals twice to lead the league: the first time in 1964-65 with the Blades and then in 1968-69 with the Gulls.
His best season with the Gulls came in 1968-69 when he tallied 79 points in 70 games. He tallied 66 points in 62 games for the Blades in 1965-66 for his best season there.
He joined the Gulls for the 1967-68 season at age 32. In 407 regular season games with the WHL team, he scored 153 goals and accumulated 314 points to become one of the original Gulls’ most popular players.
The ageless O’Ree closed out his pro career at age 43 with the San Diego Hawks of the Pacific Hockey League, recording 21 goals and 46 points in 53 games.
His legacy continues to paint the present day landscape in pro hockey.
“It’s a humbling experience for me personally and I know our staff and players feel the same,” Eakins said in regard to the pre-game ceremony. “It’s such a privilege to have Willie around. He’s always around and always available. He’s such a kind soul. I think he’s just a great example of a human being we should all aspire to be.”
“He’s incredible,” added Gulls goaltender Kevin Boyle. “He’s done so much for the game of hockey. I never really knew about it but once you learn about it, you’re like, ‘wow, that’s absolutely incredible.’ He’s been around here for the past three years so I’ve gotten to know him a little bit. He’s just an amazing human being. To be able to honor him tonight and come out with a win for him tonight is something special.”
Protect the nest
Corey Tropp scored two of the Gulls’ four goals while Chase De Leo and Troy Terry each chipped in with single goals.
Also recording assists were Joseph Blandisi, Sam Steel, Isac Lundestrom (two), Josh Mahura (two) and Andre Sustr. Boyle made 46 saves on 47 shots to pick up his third consecutive win. During that stretch, Boyle has recorded a 2.01 goals-against average and .950 save percentage.
Lundestrom, a first-round pick (23rd overall) in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, registered six shots on goal in his AHL debut. At 19 years and 10 days, he became the youngest Gull to record a point and the third-youngest Gulls to appear in a game.
The Gulls improved to 6-4-1-1 with the Nov. 16 win.
Ice chips:
GULLS END TWO-GAME SLIDE WITH 4-3 WIN OVER COLORADO IN FRONT OF SELLOUT HOME CROWD
The San Diego Gulls opened a season-long five-game home stand with a 4-3 win over the Colorado Eagles in front of a sellout crowd of 12,920 at the Valley View Casino Center on Friday night (Nov. 9).
The Eagles, playing in their first American Hockey League season after being elevated from the ECHL, entered the Pacific Division clash leading the Gulls by six points in the standings.
Following the win by the host team, the Gulls narrowed the Eagles’ lead in the division standings to four points. The teams rematch Saturday night at the same venue.
San Diego head coach Dallas Eakins said the large and loud crowd had its usual effect on his team.
“It was unbelievable,” Eakins said in a postgame press conference. “We have two new assistant coaches and one of them just brought it up. That’s common here. They were loud. They were pushing along. They were sticking with us, everything that they’ve always done for us. We’re always grateful for that.”
Friday’s win snapped a two-game losing streak that saw the Gulls drop a 4-2 decision to the host Ontario Reign on Nov. 3 and fall, 6-3, to the host Tucson Roadrunners on Wednesday.
Both games were close at points. The Gulls trailed the Reign 3-1 before making it a one-goal game on Max Jones’ first goal of the season at 17:06 of the third period. However, the hosts tacked on an empty net goal by Brett Sutter at 19:04 to win by two goals. San Diego fell behind 3-0 to the Roadrunners but narrowed the score to 4-3 on a goal by Corey Tropp at 16:55 of the third period before the Arizona team cashed in on a goal by Mario Kempe just 13 seconds later while adding an empty net goal by Trevor Murphy at 18:16.
Friday’s game was another uphill battle, but not a mountain that the home team couldn’t successfully climb.
Mason Geertsen scored the only goal of the first period for Colorado, the AHL affiliate of the NHL Colorado Avalanche, at 15:24, assisted by Andrew Agozzino.
The Gulls responded by scoring the opening two goals of the second period to take a 2-1 lead. Ben Thomson scored his third goal of the season at the 5:07 mark of the second period to open the scoring. Simon Benoit tallied the lone assist, his fourth this season.
Sam Carrick, who just returned to the team from a three-game call-up to the NHL parent Anaheim Ducks, scored his team-leading sixth goal at 8:26 of the second period to push the hosts into the lead by a goal. Chase De Leo and Giovanni Fiore picked up assists on the go-ahead goal, scored at even strength. The goal was the second in as many games for Fiore.
However, the Gulls did not get out of the period unscathed. The Eagles tied the game, 2-2, at 15:48 as Josh Dickinson scored an unassisted shorthanded goal.
The third period saw the Gulls go in front, 3-2, on Troy Terry’s fourth goal of the season at the 6:37 mark. The goal extended his club record point streak to begin an AHL career to seven games (four goals, six assists). The seven-game point streak by Terry, a USA Olympian, is the longest point streak by an AHL rookie this season.
Kalle Kossila tallied the primary assist on Terry’s goal, his fifth point in as many games this season (three goals, two assists). Team captain Jaycob Megna also earned an assist on Terry’s goal, his second in as many games.
However, Colorado tried to play spoiler once again as Michael Joly scored a power play goal at 10:21 to knot the score at 3-3. Logan O’Connor and David Warsofsky were credited with assists.
That set the stage for De Leo to post the dramatic game-winner at 14:22 of the third period, his third tally and seventh point of the season (three goals, four assists). Carrick picked up the assist and now co-leads San Diego with 11 points (six goals, five assists).
The Gulls out-shot the Eagles 38-29. Kevin Boyle stopped 26 shots to record his second win of the season.
De Leo, who returned from his second call-up to the Ducks on Thursday, received top star of the game billing while Carrick was tabbed as the game’s second stat. Thomson received the third star award.
De Leo, a La Mirada native, called the win over Colorado “huge.”
“Obviously that’s a good team, they’re a fast-paced team,” De Leo told the media after the game. “We’re trying to be a fast-paced team, too. Games like that are going to happen when they’re two quick teams playing against each other, exchanging chances. Obviously we would like to limit their chances a little more but I thought we had a full team effort. Our defense did a good job and our penalty kill was pretty good.”
The Gulls killed two of three Colorado power plays while the Eagles held the Gulls in check on three man-down situations.
The Gulls out-shot the visitors 12-9 in the third period, scoring twice.
“Carrick was good on the fore-check and Tropp laid the body,” De Leo recapped his game-winning goal. “The puck bounced right to Carrick and he tapped it to me. I just tried to just get it in the net. I’m happy it went in and happy it helped the team get the win.”
De Leo tipped his cap to the sellout crowd.
“The growth of California hockey and the fan support is unbelievable,” he said. “You saw that firsthand tonight. It’s fun to be a part of. Anytime the building is that loud it definitely helps, believe it or not. It definitely made a difference tonight.”
“We’ve been playing a lot of games lately where we were in the game right until the end, but we couldn’t find a way to squeeze out a win,” Thomson said. “To do it after a couple game skid and at home in front of our fans, to get momentum going for the weekend and into next week, it’s huge for our confidence as a team and individuals. This is one of the best teams in the league and we know we can play with them and beat them. That’s huge for our confidence.
He, too, credited the large home crowd as a momentum shifter in the game.
“I’ve never really played in front of a crowd like that in this league,” Thomson said. “I think it’s special. It’s one of those things where you can’t take it for granted because this is one of the best crowds in the league. It’s special and we have to feed off the energy. Tonight was a great crowd as always and I think we’re going to get another big win for them tomorrow night.”
Eakins seemed pleased by the pluck his team showed in the match-up against a team higher in the division standings.
“This year isn’t going to be any different, there’s going to be a lot of one-goal games,” the San Diego coach noted. “We have to find a level of comfort with that when the game is tied, we’re down by a goal or maybe we’re up one. It’s a good experience to be in. That was a fast paced game, about as quick as we’ve seen this year. It was an electric crowd. I really thought our crowd had a real positive effect on our team tonight.”
Eakins credited Carrick with a key role in the victory.
“He brings experience,” Eakins pointed out. “He knows the drill and he’s come down with a passion. Seeing him come in after being sent down, sometimes guys come in and they’re going through an adjustment. I thought he was one of the best players on the ice tonight. You usually don’t see that often when a guy comes down like that. Usually, the guy is down a little bit, maybe he’s feeling sorry for himself, or maybe he’s extremely peeved off, whatever it is. He put it behind him and I just thought he was a force on the ice tonight.”
With Colorado’s loss and Tucson’s 5-0 shutout win over the division leading San Jose Barracuda on Friday night, the Roadrunners moved into second place in the division standings ahead of the Eagles. San Jose continues to lead the Pacific Division with a 9-2-0-1 record and 19 standings points, followed by Tucson at 8-3-0-1 and 17 standings points, Colorado at 6-3-2-0 and 14 standings points, the Bakersfield Condors at 6-4-0-0 and 12 standings points, the Stockton Heat at 5-6-1-0 and 11 standings points, the Gulls at 4-4-1-1 and 10 standings points and the Ontario Reign at 3-5-2-1 and nine standings points.
The Barracuda have the best winning percentage (.792) among Western Conference teams and second overall in the AHL to the Charlotte Checkers (10-2-0-0, .833 winning percentage).
In a player transaction earlier in the day, the Gulls released center Logan Shaw from his Standard Player Contract. Shaw is now a free agent. Shaw subsequently signed a contract with the NHL Winnipeg Jets.
GULLS SWEEP COLORADO EAGLES IN WEEKEND SET WITH 3-2 WIN IN FRONT OF 10,508 FANS
The San Diego Gulls may have missed last season’s Calder Cup playoffs by the slimmest of margins. However, they certainly displayed the grit needed to play like playoff contenders in a weekend sweep of the visiting Colorado Eagles.
After slipping past the Eagles, 4-3, in front of a sellout crowd of 12,920 on Friday (Nov. 9), the Gulls trimmed the Eagles’ wings in Saturday’s rematch, winning 3-2 in front of 10,508 fans at the Valley View Casino Center.
The two wins raised the Gulls’ season record to 5-4-1-1 with 12 standings points.
“Those are two hard-fought games,” San Diego head coach Dallas Eakins told the media following Saturday’s victory. “It’s always amazing you can go into a weekend and win a couple of games 4-1 or 5-1 each and you feel good, but when they are that hard fought, that close, and you’ve had so many guys sacrifice, it feels even better. I’m really proud of our group.”
The Gulls definitely had to claw and fight their way to the weekend sweep.
The teams were tied 3-3 late into the third period in Friday’s game. Saturday’s contest was similar.
The Gulls led 1-0 following Maxime Comtois’ first AHL goal at 2:26 of the first period. The power play goal was set up by teammates Sam Steel and Joe Blandisi.
Comtois had been assigned to the Gulls from the NHL parent Anaheim Ducks on a long-term injury conditioning loan.
Selected in the second round (50th overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft, Comtois had collected seven points (two goals, five assist) with a +3 rating and seven penalty minutes in 10 games with Anaheim.
Comtois scored his first career NHL goal in his NHL debut on Oct. 3 at San Jose. His goal 49 seconds into the game was the fastest to start an NHL career since 1989 when Buffalo’s Alexander Mogilny scored 20 seconds into the first period on Oct. 5, 1989 against Quebec.
Comtois wasted little time to impress Gulls fans.
“I didn’t play for two weeks,” Comtois related in a post-game press conference. “It was a long time. It was fun getting back in the lineup and getting a game under my legs. I thought it went pretty well and it felt pretty good. It was a good team effort, we gave a couple goals that maybe we shouldn’t give, but in the end we fought back. It’s a good feeling.”
The Gulls out-shot the Eagles 16-11 in the first period, though found themselves on the short end of a 19-13 shot count in the second period as the visitors held a 20-19 edge in shots through two periods.
The second period was scoreless, however.
The teams combined for two goals each in the third period. Colorado tied the game at the 2:06 mark of the third period on a shorthanded goal by Andrew Agozzino, assisted by Justin Falk. The goal was Agozzino’s seventh of the season.
The Gulls went ahead, 2-1, on Max Jones’ second goal of the season at 3:01. Assists went to Corey Tropp (his 10th this season) and Kalle Kossila.
The Eagles matched the score at 7:37 as Agozzino notched his eighth goal of the season on a power play, assisted by David Warsofsky and Logan O’Connor.
USA Olympian Troy Terry struck for the game-winner at 12:56. Jones and Kossila drew the assists.
Terry’s goal, his fifth of the season, extended his club record point streak to start an AHL career to eight straight games (five goals, six assists). Terry’s eight-game point streak is tied for the longest active streak in the AHL with Utica’s Reid Boucher (also eight games, 12 points) and ranks as the longest recorded by a rookie this season. Terry also tied the Gulls rookie record for consecutive games with a point, matching Kossila’s eight-game point streak from Dec. 29, 2016 to Jan. 20, 2017 (four goals, eight assists).
“It started with a good fore-check,” Terry explained in scoring what proved to be the game-winning goal. “I thought that was going for us all night. We were fore-checking well. We ended up getting a turnover. (Max Jones) shot it in the slot and it came off the wall to me. It came off really fast, so I figured the goalie wasn’t set again. I tried to know where the net was and tried to throw it in there as fast as I could. He wasn’t set yet and I found the hole.”
A fifth-round draft pick (148th overall) by the Ducks in 2015, Terry spend six games in Anaheim before joining the Gulls. Terry was scoreless in those six games with a minus-1 rating.
“When I was up (in Anaheim) I was trying to get points and pushing for it, and I think that’s when I started to struggle,” Terry noted. “I tried to do things on my own and I would get frustrated. I was fortunate to have that good first weekend here, get a clear mind, and not have to worry about points. It’s never my concern and it’s nice to just go out, do what I can to win hockey games and not have any pressure to produce. That’s when I do the best and I typically produce the most.”
Terry, 21, seems to fit right in with the Gulls’ collection of young talent.
“The young guys are all a really close group,” the Denver native said. “We’ve been through a lot together of the years and the start of this year. This team is an amazing group of hockey players. Coming from college I was used to a close group and a tight bond of a team and I have that here. It’s fun to be a part of and you want to work with your teammates every day. It’s fun.”
Kevin Boyle stopped a season-best 41 shots to earn his third win of the season and second consecutive. Boyle recorded back-to-back wins on the weekend, posting .930 save percentage (67 saves).
“We found a way to battle through (adversity),” Comtois said. “(Kevin Boyle) made a couple big saves for us and got the pads out there at the end. We got some good blocked shots so it was a good team effort.”
The teams finished the game with 43 shots apiece. Eakins admitted the game was intense.
“That team (Colorado) is very well coached,” the Gulls coach said. Their coach (Greg Cronin] is a hard-nosed guy. I know him very, very well and I expected his team to play that way. You get that in these back-to-backs. There’s still some blood boiling from the night before and it makes for entertaining hockey.
“We had a number of players play excellent both games. To see Max Jones have the weekend that he just had after being injured like that is very encouraging. He should be very proud of himself. Troy Terry has come in and played very well. I could keep going down the list. It was just a great weekend for our team and that’s how we want to develop our players — in a winning atmosphere. It’s very, very important to our program.”
Puck drops
The Gulls’ penalty kill continued to excel, holding Colorado to 1-for-7 with the extra attacker. The Gulls were 1-for-5 on the power play.
Jones recorded his first multi-point game (one goal, one assist) of the season. He had a team and season-high nine shots on goal in Saturday’s game.
Meanwhile, Tropp recorded his team-leading 12th point (two goals, 10 assists) while Kossila tallied two assists for his second multi-point game this season. Kossila has seven points in six games this season (three goals, four assists).
San Diego leads the AHL in attendance this season with an average attendance of 9,291 fans per game. San Diego led the AHL in attendance during the 2017-18 season with an average of 9,305 fans.
The Gulls will continue their five-game home stand on Friday, Nov. 16 against the Bakersfield Condors (7 p.m.) as part of Willie O’Ree Night. The team will honor O’Ree following his induction to the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday, Nov. 12.
Tucson swept the San Jose Barracuda in a two-game weekend set in the Old Pueblo to move into a tie for first place in the AHL’s Pacific Division standings. Both teams have identical 9-3-0-1 records and 19 standings points.
Hudson Fasching scored the game’s lone goal at 9:04 of the third period to boost the host Roadrunners to a tight 1-0 win over the Cuda in front of a near sellout crowd of 5,777 fans in Tucson Arena. Merrick Madsen stopped all 28 shots he faced to record the shutout win while Antoine Bibeau, the AHL’s Goaltender of the Month award-winner, stopped 26 of 27 shots he faced.
Bakersfield won its fourth consecutive one-goal game after topping the host Iowa Wild, 4-3, on Saturday. The Condors are now 7-4-0-0 and have 14 standings points to rest in third place tied in the division standings with Colorado (6-4-2-0, 14 points).
The Gulls are in fifth place in the division standings with their 12 points – one standing point ahead of both the Ontario Reign (4-5-2-1) and Stockton Heat (5-7-1-0), both with 11 points.
Goaltender of the Month
Bibeau allowed only nine goals on 149 shots in five starts (3-1-1) during October, helping San Jose to the best record in the Western Conference.
Bibeau began the season with a 30-save effort on opening night, backstopping the Barracuda to a 4-1 victory over Ontario. He turned aside 33 shots in a 3-2 shootout loss to Bakersfield on Oct. 10, and made 31 saves before denying all six shootout attempts in a 3-2 win over Tucson on Oct. 15. Bibeau finished the month with 20 stops in a 6-1 road win over Texas on Oct. 27.
An AHL All-Star in 2018, Bibeau is in his fifth professional season and has a record of 82-48-16 with a 2.64 goals-against average, a .911 save percentage and 15 shutouts in 152 career AHL appearances with San Jose and Toronto. Among goaltenders with more than two games played this season, the 24-year-old native of Victoriaville, Que., leads the league with his 1.69 GAA and .938 save percentage for the Barracuda.
Bibeau was originally selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the sixth round of the 2013 NHL Draft and has appeared in two career NHL games (1-1-0, 1.99, .927).
Former L.A. Jr. Kings U16 player (2013-14) Kailer Yamamoto was assigned to Bakersfield on Nov. 10 after collecting five points in 21 games with the NHL parent Edmonton Oilers.
Quotes courtesy of San Diego Gulls communications dept.
