Gulls On Precipice Of Playoffs As They Open Three-Game Set With Reign
Apr 12, 2022By Paige Burnell/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls are back at home and set to face the Ontario Reign in the first of three straight games against their SoCal rivals tonight at Pechanga Arena (7 p.m. PT; TV:AHL TV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).
The Gulls are in seventh place in the American Hockey League’s Pacific Division with 58 points, sitting two points shy of clinching a berth into the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs. San Diego could secure their spot in the postseason tonight with regulation win and Ontario is the only obstacle in the way.
"Obviously, punching in the ticket would be awesome against a good team," Gulls defenseman Nathan Larose said. "So, we’re looking forward to it and obviously, making a push for the playoffs is great and it’s the final push of the season so it’s what we’re trying to accomplish here."
The Gulls hold a 43-27-4-2 regular season record all-time against the Reign, including a 22-13-3-0 at Pechanga Arena. San Diego bested Ontario in their previous two matchups, outscoring their opponents 9-1 with a 4-0 shutout on Mar. 12 and a 5-1 victory on Mar. 26.
"Every game means something as you build your team to go into a playoff spot," Gulls head coach Joel Bouchard said. "It’s like a bit of a cliché sometimes, but as a coach, everything we live in the season is to be ready for the playoffs."
Hunter Drew paces the Gulls in production against the Reign with 6-5=11 points and a +8 rating in eight contests after posting a multi-point effort (1-1=2) on Mar. 26.
Alex Limoges and Lucas Elvenes scored on Mar. 26 as well, and the trio put up impressive showings in the team’s back-to-back losses in Abbotsford against the Canucks last weekend.
Drew scored two power-play goals (2-0=2) in a single game for the first time in his career on Apr. 9 after collecting two power-play assists the night before, earning 2-2=4 points in two games.
Limoges scored his 11th goal on the man advantage on Apr. 8, tying the Gulls AHL record for most power-play goals in a season (last: Sam Carrick, 2018-19). The next night, he collected two power-play assists for 1-2=3 points on the man advantage over his past two games.
Elvenes tallied 0-4=4 assists in two games, with three on the power play. The Swedish center now leads the team in assists (28), power-play assists (13) and points (38) and is on a three-game point streak (1-4=5).
The common denominator under this surge of offense is the Gulls lethal power play, which produced two power-play goals in three straight games and eight over 22 opportunities (36.4 % success rate).
The Gulls will look to carry this over into their three-game set with the Reign.
"We’re facing a good team back at home," Bouchard said. "We had a challenge last weekend. Now, we’re looking to find our groove for sixty minutes against a team at home so every point, every time you have an opportunity, you have to go at it."
Ontario is coming off a 6-5 shootout win over the AHL’s top team, the Stockton Heat. This game could morph into a battle of the power play as the Reign have the top man advantage in the AHL, operating at 26.5%.
The Gulls need to be ready for T.J. Tynan, who leads all Ontario skaters in scoring against San Diego with 2-13=15 points in nine games. In addition, he leads all AHL skaters in assists (74) and power play-assists (39).
San Diego will also need to watch for Martin Frk, as he leads all active players with 13 power-play goals and ranks third among active skaters with 34 goals.
"We’re looking to bounce right back against a very good team, obviously," Larose said. "We’ve been practicing the last two days here and it’s been good so far, so I think we’re ready to take on a big weekend against them."