PREVIEW: Gulls Look To Gain Early Edge In Rivalry Matchup With Reign
Oct 20, 2022By Brett Pickler/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls are back home.
The team opens the home portion of its 2022-23 schedule tonight when they face the rival Ontario Reign in its Home Opener presented by Cal Coast Credit Union at 7 p.m. PT (TV: Fox 5 San Diego; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).
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San Diego enters the matchup after earning a split against the Grand Rapids last weekend in a matchup showcasing the power of their offense. San Diego opened the season with 11 goals in two games, led by defenseman Nikolas Brouillard’s 2-3=5 points. Eight other Gulls recorded multi-point performances in the back-to-back set, showcasing the strength of San Diego’s scoring depth and ability.
While the offense is welcomed, Gulls head coach Roy Sommer would like to see a tighter defensive effort against the American Hockey League’s top-rated offense.
"We got a legitimate six 20-goal scorers sitting in our dressing room right now," he said. "So we’re going to score goals, but we’ve got to start eliminating chances and we can’t give so much away. Otherwise, we are going [to be playing] 7-6, 7-5 games and those [games] you never know how you’re going to come out of them."
One area defensively that the Gulls are looking to improve is their discipline. In the first two games of the season, San Diego took 12 minor penalties and saw their penalty kill leave Grand Rapids at 66.7%.
Ontario enters the game tied for the second-best power play in the league, powered by the play of reigning Les Cunningham Award winner, T.J. Tynan. Ontario’s captain – who is a back-to-back MVP winner – enters the game leading the league with 1-6=7 and co-leading the Reign in power-play points (0-3=3)..
"Just trying to eliminate power plays because that’s where [Tynan] gets most of his points," Gulls defenseman Austin Strand said. "Getting that guy less time with the puck is going to help us. I think less power plays for them and just being physical on Tynan. He can kind of get a little bit frustrated, I remember, so probably give him nothing 5-on-5 and limiting the time he gets on the powerplay."
Gulls’ goaltender Lukas Dostal looks to bounce back following a rough outing in his last game. He surrendered four goals on five shots in the first period of Saturday’s loss in Grand Rapids, with Olle Eriksson Ek entering in relief.
The Swedish netminder put on a strong performance, making 24 saves on 27 shots. Ultimately, he was credited with the loss, but his play allowed San Diego to fight back in the 8-5 defeat.
Ontario enters tonight off a 5-3 win against the Henderson Silver Knights on Tuesday. Trailing 2-1 after the first period, Ontario scored three times in the middle frame and held off a late charge by Henderson to grab its second win of the season. On top of the strong start from Tynan, Samuel Fagemo enters tonight leading the team with three goals.
Phoenix Copley started two of the first three Ontario games, posting a 2.55 goals-against average (GAA) and .904 save percentage (SV%).
The Gulls hope their return to Pechanga Arena – and kicking off a heated rivalry with the pomp and circumstance of a Home Opener – will give them the early upper hand on their most familiar opponent.
"Anytime I was on the other side, coming into San Diego was always a hostile environment," Gulls forward Danny O’Regan said "It’s loud. There’s a lot of energy in the building."