Looking to get vengeance over their cross-town rivals and back on track toward their upcoming post-season division tournament the Gulls headed home to Irvine for digital fan appreciation night sporting “tweet tape” (feat one of my tweets, thanks Gulls!). No changes were made to the line-up but for Eriksson Ek getting the start.
Alex Dostie took the games first penalty as he was called for slashing just under five minutes in and the Gulls went to work on the penalty kill. San Diego were able to kill the minor with some good neutral zone play as the Reign were unable to get set for the entire sequence.
The Reign got on the board first after Sam Fagemo drifted behind Axel Andersson and Keegan Lowe to receive a pass and get one by Eriksson Ek. 1-0 Reign.
The Gulls came oh so close to tying things up on a goal mouth scramble that ended with Hunter Drew getting robbed at the far post as they continued to press. Getting a Power Play opportunity moments later as Mikey Essymont was called for tripping. The man advantage remained barren but the added bout of possession gave the Gulls back some much needed momentum as they closed the shot-total gap.
Jack Badini was called for hooking as he prevented a shot on a Reign breakaway with a minute left in the period – their second breakaway of the first twenty minutes – and the Gulls went back to the penalty kill to close out the period. The visitors taking a 1-0 lead to the first intermission and owning the edge in shots 13-11.
Ontario doubled their lead as the Badini penalty was expiring, Arthur Kaliyev dropped into a soft area and pounced on a rebound that popped out into the slot. 2-0 Reign.
San Diego again tried to come back with a push, getting a Power Play when Jack Badini was tripped in the Ontario zone but they could not find the room to get a high danger chance on Villalta.
The Reign made it 3-0 on a goal that Eriksson Ek would probably like to have back. Adam Johnson getting his third on the year with a quick low wrist shot from the high slot that beat the rookie goaltender clean with no traffic in front.
San Diego continued to try mount a push back and were given a Power Play with just over 11 minutes into the middle frame. Andrew Poturalski broke a five game goal-less drought while more importantly giving the Gulls ailing Power Play some life as he took a puck from the right boards and fired a hard wrist shot by Villalta after some great sustained pressure. 3-1 Reign.
The Reign hit right back as Martin Frk was given too much time and space on the wing to wind up and blast a shot by Eriksson Ek to make it 4-1.
Ontario continued to pressure and caught the Gulls outnumbered down low once again as Olle Eriksson Ek could not snag the rebound from a three on one opportunity. 5-1 Reign.
The visitors taking a convincing four goal lead to the second intermission and dominating shots 30-21.
San Diego began the third with a better step, getting some chances via a Chase De Leo breakaway and some much improved fore-checking.
Chase De Leo getting rewarded by following up some good pressure down low by Lowe and Limoges to intercept a break-out pass and fire the puck in the net in one smooth motion. 5-2 Reign.
The Gulls continued to pressure, keeping the puck in the Ontario zone and getting shots on the Reign net, once again rewarded as Alex Limoges got a puck from Chase De Leo in front of the net and slid it around Villalta to make it 5-3 Reign.
Jeremy Roy took a stupid penalty as he got his stick up high on a Reign player driving the Gulls net after a shot and the Gulls were sent to the penalty kill just as they were starting to close the gap. San Diego were able to kill the minor but the Reign looked incredibly dangerous on the man advantage, Arthur Kaliyev had back to back chances to execute the “Tropp the Mic” play but missed on both. The Gulls were given their own Power Play with six minutes remaining in the period but were caught high on an odd man rush and the Reign got a heart-breaker shorthanded. 6-3 Reign.
The Gulls managed to hit back with another on the Power Play as Groulx fired a shot on the Reign net that Bryce Kindopp deftly redirected at the near-side to make it 6-4 with five minutes remaining.
Keeping their momentum, San Diego were given another Power Play with four minutes left and pulled Eriksson Ek for the extra attacker as time wound down. The Reign were able to kill the minor and won a face-off in their zone, transitioning the puck up ice and eventually into the Gulls empty net despite a full-effort from all six players to try to prevent it. 7-4 Reign.
Ontario handing the Gulls another loss despite a valiant effort by the out-gunned San Diego outfit.
Post Game Notes
Don’t Worry, The Cavalry is Coming
I’ll try not to say all the same things I said after the last game, but again it is pretty clear that this Reign squad is a heck of a lot more talented than the Gulls and that is simply due to the depth the Kings organization now has. That said, the Ducks play their last game tomorrow so one can expect the likes of Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, Sam Carrick, Josh Mahura and Simon Benoit to join the squad for next weeks games in Colorado. That is if…
Those Colorado Games, Will They Happen?
Bakersfield and Colorado had a game cancelled today due to Covid precautions. Apparently a player on the Eagles tested positive. So whether or not that puts the Gulls final three game stint with them in jeopardy we will have to see but if those games do end up being cancelled, that only gives the Gulls this next game tomorrow against Bakersfield to keep their Points Percentage above the suddenly surging Barracuda. The Gulls are now at .588 and the Barracuda are .529 with two games left.
Special Teams Check-In
Surprisingly the Gulls Power Play is in the top ten in the league, clicking at 20.2% and even with the Henderson Silver Knights. They have 33 Power Play goals, the most in the league but have also played the most games in the league, 40 contests. The Chicago Wolves have 29 Power Play goals in 28 games. The Gulls have also seen the most Power Play opportunities, which makes sense. The penalty kill is also still top ten but has fallen off a cliff some-what after being first and then second in the league for much of the first month of the season. They are currently 8th with an 83.6% kill rate, have been the most times shorthanded (165 times) and are tied for third most Power Play goals allowed with 27.
2024-2025 Game 25: San Diego Gulls at Tucson Roadrunners
Tucson, Arizona. After seeing their point streak ended at the hands of a 2-0 shut-out the …