Gulls Biweekly Report 11

By Michael Walters

The San Diego Gulls played six games over the past two weeks and had a record of 2-4, dropping San Diego to seventh place in the Pacific Division, and the final playoff spot. They are tied in points with the sixth place team, but the Henderson Silver Knights have played fewer games and have the better points percentage.

San Diego’s first game was against the Barracuda in San Jose. San Jose scored twice in the first period, once at the start of the game and once late in the opening 20. Neither team scored in the second, but the Barracuda made it 3-0 early in the third. Tristan Luneau and Tyson Hinds both scored for San Diego to make it a close game, but neither team found the back of the net after that, and San Jose won 3-2. The Gulls then returned home to host the Rockford IceHogs for a pair of games. In the first game, Sasha Pastujov scored the only goal of the first period. In the second, Rockford took the game over, scoring three straight goals before Sam Colangelo made it a one-goal game. Neither team scored in the third and the IceHogs won 3-2.

The second game against Rockford was a much higher-scoring affair. Nikita Nesterenko opened the scoring a few minutes into the contest with a shorthanded goal. The IceHogs tied the game, but then Ryan Carpenter scored twice to make it 3-1. Rockford scored again late in the first, and then early in the second to tie the game again. Stian Solberg scored late in the middle frame to restore San Diego’s lead. Coulson Pitre put the Gulls up by two just 14 seconds into the final frame but the IceHogs scored again five minutes later. Nikolas Brouillard scored into the empty net to give the Gulls a 6-4 win. San Diego then traveled back to San Jose to take on the Barracuda again. Neither team scored in the first, but the Barracuda scored twice early in the second to take a 2-0 lead. Lunea put the Gulls on the board a minute later, but San Jose scored again to restore their two-goal lead. In the third, the Barracuda scored into the empty net and won 4-1.

San Diego then traveled to Colorado for a pair of games. Carpenter opened the scoring in the first, but the Eagles tied the game in the second. Judd Caulfield put San Diego back on top, but Colorado tied the game at 2-2 before the middle frame ended. Early in the third, the Eagles took the lead, and then scored two more times to make it a 5-2 game. Pastujov scored late, but Colorado scored into the empty net and won 6-3. In the final game, Nesterenko scored to make it 1-0 in the first but the Eagles tied it in the second. Luneau scored the only goal of the third and San Diego won 2-1.

The Gulls will play six games over the next two weeks. They’ll start out on the road with a pair of games in Colorado against the Eagles. San Diego will then return home to host the Bakersfield Condors and Calgary Wranglers. The Gulls will finish things off back on the road as they visit Abbotsford for a pair of games against the Canucks. None of the teams San Diego will play over the next two weeks are teams the Gulls are actively fighting for a playoff spot with. But Calgary and Abbotsford are both behind San Diego in the standings and are games the Gulls need to win if they want to hold Tucson off.

Anaheim is currently getting healthier as Troy Terry recently returned to the lineup and John Carlson played his first game as a Duck. The Ducks are so healthy that Mason McTavish was a healthy scratch against Montreal. With so many healthy bodies, it’s unlikely the Ducks will be looking for reinforcements from San Diego in the near future. Also, with the trade deadline passed, Anaheim is now only allowed to make four recalls from the AHL, unless it’s an emergency situation. Also, at the deadline, the Ducks assigned both Tim Washe and Ian Moore to San Diego so they will be eligible to play for the Gulls in the Calder Cup Playoffs. As a result, the Ducks only have two more recalls for the remainder of the regular season. So if the Gulls play longer than the Ducks, Washe and Moore will likely join them to improve their roster in the playoffs.

Over the past four weeks, the Gulls have been averaging one win a week and have dropped to the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division. If San Diego can turn things around, they could conceivably climb as high as fourth or fifth in the division. If not, it’ll be a tight race to hold onto the final playoff spot over the final 14 games of the regular season.

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March 17th, 2026