Sidorov's Heroics Give San Diego 4-3 Victory Over Coachella Valley

Jan 30, 2026

By Ashley Rubin/SanDiegoGulls.com 

The San Diego Gulls defeated the Coachella Valley Firebirds tonight for the first time since their season-opener at Acrisure Arena, 4-3.  

Yegor Sidorov had himself a night as he recorded his second three-point game of the season. The winger picked up an assist and then went on to score two goals, the second being the heroic game-winner, which was scored late in the final frame to break the tie and avoid overtime. The 21-year-old has 12-11=23 points this season and has found 4-2=6 points in his past five games. 

"I figured out what in this league you need to shoot more the puck, not to handle," Sidorov said. "It's a little bit different with juniors, so taken me a little bit, but now I just stand and going to try shoot on and off." 

The Firebirds started the scoring early with a goal just 28 seconds into the opening frame. San Diego didn’t take long to respond as defenseman Stian Solberg netted a tying goal on the power play.  

Judd Caulfield increased his success this season, recording his 11th goal and 12th assist. His goal record now ties his total record last season, and he stands just two points short of surpassing his single season points high of 25 recorded last season.  

"It felt great to get back on the board," Caulfield said. "It’s been a little while, but it's just been fun playing recently. We've been generally generating a lot of chances as a line and as a team, and it's fun playing with all the guys like [Nathan] Gaucher, [Yegor] Sidorov and Nico [Myatovic]. They work so hard and like this, it's good for us to get rewarded with the greasy goal there."

Netminder Tomas Suchanek earned his first victory of the season and first AHL win since April 21, 2024. The Czechia native saved a season-high 26 of 29 shots. 

"I hope what he takes away is that he's back," head coach Matt McIlvane said. "That's what I hope. I've been through a couple of ACLs myself, and I know how long it takes to feel like yourself. There's the moment where it clicks and you’re back, and I hope he leaves today with that."

Roland McKeown and Nathan Gaucher also logged multi-point nights, tallying two assists each. Justin Bailey and Nico Myatovic picked up an assist each as well.  

The Gulls look to continue their momentum tomorrow night as they face the rival Ontario Reign back home at Pechanga Arena San Diego (6 p.m. PST).