Gulls Aim to Even Series with Firebirds
Oct 21, 2026By Ashley Rubin/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls and Coachella Valley Firebirds will meet for the second time this season tonight at Pechanga Arena San Diego (7 p.m. PDT; TV: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio: Gulls Audio Network).
The Gulls begin a four-game homestead tonight. The team has gone 1-1-0-0 at home so far this season and look to take advantage of the upcoming schedule to improve that record. Following tonight the team will host the San Jose Barracuda, Henderson Silver Knights, and Colorado Eagles.
"That's something that we have to take advantage of," assistant coach Steve McCarthy said. "Obviously, a little bit of a tougher schedule to start the season. We're at .500. Obviously, we'd like to have more, but we're happy where we’re at. We got a little bit of a homestand that we definitely have to take advantage of."
San Diego and Coachella Valley last met on Friday, Oct. 9 at Acrisure Arena. The Firebirds took the game with a 6-3 win. The teams now hold seven points each with the Gulls posting a 3-3-1-0 record and the Firebirds posting a 2-2-2-1 record. Both teams played back-to-back series this past weekend with Coachella Valley taking on the Abbotsford Canucks and San Diego battling it out with the Tucson Roadrunners.
Coachella Valley dropped both games to the Canucks, marking four losses in a row. The last game the Firebirds won was their match against the Gulls. They have managed to pick up two points in their last four games because of their overtime loss against the Ontario Reign and shootout loss against the Canucks.
The Gulls will be entering the night on a high, coming off their 3-2 overtime win over the Roadrunners. The Gulls had been shut out the previous night, but Nico Myatovic’s game-winner in overtime alongside his game opening goal led the team to victory on Saturday, Oct. 17. Matthew Phillips broke through on the power play to give the team their fourth goal on the man advantage this season while Stian Solberg, Anton Wahlberg, and Nathan Gaucher each collected assists.
San Diego’s goaltending pairing of Laurent Brossoit and Damian Clara have made an impact on the team’s success so far and continue to play a big role in their confidence. Brossoit is a veteran goaltender with this season being his 10th in the AHL while Clara is playing in his first season in North America. Brossoit has posted a 2.85 GAA in four appearances while Clara has posted a 2.28 GAA and .920 SV% in three appearances.
"I think it’s great having a veteran like LB around," goaltending coach Jeff Glass said. "He’s seen a lot; he’s been in a lot of scenarios. One of my favorite things I’m getting to know about him is he’s had some adversity in his career. He’s had to bounce back twice from injuries, and I think for a lot of people it would have been easy to quit. He’s a model citizen for what it means to persevere and really dedicate himself to the game, and I think that’s infectious so that’s wearing off on Damian for sure. Then with Damian, it’s a young guy that’s pushing. It’s his first-year pro and I think it keeps LB on; he knows that there’s a young guy here that’s learning the game and LB’s job is to win us games but it’s also to help mentor Damian."
The Gulls will continue this homestead next with a second meeting with the San Jose Barracuda on Saturday, Oct. 24 at Pechanga Arena San Diego (6 p.m. PDT).