The good news for the San Diego Gulls is they have Troy Terry. The bad news is they probably won't have him very much longer.
The 21-year-old forward scored three points in his Gulls debut on Friday night and chased that with a two point performance in a 5-4 win over Bakersfield on Saturday night at Valley View Casino Center, the Gulls third straight win.
Terry, the 2nd-leading scorer on the 2018 U.S. Olympic team, started the season with the Anaheim Ducks but went scoreless in six games so the parent club sent him to the Gulls to get his confidence back. Perhaps thanks to a pep talk from head coach Dallas Eakins that process did not take very long.
"He’s been excellent," said Eakins. "We had a great talk the other morning when he arrived. I just wanted him to spread his wings and enjoy the game. The game can be a burden on these young men sometimes and he was frustrated, but it’s such a great feeling to see him have such great success here early."
Skating on the Gulls 2nd line with Max Jones and Logan Shaw, Terry broke a 1-1 tie in the 1st period with a lightning-quick wrist shot that Condors goalie Al Montoya had no chance to stop. In the 3rd period Terry assisted on a Sam Carrick goal that turned out to be the game-winner. If he's regained his scoring touch the Ducks might want him back sooner than later.
Corey Tropp, Chase Del Leo, and Ben Thomson also scored for the Gulls while goalie Jared Coreau had a busy night, stopping 45 of 49 shots to get the win.
San Diego's 4-game homestand continues on Friday, October 26 against the Stockton Heat.
