PREVIEW: Gulls Look To Get Even With Reign In Ontario
Oct 22, 2022By Brett Pickler/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls travel up the freeway to finish their home and home series with the Ontario Reign tonight at Toyota Arena (6 p.m. PT; TV: AHL TV, RADIO: Gulls Audio Network ).
The Gulls enter the contest following a goalie battle that saw Lukas Dostal stop 34 out of 36 shots in a 2-1 loss. Defenseman Nikolas Brouillard extended his point streak to three games with an assist on San Diego’s lone goal. He currently leads all American Hockey League defensemen with 2-4=6 points.
While both teams have powerful offenses, it looks like goaltending will be the story of this series. In Friday’s game, the teams combined for 81 shots, with only three finding the back of the net. New Reign goaltender Pheonix Copley stopped 44 of 45 shots in his first start against San Diego. The North Pole, AK native enters tonight second in the AHL with 91 saves.
"I'll tell you what, we ran into a hell of a goalie," Gulls head coach Roy Sommer said following last night’s loss. "The people that came tonight got to witness a goaltending battle. I think we had 46, 47 shots on net, probably 25 scoring chances and only one went in. We hit a couple of posts. It wasn't for a lack of effort or the way we played. Hell of an entertaining hockey game, I'll tell you that.
"I would say that if we play like that, we're going to win a hell of a lot more than we're going to lose."
Gulls defenseman Josh Healey cited a sharper focus on the defensive zone as a key for tonight’s matchup.
"We played pretty well in the (defensive) zone," he said following the game. "We had a couple lapses and that obviously led to some goals, but for the most part, we played well and like I said, we’ll be ready tomorrow. "
Ontario enters matchup with 3-1-0-0 record fueled by the play of TJ Tynan, who leads the AHL in scoring with 1-7=8 points. He enters tonight riding a four-game point streak with multi-point games in all but one contest.
In addition to the playmaking prowess of Tynan, his linemate, Samuel Fagemo, will be looking to get back on the scoresheet after being shut down by the Gulls. Fagemo leads Ontario with three goals and is second on the team in shots.
San Diego travels to Ontario with a mission to get back on the winning column and avoid a three-game losing streak. However, the Reign currently have the momentum on their side winning the last four regular-season contests against the Gulls.
"Honestly, we played pretty well," Healey said when asked about adjustments for today’s matchup. "We had lots of chances. We could have tightened up a few things in the (defensive) zone, but overall, on the offensive side, we did a great job moving pucks up. We had lots of chances and we’ve just got to find the back of the net tomorrow."