Gulls Drop Preseason Matchup Against Ontario 6-2
Oct 8, 2023By Nick Aguilera/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls dropped their lone preseason game of the 2023-24 campaign Sunday, falling to Ontario 6-2 at Toyota Arena.
Despite the game getting away from them, head coach Matt McIlvane was able to get a good look at his squad in game action for the first time this year.
"It's hard, when the score gets like that, to go in and dive into all of it," McIlvane said. "[I] felt the effort was there really all the way. So much learning is available for us in this game, from style play and decision making, for us as coaches being able to evaluate players and for management to do the same.
"Get our team together. That's probably step one. Step two is to be able to dive into the film and see where we think we can get better. I thought there were a lot of good moments in the game. I think that there's certainly some stuff that we can clean up. Really easy decision making, some of our line change choices. Some of our puck play decisions that gives up some of their big moments, but we won't leave a stone unturned on our way to learn."
Scott Harrington got the Gulls on the board at 10:58 in the second, as Nikita Nesterenko fed him a pass from behind the net.
Jaxsen Wiebe netted San Diego’s second goal, a power play tally, as his shot fluttered over Erik Portillo’s glove late in the second. It also marked Wiebe’s first goal at the professional level.
"There's definitely an adjustment and a higher pace to the professional game," Wiebe said. "To get the first one out of the way kind of get that learning experience and know where you have to go in the future to compete at this level is really good."
Brayden Tracey was a bright spot for the Gulls, as he tallied two assists on the day. Tracey, who was one of the lone veterans in Sunday’s lineup, had a few takeaways from the team’s lone tune-up before the season.
"I think the effort was there," Tracey said. "I think we battled all the way through the full 60. I think we had a couple defensive errors, D zone coverage things we can fix. I believe two goals were off line changes. Also things we can fix. I think we got a good couple practices before we head back down here to Ontario and play them on Friday. I think we battled, and I think all the errors are something we can fix and go over as a team and get better."
Calle Clang stopped 15-of-20 shots through two periods before giving way to Tomas Suchanek, who turned away 9-of-10 shots.
Josh Lopina also collected an assist in the contest.
Ontario’s Alex Turcotte and Alex Laferriere both scored twice in the exhibition contest. Turcotte caught the Gulls on a change and opened the scoring at 1:22 in the first period before netting his second early in the middle frame. Laferriere tipped in a point shot at 17:29 in the first and scored on a wrister at 14:15 in the second.
The Reign’s first two goals sandwiched a couple of fights, as Travis Howe and Jacob Doty exchanged haymakers moments after Turcotte’s goal, followed by Nick Wolff and Samuel Helenius dropping gloves midway through the period.
Joe Hicketts and Francesco Pinelli also scored for Ontario. Erik Portillo stopped 17-of-19 shots.
The two squads will get familiar with each other to open the 2023-24 AHL regular season, as they face off three consecutive times to begin the campaign. They open the season with a weekend series at Toyota Arena on Friday, Oct. 13 and Sunday, Oct. 15 before heading down to Pechanga Arena San Diego for the Gulls’ home opener on Friday, Oct. 20.
"I think we're going to see a lot of Ontario through the season, just as the way it goes," McIlvane said. "But yeah, gets us ahead. As far as for next week, I think Friday is going to come pretty fast and being just one step more familiar with your opponent I think goes a long way for us and then getting a great week of practice to build moving forward."