Gulls Ring in the New Year with Tucson Showdown

Dec 31, 2025

By Ashley Rubin/SanDiegoGulls.com 

The San Diego Gulls will roll into the New Year as they have their second meeting with the Tucson Roadrunners tonight at Tucson Convention Center (5 p.m. PT, TV: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio: Gulls Audio Network).  

The Gulls and Roadrunners last met up in another holiday special on Nov. 26 when the Gulls took a 5-3 win. Tucson has since posted a 12-12-4-0 record with 28 points and back-to-back wins. San Diego has also recorded two straight wins going into this matchup but holds a slightly better record of 13-8-6-1 with 33 points.  

"We wanted to make a big push coming in after a break and into this new year," forward Tim Washe said. "So, unreal job from the group so far. Winning is fun, so we're going to keep trying to do our best."

The Gulls took back-to-back wins this past weekend, prevailing over both the Bakersfield Condors and Abbotsford Canucks. The game on Sunday against Abbotsford saw goaltender Calle Clang’s first AHL career shutout. The 3-0 victory resulted from a powerful defense and goals by Washe, Judd Caulfield, and Sam Colangelo.  

"It's a hard turnaround," head coach Matt McIlvane said. "You get in at two o'clock in the morning, and have a five o'clock game, it's a fast turnaround. The challenge for the day is how fast can we get invested mentally. The guys were sharp. That was a cleaner game than the Bakersfield game. Special teams were excellent. Our d-form was excellent. Power play gets us on the board. Penalty kill goes four-for-four. That was a big-time team victory.”"

Special teams have played a large role in the team’s recent success. San Diego has now scored five powerplay goals in their past four games, posting a 23.8% success rate in that span. The team’s penalty kill has also been nothing short of pristine with a 92.6% kill in the teams past nine games. 

The Gulls will begin the 2026 leg of the season at home as they battle it out with the Coachella Valley Firebirds on January 2 at Pechanga Arena San Diego (7 p.m. PT).