Gulls Defeat Reign 2-1
Mar 13, 2024By Morgan Korovec/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls earned the redemption game they had hoped for Wednesday night as they took down the rival Ontario Reign 2-1 at Pechanga Arena San Diego, giving them three wins in the first four games of their six-game homestand (3-1-0-0).
The night was highlighted by a career night from Calle Clang, who blocked 41-of-42 shots on the evening to set a new AHL career high.
"We just tried to honestly survive," Clang said. "They’re a really good team, so we kind of have to fight and conquer. I think we did a really good job. Some guys doing big blocks there, that helps a lot and it was a really good team effort today and I’m glad we got the two points.
"We just got to keep doing what we did today. Play as a team and have each other’s back."
With their rivalry renewed for the seventh time this season, tensions were high to open the match as Travis Howe and Jacob Doty dropped their gloves less than two minutes into the first.
Howe's heavyweight tilt sparked the Gulls, as Nikita Nesterenko notched his 13th goal of the season midway through the first to put the Gulls on top.
Robert Hagg (2-6=8) then fired a shot past Erik Portillo at 15:38 in the opening frame to extend San Diego’s lead.
San Diego kept Ontario off the scoreboard until around 35 seconds into the middle frame, as Samuel Fagemo tucked one into the net for the Reign’s lone goal.
Despite Ontario clawing to close the gap, the final frame saw no new action in either net, which would secure a hard-earned victory for the Gulls.
"We thought that our key word going out for the third period was going to be composure," head coach Matt McIlvane said. "It was going to be can we flip the script on their trap and can we be able to stay calm and composed."
Andrew Agozzino (14-29=43) and Glenn Gawdin (17-25=42) each recorded an assist on the night.
San Diego’s Wednesday night win marks their fourth over the Reign this season (4-3-0-0). The teams will meet again in April to close out their regular season-series.
The Gulls will hit the ice again on Friday night as they kick off back-to-back games with the Milwaukee Admirals at Pechanga Arena San Diego beginning on Friday, Mar. 15 (7 p.m. PST).