It appears the rebuilding process for the San Diego Gulls is going to take a little while.
The Gulls dropped their third straight game to start the season, 5-1, on Saturday night at Ontario. The Reign, the Los Angeles Kings’ top farm club, beat the Gulls last weekend in the season opener for both teams. San Diego dropped its home opener on Friday night to Stockton, 6-2.
“I think it was our best game so far and it’s not the result that we want, but I cannot coach a result,” said new Gulls coach Joel Bouchard. “There was better effort, more. We didn’t have the week of practice that we wanted and I like the players stepping up today.
“I think we got lucky in the first period either for the couple of bounces there, but you’ve got to get out as a group, and we did that in the third period. So again, not perfect and I like that the guys were a little irritated so we start digging.
“It’s going to take time, guys. I’m telling you — we have a young forward right now, we have a young team right now. We’re more veteran on the backend, but up front there’s a lot of youth. So, we’re going to keep pushing them, but you’re right, that was better.”
The Gulls, who have been prone to slow starts in games in recent years, fell behind early on Saturday. Ontario scored two goals in 49 seconds apart early in the first period for a 2-0 lead.
Aidan Dudas scored his second goal of the season at 5:46, and Brayden Burke scored an unassisted goal at 6:35. It was Burke’s third of the young season.
The Gulls were outshot in the opening 20 minutes 14-11.
In the second period, the shots were even (10-10), but the scoring wasn’t.
Ontario’s Jaret Anderson-Dolan scored his first goal of the year at 12:46 on the power play. That was followed by an Austin Wagner tally at 16:19 and the Gulls were in a 4-0 hole 40 minutes into the game.
San Diego applied the pressure in the final period right from the start as Vinni Lettieri scored his second goal of the season, just 9 seconds into the start of play. Brogan Rafferty and Buddy Robinson were credited with assists on the play.
The Gulls allowed a late gaol for the final margin of defeat.
