Finally back home and hoping to end a three game skid the Gulls went with almost the same line-up as the previous nights loss to the Reign in Ontario. Nik Brouillard was moved up to forward, Nathan Larose drew back in to cover and Golod drew out.
With Buddy Robinson, Vinnit Lettieri, BO Groulx and Sam Carrick still with the Ducks – the Gulls faced an up-hill battle against a Reign team that recently had some key players return from injury.
Axel Andersson and Brendan Guhle remained out with undisclosed injuries.
First Period:
San Diego started the game well, producing a heavy forecheck in the Reign zone and appeared to be generating some good momentum from it but some small critical mistakes in their own end led to Ontario taking control.
With the Gulls on their heels the Reign took it to them, receiving the first Power Play of the game when Jacob Perreault was called for interference – colliding with a Reign player as he come across the Gulls zone without the puck.
Just when it felt inevitable the Reign would take the lead a breakdown in the neutral zone near the Gulls blue line led to a three on one partial break led by Brayden Tracey. As the Gulls fanned out in the Ontario zone, Tracey held onto the puck and opened up his blade to fake a pass before drilling a shot that beat Sparks high glove. 1-0 Gulls lead.
Riding the high and the raucous Pechanga crowd the Gulls generated a few more chances including an individual rush from Nik Brouillard in the dying seconds of the period but the smooth skating defender could not get a shot away as he was hooked – with no call on the play.
San Diego heading to the first intermission with the lead but vastly outplayed in the opening twenty minutes, behind in shots 11-4. The shot map showing Eriksson Ek potentially having his best first period of the season thus far and the Gulls needing to carry forward the momentum generated from the Tracey goal to shift things in the other direction.
Second Period: San Diego Gulls 1 – Ontario Reign 0
Things went from good to better for the Gulls as Brayden Tracey continued his stellar play and drew a hooking call while closing in on a high danger chance on the Reign net.
As the Gulls Power Play set to work against the leagues third worst penalty kill it did appear a heck of a lot easier for San Diego to get set and create via some coordinated attack. Jacob Perreault was foiled on the one-timer and as the second unit came on an almost-clear by the Reign became a chance the other way for the Gulls as Greg Pateryn somehow kept the puck from crossing the blue line and all in one motion swept it back into the Reign zone where it bounced off a few players before finding Hunter Drew at the Reign net. The converted forward stick handled a couple of times to draw Sparks across before sliding it five-hole to make it 2-0.
Ontario tried to counter, coming very close on a drive and cross-ice pass from TJ Tynan but a great back-check from Alex Limoges took the stick away from the would-be receiving Martin Frk at the far post.
Meanwhile another fortuitous bounce resulted in an odd man rush the other way, this time lead by Danny O’Regan. The veteran center sending a pass across to Jacob Perreault to setup a chance but the rookie opted to make an extra cross-ice pass to Brogan Rafferty who wired it by Sparks to make it 3-0.
Directly after the goal Hunter Drew was called for slashing, allowing the Reign to halt any continuing charge from the Gulls. As San Diego killed the minor Drew was sprung on a breakaway coming out of the box but was slashed before he could finish making a move on Sparks.
San Diego could not convert on the ensuing man-advantage while the Reign finally solved Eriksson Ek with some strong cycle play in the Gulls zone. Switching out fresh bodies and keeping a tired Gulls fourth line on the ice, creating an out numbered chance down low. 3-1 Gulls.
With just over a minute left in action Nik Brouillard was called for hooking on a play that once shown on replay – resembled more of a harmless collision at center ice and the Gulls spent the remainder of the period on the penalty kill. Heading to the second intermission up 3-1 and out-shooting the Reign 8-4 on the period with twenty seconds left to kill in the Brouillard minor to start the third.
Third Period: San Diego Gulls 3 – Ontario Reign 1
Ontario came out with the better of the chances to start the third and had San Diego on their heels for the first five minutes of the third period.
Olle Eriksson Ek continued his strong play as he bailed out the Gulls with some athletic and aggressive stops.
Things got testy as Jack Badini caught Reign forward Austin Wagner up high with a hard hit along the boards. Reign Captain Brett Sutter immediately challenged the Ducks 2017 draft pick who initially held his own but visibly began to tire toward the end of the tilt.
Time sped by as both teams traded chances and the ice started to open up as Ontario risked sending the extra man in as they tried to close the gap.
Special teams dominated the remainder of the third as the Officials kept up their streak of making weird one-sided calls in the Reign favour but in greater quantity.
Olle Eriksson Ek displayed a side of his personality we had not seen before as he went after and knocked down Quinton Byfield when the Kings 2020 second overall pick made contact with him in the crease.
Ontario pulled Sparks with three minutes left in the game with Greg Printz having back to back chances to hit the empty net but ultimately Eriksson Ek proved the difference as he shut the door on any further Reign shots coming his way. The Gulls coming away with a 3-1 win in a massive feel good underdog effort.
Post Game Notes:
One and Half Lines
You can see why Bouchard moved Brouillard back up to forward. The dynamic defender adds another element to an under-strength offense and allows him to have at least one and a half lines for the opposition to worry about. The Tracey and Perreault combination should have happened a long time ago and now that it is finally here, you can see how much potential it has to be something similar to what the Ducks have with Zegras and Milano. The fourth line had their moments but were a defensive liability with Ontario enjoying the majority of possession whenever they were on the ice. The Gulls really do need some forward help back from the Ducks and on that note…
BBG – Bring Back Groulx
With Ryan Getzlaf returning from injury the Ducks sat both Vinni Lettieri and BO Groulx for today’s game against Pittsburgh. John Gibson left the game after the second period and Eric Stephens indicated we might expect Dostal to be recalled to backup Stolarz in St Louis tomorrow which should hopefully mean the Ducks returning at least Groulx in exchange. Bouncing back and forth between the two clubs cannot be great for his development, here is hoping the injury woes do not continue so that he can spend a more consistent amount of time with the Gulls and rediscover that dominant chemistry with Bryce Kindopp and Alex Limoges to allow for two scoring threat lines.
Talbot’s Personal Protege
I noticed after his goal (and after another good play he made during the game) that Max Talbot was in the ear of Brayden Tracey on the bench. Perhaps he is responsible for the young wingers astronomical turn-around in play this season, he and Perreault are tied for the team lead in scoring with 17 points in 19 games and he has now climbed into the rookie scoring race as well. Currently he sits 6th, only three points behind third place and look how much he has climbed the Gulls points share chart since Sean last updated it. The kid is red hot.
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