Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Options Author
Little by little, the San Diego Gulls are starting to search out their means.
Josh Lopina and Pavol Regenda are the one two regulars remaining from the 2022-23 workforce that completed with a league-low 43 factors. Matt McIlvane arrived as head coach earlier than final season, which noticed a 20-point enchancment – however nonetheless solely good for ninth within the 10-team Pacific Division.
So a 4-12-1-1 begin might have buried this workforce. A “right here we go once more” feeling might have been comprehensible.
As an alternative, the Gulls have proven some struggle. They gained 4 of their first 5 outings in December, together with two victories over a high quality San Jose Barracuda membership. They re-established a presence on residence ice, too, with factors in 4 straight video games at Pechanga Area.
The Anaheim Geese went out within the offseason and added a number of new veteran items to supply depth and assist information their prospects, together with forwards Ryan Carpenter, Jansen Harkins and Carson Meyer; defensemen Roland McKeown and Dillon Heatherington; and netminder Oscar Dansk, who got here aboard in September after an ACL harm sidelined promising prospect Tomas Suchanek for six to eight months.
Nonetheless, sooner or later it turns into necessary handy over among the tasks and burdens to the youthful gamers. Anaheim, which has not made the NHL playoffs since 2018, has stockpiled draft picks during the last a number of years. These younger Gulls very a lot wanted to see their work begin to repay in wins and factors.
Rookie Sam Colangelo, who has performed eight video games for the Anaheim Geese this season, leads the Gulls with 10 objectives. One other first-year ahead, Yegor Sidorov, has 9 factors in his final 5 video games and is the reigning Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Participant of the Week. With Suchanek out, 22-year-old Calle Clang has taken nearly all of work within the San Diego web and has gained 4 consecutive begins, together with making 28 saves in Saturday’s 5-2 resolution towards the Barracuda – a recreation during which 2022 first-round draft decide Nathan Gaucher chipped in his first purpose of the season.
Final night time’s 2-0 setback in Tucson started an necessary four-game week that continues towards the Roadrunners on Wednesday earlier than a two-game go to to Colorado. Then it’s again residence for conferences with Ontario and Bakersfield earlier than a New Yr’s Day rematch with San Jose.
With underneath three minutes to go within the third interval of Saturday’s win, the Gulls had seen a 4-0 lead shrink to 4-2. A younger San Diego workforce had to determine the right way to shield a lead and shut out the sport towards a potent San Jose offense.
They did. Colangelo completed off the win with an empty-netter.
“We might sense just a little little bit of our youth within the third,” McIlvane mentioned after the competition. “Attempting to determine the right way to handle a recreation like this… It’s a brand new state of affairs for us, however the guys hunkered down and clearly obtained the job accomplished.”
On the American Hockey League beat for 20 years, TheAHL.com options author Patrick Williams additionally at the moment covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a daily contributor on SiriusXM NHL Community Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his excellent protection of the league in 2016.
