PREVIEW: Gulls, Reign Close Regular-Season Series Tonight
Apr 16, 2022By Paige Burnell/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls return home tonight to close out their 12-game season series against the Ontario Reign at Pechanga Arena San Diego (7 p.m. PT; TV: AHL TV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).
The Gulls lost 3-0 to the Reign last night at Toyota Arena, marking their second straight loss to Ontario and fourth in a row. Despite their string of setbacks, the Gulls remain two points away from clinching a spot in the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs, and the team knows just how close it is to reaching the postseason.
"Yeah, it’s hard," Gulls center Danny O’Regan said. "We’re going to learn from the loss and move on quick. No reason to waste energy over the loss. I mean, we’re learning some valuable things that will help us in the playoff run. You know, it’s just a bunch of little things. I don’t think we’re too worried and just tighten up a couple things and we’ll be okay."
One lesson the Gulls learned against the Reign is the importance of scoring the first goal. The team scoring first won nine of the previous 11 games in the season series.
San Diego knows nabbing the game’s first tally comes down to the team capitalizing on its early scoring opportunities, no matter how ugly they may be.
"I think it’s just bearing down," O’Regan said. "I think not overthinking it, trying to aim the puck, just hitting it hard and crashing the net. Try to get some second chances. There’s definitely sometimes where we, me and some guys, (are) looking for that extra pass maybe instead of just pounding them on net. So let’s get back to shooting some pucks and crashing the net and being a little gritty."
The Reign opened the scoring in each of their last two wins over the Gulls, with both goals coming from a lethal Ontario power play that converted on 3-of-7 opportunities in its last two games and tops the American Hockey League at a 26.9% success rate.
"I think we’ve just got to keep getting better and better and like I said, they’re a hell of a team," head coach Joel Bouchard said. "They’re really good, they’re really good on the power play and we played with them. Let’s play, we’ve beat them a few times this year and I think we held our own and I cannot coach the scoreboard, like I said. If I do that, it’s not fair to the players. Could we have been better? Oh yeah. Are we going to work (from here)? Oh yeah, for sure, but let’s see how we go."
Limiting trips to the penalty box is key for the Gulls success, especially since it will help curb the effectiveness of Martin Frk and T.J. Tynan, who lead both Ontario’s power play and their offensive success against the Gulls.
"They’re a good team and they take advantage of their opportunities," Bouchard said. "I think we’re holding our own, we’re growing, we’re learning. They’re a great team, don’t get me wrong. They have the top leading scorer in the league, they’ve got really good players, they’ve done a good job, but I think our guys are doing fine. We’re working hard, we’re there. Keep learning and growing."
Frk scored his 38th goal of the season last night for 4-1=5 points in his last two games and a team-leading nine goals against the Gulls this season. He enters tonight leading the league with 15 power-play goals.
Tynan leads the AHL with 91 points after collecting 0-4=4 assists in his last two games against the Gulls, earning half of his helpers on the power play. He also leads the Reign against the Gulls with 2-17=19 points against San Diego this season.
"Yeah, I mean they have a really good power play," O’Regan said. "They have a lot of good players and they move the puck around well. So it’s obviously easier if we take zero or a couple penalties rather than four or five. It’s just part of the game. I think our penalty kill’s up for it."
The Gulls allowed just one power-play goal last night, keeping Frk and Tynan at bay on the man advantage. Key to this effort tonight is the play of the goaltenders, Lukas Dostal and Olle Eriksson Ek.
Dostal put up an incredible effort against the Reign last night, stopping 26-of-28 shots while Eriksson Ek earned wins in each of his last two games against the Reign (5-1 on Mar. 26 and 4-0 on Mar. 12).
"We got Dos (Lukas Dostal) or Olle (Eriksson Ek) between the pipes," O’Regan said. "It’s never something we’re dreading or trying not to take penalties or anything. We know they have a great unit and (are) a great offensive team, but it’s nothing to dread or anything like that."