After a two game split with Coachella Valley the San Diego Gulls brushed off their most recent loss and welcomed in their oldest and fiercest rivals from Ontario.
Recently acquired Jan Mysak remained a scratch – seemingly due to visa issues – and Colton White returned from injury. Josh Lopina was moved to wing with Eddie Matsushima given fourth line center duties while all other lines and pairings remained largely the same.
Calle Clang was given his usual Wednesday start with Suchanek backing up.
Drew Helleson and Judd Caulfield remained with Jaxsen Wiebe on the injury list. Alex Stalock the aformentioned Mysak and recently recalled Kyle Crnkovic were the healthy scratches.
First Period:
It did not take long for any remote semblance of love lost between these two rivals to surface as Travis Howe and Jacob Doty dropped the gloves to set the tone for what would continue to be a fast paced and physical encounter.
Ontario seemed content to give up possession while forcing the Gulls to try to wind up through a heavily clogged neutral zone.
With the Gulls failing to get a shot on goal through the first five minutes they saw hope in a Power Play opportunity awarded when Nikita Pavlychev was called for hooking. The first unit able to get set and create some shots from the point but the second unit couldn’t follow up the pressure as time on the penalty expired.
Just as it seemed the Reigns conservative play with the puck on the road would likely see them capitalise on a Gulls mistake the exact opposite happened as Andrew Agozzino perfectly read and intercepted a breakout pass at the Ontario blue line. The Gulls veteran easily chasing down the puck and given plenty of time to look off a shot before sending it high to an open Nikita Nesterenko who wired a perfect shot top corner. 1-0 Gulls.
Riding the crowds energy after the goal the Gulls kept the Reign under pressure rolling through all four lines.
With less than five minutes left in the opening frame an offensive zone face-off earned off some hard-work by the fourth line in the Ontario zone on the previous shift – allowed Glenn Gawdin to win a faceoff back to Robert Hagg. The veteran defender wasting no time in sending a hard wrist shot that beat Reign goaltender Erik Portillo clean. 2-0 Gulls.
The Reign attempted a response but San Diego returned the favour by clogging up the neutral zone and forcing shot attempts from the perimeter and distance.
The Gulls taking a 2-0 lead to the first intermission but trailing in shots 12-6. The shot map telling a tale of potentially subpar goaltending from Portillo and the Gulls needing to tighten up down low.
Second Period: San Diego Gulls 2 – Ontario Reign 0
It was expected the Reign would throw everything at the Gulls to start the second and that they did. Bringing their big guns out and cutting the San Diego lead in half within the first twenty seconds after gaining their zone and sending a shot through traffic that was redirected then deposited in by Samuel Fagemo after Tyson Hinds struggled to tie him up in front. 2-1 Gulls.
The Reign continued to throw everything at San Diego but Calle Clang was absolutely locked in, seeing any and all shots sent his way.
With Ontario continuing to control play and hold all of the momentum the penalties started to come and as the Reign were in the midst of a four on three man advantage Samuel Fagemo thought he had tied the game on his second of the night when he deposited the puck behind an outstretched Clang but the lead referee instantly waved it off due to a hand pass. The replay showed the puck did indeed hit the Reign up high before landing at Fagemos feet but for once a call when the Gulls way and the score remained 2-1.
With just over five minutes remaining in the period it was revealed that Brayden Tracey would not return to the game due to an upper body injury. He appeared to sustain it near the end of the first period in an off the puck collision.
As the Reign continued to clog up the neutral zone the Gulls took the opportunity to slowly claw back momentum as the visitors gifted them possession. San Diego once again getting good zone time from all four lines.
San Diego giving up a goal in the second frame but still holding the lead despite being largely outplayed on the period. Shots were 17-2 Ontario and 29-8 overall.
Third Period: San Diego Gulls 2 – Ontario Reign 1
Tempers started to flare as a roughing call to Nathan Guacher was followed by concurrent slashing and spearing calls to Agozzino and the Reigns Hodgson. San Diego killed both minors and the brief but not so rare four on three with ease, preventing the Reign from getting set for the entire sequence.
Taking back momentum after the kill San Diego stormed the Reign zone, creating several chances off the back of some hard work from the Gaucher line and then the Pastujov line.
With six minutes left in the frame Ontario came back with a push that saw Calle Clang required to deny yet more shots as the shot tally sprang out to a hilariously bad 39-13.
As per the standard Gulls vs Reign final few minutes of play – Tyson Hinds was given a delay of game penalty when his clearance when out over the glass. He plead his case that it was deflected but the Officials did not agree.
San Diego were able to kill the minor – even with the Reign pulling their net-minder with forty seconds left in the man advantage to make it a six on four Power Play.
The seconds ticked agonizingly slowly by as the tired looking Gulls players on the ice fought to stay in lanes while the Reign thankfully fumbled pucks before a final clear meant the win was in the books.
San Diego taking the victory 2-1 despite a huge final 42-13 shot advantage to the visitors.
Post Game Notes:
Mysak Status
As expected when acquiring a player from a Canadian team – said player has to deal with Visa issues. Mysak was not in the line-up tonight and a quick search on Twitter confirms that Mysak is still in Montreal awaiting his papers. He practiced on his own at the Bell Center today.
Wu Clang Is For The Children
A deserved first star for Calle Clang in a career high 41 save performance but also – he shouldn’t be facing that many shots and particularly when his own team is putting up less than twenty. That said – the young Swedish goaltender has been gaining confidence after hitting a low point earlier this season. Since returning from his assignment to Tulsa he has a 0.918 save percentage through 9 starts. His overall save percentage on the year is now a much more respectable 0.900 and his 8-11-4 record is edging closer to .500.
Standings Update
The win gives San Diego 50 points and a .463 points percentage, moving them above Henderson in the Pacific by that measure. They now sit 16 points back from Abbotsford in the final playoff spot with 18 games remaining. They next face the Central division leading Milwaukee Admirals who are currently on a two game skid before
2023-2024 Game 72: San Diego Gulls at Coachella Valley Firebirds
In the final game of the season after surrendering a three goal lead to go down 5-4 in ove…