Three third period goals powered the Ontario Reign (19-8-0-1) to a 4-1 win over the San Diego Gulls (9-17-2-2) Friday night at Toyota Arena, the 10th straight game they’ve earned points from during a 9-0-0-1 stretch.
Jack Studnicka scored the game-winning goal early in the third, while Jeff Malott and Francesco Pinelli each added a goal and an assist and Caleb Jones registered two helpers. In net, Pheonix Copley improved his record to 10-4-0 on the year with 22 saves.
Neither side was able to find the back of the net during the opening 20 minutes, despite Ontario holding a 16-7 shots-on-goal advantage. Gulls’ netminder Oscar Dansk stopped each of the Reign’s chances the keep the home team off the board.
Malott put the puck past the goal line at 3:42 of the second to open the scoring with his sixth strike of the season off a redirect of a shot by Jones that snuck past Dansk and rolled into the net. The second assist on the play went to defender Reilly Walsh.
But San Diego evened things up before the end of the middle frame when Jan Mysak scooped up his own rebound after an initial shot was stopped by Copley. Mysak moved the puck around the netminder’s pad and into the goal at 16:38 to tie the game at 1-1.
Studnicka put Ontario in front for good during a power play at 2:14 of the third, deflecting a shot by Joe Hicketts through Dansk and into the net for his sixth goal of the season that had a second helper credited to Pinelli.
Later in the frame the Reign added insurance with two more goals in less than a minute of action. First, Samuel Fagemo buried a feed from Malott on a rush into the San Diego end at 11:28 for his team-leading 17th goal of the season.
Then it was Pinelli’s turn to score on a deflection after getting his stick on a shot by Luke Rowe at 12:23 that quickly found its way into the goal. Pinelli has scored goals in four straight games for Ontario and now has 16 points on the season (9-7=16), just four shy of the scoring total from his rookie season.
The Reign out-shot San Diego 11-6 in the third, which ended with the Gulls pulling Dansk in favor of an extra attacker for a majority of the final five minutes of action. Overall, Ontario had a 33-23 shot-on-goal edge and netted the only power play goal of the game, going 1-for-2 on the man-advantage while holding San Diego to 0-for-1.
Dansk turned out 29 shots in a losing effort for the Gulls.
Postgame reactions from Studnicka, Malott and head coach Marco Sturm are below –
Jack Studnicka
On the team’s strong third period
I thought we did a good job getting the puck behind their defenseman instead of trying to force it. For the lead, we stuck to our game plan and I think it frustrated them a little bit. We came out on top.
On how he played in the win
Good. I had a lot of family in town, so maybe an extra boost. I felt that me and Mads played really well together. It was rotating on the other side. We like to keep it simple. That’s when we’re at our best and that’s what we did tonight.
On the team’s winning ways in Ontario
The atmosphere is awesome. On a Friday night like this, it’s nice to see it close to fill and really feed off that energy.
On what Sturm told the team before the third period
Before he came in, we spoke about keeping it simple and sticking to our game plan. He came in and kind of reiterated that exactly. Everyone was on the same page tonight.
Jeff Malott
Marco Sturm
On his team’s play in the win
Really good, I think from start to finish. It was a good hockey game. I thought San Diego gave us pretty much everything. They just couldn’t push back in the third because I thought we played very well. As a coach, you’re always happy when you talk about something, you show something, like we did yesterday, and it actually translates to the game. It makes me happier. I give my team a lot of credit on the way they played today, and especially in the third.
On Studnicka and Madden’s 5 on 5 play
They had a good start. I think that always helps get them engaged right away in the game. Unfortunately, they didn’t score on their opportunities. I think that was the only thing today. Yes, their goalie was pretty good but if you look at Studnicka and Madden, even Pinelli and some other guys that had really good opportunities. We just we didn’t bury them. That’s why they kept it very close for 40 minutes.
On recognizing the fast start
Absolutely. The guys noticed it too. It was just a good pace from everyone. All four lines were going. But it was not just us. It was the other team too. They played well, but we just played better and that’s why we ended up winning the game.
Ontario is back in action on Saturday for a home matchup against the Coachella Valley Firebirds, beginning at 6 p.m. inside Toyota Arena.
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