During the preseason Gulls head coach Kevin Dineen said he wasn’t worried about his offense because he had a nice stable of goal scorers.
Coach was definitely not wrong.
San Diego beat Bakersfield 4-3 on Saturday night, their second straight win to start the year. In two games the Gulls have scored eight goals.
Just like Friday night Bakersfield scored first. Just like Friday night they didn’t hold the lead very long. Chase De Leo snuck behind the Condors defense and stuffed the puck home for his 2nd goal of the year to tie it 1-1. Then we saw a little history.
18-year-old defenseman Jamie Drysdale, the 6th overall pick in last year’s NHL Draft by the Ducks, got loose on a breakaway and smoked a slap shot past goalie Olivier Rodrigue. Drysdale became the youngest player ever to score a goal for the Gulls.
The Condors tied it again 2-2 so the captain stepped up. Sam Carrick redirected a fabulous pass from 19-year-old rookie Trevor Zegras for his first goal of the year and a 3-2 lead. Then Zegras showed off the kind of shot that made him the 5th-ranked prospect in hockey.
Zegras whipped a wrist shot home for his 2nd goal of the year. It turned out to be the game-winner. The Gulls start the season 2-0. Their next one is Wednesday night against Ontario at FivePoint Arena in Irvine.