Danny O'Regan, Greg Printz Lead Gulls Past Roadrunners To Snap Losing Skid
Feb 4, 2022By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls can blast their victory song once again.
Danny O’Regan’s career-high four-point performance fueled the Gulls past the Tucson Roadrunners for a 5-3 win tonight at Pechanga Arena San Diego. The victory snaps a six-game losing streak for the Gulls and gives them their second win in three tries against their Pacific Division rival this season.
"It was definitely nice," O'Regan said following the game. "It was a long time coming. It’s been a difficult start to the season. We’ve had, not to make excuses, but we’ve had guys in and out every day, practices, games and it’s hard to get a good rhythm going if you’re playing with different guys on your line or in the lineup. So, hopefully we can build on this. We deserved that win and those are tied third period, we haven’t done well with that in the past so I think that was really big to find a way to win that game and hopefully carry that momentum onto the second half."
Greg Printz posted a career-high three-point performance (1-2=3) while Bryce Kindopp, Nikolas Brouillard and Brendan Guhle scored for San Diego, supporting a 27-save effort from Lukas Dostal.
"Like I’ve told the guys, it’s six losses, but it was with so many moving parts," Gulls head coach Joel Bouchard explained. "It’s nice to some of the guys that lost six in a row, but they weren’t losses where we got dominated. I feel guys clung in there and we’ve talked about a few losses to say, ‘Remember when we win next time, the feeling that it’s going to be,’ and it was tonight. So, it’s a good feeling.
"The guys really responded well in there second and third and we got some bounces that, you know, we liked tonight because we pushed hard and created those bounces, forced them in the third period by making good action."
Michael Carcone, a perpetual thorn in the side for the Gulls, led Tucson with two goals (2-0=2). Rookie forward Matias Maccelli collected two assists (0-2=2), keeping him at the head of the American Hockey League’s rookie scoring race.
San Diego fell behind the eight ball in the first period as Hudson Fasching opened the scoring at 7:51 of the opening period.
The right wing collected the rebound of a Jan Jenik shot and sending it into Dostal and a mass of bodies in the crease. After not signaling a goal on the ice, the referees reviewed the play and awarded Tucson the game's first goal.
The Gulls huddled after the period, adjusting their attack and seeing immediate dividends in the second period.
"We just came out a little bit flat in the first period, so that is kind of his (Joel Bouchard) message," Printz explained. "He’s like, 'It’s a one-nothing game. We don’t want a six-game losing streak going on. We need to start to start turning this around now, so there’s no time to waste. We can’t lose seven in a row.' So that was pretty much the message. We can’t have the same period like the first."
Kindopp evened the score, converting on the power play at 1:59 of the middle frame.
O'Regan and Brogan Rafferty played catch at the point, with the center finding the veteran defenseman with a pass and space in front. Rafferty came down from the top of the zone and fired a low shot on net. The attempt deflected off traffic but found a cutting Kindopp, who moved the puck to his backhand and sent it past a screened Prosvetov for his fifth goal of the season.
The goal ends a six-game scoreless drought for Kindopp, who picked up his second power-play goal of the season.
Momentum continued to favor the Gulls on a heavyweight tilt at center ice, as Hunter Drew and Tucson's Tyson Empey dropped the gloves. Drew gained the early upper hand before Empey responded with a series of quick jabs. The two drew in close together, exchanging glancing blows before tumbling to the ice.
O'Regan gave the Gulls their first lead of the game, scoring a shorthanded goal at 6:54 of the period.
"Well, a big thing we try to do on the penalty kill is pressure them, especially when they don’t have full control," O'Regan explained. "I forget which d (defense) were out there with me, but as a four-man unit we did a good job pressuring, made them rim the puck around. Then, I kind of was just able to get the puck off the guy, stick-handle around a guy and Printzy (Printz) did the rest. He showed a lot of poise and he made some eye contact with me. I could tell he was coming to me with that puck and he found the seam. It was a really, really great pass. I had the whole net so it was a great play by him."
Carcone tied the game at 9:20 of the period, converting a backdoor feed from Maccelli for his 11th goal of the season.
Once again, the Gulls would respond, exploding for two goals in 90 seconds to grab the lead early in the third period.
Brouillard put the Gulls ahead on a highlight-reel tally at 4:02 of the final frame. O'Regan curled out from behind the net with the puck, sending a backhand attempt through the crease. It found Jacob Perreault, who stationed himself at the right post. The Gulls rookie tried to jam the puck past Prosvetov, but the Tucson netminder put his pad down, sending a knuckling puck in the air. Brouillard crashed the crease, batting the puck out of the air and into the back of the net for his seventh goal of the season.
The defenseman, who skated on the wing the last few games, has three goals in his last five games (3-0=3).
Guhle extended the lead, putting a point shot off a Tucson defenseman and past Prosvetov for his first goal of the season at 5:32 of the period.
Printz collected a loose puck in the corner, finding Rafferty at the point. The defenseman sent a cross-ice pass to Guhle, who fired it on net and received the friendly bounce.
With his second assist of the game, Printz established new career-highs in assists (2) in a game.
"It’s great to see a guy that works that hard every game and doesn’t always get rewarded on the stat sheet," O'Regan said when asked about Printz. "All the guys really get up for that stuff. That’s always great to see. They deserve it, they’re working hard at practice and games every day, blocking shots and to see them, to see a guy like Greg finally get rewarded for that is just great to see. He deserved it."
Carcone brought the Roadrunners within one, collecting his second goal of the game at 6:40 of the final frame. The right wing found a soft spot in the offensive zone, sending a one-timed shot from the low circle past a sliding Dostal for his 12th goal of the season.
Maccelli collected an assist on the play, his second point of the game (0-2=2). He has four points - all assists - in his last two games and continues to pace American Hockey League rookies in assists (28) and points (10-28=38).
Printz would ice the win, scoring on the empty net with 24 seconds left in regulation. O'Regan earned a career-high third assist on the play, feeding the forward as the two carried the puck past the red line.
"I think I was just working hard," Printz said about his performance. "Been working hard for the last couple games. And just, pucks started to bounce our way a little bit. But it’s a good team effort, a lot of props to the guys I was playing with. Playing with a bunch different guys tonight. We had a good night."
Freed from their losing streak, Bouchard is expecting to see a team playing with less weight on its shoulders in the rematch tomorrow night.
"Looking for a team that’s got a bit of a monkey off their back and can keep gelling together," he said. "They’re a fast team, so we need to be better in some areas. That being said, I want them to enjoy it a little bit tonight. It’s been a battle, guys. I admit, it’s been hard. Guys have been good, the attitude has been good. We have guys that play off position. Even tonight, Kodie Curran came up front and played really good for two periods. We needed help in front and he came in with Lettieri and Groulx and he was really good. Guys have been buying into what we’ve been doing. So, I want them to enjoy tonight, but obviously, I’m going to ask for a little bit more tomorrow on some few areas, but I want that same spirit, that same sticking together and fight that they did tonight."