Gulls Take Third Straight with Win Over Silver Knights
Feb 4, 2026
By Ashley Rubin/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls extended their win streak to three as they defeated the Henderson Silver Knights tonight at Pechanga Arena San Diego, 7-4.
The seven goals scored ties San Diego’s scoring record this season, becoming the second time the team has found the back of the net that many times. The Gulls are now on a three-game winning streak and extend their record to 21-14-6-3 with 51 points. The team will end the night and go into the All-Star break tied for fifth place in the Pacific Division.
"I wonder if that last game before the break part is a factor in the way that the game felt at times," head coach Matt McIlvane said. "Objective is to score more than the other team, and we were able to do so tonight. It's great to see the puck go in, and we had a lot of guys factoring in. All the groups were involved in goals. I think Calle [Clang] was excellent in there for us and we got a big team win."
Goaltender Calle Clang extended his success as he logged his 11th win of the season tonight, matching his career high. He saved 33 of 37 shots, proving his essential role for the team.
Gulls forward Matthew Phillips found the most points of the night with 1-2=3. His goal broke a 12-game goal drought and brought his point-record to 9-22=31, standing tied for first place of all Gulls skaters.
"I mean, we've got tons of weapons on this team, and tonight, on paper, is as deep of a lineup as you're going to see," Phillips said. "We have lots of guys that can do it any night. Personally, it feels great to score one, but we have a lot of guys that have been stepping up lately."
Sasha Pastujov recorded a two-point night with both a goal and assist recorded. The winger helped out on a powerplay goal and then netted his 10th goal of the season. Pastujov holds the tie in team-leading points as his record now extends to 10-21=31 points.
Justin Bailey also picked up two points on the night himself. Bailey netted the first goal of the game just one minute and 17 seconds into the opening frame. The forward leads all Gulls skaters in goals with 15. He later tallied an assist on Pastujov’s goal to bring his season total to 15-10=25.
"At this point of the season, all the games get tight but also knowing who we are, what works and what doesn't," Bailey said. "I think when we're dumping pucks in and playing with pace and winning our battles, breaking out the puck well, a lot of the things you've seen the last three, four games, you know, we're a really, really tough team to deal with. We're a really, really good hockey team, and we have depth up and down the lineup. We've had great goaltending all year, and so going down the stretch is just continuing to do those things that make us successful and cleaning up those little things that might hurt us throughout the game."
Special teams have continued to improve for the Gulls as Ryan Carpenter found some action on the powerplay. Carpenter netted his second powerplay goal of the season and ninth total. The team has found goals on the advantage in three of their past four games.
Yegor Sidorov and Phillips worked as a unit to find San Diego’s third goal. Sidorov found the net off a one-timer, marking his 13th goal of the season. The young forward has found 5-1=6 points in his past six games.
Defenseman Roland McKeown found his fourth goal and 17th point to regain a two-goal lead in the final frame. Nikita Nesterenko picked up the primary assist, marking his fifth point of the season while Tyson Hinds was credited with the secondary which tallies as his 10th point of the season.
Things got heated in the second as Tristan Luneau received a five-minute penalty for fighting after coming to his goalie’s defense. This marks the defenseman’s first fighting penalty of the season. Not long after Konnor Smith dropped his gloves in center ice, also taking a five-minute call for fighting. Judd Caulfield followed behind taking a two-minute roughing penalty to close out the period.
The Gulls will take some rest as the All-Star break kicks off before returning to the ice on Feb. 13 as they face the Bakersfield Condors at Dignity Health Arena (7 p.m. PST).
"Right now, it's just rest," McIlvane said. "It's like, get your minds and bodies off of hockey for a little bit, and then when we get back, it ramps up real quick. You get a practice, and you're already playing a back-to-back against a really strong team. It's time to reset and recover and get ready for a real great push."