Gulls Preseason Postgame Notes: September 30, 2019, San Diego 2 vs. Ontario 3
October 1, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release
*San Diego 2 vs. Ontario 3
Sept. 30, 2019
Honda Center
1-1-0-0, 2 points
The San Diego Gulls concluded the 2019 preseason with a 3-2 loss at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
Chris Wideman scored San Diego's first goal (PPG) at 5:44 of the first period on a two-man advantage.
Chase De Leo netted his lone goal of the preseason at 14:27 of the third period.
Blake Pietila earned an assist to complete the preseason leading San Diego in scoring with 3-1=4 points.
Corey Tropp, Jani Hakanpaa and Andrew Poturalski each recorded assists.
In his first preseason action with San Diego, Kevin Boyle stopped 25-of-28 shots.
The Gulls open the 2019-20 regular season this Friday, Oct. 4 against the Bakersfield Condors at Mechanics Bank Arena (7 p.m.).
POSTGAME QUOTES
San Diego Gulls
Chase De Leo
On playing games again
It feels good. For us, we went deep in the playoffs so (the offseason) was pretty short, but a lot of hard work. I came to Great Park Ice and took advantage of that new, beautiful facility. Trained there every single day, had training camp and now we are back at it.
On playing in his hometown arena at Honda Center
It's fun, it's awesome. It's been a dream of mine my entire life. My parents had tickets to the inaugural game at "The Pond" for the Ducks, so of course it's my dream. I'm going to keep working for it, keep getting better every day and pushing for a full-time spot with the Ducks.
On his goal
It was a good play, Jani found me. I was pretty much wide open in the slot, so I was hoping he would spot me. He slid it over and it was pretty much an open net.
On preparation for the regular season
It's good, especially for the guys in NHL camp getting into those preseason games. It's a different speed, a different level. Even here in the AHL it's still a high speed, but it is a little bit crisper when you're up top. It makes it easier for you when you come back down and play in the AHL. Try to maintain that crispness and sharpness, so it's definitely an advantage for sure.
Chris Wideman:
On playing games again
Fans were great tonight. It was exciting to play in this building, in front of such a big and loud crowd. Unfortunately we didn't get the result that we wanted. But, a fun game to be a part of.
On his goal
Just a 5-on-3, great screen in front of the net. Training camp and exhibitions, so, you know, it's stuff we haven't worked on too much yet. But it was good to get one in and hopefully we can build off that and go into the season with the power play clicking.
On coming out of Great Parks Ice and getting back to San Diego
I haven't been to San Diego yet so it'll be new for me, but I think the guys are excited to get the season started. We've worked really hard in camp. Through the NHL camp it was a difficult camp and very demanding. And the last few days with the Gulls group, it's been tough too. We'll be ready to go on Friday. Like I said, not the result we wanted tonight but some good stuff that we can build on, and some stuff we can definitely improve.
Head Coach Kevin Dineen:
On transitioning into the regular season
I think there's still a lot of work to be done. We're still bringing in players being sent down from Anaheim. That's never an easy thing for anybody, so there's a little bit of an adjustment period. We're still working on systems, that kind of thing. We're making progress. We're excited. We're disappointed not to win in this great building. But the building blocks are in place, we keep on going.
On impressions of the Gulls
I liked their push back, again. But we don't want to get in the habit of putting ourselves in a hole down a couple goals and the ice tilted towards their net in the last 10 minutes. That's not an area we want to get used to, to have to get a little level of desperation before we start to push. There's good character in this room, we're still working on personnel as far as lines, putting together D pairings. A little feeling out process but it seems to me, just by the look of this group, that there's good chemistry within the room which is a great place to be starting at the beginning of the season.
On the frustration of not getting breaks
We always say your opponent has a say in the outcome of the game. Their goalie was solid, they weathered our storm, they had a good pushback. I didn't like the way we started our third period. I thought we were on defense mode there and had stopped moving our feet. When you're playing reactionary, it's a hard way to play any sport. So we started our push after we got down a couple goals, and again, we want to get away from that.
On the Anaheim Ducks
I can't say enough about what's happened here the last few weeks starting at rookie camp, through training camp, and the way Dallas (Eakins) has embraced our staff and gave us a voice in meetings, gave us a chance to get out on the ice to work with all the players. It's a great way to get to know the system. It made it very easy. Dallas came from San Diego, he understands the situation down there and what a special organization the Gulls are and that doesn't happen unless you have a strong leadership above. The Ducks have provided that. There's a lot of good chemistry. We stay in touch, we try to play the same system. A lot of conversations going back and forth leads to a healthy atmosphere.
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- Gulls Preseason Postgame Notes: September 30, 2019, San Diego 2 vs. Ontario 3 - San Diego Gulls
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