Gulls Wrap Road Trip with San Jose Matchup
Mar 4, 2026By Ashley Rubin/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls are ready to go head-to-head with their cross-state rivals the San Jose Barracuda tonight at Tech CU Arena (7 p.m. PST; TV: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio: Gulls Audio Network).
Tonight marks the sixth game of the eight-game series San Diego and San Jose have scheduled this season. The Gulls have gone 2-0-1-2 against the Barracuda so far and hold an all-time record of 51-26-6-2 against the team.
"We’re so focused in on us and the way that we want to play," head coach Matt McIlvane said. "We feel like our game can drive success for ourselves and of course there’s some small tactical changes you make opponent to opponent, but I think the focus is in on us. The lessons that we learn, its not just against San Jose, its forever. We know what drives our play and we gotta play to have success and then it’s just a matter of going out and doing it."
This contest will end a three-game road trip for San Diego. The team has posted a 14-7-5-0 record on the road this season and took three of four possible points on their road trip down in Texas against the Stars last weekend. San Diego took the first game 2-1 but fell in overtime in the second matchup, 6-5.
Last weekend saw great defense and offensive production from the Gulls. The team held Texas to only one goal and 29 shots in Friday’s game. Nathan Gaucher and Justin Bailey were the scorers of the night while Calle Clang guarded the net. Saturday’s game saw a pair of goals from Nikolas Brouillard, a shorthanded goal from Tyson Hinds, a powerplay goal from Sam Colangelo, and a goal from Yegor Sidorov. Tomas Suchanek took the crease for the second game of the series, stopping 30 shots faced.
"Come on the road, got three out of four," Colangelo said. "Three games in four nights, happy to get three out of four, but ultimately got to close out that game headed into the third with the lead on the road. We kind of let them back into it, and credit to us, credit to [Nikolas Brouillard] for getting that one to get us back in it. Ultimately not satisfied with three. We wanted four."
It’s getting close to the end of the regular season, meaning every point counts. The Gulls will skate in 10 more games at home and 10 more on the road before the Calder Cup Playoffs begin.
"The schedule’s a grind, but this is, from a player's perspective, the most fun," McIlvane said. "Meaningful games and putting all your focus and effort into the next game. The challenge is to learn and grow and turn the page and get ready for that next one. We'll get an opportunity to practice, which will be good, and then we'll get ready to play against a really strong San Jose team."
Following tonight, the Gulls will host a back-to-back series against the Rockford IceHogs starting Friday, Mar. 6 at Pechanga Arena San Diego (7 p.m. PST).