LIVE: Gulls Earn Point In OT Loss
Jan 8, 2022By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls earned a crucial point but fell to the Ontario Reign 5-4 in overtime of tonight's matchup at Toyota Arena.
Samuel Fagemo scored the game-winning goal - his third point of the game - with 1:27 remaining in the extra session. T.J. Tynan assisted on the score, his third point of the game.
Third Period Recap
Tynan scored the game-tying goal with 6:40 remaining in regulation, collecting a rebound from a point shot and tucking the puck past Francis Marotte for his sixth goal of the season.
Tynan posted his third multi-point performance in his last five games. Fagemo - who earned an assist on the goal - also has a multi-point game (0-2=2).
Second Period Recap
Nikolas Brouillard scored a power-play just 51 seconds into the middle frame to give San Diego its first lead of the game.
With Quinton Byfield serving a cross-checking minor, Bryce Kindopp worked a puck loose in the offensive zone. Brayden Tracey collected it, finding Brouillard at the point. His slap shot zipped past Garret Sparks, who pulled up lame after attempting to make the save.
The Reign netminder exited, with rookie Lukas Parik making his AHL debut.
After collecting just one point - an assist - in December, Brouillard has three points (1-2=3) in his first two games of the new year.
Jaret Anderson-Dolan tied the game with a power-play goal at 5:30 of the period, deflecting a Fagemo shot past Marotte for his seventh goal of the season.
Tracey restored San Diego's lead, collecting his ninth goal of the season with 7:53 remaining in the middle period.
Kodie Curran collected a loose puck at the side boards, carrying it down to the goal line. He threw a wrist shot into the crease, where Jack Badini had the first chance to stuff it in. Parik made the initial stop, but Tracey finished the rebound, tucking it past the Reign netminder.
With a goal and assist tonight, Tracey has four points (2-2=4) in his two games. The rookie is the first Gull to crack the 20-point mark (9-12=21) and tied Brouillard for the team lead in assists.
Marotte made a key save to hold the lead, stopping a 3-on-1 chance from the Reign just over a minute later. Byfield led the charge, finding a trailing Tyler Madden near the blue line. He quickly gave it back to Byfield, and the center moved it across the crease to Gabriel Vilardi. Marotte recognized the pass, quickly pushing across the crease and kicking away Vilardi's attempt to keep the Gulls ahead.
Ontario would tie the game, with Byfield poking a loose puck past Marotte with 1:36 left in the period. The goalie thought he corralled a Madden shot, but as he fell backward, the puck sat loose in the crease. Byfield pounced, sliding the puck over the goal line for his second goal of the season.
Hunter Drew would strike late, scoring with only 31 seconds left to send the Gulls into the locker room with a lead.
Brogan Rafferty held the puck along the top of the right circle, patiently waiting as Drew cut toward the middle of the ice. His aerial pass landed perfectly, and Drew one-timed his shot off the post and in for his fifth goal of the season.
It marks the first time this season Drew recorded goals in back-to-back games.
The three-goal second period ties San Diego's season high for goals in the middle frame, as the team equaled that number on Oct. 30 at Tucson.
First Period Recap
Jordan Spence and Brent Gates Jr. traded goals just 15 seconds apart to open the scoring.
Ontario jumped on the board first as Spence collected a power-play goal at 5:32 of the opening frame. With Greg Printz in the box for hooking, a streaking Tynan opened space at the point before dropping the puck to Spence, who blasted a shot past Marotte and into the far side of the net for his first goal of the season.
Tynan continues to lead all American Hockey League skaters in assists (21).
Gates Jr. evened the score with his first goal of the season.
Nathan Larose gathered an errant clearing attempt at center ice, tapping a puck to Max Golod. He filtered it to Gates Jr., who carried the puck into the offensive zone. He pulled it in tight and wired a wrister past the glove of Garret Sparks for the game-tying tally.
The Grand Rapids, MI native has points in his first two games (1-1=2) with the Gulls. Signed to a standard-player contract on Dec. 31, Gates Jr. led the ECHL's Indy Fuel with 9-19=28 points and eight PIM in 22 games this season.
Marotte starts for San Diego, making his season debut. Signed to a one-year, two-way contract on October 15, the Longueuil, Quebec native posted an 8-3-1 record with one shutout, a 2.54 goals-against average (GAA) and a .917 save percentage (SV%) in 12 ECHL games in 2020-21 with the Allen Americans. The 6-1, 196-pound netminder also appeared in two AHL games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, making his AHL debut on Mar. 4th vs. Providence, stopping seven-of-eight shots in 19:50 played.
Garret Sparks will start for the Reign. The veteran netminder is 5-4-0 with a 3.17 GAA and a .898 SV%. Sparks took the loss in the last meeting between these two teams, stopping 11-of-14 shots in a 3-1 loss at Pechanga Arena San Diego on Saturday, Dec. 11.
This season, the Gulls are 1-3-0-0 against their SoCal rivals and carry an overall record of 41-25-3-2 against the Reign (22-12-0-2 in Ontario).
San Diego enters tonight coming off an impressive 4-1 win over the Stockton Heat last night on home ice. Returning for the first time since entering enhanced COVID-19 protocols at the end of December, the team received multi-point performances from Kindopp, Tracey and Brouillard.