Gulls Reign Over Ontario As Point Streak Hits Eight
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.
"Well, I think every position showed up and Olle (Eriksson Ek) showed up today in a nice way," Gulls head coach Joel Bouchard said. "Our d-men (defensemen) showed up and adjusted as the game went on versus a really good team. You’ve got to credit to Ontario, and I think our team progressed the whole game. I’m very proud, the third period was our best period of the game by far and I feel that, obviously, Ontario is coming with...look, they’re one of the top teams in the AHL, and I like the way we adjusted. I like the way we didn’t give much when we were in the d-zone against a good team, but they were good on the rush and if you make mistakes, they make you pay.
"So, I think our growth in this game was important and the guys were playing on instinct and habits and knowing what give us success so that’s why we’re building that kind of momentum right now."
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.
"He was awesome," Gulls center Bryce Kindopp said of his goaltender. "He’s been awesome all year. You know if there’s a breakdown, he’s there to bail us out, so you can play with confidence. You know if you make a mistake he’ll be there. So, it’s really easy to play when he’s playing good."
The first period featured two hometown bounces, giving the Gulls an early advantage.
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.
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.
"Yeah, he looked good, he looked good, he feels good," Bouchard said. "I think that it’s a season where he had to go to the NHL because of the taxi squad. He came back with us, he worked hard so we’re very proud of him and pro careers are tough. You’re gonna go through ups and downs like we talk about a lot and we’re really proud of his attitude, and the way he compete through adversity and I think tonight is, again, a good showing of guys learning the game and learning how to manage things and he’s done really well tonight. I’m very proud of him."
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 has 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.
From there, the Reign put the pedal to the medal, opening the second frame with a barrage of shots and looking for the game-tying goal.
Drew would snuff out their comeback attempt, restoring San Diego’s two-goal advantage 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.
Larsson earned his first multi-assist game on the tally and has three helpers in his last two games.
Not satisfied with their two-goal lead, San Diego made sure to add on in the game’s final frame.
Kindopp pushed San Diego's lead to three at 6:25 of the final frame.
"Obviously, I’m playing with two really good players there," Kindopp said. "I think Drewsy (Hunter Drew) just flipped one out of the zone and I saw Brew (Nikolas Brouillard) get it on the wall. I kind of yelled for it a little mini 2-on-1, the d-men took Drewsy away and I was just lucky to put it in."
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.
The Gulls will close the weekend tomorrow as they face the league-leading Stockton Heat at Pechanga Arena.
"Well, like I told the players, 'I’m giving you praise right now, but we go right back at it tomorrow. I’m gonna to be on top of you, I’m gonna be over you,'" Bouchard said. "They know right now what we’re asking, it’s instinctive. I can feel it’s way more natural and it’s getting more natural and we work on stuff since the beginning of the year and we’ve added stuff since February and we see that it’s working on every level.
"Success is not a magic trick. You’ve got to go back and you’ve got to get your rest tonight, get your fluid, and get your food and come back tomorrow and we’re playing like top team in, probably, the AHL or way up there so it’s gonna be tough."