Gulls take two from Condors

Photo: Mark Nessia

San Diego defeated Bakersfield, 4-1, in Game 2 of the Pacific Division Finals on Saturday to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

The Gulls, who have won four straight games all on the road, will host Game 3 on Wednesday night.

San Diego took a 1-0 lead at 18:15 of the first period as Trevor Murphy‘s shot from the right point was redirected home by Kiefer Sherwood. It marked the first time in six contests this postseason that San Diego scored the game’s first goal.

Max Comtois doubled the lead to 2-0 at 2:29 of the second period after San Diego forced a turnover near the Condors cage. It would prove to be the second straight game-winning goal for Comtois, who scored in the fourth overtime period of Game 1.

Ethan Bear broke the Condors’ scoring drought at 5:44 of the third period, cutting the deficit to 2-1 with a shot through traffic from the blue line. For Bakersfield, which led the AHL in scoring during the regular season, it ended a stretch of 125:42 without a goal.

Isac Lundestrom gave the Gulls some breathing room when he scored the first goal of his North American career with 5:15 to play in the third. Lundestrom, a first-round pick (23rd overall) by Anaheim in the 2018 NHL Draft, played 12 games with the Gulls, 15 with the Ducks and 17 with Lulea HF in the Swedish Hockey League during the regular season.

Adam Cracknell hit the empty net from inside his own blue line with 1:41 left to cap the scoring. Cracknell and Lundestrom finished the night with a goal and two assists each.

Both teams made changes in net after Friday’s five-hour, 10-minute marathon. Kevin Boyle, in his first appearance since allowing three goals on six shots in Game 1 of the opening round vs. San Jose, stopped 19 of 20 shots before leaving the game with an apparent injury midway through the third period. Jeff Glass stopped all eight shots he faced the rest of the way.

For the Condors, Dylan Wells saw his first action since the regular-season finale at Stockton on Apr. 14 and finished with 35 saves.

Pacific Division Finals – Series “L” (best-of-7)
P1-Bakersfield Condors vs. P3-San Diego Gulls
Game 1 – Fri., May 3 – San Diego 3, BAKERSFIELD 2 (4OT) | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., May 4 – San Diego 4, BAKERSFIELD 1
Game 3 – Wed., May 8 – Bakersfield at San Diego, 10:00
Game 4 – Fri., May 10 – Bakersfield at San Diego, 10:00
*Game 5 – Sat., May 11 – San Diego at Bakersfield, 10:00
*Game 6 – Mon., May 13 – Bakersfield at San Diego, 10:00
*Game 7 – Wed., May 15 – San Diego at Bakersfield, 10:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern