With a line-up heavy with veterans thanks to the Ducks finally taking a committed youth-movement approach the San Diego Gulls iced the following in the first game of action to start the 2021-2022 season.
Coach Bouchard going with the extra defender rather than make the difficult choice of deciding who would be left out from eight blue-liners all eager to prove themselves. Notable scratches included Jack Badini and Niklas Brouillard.
First Period:
Shots were low as teams seemed to go through a feeling out process to start that Ontario seemed to emerge from first as they upped the tempo and controlled the majority of chances through the first ten minutes. The Carrick-Milano-Lettieri line was predictably the Gulls best – showing NHL speed and skill in the Reign zone but with execution still carrying some off-season rust.
Ontario continued to carry the play and generate chances on Eriksson Ek including a breakaway that the young net-minder calmly stopped. Just as the Carrick line appeared to be generating some momentum a missed pass lead to Ontario entering the San Diego Gulls zone before a comic series of events involving Sonny Milano back-checking and intercepting a pass but then losing it again to Martin Frk who wasted no time in firing it by a surprised Olle Eriksson Ek. 1-0 Reign in the dying seconds of the period.
The San Diego Gulls heading to the first intermission down by one and looking very much like a team that has never played together before. Shots were 10-6 for the Reign with the shot map showing the SoCal rivals enjoying the majority of high quality scoring chances.
Second Period: Ontario Reign 1 – San Diego Gulls 0
The San Diego Gulls had a strong start to the second. Spending more time in the Ontario zone and throwing pucks on net rather than try to make the extra pass. But it did not take long for the Reign to re-exert their dominance, eventually adding to their lead via a Power Play strike from Martin Frk. 2-0 Reign.
Less than a minute later the Reign struck again from a point shot that beat Eriksson Ek high through traffic. 3-0 Reign.
The Gulls came back with a response shift from the Carrick line but again, they seemed disjointed and out of sync.
The Reign were once again creating chances in the San Diego zone when Jordan Spence got a little overzealous and was called for closing his hand on the puck.
The San Diego first Power Play unit consisted of Sam Carrick centering Alex Limoges and Sonny Milano with Kodie Curran and Vinni Lettieri at the point. Carrick won the face-off and the unit was able to get some passing around the perimeter while recovering the puck after taking some shots but an errant pass to the blue line lead to the second unit coming on. Consisting of O’Regan, Perreault, Volkov up front – it was Perrault who found himself with time and space at the right circle to wind up and absolutely blast a shot that forced its way through Matthew Villalta to make it 3-1.
The Gulls heading to the second intermission down by two and behind on shots 25-15. The Reign still enjoying the better of the chances in tight but the Gulls definitely picking things up overall on the period – despite the score.
Third Period: Ontario Reign 3 – San Diego Gulls 1
Time seemed to fly by in the third with the Gulls unable to generate many high danger chances while the Reign continued to press in the San Diego zone.
Teams exchanged Power Plays at the midway mark of the frame before the Gulls appeared to be generating some healthy momentum. Trevor Carrick then took a bad slashing penalty in the Reign zone to halt that momentum as the Gulls had to start again with four minutes left in the game after killing the penalty.
Bryce Kindopp and Jacob Perreault had a great opportunity on a two on one break but Matthew Villalta stuck with the young Perreault as he cut back inside on the backhand.
Bouchard pulled Eriksson Ek with just under four minutes remaining but the Reign were able to force a turnover in the neutral zone to ice it 4-1 with three minutes remaining. After the goal it appeared to me that Aidan Dudas skated without looking where he was going into Sam Carricks stick at the bench and a fracas broke out after the altercation and misunderstanding.
The Reign scored on the resulting Power Play and more fights broke out after – including Hunter Drew coming to the rescue of Eriksson Ek as he exchanged jabs with Alex Turcotte.
Vinni Lettieri got the Gulls one more off a nice passing play with Sonny Milano as the game mercifully ended in a 5-2 defeat.
Post Game Notes:
New Team Who Dis?
Disappointing loss but not the end of the world. The Gulls looked very very unfamiliar with each other and their systems. Which is understandable given it is the first game under a brand new set of coaches with only 9 of 18 skaters consistent members of the team last season. It will take time for them to gel and on a positive note, they actually did look better as the game went on. By the end of the game they were actually looking the more dominant team when they were not fighting.
Changes Incoming
We saw the Ducks put Derek Grant and Greg Pateryn on waivers today so that means they are eventually coming down and two replacements will be going up. Grant had been playing wing so I am guessing either Alexander Volkov or Sonny Milano head the other direction while possibly Kodie Curran heads up as well. Grant will give the Gulls a much needed extra center and another veteran voice in the room – something they might be missing without De Leo. Pateryn joins an already full defensive corps and might have to sit to keep within the 5 player veteran limit.
The Pieces Are There
Nobody really stood out from this game. Eriksson Ek did his best – I couldn’t fault him for any of the Reign goals. Rafferty showed flashes of being able to control in the offensive zone but couldn’t find someone open to pass to. Milano is ticketed for the NHL its just a matter of today or tomorrow. Robinson and O’Regan look like they will be great depth scoring pieces, once they fit into the system. It is all going to come together, it will just take some time and possibly some embarrassing losses first.
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