Gulls Keep Momentum Over Barracuda With 4-1 Win
Nov 11, 2026By Ashley Rubin/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls increased their season series lead over the San Jose Barracuda with a victory tonight at Pechanga Arena San Diego, 4-1.
San Diego now holds a 3-0-1-0 lead over San Jose in the first half of their season series. The Gulls outshot the Barracuda 34 to 20 tonight while going 1-for-2 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. It is the second time this season the Gulls have defeated the Barracuda 4-1.
Gulls point leader Anton Wahlberg had himself a night as he broke an 11-game goal drought by finding the back of the net twice, marking his second multi-goal game of his professional career. The Sweden native netted his first in the opening frame with help from fellow Swedes Lucas Pettersson and Herman Traff. That goal remained the only of the game until he picked up his second in the third period, this time on the power play. Wahlberg has led all Gulls skaters in points all season, tallying a total 3-10=13 points.
"I mean it's always nice to play with Swedes," Wahlberg said. "Now it happens there's two Swedes, it's great. We can speak our own language, and I think that’s good for us. It's hard for the opponents to know what we're saying out there. I feel like we have better chemistry, we had two practices together, we kind of know how we play and where we want to put the puck in. Felt good today. First game, just trying to keep building on it."
Tonight’s power play goal marks San Diego’s first since Oct. 31. The team has posted a 14.6% on the power play, going 7-for-48 thus far. The penalty kill has been more consistent as the club has gone 85.4% when down a man.
"Steve [McCarthy] has done a great job with the PK, and he's got them buying in," assistant coach Kelly Buchberger said. "They're in the shooting lanes, they're reading their plays, and the goaltending's been solid. So, when you have that, you're going to have a good PK, and it keeps you in the games. I just think with the structure of how we've been playing, pressuring the puck carriers and turning pucks over for them, it's been a lot better for us."
Pettersson tallied assists on both Wahlberg’s goals, bringing his point total to 3-8=11. The rookie is tied for fourth amongst all AHL rookie skaters in assists and eighth in points. He has found 3-3=6 points in his past four games. Matthew Phillips also collected an assist tonight, logging his fourth of the season on the power play goal.
While San Jose found one in the third, San Diego responded immediately with James Hamblin tipping one in for his fourth goal of the season. Jett Woo broke a four-game point drought with the primary assist while Nathan Gaucher ended a six-game drought with the secondary. Corey Schueneman went on to add one more for good measure, finding the empty net to record his second goal and third point of the year. Matt Basgall added an assist to his tally, extending his first career AHL point streak to 0-2=2 in two games. Ryan Carpenter also collected an assist, his third of the year.
"I think we worked a lot on our tracking last week, putting more pressure on the puck carrier and killing plays earlier," Pettersson said. "Also, Damian Clara is doing a hell of a job back there. But I think that was the main thing, just putting more pressure on the puck carrier."
Clara protected the crease for his sixth start of the season. The Italy native did not allow a goal for 41:16, saving a total 19-of-20 shots. Clara is tied for 7th place amongst all qualified AHL goalies in GAA (1.99) and SV% (.929).
San Diego heads back on the road starting with their first meeting this season with the Bakersfield Condors on Friday, Nov. 14 (7 p.m. PST).