Everything, it seemed, was the same leading up to the Gulls’ first home playoff game in their return to San Diego: the lineups were announced, the national anthem was sung, the pregame hype video was shown — the same routine that has been performed before every game at the Valley View Casino Center since October.

And then the puck dropped.

In Game 3 of their first-round Calder Cup playoff series, the Gulls smacked the Texas Stars 6-1 on Thursday night, thoroughly dominating a team that had, for so much of this season, mystified them. The Gulls, who tied their season high for goals scored in their most important game, now lead the series 2-1, with a chance to clinch at home on Friday night in Game 4.

“It’s a big momentum change,” forward Michael Sgarbossa said after the game.


Entering Thursday, the Stars had won six of eight games against the Gulls, scoring five or more goals in all six of those wins, including a 5-1 thrashing in Game 2 in Texas. They were, it seemed, the Gulls’ bane, an unfortunate matchup for them in the first round of the playoffs.

But Brandon Montour scored the first home playoff goal in the Gulls’ AHL history 5:55 into the first period, slapping a powerful shot past Stars keeper Jack Campbell on the Gulls’ first power play to give the Gulls a 1-0 lead.

The Gulls, who were 0-7 on the power play in the first two games of the series, scored two power play goals in Game 3, boosted by the returns of Shea Theodore and Chris Wagner, who were reassigned to San Diego on Thursday afternoon after the Ducks were bounced from the playoffs on Wednesday night.

“We went right back to our values on our power play,” coach Dallas Eakins said.


The Stars, who thrive on speed, finesse, and skill, seemed out of sorts throughout the game, and part of that was perhaps by design. Several times after the referees whistled to signal the end of a play, the Gulls shoved and hassled the Stars, and the intent to disrupt their rhythm seemed clear.

“We hit them, and they don’t like it,” Sgarbossa said. “And they’re going to slow down a lot for you.”

In the second period, the Gulls exploded for three goals. The first came from Nick Ritchie, who has now scored in all three games of the series. Michael Sgarbossa scored the next, deftly slipping past two defenders before shaking Campbell and slotting the puck into an empty net about 11:58 into the period.

Joseph Cramarossa added the third less than three minutes later, and the Gulls took a commanding 4-0 lead into the third period, where Stefan Noesen and Wagner completed the scoring. Anton Khudobin was spectacular again, too, saving 28 of the 29 shots he faced and keeping a game that could have easily been close out of the Stars’ reach.


“Now we can enjoy it for about 10 minutes,” Eakins said of the win, “and get ready for tomorrow night.”