By Keith Antigiovanni
The 2023-2024 hockey season is underway as the San Diego Gulls opened the regular season with back-to-back wins over the arch-rival Ontario Reign, 4-1 and 6-4 at the Toyota Arena.
The wins were the first for new Head Coach Matt McIlvane, who was sent by the Gulls Major League Club Anaheim Ducks to improve from last season’s 20-49-2 record, the worst record by the club since it returned eight years ago. Currently, San Diego is 2-0 and tied for first in the 10-team Pacific Division of the American Hockey League along with the Tucson Roadrunners (Phoenix Coyotes), Abbottsford Canucks (Vancouver Canucks), and Henderson Silver Knights (Vegas Golden Knights).
In the first game, forward Pavel Regenda scored the first goal of the contest and the season in the first period power play at 11:20, then also added a second goal in the third period. Fellow Forward Jacob Perrault scored a third period goal, and defenseman Glenn Gawdin contributed a last-second empty net goal to clinch the 4-1 victory for the Gulls.
Goaltender Alex Staluck was almost perfect with 40 of 41 saves, a club record in a season opener. Defenseman Olen Zellweger contributed two assists.
The second game was more of a contest as both teams combined for 32 penalty minutes and a total of 10 goals. The first period ended with a 1-1 tie, but the Gulls outscored the Reign 3-2 in the second period and 2-1 in the third.
Forwards Judd Caufield and Ben King each scored in the second period to take a one-goal lead in the third period. Pavel Regenda scored his third goal in two games to take a two-goal lead in the third period. Ontario cut the deficit to one at 5-4 before Forward Josh Lopina’s last-second empty netter salted the game away at 6-4.
The Gulls home opener will be this Friday at the Pechanga Arena at 7 p.m. against the Ontario Reign.
Image Credit: Canva
