Gulls Reach Conference Finals
- Updated: May 14, 2019
(The San Diego Gulls celebrate Monday night after winning their second-round series. Photo courtesy of San Diego Gulls.)
The San Diego Gulls reached the Western Conference Finals of the American Hockey League’s 2019 Calder Cup playoffs! The Gulls earned a decisive 6-2 victory on Monday night over the Bakersfield Condors in front of 5,217 fans at Pechanga Arena to win their second-round series. Anaheim Ducks’ AHL affiliate eliminated that of the Edmonton Oilers in an upset, 4 games to 2. The Condors entered the playoffs as the conference’s top seed.
This marks the first time an Anaheim operation reached an AHL conference finals since 2008. That year, Bobby Ryan led the Portland Pirates to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Gulls carry a respectable 7-3 record during this post-season. They face the Chicago Wolves, the AHL partner of the Vegas Golden Knights, in the WCF. The series starts on Fri., May 17, in Chicago.
Against Bakersfield, rookie Maxime Comtois made a huge difference in his return. The 20-year-old scored the winning goals in games 1 and 2, including this beauty coming in the fourth overtime of game 1:
(Footage courtesy of AHL.)
Comtois assisted on the game-winner in game 4. On Monday, he struck again. This time Comtois scored a goal and added an assist.
Big year for Ducks rookie
For Comtois, 2018-19 presented a very interesting season. He played for the Ducks during their first 10 games, and then suffered an injury. Comtois returned, but got sent to the Gulls for whom he played a few games. Then, the rookie returned to juniors, where the Canadian Hockey League named Comtois Player of the Week. He led his Drummondville Voltigeurs to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs. Along the way, Comtois competed in the World Junior Championship, where he served as captain of Team Canada. Now, the rookie fights for the coveted Calder Cup.
In addition to Comtois, San Diego stacked its roster with valuable NHL experience. During the series against the Condors, the Gulls fielded 12 forwards that played for the Ducks this past season. San Diego also used five defensemen and a goaltender that did the same. In a sense, the Gulls are the 2018-19 Ducks, who instead of competing for the Stanley Cup, strive for the Calder. And guess what? San Diego owns a great shot at winning the AHL title. Whereas Anaheim played like a minor league team in the NHL, the Gulls look like an NHL team compared to their AHL opponents.
In addition, two of Anaheim’s injured players could theoretically join the Gulls’ Calder run at some point if they can recuperate in time. Defenseman Brendan Guhle missed the entire post-season with a reported torn oblique muscle, while right wing Troy Terry broke his leg during the final week of the Ducks’ season. The 21-year-old superstar reportedly still walks with crutches. However, if the Gulls last long enough, we can hope that Terry returns to be part of the playoff run.
Gulls fans can dream
If that would happen, we could see a reunion of the top line of Comtois, Sam Steel, and Terry that led Anaheim to a commanding 3-0 record during the 2018 Vegas Rookie Faceoff. As I wrote in Rabbi Rabbs’ 2018-19 NHL Predictions:
“Led by the top forward line of Comtois, Steel, and Terry, the young Ducks stormed through this preseason’s 2018 Vegas Rookie Faceoff, winning all three of their games decisively behind huge offensive explosions, with scores of 8-3, 5-2, and 8-4. In total, the Ducks outscored their opponents by a combined 21-9. That is an average score of 7-3 per game. Imagine that, a four-goal margin of victory each contest.”
Terry won at every level. He led University of Denver to a National Collegiate Athletic Association championship, led Team USA to a WJC gold medal, and if he can join San Diego in time, would try to capture a Calder Cup.
The Gulls never faced the Wolves this season. However, a few names on Chicago’s roster might sound familiar to Anaheim fans. For instance, Cody Glass played on the same line as Comtois for Canada at the WJC. Griffin Reinhart played for the Oilers during their playoff series against the Ducks in 2017, and Stefan Matteau served time on the New Jersey Devils.
Receiving a few days of rest before facing the Wolves should help San Diego’s players, said Gulls Head Coach Dallas Eakins.
“We’re excited, we’re proud, we’re going to enjoy it for another 10-15 minutes,” Eakins told reporters after Monday night’s big victory. “We’re going to get some rest, and get on our way to Chicago.”
Until then, Let’s Go Gulls !!
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