SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Gulls (11-9-0-1; 23 pts.) fell 3-2 to the Ontario Reign (11-5-5-0; 27 pts.) tonight after Sean Backman scored the game-winning goal for the Reign with 1:35 left in regulation.
The loss tonight saw San Diego’s franchise-tying six-game home winning streak from Nov. 11 through Dec. 6 come to an end after matching a club record home win streak of six games from Oct. 10 through Nov. 11, 2015.
“I thought we played pretty well tonight,” said head coach Dallas Eakins. “When you give up one late like that it is heartbreaking, especially when you have the right guys on the ice.”
A physical first period saw both goaltenders backstop their defense corps often. San Diego netminder Dustin Tokarski was exceptionally sharp, making 14 saves in the opening frame, including several difficult stops during the Reign’s two power play opportunities. For the third straight game, the Gulls took a scoreless tie into the locker room after one period of play.
The second period began with a great chance for San Diego when Jordan Samuels-Thomas’ centering pass hit Corey Tropp in stride a few feet from the Ontario net. Tropp deked to his backhand to lift the puck past Reign goaltender Jack Campbell, but Ontario’s netminder made a sprawling save to deny Tropp in close.
Ontario defenseman Zach Leslie opened the scoring at 10:54 of the second period, putting the Reign on top 1-0 as he cut to the slot and beat Tokarski glove side for his third goal of the season.
Late in the middle frame with San Diego shorthanded, Chris Wagner (1-0=1) stole the puck from Ontario Captain Vincent LoVerde and finished off a breakaway after deking to his backhand to tie the game at one apiece. Wagner has now tallied 2-2=4 points in five games with San Diego.
San Diego began the third period with a bang as Nick Sorensen gave the home club a 2-1 lead when his wrist shot from the right circle beat Campbell only 31 seconds into the final stanza.
Four minutes later, Ontario came right back with a tally of their own when Joel Lowry found Michael Latta in the slot and Latta beat a screened Tokarski to knot the game 2-2.
Gulls netminder Dustin Tokarski (9-5-0-0) stopped 29 shots, picking up his first loss at Valley View Casino center this season. Tokarski Ontario goaltender Jack Campbell (7-2-0-0) made 18 saves in the victory. Tokarski’s perfect record at home came to an end with the loss, as he had won his first six contests on home ice. Tokarski still maintains a 6-1-0 record at home.
“We’ve made some mistakes over the past three games that are uncharacteristic for us,” said Tokarski. “We have to clean it up and find a way to come out this weekend and play some good hockey. We have to find a way to win come the weekend and play some good solid hockey and get some points.”
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