LIVE: Gulls Lead Reign 4-2 At Honda Center
Oct 11, 2021By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls lead the Ontario Reign 4-2 in the third period of tonight's preseason contest at Honda Center in Anaheim, CA.
Bryce Kindopp restored San Diego's lead, snapping a shot off the stick of Jordan Spence and past Reign netminder Matthew Villalta late in the third period.
Johan Sodergran brought Ontario within one, snapping a one-time shot past the outstretched glove of Lukas Dostal with 4:37 left in the middle frame.
Vinni Lettieri extended San Diego's lead, converting on a shorthanded breakaway chance to give the Gulls a two-goal cushion.
Brogan Rafferty continued his impressive training camp, slicing through the Ontario defense to give the Gulls a one-goal lead with under five minutes left in the period.
The defenseman collected the puck at the blue line and plowed ahead, dashing through the stick checks of four separate Reign skaters. He slid the puck through the five hole of Reign netminder Garret Sparks for his second goal of the preseason.
Buddy Robinson earned an assist on the tally, his second point of the period.
Brett Sutter tied the game at 4:57 of the period, collecting his first goal of the preseason.
Alex Limoges opened the scoring, collecting his second goal of the preseason at 3:51 of the opening frame.
Robinson came in on the forecheck, using his size to poke a bouncing puck toward Sparks. He followed up his shot, collecting the rebound and sending it to the front of the net. It eventually reached Limoges, who fired the puck into the empty net to start the scoring.
Tonight marks the second and final preseason game between the two Southern California rivals. San Diego took the first meeting, doubling up Ontario 4-2 in the preseason opener on Thursday, Oct. 7 at Toyota Arena. Newcomer Brogan Rafferty tallied the game-winning goal, and both Alex Limoges and Jacob Perreault finished with a goal and assist.
The Gulls will feature a few new faces in tonight's lineup. Forwards Sonny Milano and Alekander Volkov are expected to make their preseason debuts. Goaltender Lukas Dostal, a top netminder in the American Hockey League during the 2020-21 season, will start in net.
These two teams will face off 12 times during the regular season, including a season-opening matchup on Saturday, October 16.