Cracknell Pushes Gulls to Edge of Series Win
May 11, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL) - San Diego Gulls News Release
The Gulls defeated the Bakersfield Condors 4-2 tonight at Pechanga Arena San Diego to move one win away from advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in club history. The Gulls scored two-power play goals to improve to 4-for-11 the past two games (36.4 percent).
Adam Cracknell scored two goals (one PPG) for his first multi-point game of the postseason to push his goal-scoring streak to five games (6-4=10), setting a new Gulls postseason record for consecutive games with a goal. Cracknell owns the longest goal streak of the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs, surpassed Chase De Leo for the longest goal streak in Gulls playoff history and set a new mark for most goals in a single postseason (6), surpassing the five by Nick Ritchie in 2016. He now has a six-game point streak (6-5=11), tied for the longest point streak in the club's postseason history (also Chris Mueller from Apr. 28-May 13, 2016; 3-7=10). Cracknell now ranks tied for second among AHL postseason leaders in scoring (6-5=11) and goals.
Sam Carrick scored his fourth goal 25 seconds into the second period and added an assist for his third multi-point game (1-1=2). Carrick has three points his last two games (1-2=3).
Kevin Roy scored his first goal (PPG) of the postseason at 19:15 of the second period, his first playoff goal since Game 1 of the Pacific Division Finals on May 5, 2017 vs. San Jose (overtime game-winning goal).
Sam Steel collected his fifth assist and has tallied points in all four home games to begin the postseason (2-4=6). Among AHL rookies, Steel ranks second in scoring (4-5=9) and assists. Max Comtois recorded an assist for the second straight game and pushed his point streak to four games to begin his Calder Cup Playoffs career (2-2=4).
Andy Welinski recorded a point (assist) for the second straight game (1-1=2) and Ben Street recorded his second assist his past two contests (0-2=2). Kalle Kossila tallied his first assist of the series.
Jeff Glass stopped 26-of-28 shots to earn his fifth win of the playoffs. Glass improved to 7-3 with a 2.17 goals-against average and .928 save percentage in his postseason career.
Tonight's attendance was 12,005, the largest postseason crowd in Gulls history. The Gulls and Condors will face off tomorrow night for Game 5 at Rabobank Arena (7 p.m.).
POSTGAME QUOTES
San Diego Gulls
Kevin Roy
On bouncing back from a loss
Just playing our game, playing in their zone. They're a fast team so we want to get it behind their defensemen, get our forecheck going and create turnovers.
On closing out the game
It's about playing smart, knowing the time of the game, taking care of the puck, taking care of our own zone and taking care of our opportunities when we do get them. Just being smart and moving forward.
On his goal
On the power play there., just trying to make a difference. The puck was rimmed out to [Ben Street]. He made a good play there, saw me open in the middle and I was just trying to get it off my stick as quick as possible. I think it ended up going through the goalies legs. It was a quick shot and there was good net-front presence there by [Corey Tropp]. Just get it to the net and see what happens.
On the win
It's a big win, it was a big swing game. I think it's giving us a lot of confidence moving forward here tomorrow.
On returning to the lineup
Just trying to help the team and get up to speed. That's basically it. We've all played hockey for a long time so we kind of get the game. Just jump in and try to make a difference
On the fans
It was awesome, getting fans like that, the support of the city. Every time a big play happens, getting the crowd going, the noise, the towels going, it's always great to see and it gives our players a lot of energy moving forward.
Jeff Glass
On the game
One step closer, but there's still work left to be done. Real good job by our guys tonight but the way the schedule is set up, there's not much time to enjoy it. We're right back at it.
On the back-to-back
We did an outstanding job tonight, but it's one of four. We need one more. We'll be looking to get it tomorrow night.
On bouncing back from Game 3
The playoffs are kind of funny that way. You learn a lot about yourselves throughout the playoffs. I think we learned a really good lesson [Wednesday] night about what can go wrong. We had a huge opportunity to correct it and we did that tonight. I thought we played outstanding. We played in their zone the whole third period. We had one little mistake but other than that it was outstanding.
On the fans
I've played in the AHL for a while. I haven't played in front of 12,000 fans in the AHL. It was outstanding out there tonight. It was a lot of fun playing in front of them. I think it's a huge advantage for us, playing at home here. We're going to use every advantage we can get and they're a big one.
On the win
That's what we're here to do is win games. Some are going to be ugly and some are going to be pretty. Ours was somewhere in the middle tonight. We'll take it.
On playing on the road
We've had some success there already this series. We've played well in that barn. I don't think we're going to change much. We'll make a small tweak and be ready to go tomorrow.
Head Coach Dallas Eakins
On the game
We made harder plays, that's for sure. We can't be shy at the end of the game like that. Ice the puck. We have good centermen that can win faceoffs. Those hard plays help us get the puck out of our zone and helps us protect that lead.
On Game 5
We want to get out of here as fast we can. It's now a race to Bakersfield for some rest. I'm never sure what to think about momentum. Tomorrow is a brand new day. Obviously, we're going to feel good about this win for five or 10 minutes. Then, we have to get up there and prepare for another large game.
On Simon Benoit's hit on Luke Esposito
It's a totally clean hit and they took great exception to it. We'll take the power plays any time we can. We encourage our guys all the time to go out, play within the rules, hit hard when it's there, but hit fair. That's what he did.
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American Hockey League Stories from May 11, 2019
- Condors Face Must Win Game 5 Tonight at Home - Bakersfield Condors
- Cracknell Pushes Gulls to Edge of Series Win - San Diego Gulls
- Condors Drop Game 4, 4-2; Must Win Game 5 at Home Saturday - Bakersfield Condors
- Iowa Falls to Chicago 7-4 in Game 5 - Iowa Wild
- Wolves One Win from Conference Finals - Chicago Wolves
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