Gulls Seeking Success Over Firebirds

Jan 17, 2026

By Ashley Rubin/SanDiegoGulls.com 

The San Diego Gulls are set to take on the Coachella Valley Firebirds tonight for Native American Heritage Night brought to you by Viejas Casino & Resort at Pechanga Arena San Diego (6 p.m. PST; TV: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio: Gulls Audio Network). 

San Diego and Coachella Valley last met on Jan. 2 when the Gulls fell to the Firebirds 5-2. Since then, the Gulls and Firebirds have remained close in the Pacific Division standings. The Firebirds have posted a 19-12-4-0 record with 42 points to take the fifth-place spot in the division. The Gulls are not far behind with a record of 16-11-6-2 with 40 points in the sixth-place spot.  

The teams have now met five times this season. The Gulls started out hot against the Firebirds with a 5-0 win, but have since seen different outcomes.  

"Well, last time we played them, it was very lopsided," head coach Matt McIlvane said. "The other games, they've gone to overtime, and we smoked them in game one. So, it's a team that has a lot of skill. They got a hot power play. They're playing well right now. It's a great challenge for us that we'll be ready for."

Last night San Diego shutout the Abbotsford Canucks at Pechanga Arena to record the first time in all Gulls AHL history that the team has taken a 1-0 victory. Sasha Pastujov scored the lone goal with the help of Jan Mysak. The pair have had chemistry all season which has allowed them to produce success. Calle Clang recorded his second career AHL shutout after stopping 19 of 19 shots.  

"Calle’s been rock solid," McIlvane said. "I think he had to make a couple of big saves, but I give a lot of this to our team defense today. I just thought we blocked so many shots, and there were sticks and lanes, and we were collapsing like crazy. I thought that was a team shutout." 

San Diego will next play another set of back-to-back games against the Tucson Roadrunners at Tucson Convention Center starting Tuesday Jan. 20 (5;30 p.m. PST).