Jan 27, 2023
By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls continue their four-game homestand tonight, battling the rival Bakersfield Condors at Pechanga Arena San Diego (7 p.m. PT; TV: AHL TV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).
The matchup marks a second consecutive meeting between the Pacific Division rivals, who are separated by just seven points in the ever-tightening race to the seventh and final playoff spot. The Gulls earned their first win over the Condors on Wednesday, outlasting their opponent 5-3 on home ice. Rocco Grimaldi tied a season high with 2-2=4 points while Michael Del Zotto (1-2=3), Benoit-Olivier Groulx (1-1=2), Glenn Gawdin (1-1=2) and David Cotton (0-2=2) recorded multi-point performances. Lukas Dostal stopped 30 shots in the win.
Key to the performance – a strong start, something the Gulls emphasized heading into the game. San Diego outshot the Condors 16-4 in the opening frame, scoring twice and setting a new season high for shots in the game’s opening stanza.
“I think (Gulls Head coach) Roy (Sommer) addressed it over the whole week,” Gulls assistant coach Jason Clarke said. “I mean, we had a really good start in (a loss on Sunday, Jan. 22 at) Coachella and we were able to kind of play a good solid 55 minutes out in Coachella, and we got off to a really good start again here last night and you know, played a solid probably 55 minutes again. When we get off to good starts and we’re focused and just keep(ing) the game really simple. I think when we keep our game short, quick little short support passes and get stuff in behind the d(efense), and we’re not trying these long stretch, you know, 30-40-foot stretch passes east and west, I think that’s where we get ourselves into trouble and get ourselves in trouble early. We had a nice little short game and had a lot of attention to detail last night that was good.”
The win continued a solid stretch for the Gulls on home ice. Entering tonight, San Diego is 3-1-0-0 in its last four games, outscoring opponents 16-12 over that stretch.
“Oh, yeah, it’s nice to just get back home and sleep in your own bed for a little bit and come here every day,” Gulls goaltender Olle Eriksson Ek said. “It’s for sure come from more comfortable than bussing around, so it’s nice to be here.”
One player settling in nicely to his new home is Del Zotto. Since joining the Gulls on Dec. 19, the veteran defenseman’s 4-8=12 points in 13 games played with San Diego is…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at San Diego Gulls…