PREVIEW: Gulls, Reign Clash In Star Wars Night Battle
Mar 12, 2022By Paige Burnell/SanDiegoGulls.com
"If you only knew the power of the Dark Side" - Darth Vader
The San Diego Gulls are going to channel the powers of the Force tonight as they face the Ontario Reign on the team’s Star Wars Night benefitting Rady Children’s Hospital at Pechanga Arena San Diego (7 p.m. PT; TV: AHL TV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).
The night will feature a themed tailgate, Darth Vader-inspired warmup jerseys and Star Wars characters present at the game. Fans can participate in the San Diego Gulls Foundation’s auction and jersey raffle, with proceeds benefiting Rady Children’s Hospital. Fans can click here to learn more about the fundraisers for tonight’s game.
The Gulls are 41-27-4-2 overall against the Reign, including a 20-13-3-0 record at home. San Diego is 1-5-1-0 this season against Ontario and most recently dropped back-to-back meetings to their SoCal rivals on Feb. 19 and Feb. 20, with both games ending in 4-3 losses.
Last night, the Gulls snapped a three-game slide with a 3-0 victory over the Bakersfield Condors driven by the stellar play of Lukas Dostal and an impressive defensive performance by San Diego.
"Yeah, we really needed that one," Gulls defenseman Trevor Carrick said. "I think, the last few games the turnovers have kind of gotten to us so gameplan was just to you know, limit our turnovers and keep that puck moving forward and have those quick transitions and keep that going into their zone and I thought we did a pretty good of that especially right off the start."
Dostal quickly went from padawan to master as he earned his second-career shutout last night, stopping 22 shots to become only the second goaltender in team history to register multiple shutouts in a single season.
Since Jan. 7, Dostal posted an 8-4-0 record with two shutouts, a 2.32 goals-against average (GAA) and a .932 save percentage (SV%) to lead all qualifying American League goaltenders (min. 500 minutes played) in SV%. Additionally, the 21-year-old is ranked tied for second in shutouts, seventh in GAA and tied for ninth in wins.
"He’s done really well early on," Gulls assistant coach Daniel Jacob said of Dostal. "He had some good shots from up close and he’s done really well. So, after that I think we kind of took over. He plays well when everything is structured in front of him and that’s what we gave him tonight."
The Gulls defense established this structure on both ends of the ice as not only did the Gulls blueline keep a powerful Bakersfield offense at bay, but they also made the difference on the scoresheet.
"We’ve done a good job managing both blue lines and it showed." Jacob said.
Carrick scored the first goal of the game, marking his first game-winning goal as a Gull. He enters tonight with six points (2-4=6) over his last six games.
Nikolas Brouillard added his ninth goal of the season, which ties him for the third-most goals among American Hockey League defensemen. Additionally, Brouillard leads the Gulls in assists and scoring with 9-20=29 points.
"We wanted to play fast and the fact that we always moved our legs, we finished, cut their routes, we got the puck back, we played fast again," Jacob said. "You know, we put the puck behind their net and had them work for their money. So, it’s been a good road game, a good greasy game for us."
To find success against the Reign, San Diego will need to replicate its gameplan from last night, maintaining possession of the puck and keeping it out of their defensive zone.
"Same mindset, same game plan," Carrick said of the team’s plan against the Reign. "Just keep that transition quick and get it out of our zone, play in the o-zone and keep it around their net. Ontario is a good team - they’ve had our number this year so they’ve got some good offensive guys. So, we’ve just got to play real hard on the d-zone."
Two of these offensive powerhouses are Martin Frk and T.J. Tynan. Tynan leads the AHL in assists and points (11-63=74) while Frk leads the league in goals and ranks third in the league in points (31-27=58).
Moreover, these usual suspects also play a huge role in keeping Ontario’s power play ranked first in the AHL (at a 27.3% conversion rate). Tynan leads all skaters in power-play assists and power play points (2-33=25) while Frk is second in the league in power-play goals (13).
"It’s the same mindset, making sure that we don’t fuel their offense," Jacob said. "We know they’re a fast team, a veteran team. So, we want to make sure we stick to our guns and our principle and at the same time you want to use that momentum."
The Gulls have momentum from their win and, like the Reign, San Diego is getting consistent production from their forwards.
Benoit Olivier-Groulx enters tonight with goals in back-to-back games (2-1=3) and 2-3=5 points over his last five outings. Linemate Alex Limoges earned two assists to extend his point streak to three games (1-3=4).
There may be some disturbances in the Force tonight, but the Gulls hope they can bring order to the Galaxy.