LIVE: Gulls Stretch Point Streak To Eight With Win Over Reign
Mar 26, 2022By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls continued their second-half surge, dominating the rival Ontario Reign 5-1 tonight at Pechanga Arena San Diego. The win extends the team’s season-high point streak to eight games (7-0-0-1) and puts them into sixth place in the Pacific Division standings, one point ahead of the Henderson Silver Knights.
Hunter Drew and Jacob Perreault each scored a goal and added an assist while Nikolas Brouillard and Jacob Larsson chipped in with multi-point performances. The offense supported Olle Eriksson Ek, who stopped 42 shots for a second consecutive win over the Reign.
Third Period Recap
Bryce Kindopp pushed San Diego's lead to three at 6:25 of the final frame.
Brouillard chased down a Drew clearing attempt in the Ontario zone, keeping the puck along the side boards. He found Kindopp cutting down the wing, and the center did the rest, diving toward the net and flipping a shot over the glove of Reign netminder Matthew Villalta for his 10th goal of the season.
Both Brouillard (0-2=2) and Drew (1-1=2) earned their second point of the game on the play.
Perreault iced the game, scoring an empty-net goal with 3:07 left in regulation. It's his second point of the night and stretches his point streak to six games.
Second Period Recap
Drew restored San Diego's two-goal lead with 2:28 left in the period.
Larsson moved the puck to Brouillard, who carried it over the blue line with Drew trailing behind. The wing dropped it back, and Drew didn't hesitate, wiring a wrist shot off the glove of Villalta and into the back of the net for his 14th goal of the season.
The Kingston, ONT. native continues to lead San Diego in goals (6) and scoring (6-4=10) against the Reign.
Larsson earned his first multi-assist game on the tally and has three helpers in his last two games.
First Period Recap
Lucas Elvenes opened the scoring at 6:30 of the first period.
The Swedish center parked himself in front of the crease, curling to face an oncoming Brent Gates Jr. He snapped a shot toward the net, deflecting the puck off Elvenes and past Reign netminder Matthew Villalta for his eighth goal of the season.
Villalta is enjoying a career year with the Reign, coming into tonight at 22-6-5 with a 2.73 GAA and .910 SV%. He's tied for third among all AHL goaltenders in wins.
Eriksson Ek would make the lead stand, shutting down Austin Wagner on a high-danger scoring opportunity midway through the period. The Reign left wing scooted past the defense and found a soft spot in the slot, where he tried to sneak a shot past the blocker of Eriksson Ek. San Diego's netminder met the chance, punching it aside to turn away the Reign.
He enters at 6-11-2 with one shutout, a 3.25 goals-against average (GAA) and .884 save percentage (SV%). The Karlstad, Sweden native has a 1.95 goals-against average (GAA) and .926 save percentage (SV%) in his last three games. He faces Ontario for the first time since a 22-save performance on Mar. 19 to record his first American Hockey League shutout.
Alex Limoges continued his incredible offensive run, extending the lead to two with 3:39 left in the first period.
A Larsson dump-in attempt deflected off the boards and back out to the front of the net, surprising Villalta. The Reign goaltender tried to scramble back into the cage, lifting the net in the process. Limoges beat him to the puck, swiping it over the goal line - and under the now-lifted iron - for his 18th goal of the season.
The tally extends Limoges' point streak to six games (6-4=10). The rookie forward leads the team in goals and ihas 10-7=17 points in his last 14 games.
Ontario would solve Eriksson Ek with 1:43 left in the period with an Akil Thomas power-play goal. It snaps the San Diego goaltender's shutout streak over Ontario at 79:43.
T.J. Tynan - a thorn in the Gulls side - collected his 13th assist against San Diego.