Gulls Face Reign in Rivalry Opener
Nov 7, 2025
By Ashley Rubin/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls are set to take on their rivals the Ontario Reign in a home-and-home series this weekend, starting tonight at Pechanga Arena San Diego (7 p.m. PST; TV: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio: Gulls Audio Network).
Ontario currently sits fourth in the Pacific Division with a record of 6-3-1-0. The last matchup between the teams was on Apr. 18 at Toyota Arena where the Gulls fell to the Reign, 2-1. San Diego went 4-3-0-1 over Ontario last season and holds an all-time regular season record of 53-39-5-4 over them.
"They’re the best defensive team in the league at the moment," head coach Matt McIlvane said. "We know that creating chances is going to be a big battle, but we know we're a great offensive team. Hopefully we can carry this momentum into that game."
San Diego took their first win this season over the Henderson Silver Knights on Wednesday 6-3. The victory ended Henderson’s seven game winning streak and marked the highest scoring game for San Diego this season.
Defenseman Nikolas Brouillard netted the first goal of the game and his first goal of the season. He later picked up two assists, leaving him just four points away from logging 100 points with the Gulls. Tristan Luneau struck next with a goal to give him his second of the season. Sasha Pastujov also logged his second goal of the season, giving the Gulls a 3-0 lead in the first. Justin Bailey followed suit, depositing his second of the season in the middle frame. The fifth goal was put away by Yegor Sidorov who logged a three-point night (1-2=3), matching his AHL career high. Nico Myatovic finished it off with the sixth goal to end the final frame, marking his first of the season.
Jan Mysak got his hands on two assists, marking his third multi-point and second multi-assist games this season. Matthew Phillips extended his point-streak to five games, logging his eighth and ninth assists on the season tonight. Goaltender Ville Husso gained his third victory of the season, stopping 18-of-21 shots.
"It’s huge," Pastujov said. "We’ve been talking about it, and it was only a matter of time. Tonight, it was nice to pot a couple, but we’re not satisfied. It’s only one game. Obviously, it’s nice to help the team win but there’s a lot of work to do. There’s still 60-something games left, so we’re going to build off this and take it one game at a time."
The Gulls and Reign will face off again tomorrow night on Ontario’s home ice at Toyota Arena (6 p.m. PST).