Gulls Aim for Four-Point Weekend in Rockford
Feb 21, 2026
By Ashley Rubin/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls are set to reunite with the Rockford IceHogs for the first time since the 2023-24 season with a back-to-back series starting tonight at BMO Center (5 p.m. PST; TV: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio: Gulls Audio Network).
Rockford is the second non-divisional opponent the Gulls will face this season. The IceHogs take the sixth-place spot in the Central Division, posting an 18-27-2-2 record. The team is coming off a loss to the Milwaukee Admirals who stand one place above them in the division. Rockford leads the AHL in PIM with 899 logged in their 49 games played.
San Diego started the month off hot but has faced some recent struggles. The beginning of February saw four straight Gulls wins with a high level of offensive production. The Gulls have dropped their past two games by one goal each, coming close to the victory but not being able to close it out.
On Wednesday, San Diego came just short of the San Jose Barracuda, falling 4-3 in a shootout. Despite the loss, this was another game where the Gulls proved how they play hard until the very end. The game-tying goal was netted by Ryan Carpenter with only five seconds remaining in regulation.
"He's our leader," head coach Matt McIlvane said. "He got things started for us on an entry. Made a great play to Roland [McKeown] who buries it and then he was hot on his face offs, so it was an easy switch to get him out there for the last little bit. Gets the job done for us in a big moment. He's our leader, and we can count on him to do those kind of things."
Justin Bailey and Roland McKeown found San Diego’s other two goals for the night. McKeown leads all Gulls defenseman in points with 5-14=19 logged. He has found 2-2=4 of those points in his last six games played, proving to be essential for San Diego both offensively and defensively. Bailey has also been on a roll in his recent games, logging 3-2=5 points in his past six contests. The winger leads all Gulls skaters in goals with 17 and has found goals in back-to-back games in three of his last four.
Picking up the point in Wednesday's contest brought the Gulls to 54 total and brought their record to 22-15-6-4. The goal for the team this weekend is to walk away with all four possible points and raise their spot in the Pacific Division rankings.
"That'll be nice," Carpenter said. "It'll be nice to play some cards on the plane and in the hotel and hopefully come away with four points. We're changing the scenery a little bit. Get on the flight and have a good practice tomorrow and make sure we're ready to go on Saturday."
The Gulls and IceHogs will play the second game of their series tomorrow at 2 p.m. PST. Following this series, San Diego will head back home for a matchup against the Tucson Roadrunners on Wednesday Feb. 25 at Pechanga Arena San Diego (7 p.m. PST).