Gulls Comeback Falls Short As They Fall To Rival Reign
Feb 19, 2022By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls went all in but failed to hit the jackpot, falling 4-3 to the rival Ontario Reign in the team’s inaugural Casino Night at Pechanga Arena San Diego.
"We got a little bit overwhelmed at times in the first two periods," Gulls head coach Joel Bouchard said. "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.'"
T.J. Tynan (1-2=3) and Martin Frk (2-1=3) powered a strong offensive attack for the Reign. Austin Strand (0-2=2) added his first multi-point game of the season and goaltender Matthew Villalta stopped 25 shots to help Ontario keep pace with the Stockton Heat in the chase for the top spot in the Pacific Division.
Kodie Curran led the Gulls, tying a season-high with three assists in the loss. Brent Gates Jr., Bryce Kindopp and Trevor Carrick scored for the Gulls, who received a 27-save effort from Lukas Dostal in the loss.
Ontario attacked with speed from the start of the game, using their transition game to score the first – and only – goal at 4:18 of the opening period.
Tynan led the team from defense to offense in the neutral zone, feeding the puck to Tyler Madden. The forward found Frk streaking toward the net, and Ontario's leading goal scorer slid his shot past Dostal for the game-opening tally.
Despite the early hole, San Diego peppered Villalta with several high-quality scoring chances. The Reign netminder held the fort, keeping the Gulls off the board in the first period.
The Reign would use their speed to strike again, doubling their advantage at 10:18 of the middle frame.
A long stretch pass from Jaret Anderson-Dolan sent the Reign in on a 2-on-1 rush. Dudas looked to move the puck across the ice, but it deflected off an oncoming Gulls defenseman and past Dostal for the goal.
"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. "We were on top of them, we were much better than in the first two periods. 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."
The Gulls would respond late in the period as Kindopp cut the deficit to one with 3:38 left.
San Diego gave the Reign a taste of their own medicine, attacking with speed through the neutral zone and crossing the blue line on an outnumbered attack. Nikolas Brouillard sent a pass to Curran, who worked himself into the high slot before firing a shot Villalta stopped. He kicked the puck back out in front, where Kindopp chipped it into the open net for his sixth goal of the season.
The goal sparked life, as San Diego once again pulled itself within one early in the third period.
Curran held a puck at the slot, sending a low shot toward the net. Villalta made the initial save, but left the puck in the slot, where Hunter Drew won a net-front battle. Gates Jr. quickly collected the puck and elevated it to continue his scorching-hot streak.
The Grand Rapids, MI. native stretched his goal streak to a career-high three games (4-0=4) and already surpassed his previous career-high for goals in a single season.
Tynan would score on the power play with 6:25 left in regulation, once again pushing Ontario's lead to two.
The reigning Les Cunningham Award winner (American Hockey League's most valuable player) collected his third point of the game (1-2=3). He leads all Reign skaters with 12 points (2-10=12) in six games against the Gulls.
Despite allowing the goal, San Diego’s penalty killed held one of the league’s top power-play units to a 1-for-7 night.
"Yeah, I mean we have to take less penalties," Brouillard said. "That’s what killed us. Tonight, 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 tonight."
Facing yet another two-goal deficit, the Gulls pulled Dostal for an extra attacker with just under five minutes left in regulation. The move paid off, as Carrick took advantage with 2:23 left in the game. Drew laid a soft pass to the middle of the slot, where Carrick one-timed the puck through traffic and past Villalta. The attempt hit one goalpost before caroming across the line for his fifth goal of the season.
Drew collected his second multi-assist game of the season and extended his point streak to three games (2-2=4).
"I think we showed character," Brouillard said. "We knew we had another big game coming up tomorrow 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."
The comeback effort fell short, as Ontario held off a fury of opportunities to skate away with the win.
The two teams will finish this weekend back-to-back series tomorrow at Toyota Arena. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m. PT on AHL TV and the Gulls Audio Network.