Gulls Ready for Battle with Barracuda
Oct 29, 2025
By Ashley Rubin/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls are set for their first matchup of the season against the San Jose Barracuda tonight at Pechanga Arena San Diego (7 p.m. PDT; TV: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio: Gulls Audio Network).
San Jose currently sits eighth in the Pacific Division with five games played. Not much different from the Gulls, the Barracuda have logged two wins, four points, 16 goals for, and 22 goals against. Both teams have had a slower schedule to start the season, finding it more difficult to get in the swing of things.
"It's a team that, in my mind, isn't too different from Henderson," head coach Matt Mcllvane said. "Where they're going to be, they're going to thrive in transition. They're a high-power offensive team that we're familiar with. Their game plan and things from the past will be a focus, but at the same time, we're just taking steps and focusing on ourselves. Eventually we'll get rewarded for it."
San Diego is seeking their first victory on home ice this season. Despite playing some close games, the Gulls have dropped four in a row but are determined to break the streak tonight.
The Gulls spent the weekend on the road in Henderson, playing their first set of back-to-back games this season. Goaltender Calle Clang made his season debut in game one on Friday. He made a huge impact, stopping 26 of 29 goals between regulation and overtime. Game one was full of action as Jan Mysak and Roland McKeown logged their first goals of the season. Matthew Phillips logged two assists for the night while Mysak and Sasha Pastujov both claimed one.
San Diego came out hot in game two, opening the scoring with a power-play goal by Yegor Sidorov. This marked his first goal of the season and allowed defenseman Tristian Luneau to log his first assist. Judd Caulfield buried the second goal for the Gulls, marking his team-leading third goal of the season. Ryan Carpenter got his first assist of the season and Luneau got his second of the night. Goaltender Ville Husso returned to the net and saved 30 shots, keeping the game as close as possible.
"There’s a lot that we can pull from it and learn," Mcllvane said. "Part of it is just learning to have belief in what we can do. We've seen there's a lot in this room, as far as skill level, competitiveness, character, and all the ingredients for winning. We just got to stick to it and keep trying to get better."
The Gulls will next take on the Coachella Valley Firebirds tomorrow night at Acrisure Arena. The last matchup between the two teams resulted in a 5-0 shutout for San Diego, and they look to bring back that fire (6:30 p.m. PDT).