Gulls Ready to Rumble with Reign
Nov 23, 2024By Nick Aguilera/SanDiegoGulls.com
It’s fight night baby.
For the first time in the 2024-25 AHL season, the San Diego Gulls and Ontario Reign will reignite their long-standing rivalry tonight at Pechanga Arena San Diego (6 p.m. PST; TV: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio: Gulls Audio Network).
Last night saw the Gulls drop an overtime contest to the Coachella Valley Firebirds, their first OT loss of the season. Despite the loss, San Diego got standout efforts from Sasha Pastujov, who scored his first two goals of the season, and Calle Clang, who made a season-high 37 saves.
"The best part about our schedule is we get a chance to go back at it tomorrow night and get a rivalry night at Pechanga," Pastujov said after the loss. "We're excited and if we play like we did tonight, I like our chances."
After making a run in the Western Conference playoff last season, the Reign have played .500 hockey so far this season, entering tonight with a 7-7-0-0 record. Ontario added a familiar face over the offseason in former Gull Glenn Gawdin, who has posted 7-10=17 points in 12 games for his new club.
Last season, the Gulls took points in five of eight games against the Reign (4-3-1-0), including two wins on home ice.
One matchup to watch tonight is Gulls forward Travis Howe and Reign forward Jacob Doty, who fought one another three times last season. The usually fiery Howe has yet to receive a fighting major seven games into his season.
Oscar Dansk will likely get the nod in net in the second game of a back-to-back. Dansk will look to chip away towards the 100-win mark in his AHL career, as he sits eight wins shy.
The Gulls will get an extended break after tonight, as their next game will come on home ice Nov. 30 against the Tucson Roadrunners (6 p.m. PST).