Preview: Gulls Ready to Round Up Second Win over Wild on Country Night
Jan 13, 2024By Morgan Korovec/SanDiegoGulls.com 
The San Diego Gulls may be young, but this sure isn’t their first rodeo.
Tonight, the Gulls are geared up for Country Night as they take on the Iowa Wild in round two at Pechanga Arena San Diego (6 p.m. PST; TV: KUSI-SD, AHLTV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).
The evening will feature various country-inspired activities, including a bobblehead giveaway of Gulls captain Chase De Leo and Hansel, his pet donkey, for the first 8,000 fans in attendance, courtesy of Palomar Health.
Saturday night will kick off with an on-theme pregame tailgate in the North VIP lot from 4-6 p.m., with a petting zoo, mechanical bull, country music and more. Additionally, the San Diego Gulls Foundation will host its fourth Surprise Puck Sale, with Country Night-inspired Surprise Pucks available for $25.
Friday night’s showdown at home against Iowa saw intense emotion on the ice with a strong finish from the Gulls, who won their first shootout of the season after Brayden Tracey’s shot secured the 3-2 win.
Nikita Nesterenko netted San Diego’s first goal of the night and his sixth of the season. Chase De Leo also collected his sixth goal of the season, giving him 14 points in 14 games (6-8=14).
"Our team confidence is growing by the day," head coach Matt McIlvane said. "It really helps that we know who we are. We know what drives our success. We also know what it looks like when we’re off. Maybe instead of waiting for a period to correct, we were able to correct on the fly in the game. I think that’s a big deal for us. The guys, they’re earning the right to feel confident going into these close games and we’ve come away with several of them recently and hopefully we can continue that."
The Gulls will aim to carry that confidence and energy heading into their second round with the Wild tonight, as they will look to lasso another victory over Iowa in front of fans at home before they meet again at the end of this month for two contests in Iowa’s building.
"I think they’re going to come out hard especially after coming back and losing that one at the end," Tracey said. "We’re expecting them to come out hot, but I think, just got to stick to our game and keep putting our heads down and grind away."
Tonight’s game wraps up the homestand at Pechanga Arena San Diego for the Gulls, who are next set to take on the Abbotsford Canucks in a string of three battles, the first on Saturday, Jan. 20 at Abbotsford.