The hometown San Diego Gulls lose once again and will have to keep waiting for an official playoff berth.
On Friday night, The Gulls lost 3-0 to Ontario Reign at the Toyota Arena, as they continue to lock-in a secure spot in the playoffs that is only two points away from being clinched.
With this result, The Gulls continue to occupy the seventh spot in the standings, currently holding the last playoff spot in the Pacific Division, as the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs approach.
Gulls head coach Joel Bouchard says that despite the losses, he doesn't believe that the team is necessarily playing poorly, and he continues to believe that this team is still growing and learning.
"We’ve lost four in a row and I don’t think we’ve played terrible and it’s fine," Gulls head coach Joel Bouchard said. "We’ve had a lot of good games lately and there are some games that I’ve got here after games and I said, ‘Well, we won, but it wasn’t perfect,' and you know, we’ll never have a perfect game. I don’t think we’re getting dominated. They’re a good team and they take advantage of their opportunities. I don't think with a bunch of young guys and we have to move the lineup because of injury. I think we’re holding our own, we’re growing, we’re learning." he added.
Gulls center Danny O'Regan downing himself too much after Friday night's loss, instead, he sees this loss as just a learning experience they could use for their eventual playoff run.
"We’re going to learn from the loss and move on quick," O'Regan said. "No reason to waste energy over the loss. I mean, we’re learning some valuable things that will help us in the playoff run. You know, it’s just a bunch of little things. I don’t think we’re too worried and just tighten up a couple things and we’ll be okay."
The San Diego Gulls and Ontario Reign will close out their regular-season series tonight at the Pechanga Arena, where The Gulls will try to officially punch their ticket to the playoffs.
