PREVIEW: Gulls Begin Franchise-Record Eight-Game Road Trip In Ontario
Feb 20, 2022By Paige Burnell/SanDIegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls open a franchise-record eight-game road trip, finishing a home-and-home series against the rival Ontario Reign at Toyota Arena (3 p.m. PT; TV: AHL TV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).
After a furious third-period comeback attempt fell short in last night’s 4-3 loss to their division foe, the Gulls are now 1-4-1-0 this season against the Reign and hold a 41-26-4-2 overall record against the club, including a 21-13-1-2 record on the road.
"I think we showed character," Gulls defenseman Nikolas Brouillard said. "We knew we had another big game against them and we wanted to set the tone for next game. We had nothing to lose, and I think we played really well in the third and we just came out short."
Brent Gates Jr. and Trevor Carrick both scored in the third period to attempt to turn the tide of the game. Gates Jr’s tally established a career-high three-game goal streak (4-0=4) and pushed his point total to five over that span (4-1=5). Carrick’s goal brought his point total to 5-8=13, setting a personal best for the defenseman as a Gull.
Contributions from Carrick and other members of the Gulls’ blueline were instrumental in San Diego’s offensive success in the third period, and the team will need that to compete with the Reign tonight.
Kodie Curran earned helpers on all the Gulls’ goals to match his career-high for assists and points in a single game (0-3=3). Brouillard collected an assist for helpers in back-to-back games (0-2=2).
"Yeah, you can bring in a positive side on the third and finally, I feel we just played more and were more assertive," Gulls head coach Joel Bouchard said. "We got a little bit overwhelmed at times in the first two periods. We lost our assignment on stuff we talked about so, obviously, we didn’t play our best game and we look at the end we were right there with them. So, looking for performance and make sure we collectively get our game together. There was some good moments there, even in the second period, but obviously, when you play a good team like that, you’ve got to be better than just half the game. You’ve got to be good all night and this is why, you know this part of me that is like, ‘Well, we have better,” and there’s a part of me that is, “We showed it.’"
The Gulls certainly showed how much their penalty kill has progressed as they thwarted the league’s best power play six times, but the Reign’s seventh and final man-advantage for the Reign resulted in T.J. Tynan’s game-winning goal.
Ontario’s home power play is ranked first in the league with a 30.1% success rate, which means the Gulls must prioritize playing a more disciplined game.
"It was on the board," Bouchard said. "We know what it is, I know the guys know it too. They’re a top defensive team in the league and they’re great on the power play. I thought our PK did actually quite well. We gave a goal that hurt at the end. That is what’s going to happen, you take all those penalties, but when you get overwhelmed a little bit- like at times we were a little bit overwhelmed- so that’s what’s going to happen."
Tynan leads the league in power-play assists (25) as well as power-play points (27) and collected a multi-point effort last night’s outing (1-2=3).
"Yeah, I mean we have to take less penalties," Brouillard said. "That’s what killed us. We wanted to take maybe a couple less. It didn’t happen and that’s where it hurt us. Their power play is deadly, and it showed."
The Gulls will also have to be wary of Tynan at even strength as the center has most assists in the AHL (45) and ranks second in scoring with 9-45=54 points.
The same goes for Martin Frk, who extended his point streak to four games (4-3=7) with 2-1=3 points last night, while Jaret Anderson-Dolan pushed his point streak to seven games (8-3=11) with a goal of his own.
"Well, they’re fast and our team needs to be really alert and really sharp on assignment because then, you let those guys go they’re (going to) execute through you and that’s why we did well in the third period," Bouchard said. "Like I said, we let them play a little too much and the PK is going to kill the vibe a little bit so we have better and that’s what I want to see. I want to see our team, what I think they can do and then after, we’ll asses what they didn’t go. To play 50% of the game in the way we have to play, we can’t afford that. A young team and we’ve got to make sure we play that style we saw in the third period."