The San Diego Gulls are preparing to close out a superlative first season in the American Hockey League with a pair of home ice games Friday and Saturday against the regular season Pacific Division champion Ontario Reign.
Meanwhile, the San Diego Tron Hosers Elite team will be in search of a berth in the American Inline Hockey League championships when the team takes on challengers from Arizona and Nevada in the Pacific South/Southwest Division championship playoffs Saturday and Sunday in Las Vegas.
For hockey fans in the region – both inline and ice — it’s been a win-win situation in 2015-16.
And the season could be far from over, in fact. The Gulls have earned a berth in the AHL’s Calder Cup playoffs in their first season in town – a very notable achievement – and will face off their best-of-five Pacific Division semifinal series against the third-seeded Texas Stars beginning April 21.
The AIHL’s Pacific South/Southwest Division winner will head to Bethpage, N.Y., to compete in the national championship tournament May 20-22.
Going for gold
Hilltop High school alumnus and current Lancer roller hockey head coach George Godinez has already punched his ticket to the AIHL national championship tournament after his Hosers Black team received a bye to the Minor Tier 2 finals.
The Hosers Elite squad finished one point behind the Las Vegas Aces in the division standings and will be making the trek to Las Vegas this weekend in search of a division playoff title.
Godinez is playing in his third season in the AIHL. He finished third in team scoring this season after leading the team in scoring through three of the team’s open four regular season tournaments. He finished the season with 20 goals and five assists for 25 combined points.
West Hills High School alumnus Zach Peters finished the season as the team’s top point scorer with 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points while Joel Sadenwasser finished second with 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points.
Godinez led the Hosers Black team (12-12) with 20 goals.
The one-time Hilltop roller hockey standout said he has enjoyed extending his playing career beyond high school by competing in the AIHL.
“It gives me more time to play hockey,” explained Godinez, who led Hilltop behind the bench this season to a final 14-8-1 regular season record and first-round playoff berth in the Kiwanis Cup playoffs. “Once you age-out of youth hockey, you don’t really get too much of an opportunity to continue to play unless you play college or juniors in ice hockey.
“In the AIHL, I get to play with my closest friends and be able to travel with the boys. It’s a good experience getting to play against guys from different states.
“It’s fun. It’s a men’s AA competition level – you get a bunch of guys who have played at the Gold and Platinum level on travel teams. It’s fast. It’s a lot of run and gun. It’s fun to score goals.
“I’m excited for nationals.”
Godinez is joined on the Hosers Black team by former Hilltop standout Paul Newell, who collected seven goals and 12 points in 21 games this season.
Newell, who competed for the original Lancers club team before the start of CIF-sanctioned play, is generally regarded as the top inline hockey player from the South Bay during the 1990s.
“It’s been a fun ride,” the 1999 Hilltop graduate explained. “I’ve played competitively my entire life, since I was 12 years old, it’s one of those things that never goes away no matter how hard I try to quit. It’s a great way to stay in shape these days. You get older, you get a real job, you get a wife, but you still make time for it. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The Hosers Elite team finished regular season play with a (14-8-2-0) record (wins, losses, overtime losses, shootout losses) to come up just short of the Aces (14-7-2-1) for the right to host this weekend’s playoff tournament. Las Vegas finished with 31 points in the division standings to 30 for the Hosers.
Former Chula Vista High standout Luis Gonzalez has played in nine games this season for the Elite squad with seven goals and five assists for 12 points.
Team leaders include La Mesa’s Stefen Demopoulos with 27 goals and 43 points and former West Hills High School star and Team USA selection David Baldwin with 15 goals and 34 points. Demopoulos recently completed his collegiate ice hockey career with the Providence College Friars (2011-15) where he tallied 16 goals and 39 points in 120 regular season games.
The Hosers received an injection from the legendary Chavira brothers – Itan and Juaquin, both longtime Team USA stalwarts – with 17 goals and 32 points between them, but the players missing from the roster has told the major story for the team this season.
Johnny Noris, who displayed his scoring prowess in the CIF-Metro Conference at games at the old Skate San Diego facility in National City, has played in only 13 games this season while also competing on the world surf tour. He has 14 goals and 18 points in the games he has played.
Charles Baldwin, perhaps the top sniper in the AIHL, is expected back in the line-up after playing professional ice hockey in the Czech Republic. In goals per game and points per game, Baldwin ranked at the top of the AIHL last season.
The Hosers’ bugaboo this season has been fielding a full squad. San Diego dressed a skeleton crew for the March 19-20 tournament in Las Vegas and paid the price with a 1-4-1 showing. “We had seven skaters, which is too few when you have six games total in a weekend,” Hosers manager Steve Baldwin explained.
The San Diego team, which owned the lead in the division standings through the opening two (of four) regular season tournaments, fared better at the final regular season tournament April 2-3 in Las Vegas by winning four of its six games, including an 11-2 victory against the third place Arizona Outcasts (13-10-1-0). But it wasn’t enough to catch the Aces.
The elder Baldwin said he expects the Hosers to field a full line-up for the playoffs. “If all my top guys show up, we have a very good chance of winning the division playoffs and then going to New York,” he said.
Hot on ice
As good as the first half of their inaugural season in San Diego was for the Gulls, the second half has been even better. The team has a chance to post a 40-win season if it can sweep Ontario this weekend. That’s a blockbuster showing considering the team, as the Norfolk Admirals last season, posted 12 more losses than wins.
The Gulls, with a record of 38-22-4-2 and a 0.621 points-percentage (points achieved divided by total possible points), enter their final two regular season games with 16 more wins than losses. The team is also riding a series of impressive streaks this season The Gulls are the only team in the 30-team AHL that has not lost a game this season in regulation when scoring the first goal (28-0-2-1). The team is also 31-0 when leading after two periods, 18-1-0-1 when leading after the first period and has not lost back-to-back games since late January.
The Gulls, the AHL affiliate (AAA level) of the Anaheim Ducks of the upper tier National Hockey League, have guaranteed themselves of no worse than a second-place finish in the division standings and have thus secured the No. 2 seed for the upcoming four-team division semifinal playoffs.
This weekend’s two-game set against the Reign thus could be a preview of the Pacific Division finals.
And Ontario, the AHL affiliate of the NHL Los Angeles Kings, has much to gain this weekend as well with a sweep of its Southern California rival.
The Reign is backstopped by 14-year pro Peter Budaj, who leads all AHL goaltenders with a 1.74 goals-against average, 41-14-4 record, 0.932 save percentage and nine shutouts. Budaj recently received an emergency call-up to the Kings and led them to an overtime win over the New York Rangers.
The Slovakian national is the recipient of this year’s Baz Bastien Award, emblematic of the AHL’s outstanding goaltender.
The Reign has clinched first place in the Pacific Division standings – and thus home ice advantage through the opening two rounds of the division playoffs – but still needs some precious points to secure overall supremacy in the Western Conference.
Ontario, which won last year’s Calder Cup championship as the Manchester Monarchs before the move west to form the Pacific Division, enters its final two regular season games with a 43-18-4-1 record with a 0.689 points-percentage; the Central Division-leading Milwaukee Admirals are 48-21-3-2 with a 0.682 points percentage. The Reign has won its last four games and its 6-4 in its last 10 games.
The Gulls are on a current 5-0-2 streak and are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games. The San Diego team picked up three of four points in a two-game set last weekend in Stockton and the Heat’s 18-year-old goaltender Nick Schneider. The Gulls, starting four players on amateur tryout agreements due to a wave of call-ups to Anaheim, defeated Stockton, 6-2, last Saturday before rallying to post a 5-4 overtime loss to the Heat on Sunday.
Home cooking
The Gulls’ success in their first AHL season has not only come on the ice but also at the box office and in the community. The team is averaging 8,500 fans per game at the Valley View Casino Center – about double what the previous Gulls franchise did in its final three years in the ECHL (AA level).
The Gulls faced off their season back on Oct. 10 in front of a sellout crowd of 12,920 and have been adored since as the San Diego hockey team with the closest link to the NHL. In fact, over the course of the season, 14 players have played for both the Gulls and the Ducks.
The moving forced behind the creation of the new Pacific Division (and the relocation of five teams to California) was the better facilitate travel for players called up from the AHL to the NHL.
All five AHL California teams have ties to western NHL teams. The San Jose Barracuda are the affiliate of the San Jose Sharks while Stockton is the affiliate of the Calgary Flames and the Bakersfield Condors are the affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers. Previously, all the NHL’s western teams had to transfer talent from east of the Rocky Mountains and, with the exception of one team, from along the Eastern seaboard.
The availability of quicker access to players has benefitted both the western NHL teams as well as the relocated AHL franchises. The Gulls’ ECHL affiliate is based in Salt Lake City.
Gulls forward Nick Ritchie and defenseman Shea Theodore, both of whom have had multiple call-ups this season to Anaheim, are currently with the Ducks as that NHL team prepares to face off the Stanley Cup playoffs Friday against the Nashville Predators. The Ducks edged the archrival Kings by one point in the standings (103 to 102) to win this season’s Pacific Division championship. (Ritchie was reassigned to the Gulls prior to Friday’s series opener against the Reign.)
On a personnel note, Gulls defenseman Brandon Montour earned accolades as a member of both the AHL’s All-Rookie Team and the league’s First All-Star Team.
Additionally, San Diego captain Joe Piskula was named the Gulls’ Man of the Year for his community service work. He was one of 30 award-winners on each of the league’s teams for the AHL Man of the Year award that went to San Jose’s Ryan Carpenter.
While many believed the Gulls’ return to San Diego would be successful, many likely didn’t expect just how successful it would be, including the team’s players.
Veteran center Chris Mueller, the team’s scoring leader with 56 points (20 goals, 36 assists) in 62 games, termed the team’s first season in San Diego “unbelievable” – and he’s certainly not alone in making that statement.
“I don’t know where to start,” he said, almost at a loss for words. “Just being able to live in San Diego, the facilities we have here, the way Anaheim treats us and then we come here and we play in front of 11,000 fans, how can you beat that? You look around the American Hockey League and you don’t get 4,000 fans most games and we’re putting in 11,000 on the weekends and 7,000 to 8,000 on the weekdays. It’s unbelievable.
“They’re behind us and they’re a good crowd. They don’t just sit and watch us. They get behind us. It was a no-brainer to put a team here and I think they hit a home run. This team is going to be successful for a long time.”
“It’s been a riot,” Piskula added. “It’s been great. We’ve had our ups and downs, and (now) we’re making a run for the playoffs. It’s been a great ride. It’s been unbelievable.”
The Gulls have shown they can win both the close games (they’re 19-1-4-2 in one-goal games) and games with meaning. The team’s epic 6-5 overtime win over visiting Bakersfield on April 6 was a testament to the latter as the hosts twice recovered from two three-goal deficits to inch closer to nailing down a playoff berth.
Gulls players have continued to feed off the energy of the momentous win over the Condors. Making the playoffs in the club’s first year in its new city cannot be underestimated, players said.
“This is our first year in San Diego and making the playoffs is huge,” Theodore commented. “It’s been our goal from the start.
“We’re confident in ourselves. If we play our game, we believe we can beat anyone.”
“The goal at the start of the season was to get to the playoffs,” forward Corey Tropp said. “The next goal is to keep knocking about round to round.”
The big picture
Gulls President of Business Operations Ari Segal was among those who felt early on that the San Diego market, which had been vacant for nine years since the previous Gulls franchise in the ECHL had ceased operations, would be fertile ground for the Ducks to plant their AHL affiliate.
“We certainly felt strongly that San Diego would be a great market for us, but one thing we did early on that I believe helped to set us up for success was to not take anything for granted,” Segal explained. “Our approach was to treat San Diego and San Diegans as welcoming us into their city, their home, and to work really hard for each and every fan. It’s been ‘retail politics’ in a sports context.
“Having said that, the consistency and degree of support have surpassed our expectations. The day after opening night, AHL President Dave Andrews told me that he wasn’t so surprised to see 13,000 people at Valley View Casino Center to see our first game; what surprised him was that there were 13,000 real hockey fans.
“That love and passion for hockey has helped us very quickly convert our fans into a true community — we thought that would take years, but it really already exists. Our fans organically organize watch parties for away games and for the AHL All-Star Classic; they’ve started their own fan group (The Colony); they travel to away games; they are a force to be reckoned with at Valley View Casino Center, helping to create a real home ice advantage.
“This directly impacts our business — while we are already among the league leaders in season ticket sales, a substantial percentage of our clients (our term for season ticket holders) have committed to our Gold (level) program, and will be with us for the next three full seasons.”
Segal said the team had to hurdle several potential obstacles in getting the franchise re-booted in San Diego.
“Two things stand out: first, to educate this community about why our franchise is different — and hopefully, in a positive way — from prior iterations of the Gulls. Many people in San Diego think of the Gulls as a come-and-go team with little stability and no connection to the National Hockey League.
“Our franchise, story, M.O., and connection to the NHL could not be more different: we’re owned by an NHL club, and we’ve invested significant capital building infrastructure (new locker rooms, dasher boards, new practice facility, full business staff, etc.); and, our players essentially are employees of an NHL team, the Pacific Division champion Anaheim Ducks.
“In fact, more than half the players on our opening night roster have been called up to the Ducks, and many (John Gibson, Korbinian Holzer, Nick Ritchie, Shea Theodore, among others) have spent substantial time in the NHL. Gibson was an NHL All-Star. The American Hockey League is in its 80th year of play and is the second best league in the world. The league isn’t going anywhere, and we aren’t going anywhere either.”
More importantly, the product has sold itself, Segal said.
“Anyone who comes to our games knows these are extraordinary athletes on the cusp of the NHL,” Segal explained. “We recently did some surveying of fans, and of people who could correctly identify the Gulls as a pro hockey team in San Diego, something like 90 percent were able to correctly identify our league as the AHL.”
Another obstacle remains media attention.
“The news has really been dominated by the Chargers stadium issue for the last 14-15 months, and the ups and downs of that process have captivated San Diegans and the San Diego media,” Segal noted. “We like to think that, given our price point, we can ‘cross over’ and appeal to non-sports fans — for example, we can compete with the movies, go-carting or mini golf.
“Well, the Chargers story has similarly crossed over, and dominated headlines. We’ve tried to overcome this obstacle by highlighting different aspects of our organization — players, coaches, fans, events, history, etc., so that the ‘story’ the media outlet can tell is more than just a game story of an AHL hockey game. I’m not complacent by nature, and while this has been a source of frustration, I also acknowledge it takes time.”
As it stands, the Gulls have started to carve out their own specific niche in the San Diego region’s sports community in just their first year of operation.
Segal said among the most pleasant surprises for the club has been the creation of a bona fide community around Gulls hockey.
“We have the biggest Facebook fan group in the AHL, with more than 2,500 members,” Segal explained. “We’re second in the league in attendance. Our fans voted Gulliver, our mascot, the winner of the AHL’s online Mascot Madness contest. The Gulls community is truly special, and something we’re really proud to be part of.”
Segal said the other pleasant surprise is that the Gulls have been able to transmit and incorporate many of Anaheim’s core organizational values in San Diego. “Our players and staff are community focused, and engaging in meaningful community outreach and service is simply a key piece of what we do, what we stand for, and who we are,” Segal explained.
The team sold approximately 3,000 season tickets in its inaugural season. Segal said the Gulls’ success will be measured in the number of season ticket renewals for next season.
“A key barometer of our ability to replicate and then build on our box office success this year will be the rate at which we successfully renew those seats heading into next year.,” Segal said. “Often, teams enjoy a honeymoon when launching into a new market but when the dust settles, they find themselves behind the eight-ball.
“We’re tracking towards a very high renewal rate and, more importantly, we’re establishing a solid base of clients who are committed to us for multiple years. Heading into next season, significantly more than 50 percent of our season ticket holders will be committed to us for three more years.
“As far as our goals are concerned, of course, we want to grow our season ticket base, but first we need to show our existing clients how much we value their support. That means taking the time to service our clients rather than just chase new business. Our goal is to provide the best customer service of any entity — not sports team — in San Diego. That’s our top organizational priority.”
Man of the Year
Piskula, a native of Antigo Wis., who played three seasons at the University of Wisconsin and has made cameo appearances with the Kings, Flames and Predators in the NHL, called it a “huge honor” to be recognized as the winner of the Gulls’ IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the San Diego community during the 2015-16 season.
Piskula partnered with the Gulls front office and two external organizations – the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Neurosurgery and the City of Hope locally — to organize and host Hockey4Hope, an event designed to raise funds and awareness for brain cancer research and support.
In planning the event, Piskula reached out to friends, teammates and other contacts across the hockey community to gather auction items, which include memorabilia from former University of Wisconsin hockey players (including 1980 U.S. Olympian Mark Johnson), as well as experiential opportunities such as private hockey lessons with Piskula or dinner with his Gulls teammates.
Piskula said he was motivated to plan the event after learning that his friend and former youth coach Dom Hilger had been diagnosed with brain cancer. Hilger, who subsequently underwent brain surgery, made the trip to San Diego with his family to attend the Gulls’ April 2 home game.
The family of five participated in a pre-game ceremonial puck drop and other ceremonies during their stay in America’s Finest City. The Gulls donated $2,500 while a Go Fund Me account started by Piskula raised $4,275 to help cover the family’s trip here. During their stay, the family visited SeaWorld and also took in a Padres game.
“There’s a lot of guys who do a lot of things around the community,” said the veteran defenseman (6-3, 205), who has five assists in 41 games this season with the Gulls. “The Gulls were great in supporting us. On events like Brain Cancer Awareness Night with the family from my hometown, I can’t thank the Gulls enough for all the hard work they’ve done to help me to put this on. It a huge honor to be recognized for that but it goes organization wide.
“When I heard that my friend and youth coach was diagnosed with brain cancer, I brought that to the Gulls attention and president Ari Segal told me I could run with it –help the family in my hometown out and help Dom fight his battle as well as raise money for brain cancer and all kinds of cancer.
“Everybody’s been touched by cancer. It’s cool to help people out.”
Stars in their eyes
Montour, 22, leads the league in both power play assists (24) and power play points (30). He ranks third overall among all players in the league with 43 assists (first among defensemen). His 55 total points rank in a tie with Ontario’s Sean Backman for most on the five AHL California teams. The 55 points also rank second among AHL defensemen and second on the team (by one point) to teammate Mueller.
Montour, a second-round draft pick by the Ducks in 2014 (55th player overall), opened the season being named the league’s Rookie of the Month for November when he collected four goals and 11 assists for 15 points in 12 games during the month,
“It’s good to get recognized like that,” Montour explained of his multiple awards this season. “Obviously, it’s been a good year and I think for myself I’m happy with how I’ve been playing. Obviously, we’ve had a good year as a team, so it’s definitely been good having those players with me. It’s been a fun year.”
Over the course of the season, he said he has worked to refine his game. “My defensive game has definitely grown a lot positioning-wise, when to go up in the rush,” he said. “I think the defensive aspect of my game has improved.”
Gulls winger Nic Kerdiles was among 14 professional, amateur and high school athletes honored as Stars of the Month for March by the San Diego Hall of Champions.
Kerdiles, one of two Californians on the Gulls’ roster, missed 18 games with an upper-body injury in mid-season before returning to the team’s line-up in late February. After his return to active status, he led the team with 12 points during March and recorded a career-high nine-game point streak (seven goals, nine assists) for 16 points.
He has collected 15 goals and 27 points in 44 games with the Gulls this season.
Center Kyle MacKinnon (Walnut) is the other Californian on the Gulls roster. He has collected three goals and two assists in nine games.
Getting the call
Ritchie, who earned a footnote in Gulls history as the player to score the team’s first goal in its AHL era, is currently in his third call-up to Anaheim. His first call-up was for 11 games; his second call-up was for 31 games.
In 33 games for the Ducks this season, Ritchie (6-2, 232) has collected two goals and two assists. His scored his first NHL goal in a 7-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on March 14.
In 37 appearances with the Gulls, Ritchie, a first-round draft pick by the Ducks in 2014 (10th player overall), has collected 16 goals and 13 assists for 29 points. He is tied for the team lead with eight power play goals.
“It was a good opportunity for me,” the 20-year-old Ritchie said between call-ups. “Obviously, you never want to come back down but make the most of it. I want to work hard and get back up.
“It’s a little different game up there. The NHL is the best league in the world. This league is a developmental league. You’re here to learn.”
Many of the Gulls have proven fast learners.
Theodore has drawn rave reviews from the Ducks’ coaching staff during several call-ups. He had two strong stretches with Anaheim, in particular. Prior to the All-Star break, he collected six points in a six-game stretch.
In 19 games with the Ducks this season, Theodore, 20, has collected three goals and five assists. He has two power play goals and one power play assist.
In 50 games with the Gulls, 6-foot-2, 195-pound blue-liner has collected nine goals and 29 assists for 38 points to rank fifth in team scoring.
Gulls head coach Dallas Eakins called Theodore, a first-round pick by Anaheim in the 2013 draft (26th player overall), a “massive” presence on the team.
“Everybody talks about defensemen being able to defend but he doesn’t have to because he can get the puck out of our zone quickly,” the Gulls bench boss said. “It’s always good to have him. He’s a key guy for minutes. He eats up a lot of minutes. He’s on our power play; he’s on our penalty kill. He’s a special player.”
Theodore said he’s ready if he’s called on to play in Friday’s playoff opener against Nashville.
Calder Cup playoffs
The Gulls will open their playoff series against the Stars, the NHL Dallas Stars’ AHL affiliate, with games in Texas on April 21 and 23 at the Cedar Park Center. The series then shifts to San Diego where the Gulls would own the rights to the final three games (April 28, 29 and May 2), if the series progresses that far.
San Diego is 13-3-1-1 over its last 18 road contests. The Gulls have won 19 of their last 27 games and have picked up points in 19 of their last 21 games (15-2-3-1).
The San Jose Barracuda, after being on the outside looking in for most the past month in the Calder Cup playoff race, suddenly finds itself in position to snare the final berth in the Pacific Division playoffs with a win in one of its final two games this weekend. The Barracuda is 30-25-8-3 with a 0.538 points-percentage. San Jose had trailed the Charlotte Checkers, the fifth-place team in the Central Division, for the crossover berth until a four-game losing streak has pushed the Checkers’ record to 36-31-3-5 and a 0.533 points-percentage.
Playoff positioning is based on points-percentage because the five California teams in the new Pacific Division are playing only 68 games this season compared to 76 for the rest of the league.
Should the Barracuda be successful in holding off Charlotte for the crossover playoff berth, San Jose would face top-seeded Ontario in the division semifinals.
Overall, 16 of the AHL’s 30 teams will qualify for the Calder Cup playoffs – eight in the Western Conference and eight in the Eastern Conference. The Pacific Division winner will play the Central Division winner in the Western Conference Finals while the North Division winner will play the Atlantic Division winner in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The division semifinals are best-of-five series while the remaining three series (division finals, conference finals and league finals) are all best-of-seven series.
The Reign, as the Monarchs last season, finished 15-4 in winning its four playoff series. Manchester defeated the Utica Comets, four games to one, to win the 2015 Calder Cup Finals.
AIHL notepad
The American Inline Hockey League features 19 teams on its Elite Division roll call this season – 10 of them based on the West Coast, and seven of them in California.
Representatives from the league’s four geographic regions will qualify for next month’s national championship tournament in New York.
The Hosers fielded two Minor tier teams in 2015-16. The Hosers White team (11-12-1) featured two former South County prep standouts on its roster: Danny Pacheco (Otay Ranch) and Ben Nixon (Hilltop).
Pacheco collected eight goals and two assists while Nixon finished with a 5.43 GAA and 0.816 save percentage.
Cam Davis, who served as a game official for the CIF-Metro Conference during games at Castle Park High School, led the Hosers White team in scoring with 21 goals and 11 assists for 32 points.
The Ripon Valley Stars, East Bay Jawz, Nor Cal Red Army, Sonora, Marina Mantas and Oakland Dragons comprise the AIHL’s Pacific North Division. Teams will gather April 16-17 at the Verbero Powerplay Sports Arena in Ripon for championship playoffs to determine which teams will head east to compete in the AIHL Finals.
All six teams qualify for the playoffs but due to an abbreviated 15-game season, the playoff structure has modified. The top two teams in the regular season standings will meet in a best-of-five series to determine which team advances to the AIHL Elite Division Finals, while the third- and fourth-place teams will meet in another best-of-five series to determine which team advances to the AIHL Minor Tier 1 Finals.
Similarly, the fifth- and sixth-place teams in the regular season standings will meet in a best-of-five series to determine which team advances to the AIHL Minor Tier 2 Finals.
The Valley Stars (14-1) and East Bay Jawz (12-3) will meet in the Elite Division playoff series while Nor Cal Red Army (9-6) and the Marina Mantas (7-8) will square off in the Minor Tier 1 playoff series and Sonora (2-13) and the Oakland Dragons (1-14) will test one another in the Minor Tier 2 playoff series.
East Bay’s Mark McCreary has crushed the puck this season with 26 goals and 47 points while the Red Army tandem of Matt Maricic (26 goals and 36 points) and Sergei Romanovich (43 points in 15 games) have compiled some explosive numbers.
Ripon goaltender Nick Hunter 11-1 with a 3.08 goals-against average and 0.837 save percentage.
Ontario takes advantage of young Gulls’ inexperience in 4-2 win
SAN DIEGO, April 15, 2016 — With four players on amateur tryout offers in the lineup for Friday’s opener of a two-game regular season-ending series against the Pacific Division champion Ontario Reign, the Gulls were obviously trying to get more of an acute appraisal of their roster depth as the team heads into the Calder Cup playoffs.
The strategy produced mixed results against the Reign, itself fighting for the No. 1 position in the Western Conference rankings, and Ontario netminder Peter Budaj, the league’s No. 1 netminder and its outstanding goaltender of the year.
The Gulls, fielding a roster swayed more toward inexperience for the third consecutive gamew, hung close to the Reign before eventually coughing up a 4-2 decision. With the win, Ontario (44-18-4-1, 0.694 points-percentage) officially clinched the overall top spot in the Western Conference for the upcoming Calder Cup playoffs. (San Diego has the fourth-best record in the conference.)
The Gulls (38-23-4-2, 0.614 points percentage) will contemplate Friday’s experiment and return to face the Reign at the Valley View Casino Center on Saturday to close out regular season play on Fan Appreciation Night.
A crowd of 11,264 saw the Gulls’ scrappy youngsters hold the team’s formidable opponent to a 1-1 draw through nearly three periods of play before the more experienced visitors struck for three goals in a 4:33 span, including short-handed and power play goals just 37 seconds apart — to push through for the victory.
“This was more to get some of the younger players and the players who had scratches throughout the season into the game,” San Diego head coach Dallas Eakins explained after the loss. “They came out OK but fell away late.”
The Gulls have inked six players to amateur tryout agreements since March 30. They include some notable talent from the college ranks: defenseman Brian Cooper (University of Nebraska-Omaha), center Kalle Kossila (St. Cloud State University), defenseman Andrew Welinski (University of Minnesota-Duluth), goaltender Kevin Boyle (University of Massachusetts-Lowell), left wing Kevin Roy (Northeastern) and right wing Deven Sideroff (Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League).
Kossila, a native of Finland, joined the Gulls after recording 54 points in 41 games for the Huskies this season and 153 points (48 goals, 105 assists) in 157 career games. St. Cloud won the 2015-16 National Collegiate Hockey Conference Frozen Faceoff championship.
Welinski collected 19 points in 40 games this season for the Bulldogs. He led all blue-liners on the team in scoring.
Boyle, the Hockey East 2015-16 Goaltender of the Year and Hockey East Co-Player of the Year, appeared in 39 games with the River Hawks this season, posting a 24-10-5 record with a 1.88 goals-against average, 0.934 save percentage and seven shutouts.
Cooper, a native of Anchorage, Alaska, appeared in 143 career NCAA games with 43 points and a +19 rating. The fifth-round pick by Anaheim in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Cooper collected 16 points and 51 penalty minutes to go with a +7 rating in 35 games this season.
Roy scored 150 points (65 goals, 85 assists) with 92 penalty minutes during his four years with the Huskies.
Sideroff appeared in 63 WHL games this season recording 59 points. A third-round selection in the 2015 NHL draft, he has collected 109 points (39 goals, 70 assists) in 141 career WHL games. The 5-11, 172-pound winger won a bronze medal with Team Canada at the 2015 IIHF Under-18 World Junior Championship (scoring three goals and four points with 12 penalty minutes).
Cooper and Roy drew starts in Friday’s game.
Eakins admitted it’s not an easy situation to make the jump to the AHL from the collegiate ranks this late in the season when pro teams are finalizing – and fine-tuning — their playoff rosters.
“There’s a lot of things going on in their heads,” the San Diego coach related. “They’re learning new systems and traveling multiple times. I don’t expect them to play incredible.”
Of the newcomers, Kossila has collected four points (two goals, two assists) in five games with the Gulls while Cooper has one assist.
Eakins referred to the last few outings as “auditions” for the team’s collection of college kids.
“Our big tune-up for the playoffs will start Monday (in practice),” the Gulls coach explained.
San Diego, seeded second in the Pacific Division semifinals, faces off the Pacific Division semifinals with games April 21 and 23 in Texas against the third-seeded Stars (39-25-8-3, 0.593 points-percentage).
The Reign, the AHL affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings, presented a challenge to the hosts with a line-up filled with big burly players who aren’t afraid to mix it up on the ice. The Gulls had managed to win seven of the teams’ opening 10 games in the series, but there was just something missing in Friday’s match-up.
It showed in the early shot totals, which were one-sided in the visitors’ favor.
The first period featured three power play opportunities – two for the Gulls – but no man-advantage goals. San Diego went on the power play just 14 seconds into the game and was back on the man-advantage 4:06 later.
Ontario entered the game ranked first in the league in penalty killing while the Gulls were ranked second in power play conversion.
The opening minutes featured lots of back-and-forth play but no scoring between the teams.
Ontario went on the power play with 12:20 left in the opening period but the hosts managed to kill that.
The best chance to score for either team came with just under five minutes to play when Budaj stopped the Gulls’ Ondrej Kase on breakaway.
But the Gulls ultimately did get the first goal and it came with 22.5 seconds to play in the first period when Budaj couldn’t deal with a rebound.
The initial shot came from the face-off circle to Budaj’s left. The Ontario netminder made the initial stop, but the puck rebounded off Budaj’s pads to San Diego’s Matt Bailey, who quickly slid it behind the Reign goaltender from the back post.
Brian McGrattan and Nick Ritchie recorded assists on Bailey’s put-away.
The Reign finished with a 15-10 advantage in shots in the opening stanza.
Two of the Gulls’ somewhat intimidating streaks came into play at the conclusion of the first period. San Diego entered the game 28-0-2-1 when scoring the first goal and 18-1-0-1 when leading after the first period.
Both of those streaks would be nullified by Ontario.
The Reign tied the score, 1-1, on a deflection at the 4:29 mark of the second period. Jordan Samuels-Thomas scored on the deflection, with assists going to Ryan Horvat and Kevin Raine. It was Samuels-Thomas’s 12th goal of the season for division-leading Ontario.
The second period proved tense for the hosts as the visitors came up empty on an ensuing power play that featured two solid one-on-one saves by San Diego netminder Anton Khudobin.
Bailey took a slashing penalty with 2:03 to play in the period to put the visitors back on the power play but, once again, the Gulls’ penalty kill – braced by Khudobin – came up big, especially after Justin Auger of the Reign took a cross-checking penalty with 44 seconds left.
Despite being outshot 33-16 through the opening two periods, the Gulls clung to a 1-1 standoff agiainst the defending Calder Cup champions.
San Diego started the third period with a 1:18 power play but the Reign penalty-killing unit was up to par once again (the Gulls would finished 0-for-6 with the man-advantage in the game).
Kase created another good scoring chance in front of Budaj midway through the period but the Ontario goaltender (32 saves) smothered the puck at the edge of the crease.
Then disaster struck.
The Gulls couldn’t clear the puck from behind or from the side of the net and Khodobin was finally screened on a wrist shot by Kris Newbury with 7:46 to play to give the Reign a 2-1 lead. The goal was Newbury’s 10th of the year and assisted by Auger and Samuels-Thomas.
The Gulls just missed netting the equalizer by inches on the next rush down ice and were subsequently gifted with a power play when Ontario’s Jeff Schultz was charged with a delay of game penalty with 5:35 to play in regulation.
A set-up shot at the near post just went wide to prevent a tie game before the visitors put the game away on the strength of a short-handed goal scored by Nic Dowd with 3:50 left in the game and a power play goal by Michael Mersch at 16:47, assisted by Schultz.
In both cases, the San Diego defense failed to check opposing players as they brought the puck toward the net. Conditioning and poor puckhandling doomed the Gulls in the third period, especially the latter half of the frame.
The two Ontario goals were sandwiched between a scrum in front the of Ontario bench with 3:20 to play that resulted in the Gulls’ McGrattan and the Reign’s Samuels-Thomas both being sent off the ice.
When play resumed, the Reign held the power play advantage and promptly cashed it in with just seven seconds elapsed in the man-power advantage.
The Gulls made the game interesting when Mike Sgarbossa, taking a feed by Brandon Montour, scored off the ensuing face-off to narrow the Ontario lead to 4-2. Sgarbossa’s 17th goal of the season came just seven seconds after Mersch’s 24th season tally.
The run of three goals in 44 seconds got the crowd buzzing – both for Reign and Gulls fans.
The hosts were beneficiaries of a late power player with 2:45 to play when Horvat was sent off for a tripping minor. But Budaj and the Ontario defense proved impregnable.
The Reign outshot the Gulls 42-34 on the night.
Newbury earned first star of the game honors, followed by Budaj with second star honors and the Gulls’ Ritchie with the third star award.
Bailey suggested his team will have to battle back and give a better performance in its regular season finale.
“At this time of the year, the margin for error is small,” Bailey said. “We have a deep team. We can win with a whole different set in the line-up. Even with the call-ups and the amateur players we’ve signed recently, we’ve been able to win more games than we lose. We just need to sharpen up tomorrow and (then) be ready for Texas.
“We need to tighten up four defense. We have a lot of guys who can score. We stick to our structure well. We can play any type of game. If the other team wants to play it rough and tumble, we can do that. If the other team wants to play a high-scoring game, we can do that.”
The Gulls had been the only team in the league not to have lost in regulation when scoring the game’s first goal. Friday’s loss to Ontario also marked the first time the Gulls had lost back-to-back games since late January.
Khudobin deserved better support after making 38 saves on 42 shots.
Tailfeathers
It looked like a fight to the finish for the final playoff berth in Pacific Division between the Charlotte Checkers and the San Jose Barracuda but five consecutive losses by Charlotte has opened the door for San Jose to slip in through the back door.
Charlotte dropped a 5-2 decision at Lake Erie earlier on Friday to finish regular season play with a 36-32-3-5 record and a 0.526 points-percentage. San Jose enters its final two regular season games against Stockton with a 0.538 points-percentage, needing only one point to secure the Pacific Division’s final playoff berth. However, should the Barracuda drop its final two games, the Checkers would qualify for the playoffs.
The Reign also benefited in the playoff standings before they took the ice Friday when Bakersfield pulled out a 5-2 win at Milwaukee, which had closed to within 0.007 percentage points of Ontario for the No. 1 overall position in the Western Conference. Ontario now leads the Admirals by a safe distance of 0.021 percentage points.
The Toronto Marlies continue to own the AHL’s best record (52-16-5-1) and points-percentage (0.743).
— Phillip Brents
Exciting finish propels Gulls past Western Conference’s top team, 3-2
SAN DIEGO, April 16, 2016 – The Ontario Reign claimed the top spot in the AHL’s Western Conference by defeating the host San Diego Gulls, 4-2, on Friday night. The Gulls not only claimed some well deserved respect from their Southern California rival by defeating the Reign, 3-2, on Saturday night but also some welcome momentum heading into the Calder Cup playoffs.
The regular season finale between the teams featured 62 minutes in penalties, a 20-minute play stoppage to sort out infractions meted out by the game’s official crew during an extended scuffle involving several players and, perhaps, the most exciting finish to any Gulls’ home game this season with the hosts storming back from a 2-1 deficit to capture the victory on goals 29 seconds apart in the final five minutes of regulation play.
All in all, it was a typical game between the Gulls and their archrivals.
The victory was especially sweet for the Gulls, who finished the season series with an 8-4 edge in wins against the top team in both the Pacific Division and the Western Conference.
“Anytime we play Ontario, it’s going to be a high voltage game,” Gulls head coach Dallas Eakins assessed after the final horn had sounded on regular season play. “The two teams don’t love each other and the two organizations don’t love each other. We would expect nothing less than what was out there — a very close game and an entertaining game and a great one to end our regular season with. Our fans have been incredible and I thought they really inspired our team as the game went along.
“I think we have a lot to feel good about …This is the best time of the year; you don’t want to be heading home and getting your summer workouts together and dusting off your golf clubs. This is when the men play, and this is a great time for development as well.
“We’re always a development team first. The best time for development for me is from winning and playing in the playoffs and our guys are going to get a taste of that.”
Saturday’s game doubled as Fan Appreciation Night, and there was much to appreciate about the Gulls’ first AHL season in San Diego, including a second-place finish to Ontario in the division standings and an appearance in the upcoming Calder Cup playoffs.
The Gulls finish regular season play with a 39-23-4-2 record and a 0.618 points-percentage. They will face the Texas Stars (40-25-8-3, 0.599 points-percentage) in Thursday’s opener of the teams’ best-of-five game division semifinal playoff series. The opening two games are in Texas, with the Gulls holding home-ice advantage for the remainder of the series.
Taking flight
For the fourth consecutive game, the Gulls continued to audition their recent complement of young players signed to amateur tryout contracts. The Gulls suited up five for Saturday’s game.
Again, the youngsters held their own but this time didn’t wilt in the heat of the moment. Eakins noted the youngsters resorted to chasing pucks when Friday’s game entered its critical stages. The Gulls kept their focus to the bitter end of Saturday’s contest.
Ontario altered its roster for the regular season finale, resting some veterans and inserting its own amateur tryout rookies. AHL First Team and Outstanding Goaltender of the Year Peter Budaj did not dress. Budaj finished regular season play with a 1.75 goals-against average, 42-14-4 record, 0.932 save percentage and nine shutouts – all league bests.
But the players who did suit up were on the ice to win.
The flow of Saturday’s was slow to develop before the teams exchanged goals in the opening period. Joel Lowry lit the lamp to put the Reign on the scoreboard first. His fifth goal of the season came at the 12:49 mark of the opening frame, with assists going to Matt Schmalz, one of Ontario’s amateur tryout rookies, and Kris Newbury.
Corey Tropp gave San Diego fans something to cheer for when he notched his 16th goal of the season at 16:57, assisted by Brandon Montour and Jaycob Megna. The assist was Montour’s 45th this season – first among AHL rookies and league defensemen.
The Gulls owned a decisive16-6 edge in shots but the score remained even after the first period. San Diego again had the advantage in shots in the second period (12-7) but the Reign led 2-1 at the end of 40 minutes.
Schmalz scored the lone goal in the second period – and his first of the season/as a pro – during a scrum in front of the Gulls net at 9:08.
The hosts missed an opportunity to tie the game when Schmalz was whistled for a hooking penalty at 5:05 of the third period.
Fans made a lot of noise and the Gulls created some dangerous plays in front of the Ontario net, but Michael Houser, Budaj’s replacement, made a couple of clutch saves to enable the Reign to remain in the lead. Houser played extremely well in getting the start, stopping 40 of 43 shots he faced.
Given the teams’ hatred of one another, it was only a matter of time before frustration, perhaps on the Gulls’ part, spilled over. Several one-on-one battles broke out with 10:36 left in the game. San Diego’s Stu Bickel was led off the ice. Gulls captain Joe Piskula and Ontario’s Lowry, however, appeared to have the most spirited match-ups, with fisticuffs exchanged.
Gulls netminder Matt Hackett was intercepted by a game official after he crossed the red line in an apparent attempt to get something going with his counterpart at the opposite end of the ice.
The fans of both teams drank it up deliriously.
The incident between the teams featured 36 minutes in penalties — 24 to the Gulls and 17 alone to San Diego defenseman Stu Bickel (two minutes for instigating, five minutes for fighting and a 10-minute misconduct).
The Reign was dinged for 12 minutes in penalties – five minutes for fighting for both Lowry and Derek Forbert and two minutes for roughing for Nick Ebert.
Hackett received two minutes for leaving the crease.
The series of events livened up the proceedings for the fans of both teams – and the players appeared to feed off that energy.
The result produced a thrilling finish that had the fans of both teams standing until the game was over.
When play finally resumed, it was initially all Reign with several excellent scoring chances just going awry. San Diego responded with a good scoring chance in front of Houser, and then the roof collapsed on Hackett as a tumble of colliding players brought the net down on top of them.
Ontario’s Ryan Horvat received a two-minute penalty for interference at 11:47 and the Gulls went on the power play needing a goal to tie the game. Houser stopped a sharp-angle shot with 41 seconds left in the man-up situation.
Andrew Crescenzi took a slashing penalty with 6:20 to play and it was at this point that the Gulls made their amazing comeback.
Crescenzi’s penalty came with seven seconds still left in Horvat’s minor. The Gulls didn’t score on the brief two-man advantage but did maintain the momentum on the extended power play. It was at this point that the hosts made their dramatic comeback.
The Gulls had numerous chances to put the puck past Houser: a shot zipped through the crease and Houser stopped Mike Sgarbossa on a breakaway.
But the Gulls would not be denied and managed to finally punch the game-tying goal past Houser with 5:15 to play. They added the game-winning goal just 29 seconds later.
Corey Tropp scored his 17th goal of the season to tie the game, with assists going to Chris Mueller and Sgarbossa.
With the teams now tied, 2-2, the excitement level rose appreciably in the packed building. The Gulls kept their foot on the gas pedal, and Brian McGrattan put the Gulls ahead, 3-2, when he deposited the puck top shelf on Houser, who only seconds earlier had to sprawl in front of his net to brush aside a close-in San Diego scoring chance. Megna and Kyle MacKinnon both contributed to the play with assists.
McGrattan, excited after scoring the go-ahead goal, was charged with unsportsmanlike conduct after pointing toward the Ontario bench.
The goal was McGrattan’s ninth of the year and the Reign did little with the resulting power play to finish 0-for-4 on the night with the man-advantage.
The Gulls, who posted a decisive 43-19 shot advantage, scored one power player goal in five opportunities.
Fans were on their feet singing with 2:45 to play. The Reign pulled Houser with 1:00 remaining in favor of an extra attacker. However, the visitors could not break through the Gulls defense and San Diego managed to take three shots at the empty net (all wide).
The electrifying win sent the Gulls into the Calder Cup playoffs on a high note. The game’s intense ending is sure to have won over new fans among the 11,705 in attendance.
Of note, the Reign surrendered a lead in the third period for the first time all season. Ontario had been 30-0-0 when leading after two periods. The Gulls are 31-0-0 in the same category.
McGrattan and Eakins both took the microphone on the ice after the game to personally address the fans, most of whom still remained in their seats too drunk on euphoria to leave the building.
“I want to thank you for your great commitment and passion to inspire our team all season,” Eakins told fans. “We hope you continue to inspire us in the playoffs. Let’s hope it’s a long run.”
The Gulls head coach received a standing ovation and players tossed gear and souvenirs over the glass for fans to take home.
It was an absolutely fabulous ending to the game and the regular season for the Gulls. Hopefully, there are even more amazing memories ahead in the upcoming Calder Cup playoffs.
Calder Cup playoff preview
Series H
P2 San Diego Gulls (39-23-4-2) vs. P3 Texas Stars (40-25-8-3)
The second-seeded Gulls will face the third-seeded Texas Stars in the Pacific Division semifinals starting Thursday in Cedar Park, near Austin. Game 2 in the series is Saturday. The series then shifts back to San Diego for Game 3 on April 28. If a fourth game is necessary in the best-of-five series, it would be played on April 29, also at the Valley View Casino Center, followed by a potential Game 5 on May 2 at the same site.
The Gulls finished with 16 more wins than losses. That’s a blockbuster showing considering the team, as the Norfolk Admirals last season, posted 12 more losses than wins.
The Gulls have compiled several impressive streaks this season. The team is 31-0 when leading after two periods, is 18-2-0-1 when leading after the first period and has lost only once in regulation play after scoring the first goal (28-1-2-1).
The Gulls are also 20-1-4-2 in one-goal games – a significant statistic that should buoy the team in the upcoming playoffs.
But there is one nagging statistic that will not go away. Despite finishing above the Stars in the division standings, the Gulls dropped five of six regular season meetings against the Texas team.
The first-round series goes quickly and leaves little margin for error: it’s a best-of-five format.
Eakins admitted the Stars will be facing a different Gulls team than the Texas bunch faced earlier in the season when the team was battling through injuries to key players.
“I think we’re a little deeper,” the San Diego bench boss explained. “We’re going to have some decisions to make with our defense. I think we’ll be bettered prepared for them.”
“Winning this game is a big motivator for the playoffs,” admitted Brian McGrattan, who scored the game-winning goal the regular season finale to earn first star of the game honors. “It’s going to be an exciting series (against the Stars). They’re a fast-skating team. We’ll have our hands full but I like our chances.”
The Stars wrapped up regular season play with a 4-1 win over the visiting Manitoba Moose. The winners received goals from Matjas Backman, Matej Stransky, Esa Lindell and Greg Rallo. Rallo also picked up an assist in support of goaltender Jack Campbell, who made 32 saves on 33 shots.
The Stars finished as the highest scoring team in the Pacific Division (second overall in the 30-team AHL) with 277 goals in 76 games. Regular season leaders on the Stars include left wings Brendan Ranford (19 goals, 40 assists) and Kurtis McKenzie (24 goals, 31 assists); centers Travis Morin (15 goals, 39 assists), Jason Dickinson (22 goals, 31 assists) and Justin Dowling (11 goals, 35 assists), left wing Greg Rallo (22 goals, 22 assists); defensemen Julius Honka ( 11 goals, 33 assists) and Esa Lindell (14 goals, 28 assists); left wing Derek Hulak (17 goals, 23 assists); and right wing Matej Stransky (23 goals, 16 assists).
Rallo led the team with 12 power play goals while McKenzie and Dickinson both had three short-handed goals.
Four Texas players finished with 20 or more goals, six with 30 or more assists and nine with 40 or more points.
Maxime Legace (19-10-3) registered the majority of minutes between the pipes for the Stars this season. He has a 2.90 GAA and 0.913 save percentage.
Ranford and Lindell were selected to appear in the AHL All-Star Classic at midseason.
Brett Ritchie, the older brother of the Gulls’ Nick Ritchie, collected 14 goals and 14 assists in 35 games for Texas this season.
The Stars, who are averaging 3.64 goals per game, enter the playoffs on a 2-0-1 streak and are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games.
San Diego, which is averaging 3.06 goals per game, is 6-2-2 in its last 10 games. The Gulls, however, appear to have an advantage in defense and goaltending by allowing 2.94 goals per game as opposed to 3.27 goals per game for Texas.
Mueller and Montour finished as San Diego’s co-scoring leaders in 2015-16 with 57 points. Mueller posted 20 goals and 37 assists in 63 games while Montour collected 12 goals and 45 assists in 68 games. Mueller led the team with 20 goals while Montour led the team with 45 assists.
Sgarbossa finished third in team scoring with 17 goals and 27 assists for 44 points; Tropp was fourth with 16 goals and 23 assists for 39 points.
Mueller and Nick Ritchie pace San Diego with eight power play goals apiece while Matt Bailey leads the team with two short-handed goals.
Anton Khudobin is 19-8-1 between the pipes for the Gulls with a 2.46 GAA and 0.921 save percentage; Hackett is 10-7-0 with a 3.03 GAA and 0.895 save percentage.
The Reign, which finished regular season play 44-19-4-1, will play San Jose in the division semifinals after the Barracuda secured the league’s final playoff berth by defeating the visiting Stockton Heat, 6-0, in the last scheduled regular season game of the season (the league’s 1,120th and final game of regular season play).
San Jose, led by Roy Sommer, the all-time winningest coach in the AHL’s 80-year history, is 31-26-8-3. The Barracuda is 4-5-1 in its last 10 games and finished 3-6-3 against Ontario during regular season play. All three wins against the Reign came at the SAP Center where the series will open with games April 22 and 23 (Friday and Saturday).
Ontario, which finished 9-3-0 against San Jose, will have home ice advantage for the duration of the series.
Schmalz, one of the Reign’s amateur tryout rookies, collected a goal and assist in the game. The 20-year-old right wing, who stands 6-6 and weighs 214 pounds, had played the past four seasons with the Sudbury Wolves in the Ontario Hockey League. The two points were his first as a pro in three games with Ontario.
— Phillip Brents
Calder Cup Playoff Report:
Stars in their eyes: Gulls pull out 3-1 win in playoff series opener
CEDAR PARK, Texas, April 21, 2016 — History continues to be written for the San Diego Gulls in their first American Hockey League season in San Diego. The Gulls won their first Calder Cup playoff game Thursday in Cedar Park, Texas, by defeating the host Texas Stars, 3-1, to take a 1-0 lead in the teams’ best-of-five Pacific Division semifinal series.
Antoine Laganiere scored the first playoff goal in Gulls’ history with five minutes to play in the first period, and teammates Nick Ritchie and Chris Mueller each added goals to support goaltender Anton Khudobin, who stopped 28 of 29 shots he faced to earn first star of the game honors.
Khudobin, making his first post-season appearance since leading the Houston Aeros to the conference finals in 2009, stopped all 14 shots he faced in the opening frame as the Stars controlled the pace with a 14-7 edge in shots; the Gulls netminder also came up huge in the final 2:45 of the game when the host Texas team pulled its goaltender in favor of an extra attacker. He stopped all nine shots he faced in the final frame.
The Stars outshot the Gulls 29-17 in absorbing the playoff loss.
Maxime Lagace, who was making his playoff debut for Texas, made 14 saves.
The Gulls scored their first two goals on turnovers by the Stars. A defensive zone error led to Laganiere’s go-ahead goal. After stealing the puck, Laganiere broke in on Legace to score his first AHL playoff game. Matt Bailey received credit for the assist.
The hosts evened the score, 1-1, by scoring a short-handed goal just 39 seconds in the second period. AHL First Team AHL Star Brandon Montour lost the puck under similar pressure to the Stars’ Justin Dowling, who broke free and beat Khudobin low to tie the game. Esa Lindell received credit for the assist.
The Gulls worked the puck free deep in the Texas zone late in the period, with Mike Sgarbossa feeding Ritchie near the right face-off circle. The Gulls rookie star then ripped off a low shot to beat Legace to his blocker side to put his team ahead, 2-1, at the 15:58 mark.
Ritchie’s goal, his first career AHL playoff goal (and 17th in 39 games this season), would stand up as the game-winning goal.
Mueller helped seal the fate of his former team by scoring on a backhand shot with 10:56 gone in the third period to put the visitors ahead 3-1. Mueller, who helped the Stars win the 2014 Calder Cup championship, slipped the puck between the pads of Legace.
Mueller now leads the Gulls in season scoring with 58 points on 21 goals and 37 assists in 64 games. The 21 goals lead the team.
Montour is second with 57 points on 12 goals and 45 assists.
The Gulls improved to 32-0-0 when leading after two periods.
After the offensively talented hosts opened the game on a torrid pace, the San Diego defense was able to slow down the Texas offense a bit over the course of the final two periods that saw the Stars gain a 15-10 advantage in shots. Texas out-shot San Diego 6-4 in the second period and 9-6 in the final period.
The Gulls, who finished 0-for-2 on the power play, held the Stars scoreless in four man-advantage opportunities.
Brian Cooper and Andrew Welinski, both on amateur tryout agreements, started for San Diego.
The teams rematch Saturday night in Texas before the series switches to San Diego.
Dowling earned second star of the game honors while Ritchie was named the game’s third star.
The win was the 40th of the season for the Gulls, who improved to 40-23-4-2 overall, including regular season play.
San Diego’s most important number right now is its 1-0 series lead.
— Phillip Brents
Calder Cup Playoffs
Pacific Division Semifinals
Series H (Best-of-5)
P2-San Diego Gulls vs. P3-Texas Stars
Game 1 – Thu., Apr. 21 – San Diego 3, TEXAS 1
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 23 – SD (1) at TEX (5)
Game 3 – Thu., Apr. 28 – Texas at San Diego, 7:05 p.m.
*Game 4 – Fri., Apr. 29 – Texas at San Diego, 7:05 p.m.
*Game 5 – Mon., May 2 – Texas at San Diego, 7:05 p.m.
*if necessary
Series “G” (Best-of-5)
P1-Ontario Reign vs. P4-San Jose Barracuda
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 22 – Ontario 2, SAN JOSE 1
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 23 – SAN JOSE 3, Ontario 2
Game 3 – Thu., Apr. 28 – San Jose at Ontario, 7 p.m.
*Game 4 – Fri., Apr. 29 – San Jose at Ontario, 7 p.m.
*Game 5 – Sun., May 1 – San Jose at Ontario, 3 p.m.
*if necessary
