When the Gulls are in town, Friday nights at Pechanga Arena means $2 Bud Light beers and, well, the kind of fun that goes along with such thrifty consumption.
In the second period of a tilt between the Gulls and Tucson Roadrunners, an overzealous crew of Gulls fans parked along the glass had a pyramid of empties knocked down and removed by security.
A large portion of the crowd booed lustily at the display of authority.
The good news: those boos were soon replaced by cheers as the Gulls snapped a season-long six-game losing skid with a 5-3 victory.
Bryce Kindopp, Danny O’Regan, Nikolas Brouillard, Brendan Guhle and Greg Printz scored for San Diego (14-19-2-0) and goalie Lukas Dostal finished with 27 saves on a night when the Gulls looked like the better team most of the way.
Printz posted the goal — an empty netter that sealed the deal with 23 seconds remaining — and a pair of assists. O’Regan also finished with a goal and two helpers.
A big moment came in the second period when a Tucson turnover led to a two-on-one breakaway and a shorthanded goal for O’Regan that put San Diego ahead 2-1 at 6:44.
More O’Regan hustle led directly to a go-ahead score at 4:02 of the third period.
O’Regan stole the puck behind the Tucson goal, curled around and took a shot that rebounded to Jacob Perrault, whose shot deflected to Brouillard.
Brouillard then deposited a shot past Ivan Prosvetov for his seventh tally of the season and a 3-2 San Diego lead.
Guhle made it 4-2 on a blast from the blue line that deflected off a Tucson defender and past Prosvetov at 5:32 of the third.
That kind of break has been lacking during the recent skid. Getting key players like O’Regan back in in the lineup after stints with the Anaheim Ducks helped as well.
Overall, coach Joel Bouchard’s message has remained positive even with an often depleted lineup and while absorbing the recent losing streak.
“The guys are hanging in there together, but this adversity or the losing kind of streak here we’re on is taking it out on everybody,” Bouchard said. “Guys are working hard, we tried and that’s normal that we get affected a little bit, but my job is to go back with them and the only way you get out of it is not by panicking, but by staying in control and keep working on yourself and trying to be better.”
All welcome
The Gulls host Tucson again tonight for the inaugural “Hockey is For Everyone Night.” Gulls legend Willie O’Ree will be honored along with the San Diego Ducks sled hockey team, the San Diego Gulls Special Hockey program, the San Diego Angels, a top-ranked girls ice hockey program, and the U.S. blind hockey team.
O’Ree, who became the first African American to play in the NHL when he took the ice for the Boston Bruins in 1957, has his jersey No. 20 hanging in the Pechanga Arena rafters, honoring his time with the San Diego Gulls of the WHL in the 1960s and ’70s.
Roster moves
Before the game, forward Maxim Golod was reassigned to ECHL Tulsa, goalie Francis Marotte was reassigned to ECHL Allen and forward Sean Josling and defenseman Mike McKee were released.
Carter is a freelance writer.
