Game 5: San Diego Gulls v Ontario Reign

Still looking for their first win of the season after a poor effort in their home opener a week before the Gulls faced a tough task in a stacked Ontario Reign team. Coach Kevin Dineen shuffled the lines yet again, splitting up De Leo and Kloos, taking out Dostie and inserting Broadhurst while also scratching Hakanpaa and putting in Scott Moldenhauer.

From puck drop you could tell the Gulls had a lot more jump and any potential signs of unfamiliarity were covered over by an overall increase in energy from every single player. Josh Mahura had a great chance within the first thirty seconds of action but his hard wrist shot from the high slot sailed high over the Reign net.

Ontario responded with the Grundstrom line and executed after a minute of keeping the Gulls in their own zone chasing the action; the former Leafs second rounder tipping a point shot through traffic and passed Kevin Boyle for a 1-0 lead to the cross-town rivals.

San Diego controlled things for the remainder of the period, coming close on several opportunities and exhibiting some of the best hockey they have played in the the season thus far. Alex Broadhurst had a good speed rush to kick off some sustained San Diego momentum in the Reign zone during which Daniel Sprong hit the post and Josh Mahura carried all the way to the Ontario crease.

The period ended with San Diego still controlling play and possession with the shot map telling the story more accurately than the score.

The second period played out much like the first. The Gulls had a dangerous opportunity early as Andrew Poturalski won a board battle and got the puck out to Antoine Morand in front of the Reign net but the Ducks 2017 second rounder was slashed at the moment of truth.

San Diego had some good looks on the Power Play but were unable to convert and much like the first frame of action, a Reign counter-attack resulted in the Gulls being down 2-0 even though they had controlled play for the majority of the start of the period.

It should be noted that although Sprong looked good on the man advantage when he had the puck with speed and room, at any other point he looked disinterested. I don’t want to directly blame him for the Reign second goal but there was a point on that shift where he went behind the Ontario net and stood there doing nothing hoping his team-mate engaged in a puck battle would get it to him. It just seemed like terrible awareness and overall defensive apathy from him.

On the very next shift Simon Benoit restored hope for the Pechanga Arena faithful when his point shot snuck by Peterson as it filtered through traffic in front. Antoine Morand and Sam Carrick winning board battles to setup the goal.

San Diego then proceeded to control things for the remainder of the period, even getting a full minute of five on three to close it out but were frustratingly unable to get the game-tying goal by Cal Peterson.

Isac Lundestrom had a very strong performance in the middle frame, stripping Reign defenders of pucks and setting up team-mates for dangerous chances on numerous occasions and drawing the final Reign penalty as he took a stick up high while carrying the puck down low in the Ontario zone.

Shots were 23 to 16 for the Gulls to finish the second and the Shot Map again painted a picture of the quality chances that San Diego were getting.

I only caught the first seven minutes or so of the third period and the Gulls appeared to be playing well from that I saw, dropping a goal to the Reign in the first few minutes but coming back with one of their own on the Power Play thanks to Chris Wideman at the half way point.

But it was at this point that I had to leave to watch my home-town Tasman Mako compete in and win the Championship final in front of the home crowd here in Nelson so I missed what turned out to be an embarrassing ending to the game. Ontario eventually coming away 6-2 winners.