In possibly the weirdest line-up in the season thus far, Coach Dineen elevated Gates Jr. to the top line and moved Morand to the fourth line to center Gazdic and Drew – playing at forward. Jani Hakanpaa returned to the line-up and Kevin Boyle was given the start in net.
Just as I initially questioned his placement on the top line, Brent Gates Jr. got the scoring started by finding space in the neutral zone and chipping the puck off the wall to himself to head in alone on the Reign net. Faking right before sending a quick snapshot high blocker side past Villalta. 1-0 Gulls.
Just over a minute later the Reign answered as Martin Frk snuck behind the Gulls defense to have a breakaway of his own. Jani Hakanpaa caught up to him and drew a penalty as he hauled him down before a shot could be taken. Frk was awarded a penalty shot on the play and calmly sent a quick wrist shot five-hole through Boyle to tie things up. 1-1.
A few minutes later Sam Carrick was called for tripping and the Reign Power Play used almost the entire two minutes to put San Diego under extreme duress. Only Kevin Boyle making back to back desperation saves allowed them to escape the minor unscathed.
Play settled down for the next ten minutes or so until a good passing play between Sam Carrick and Troy Terry at the Reigns blue line allowed the former World Juniors hero to enter the Ontario zone, pull up and use Ryan Stanton as a screen to fire a shot high over Villalta to get the lead back. 2-1 Gulls.
Then things got a bit messy. Josh Mahura was called on a dubious tripping call and right off the bat the Reign almost tied things up but for Boyle once again playing the hero. Then Kiefer Sherwood stripped the puck from a Reign defender and headed in alone on a shorthanded breakaway, attempting a bean-pot maneuver that he ran out of space on as the back-checking Reign defenders piled on top of him. Morand came in to check for a rebound but did not make any motion at the net but the Reigns Frk for some reason took exception to him being on the ice and cross-checked him. Morand then understandably fought back. When the resulting net-front scrum was finally cleared the penalties were given to Morand for roughing, Bouma for roughing and Boko Imama for Cross-Checking. Frk was given nothing.
Brendan Guhle was called for tripping with just over a minute left in the period, forced to prevent Frk from getting a scoring chance as the pesky winger got behind him. The period ended with teams skating at 4-4 and time remaining on the penalties dished out for the previous scrum carrying over to the second period. Entering the first intermission San Diego were up by one but behind in shots 15-11, the shot map showing both teams having a healthy amount of high-danger chances.
The second period picked up right where the first ended, as Chris Wideman was called for roughing after he took exception to the Reign continually bumping Kevin Boyle.
On the penalty kill the Gulls gave Ontario no time to set up and soon found themselves on a three on two break. Jani Hakanpaa taking a shot from the slot that Villalta stopped but Sam Carrick following up on the rebound was able to dive and slide it by him from behind the goal line. 3-1 Gulls.
The Reign responded with a rush that left Eyssimont alone in the slot to deek around Boyle but last years Gulls AHL All Star absolutely robbed the Reign pest by reaching back to snag his shot with the glove. A spectacular save and the kind San Diego have really been missing from their goaltender lately.
Essyimont understandably frustrated with himself; took his demeanor out on Josh Mahura as he clipped the Gulls second year defender with a knee on knee hit. Essyimont was not penalized on the play and thankfully Mahura returned to action a few shifts later.
Troy Terry made magic happen a few minutes later when he entered the Ontario zone with sped, saw space and sent a pass into a soft area near the high slot. Brendan Guhle collected it with speed and fired a shot low by Villalta to make it 4-1.
San Diego kept up their momentum for the remainder of the period but Jani Hakanpaa was called for high sticking, rubbing out out Reign captain Brett Sutter along the boards as time expired. San Diego taking a 4-1 lead into the second intermission but still behind in shots 30-21. The shot map showing that Kevin Boyle was the difference in the middle frame.
San Diego started the third period by killing the minor to Hakanpaa and then went right back to the attack. Spending shift after shift in the Ontario zone and sending players buzzing around the Reign net.
They broke through again when Justin Kloos finished off a rebound from a good cycle down low by the Pietila line. 5-1 Gulls.
Boko Imama tried to mix things up after the goal as he got in-between a brief exchange that was occurring with Frk and Drew and the Ontario enforcer was given the additional penalty after the scrum completed to put the Gulls back on the Power Play. With the score at 5-1 and San Diego more than in control Coach Dineen elected to give some rare Power Play time to Scott Moldenhauer and the youngster looked good at the point, getting back to back shots through on net while making the Gulls man advantage look dangerous.
San Diego continued to run play in the Ontario zone exhibiting a committed team attack and the sort of confidence not seen since November. Simon Benoit came close to getting another as he was setup by Jani Hakanpaa but the puck was rolling and he fanned on the shot at the moment of truth.
Antoine Morand was rewarded for all of his great play of late as he created his own chance on a partial break, broke away from his man and fired a hard shot all in one motion as he sped in on Villalta. The under siege Reign net-minder was helpless to stop the shot. 6-1 Gulls.
San Diego ran the rest of time down and completed the 6-1 statement victory by playing keep away in the neutral zone. The back to back wins bringing San Diego up to 14-15-2.
Post Game Notes:
Boyle Is Back: Just the one thing I wanted to note. With his performance to night and Save Percentage trending upwards in all of his previous starts, I think it is finally time to give Boyle a back to back start. If he is not in start for the Gulls next game after a win like tonight, then I have serious questions for Coach Dineen.
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