PREVIEW: Gulls Look To Punch Postseason Ticket Tonight In Ontario
Apr 15, 2022By Paige Burnell/SanDiegoGulls.com
Let’s try this again.
It’s take two for the San Diego Gulls as they prepare to face the Ontario Reign in the second of three straight games against the club tonight at Toyota Arena (7 p.m. PT; TV: AHL TV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).
The Gulls remain seventh in the American Hockey League’s Pacific Division and are still only two points away from clinching a berth in the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs after losing 5-1 to the Reign on Wednesday.
"I think we made a couple of mistakes and they capitalized on it," Gulls head coach Joel Bouchard said. "I don’t think they were dominating us whatsoever. They’re a good team and we’re paying cash for our mistakes right now, which is not a bad thing. It’s part of that growing that we talk about. We’re right there. Want to take it for what it is. Things are not always going to go our way, that’s part of hockey, right? You want it to happen now, this is the time (for it) to happen."
The loss didn’t change San Diego’s playoff odds, as either a win tonight – or a regulation loss by the Tucson Roadrunners – will punch their postseason ticket.
Wednesday’s game featured a new face in the San Diego lineup as the recently signed Blake McLaughlin made his AHL debut. He’s the third prospect to make the jump from the NCAA to the Gulls, joining defenseman Drew Helleson and center Josh Lopina.
"Well, he came out buzzing," Bouchard said of McLaughlin. "You like to see a young guy coming in and all our young guys that we got from the NCAA program have been getting in the game pretty comfortable. I mean they get in and they’ve got to feel it out, but it was all positive like it’s been for all the young guys that have been joining us."
The game also featured the return of Gulls captain Greg Pateryn, who missed seven games with a lower-body injury.
"We’ve been moving guys in and out of the lineup and changing guys’ positions and I feel our structure is still there," Bouchard said. "We’re at that time of the year where I don’t mind us going through this right now."
Even with the ever-changing lineup, the Gulls who hit the ice tonight intend to earn their postseason spot with a win in Ontario’s arena. To achieve this goal, the team knows special teams will take center stage.
The Reign used their league-leading power play to earn the win on Wednesday, scoring two man-advantage tallies, including the game-winning goal late in the second period.
The Gulls also went scoreless on their six power-play opportunities, a rare zero for a team who entered the game with multiple man-advantage tallies in its last three performances.
"I think we were right there on a few plays," Bouchard said. "I think we didn’t open up, we did what we had to do in some ways, but we need to be better in some other areas. At the end of the day, I think it’s good learning."
In addition to revitalizing its own power play, San Diego must also turn its focus to shutting the dynamic duo of Martin Frk and T.J. Tynan that fuel the Reign’s man advantage.
"You know we got to take away that shooter," Pateryn said of Frk. "We’ve got to be more aware of where he is on the ice. We know what they like to do and we just got to be better about executing our defensive structure. I think that can be a big area that we clean up."
Frk earned his second hat trick of the season against the Gulls in a four-point effort (3-1=4), scoring a pair of power-play goals to stretch his league-leading total to 15.
Tynan assisted on both of Frk’s power play goals and leads the AHL with 41 assists on the man-advantage. His three-point effort (0-3=3) on Apr. 13 also increased his league-leading assist total to 77 and pushed him to the top of the AHL leaderboard with 23-77=90 points.
He also has2-16=18 points against the Gulls this season, the most by any player on the Reign.