San Diego Wins 6-2 Over Reign
October 9, 2022 – American Hockey League (AHL) – San Diego Gulls News Release
The San Diego Gulls won 6-2 against the Ontario Reign in their lone game of the 2022 preseason at Pechanga Arena San Diego. The Gulls are now 11-5-0-2 all-time in 18 preseason games, including 6-5-0-0 in designated home contests.
Bryce Kindopp netted a hattrick in the third period, including a game-winning shorthanded tally, to pace the Gulls in preseason scoring and points with 3-0=3.
Brent Gates Jr posted a multi-assist effort, earning 0-2=2 points in the victory to claim the team lead in assists during the preseason.
Blake McLaughlin opened the scoring for the Gulls with a power-play goal at 16:21 of the first period.
Logan Nijhoff also earned a tally in his preseason debut as a Gull at 13:21 of the second period.
Axel Andersson scored an unassisted shorthanded goal to put the Gulls ahead 5-2 at 13:31 of the final period.
Josh Lopina, Jacob Perreault, Max Golod and Hunter Drew also picked up assists in the win.
Lukas Dostal started for San Diego, stopping 18-of-19 shots in 31:16 minutes of play. Olle Eriksson Ek earned the win, stopping five-of-six shots in 28:44 of relief.
The Gulls will open their 2022-23 regular season Friday, Oct. 14 at Grand Rapids (4 p.m.), with the club’s Home Opener scheduled for Friday, Oct. 21 vs. Ontario (7 p.m.).
POSTGAME QUOTES
San Diego Gulls
Head Coach Roy Sommer
On the rivalry between San Diego and Ontario:
I actually almost went on that (the opposing) bench when I was walking to our bench. It’s been so long since we’ve played and I was here. It’s a rivalry; you can tell that’s something that’s been built up. Good game; guys put in a good week of work and played pretty solid. A lot of penalties, not a lot of flow.
On the physical play from his team:
It’s kind of all part of the game. You want to see guys finish their hits. It was 12 minors to five, half the game was special teams, so that was kind of hard. You could see both teams don’t like each other, so that fits for good fan support.
On the talent on his roster observed during training camp:
You never really know, like in practice, you do line rushes and don’t scrimmage much. It’s an opportunity for these guys to get in a game and we saw a lot of good things. The guys looked after one another when anything got punched up or whatever, there were guys in there helping each other out. That’s always a good thing, especially early on in the season. I thought the penalty kill was really good, got a couple of shorthanded goals. The power play looked alright. There’s still a lot of work to do, but good to see things are trending in the right direction.
On special teams playing a large role:
With almost 18 minors or something like that, almost half the game was special teams. I think we saw what we needed to see. I think certain guys stepped up and they were kind of on defense a little bit. You always like to finish with a win and go in the season on a high note.
Bryce Kindopp
On if it was frustrating playing a lot of special teams:
Yeah, for sure. A game like that it’s tough for your line to build some chemistry, especially when you’re not able to go out there and play all together and get into a rhythm. But I thought our special teams really battled and did their job, but at the same time, it was good.
On his hat trick:
It is still the preseason, but obviously every day you are trying to prove yourself still. New coaches, new faces so you want to leave a good impression obviously. Just playing with good players. We have a really deep team obviously, so I’m just trying to do what I can to stay in the lineup every night. If you play with good players, go to the right areas, you get some good bounces.
On if he considers his penalty killing as one of the strongest areas of his game:
I love going on the kill and it kind of sets a fire in you knowing that it’s a big kill when you need it. So, I think it’s something I can use my speed with and kind of use some of my defensive skill ability and there’s always some little chances you get can get. So, as long as I can do that often, I’ll be happy.
On facing Ontario in the upcoming home opener:
Obviously, it was just the preseason but whoever was watching the games could see the festivities going on. It’s always been like that ever since I’ve been here. So, a big rivalry so I feel like it’s going to be a hard battle every night in a game like that.
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