Gulls' Early Lead Erased in 4-2 Loss to Ontario
April 16, 2016 - American Hockey League (AHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release
SAN DIEGO - Kris Newbury's goal at 12:14 of the third period broke a 1-1 tie, and the Ontario Reign quickly tacked on short handed and power play goals, extending out to an eventual 4-2 win over the San Diego Gulls at Valley View Casino Center. A crowd of 11,264 saw the Reign (44-18-4-1) clinch the top spot in the Western Conference for the upcoming Calder Cup Playoffs.
The Gulls (38-23-4-2) lost despite scoring the game's first goal, a rebound score by Matt Bailey with 23 seconds remaining in the first period. San Diego lost in regulation for the first time all year when scoring first (28-1-2-1).
The Reign, who out-shot San Diego 42-34 on the night, controlled the second period and found an equalizer on a tip in front of Gulls netminder Anton Khudobin by forward Jordan Samuels-Thomas at 4:29 of the frame. The game was tied 1-1 after forty minutes.
After back-and-forth tense action for the opening eleven minutes of the third period, an extended possession by the veteran Reign turned into the go-ahead goal. Kris Newbury pounced on a puck left in the mid-slot and snapped in his tenth goal of the season at 12:14 for a 2-1 Ontario lead.
The Gulls had an opportunity to tie things up on the power play after Jeff Schultz was called for delay of game, but instead the tables turned on a giveaway in the San Diego zone on the man advantage. Nic Dowd pounced and finished with a weaving move in front of the net at 16:10 to give the Reign a 3-1 advantage.
Seconds later, a power play for Ontario was quickly cashed in when Jeff Schultz threaded a pass through to power forward Michael Mersch, who scored his 24th goal of the season. The score was answered seven seconds later by Michael Sgarbossa of the Gulls, who won the center ice draw, picked up a return pass from Brandon Montour and skated in down the middle, finishing high over Peter Budaj (32 saves on 34 shots) for his 17th goal of the year.
A late power play opportunity came up empty for the Gulls, who struck out in six chances against the Reign's top ranked penalty kill. The two teams will face one another again on Saturday night to conclude the AHL regular season.
• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...
American Hockey League Stories from April 16, 2016
- Ontario's Peter Budaj Wins AHL's Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award - Ontario Reign
- Schmalz Shines as Reign Fall to Gulls in Final Regular-Season - Ontario Reign
- Ontario's Peter Budaj Wins AHL's Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award - AHL
- Crunch Comeback Falls Short in Overtime, 4-3 - Syracuse Crunch
- IceHogs to Meet Lake Erie in First Round of Calder Cup Playoffs - Rockford IceHogs
- Griffins Look to Playoffs Following 3-2 Loss in Finale - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Manitoba Moose Post-Game Report - Manitoba at Texas - April 16 - Manitoba Moose
- Rowney Receives Team MVP, Scores Only Goal in 3-1 Loss - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Admirals Face Grand Rapids in First Round of Calder Cup Playoffs - Milwaukee Admirals
- Rattie, Wolves Wrap Season with Win - Chicago Wolves
- Rattie, Wolves Wrap Season with Win - Chicago Wolves
- Stars Finish off Regular Season with 4-1 Win in Front of Sellout Crowd - Texas Stars
- Wild Closes out Season with 4-2 Defeat in Chicago - Iowa Wild
- Falcons Rally to Defeat Pirates - Springfield Falcons
- Bears Rally from Behind against Phantoms - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Bears Defeat Phantoms, Lock up Division Title - Hershey Bears
- Providence Beats Penguins, Will Meet Again for Playoffs - Providence Bruins
- Comets Claim Third Consecutive Galaxy Cup - Utica Comets
- Condors Cap Season on Three-Game Win Streak, 3-2, in Grand Rapids - Bakersfield Condors
- Cleveland's Lake Erie Monsters' Playoff Schedule Announced - Cleveland Monsters
- IceHogs Season Award Winners Named - Rockford IceHogs
- Griffins to Open Playoffs against Admirals - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Albany Devils Dominance Gets Lost in Mayhem - Albany Devils
- Wolf Pack Conclude Season with 2-1 Setback at St. John's - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Toronto Marlies Post Game Notes - Toronto Marlies
- Bridgeport ends road schedule with loss - Bridgeport Islanders
- Mason Geertsen Reassigned to Komets - San Antonio Rampage
- IceCaps Top Wolf Pack to End Season in Victory - St. John's IceCaps
- Guhle Scores as Amerks Drop First of Two with Marlies - Rochester Americans
- Syracuse Crunch Present 2015-16 Team Awards - Syracuse Crunch
- American Hockey League Announces Suspension - AHL
- Ryan Macinnis and Kyle Wood Report to Springfield - Springfield Falcons
- Regular Season Finale Tonight against Milwaukee - Rockford IceHogs
- Final Home Game of the Season Tonight at 7:30 Sees Heat Wear Military Themed Sweaters - Stockton Heat
- Ritchie Recalled by Anaheim - San Diego Gulls
- Panthers Recall Shaw from Portland - Portland Pirates
- Ontario Reign Game Preview: Reign and Gulls Wrap up 2015-16 Regular Season Tonight - Ontario Reign
- Game Day: Albany Devils vs. Bridgeport Sound Tigers - Albany Devils
- Manitoba Moose Post-Game Report - Manitoba at San Antonio - April 15 - Manitoba Moose
- Carruth, IceHogs Shut out Griffins 4-0 - Rockford IceHogs
- Gulls' Early Lead Erased in 4-2 Loss to Ontario - San Diego Gulls
- Reign Capture Western Conference Regular-Season Title with 4-2 Win - Ontario Reign
- Griffins Fall 4-0 in Rockford, Will Learn First-Round Opponent - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Rampage Close out 2015-16 Campaign with 5-2 Loss to Moose - San Antonio Rampage
- Admirals Fall in Regular Season Finale - Milwaukee Admirals
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
