The regular season is over. Now the real fun begins.
The San Diego Gulls finished their inaugural AHL season with a 3-2 win over the Ontario Reign on Saturday night at Valley View Casino Center. The Gulls open the Calder Cup playoffs on Thursday in Texas against the Stars.
San Diego trailed 2-1 after two periods but staged a comeback, helped in large part by the chippy nature of the game. In the third period alone there were 21 penalties called on the two teams, but 14 of those infractions came on one fight.
At the 9:24 mark of the period there was a little altercation that ended up involving almost everyone on the ice, including Gulls goalie Matt Hackett, who left the crease to join the fray. That was fun for the fans to see but the real mistake came five minutes later.
Reign center Andrew Cresenzi took a slashing penalty and the Gulls cashed it in when Corey Tropp scored on the power play to tie it 2-2. Just 29 seconds later Brian McGrattan put the Gulls on top for good with his ninth goal of the season. He was immediately ushered to the penalty box for taunting several Ontario players.
There is no love lost between these two teams, a carryover of the dislike between their parent clubs the Ducks and Kings. If they end up meeting in the Calder Cup playoffs it’s going to be awfully fun to watch.
