After back-to-back shoddy starts, the Ontario Reign looked like a sure bet to roar out the gate against their archrivals, the San Diego Gulls.
And good thing I'm not a betting man...as Ontario once again surrendered a crack-of-the-game goal. Last night, it was 1:41 in; tonight, it took just 1:25.
Surprisingly, Michael Mersch was a main offender, as his soft backhand breakout up the middle was intercepted by Corey Tropp. The San Diego winger gave it to Matt Bailey, who returned the favor, and Tropp blasted it from the right dot. Peter Budaj shouldered the puck above the crossbar, and as it fluttered down, Kurtis MacDermid let Tropp get the step on him:
Mersch took it hard.