Gulls Fall Short to Reign in Overtime in Preseason Exhibition
Sep 25, 2026By Ashley Rubin/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls fell to the Ontario Reign in overtime tonight in their lone preseason exhibition match at Toyota Arena, 4-3.
Ontario held the lead through the opening frame, finding the back of the net twice. The Gulls couldn’t put one through in the first but rebounded immediately in the second, finding two goals within the first two minutes of the period.
Matthew Phillips was first, finding the back of the net with help from Yegor Sidorov and Ryan Carpenter just 40 seconds into the frame. The second San Diego goal was netted by Herman Traff at the 1:54 mark with an assist credited to camp invite Zachary Murray.
The Reign regained their lead in the third, but it did not last long as Gulls forward Sasha Mutala netted an unassisted goal to tie the game once again. The goal led to the game being sent into overtime, where Ontario was able to put one past Damian Clara to secure the win 1:27 into extra play.
Goaltender Tomas Suchanek started the game between the pipes, saving 13-of-15 shots in 30:43. Clara took over halfway through the second frame in a planned goaltender switch, also saving 13-of-15 shots.
More of this action will be seen when San Diego opens the regular season on Saturday, Oct. 3 at Tech CU Arena as they take on the San Jose Barracuda at 3 p.m. PST.