Gulls Look for Redemption in Rematch with Roadrunners
Feb 25, 2026
By Ashley Rubin/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls are set for a rematch with the Tucson Roadrunners tonight at Pechanga Arena San Diego (7 p.m. PST; TV: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio: Gulls Audio Network).
San Diego and Tucson have competed five times so far this season. The Gulls have won four of those games and picked up a point in all five. The last matchup between the teams was on Jan. 28 when the Roadrunners took the extra point in a 4-0 shootout win. Prior to that game, San Diego was undefeated against Tucson this season and they look for redemption over that last loss tonight.
Tucson has posted a 4-5-1-0 record over their past 10 games played. The team stands only one spot behind San Diego in the division rankings, holding 52 points. The Roadrunners go into tonight having dropped their past two contests.
The Gulls go into tonight holding 56 points with 12 of those found in their past nine games. The team has gone 5-2-2 over that stretch.
The AHL is heading into the final quarter of the regular season, with San Diego having 23 games remaining. Points are essential to playoff position, especially for the highly competitive Pacific Division. The Gulls take sixth place, only three points short of the fifth-place spot and 14 short of first place.
"We've worked real hard to put ourselves in the situation that we're in, but the job's not done," head coach Matt McIlvane said. "It's going to be the most intense hockey coming up, and to get wins at this time of year, it takes every guy. And that's what I expect us to do."
San Diego last competed in a back-to-back series against the Rockford IceHogs at BMO Center last weekend. The Gulls and IceHogs each walked away with a win with both games only separated by one goal. On Saturday, the Gulls took the 5-4 victory with multi-goal games from Sasha Pastujov and Stian Solberg. The team went 3-for-3 on the powerplay for the first time this season and was also perfect on the penalty kill. Calle Clang protected the crease, logging his 12th win of the season, a new AHL career high.
Sunday’s game went in the other direction, with the IceHogs securing the win in the final three minutes of the game. Nathan Gaucher scored the lone Gulls goal and goaltender Tomas Suchanek saved 27-of-29 shots to keep San Diego in the hunt.
"Back-to-back, that definitely has a factor in the pace of the game, for sure," McIlvane said. "And so, then it challenges you, kind of how you play with the puck. It feels like we gave it away a lot in the last game, and we were certainly very careful with it in the first. Kind of ended up chunking it around a little bit, but I thought as the game went on, we played a little better with the puck, truthfully. And I think a third period was our best as far as chance generation and having some zone time. But in the end, they got the edge."
Following tonight, the Gulls will head over to Texas where they will skate in another non-division back-to-back series against the Stars. The first game of the series will be on Friday, Feb. 27 at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park (5 p.m. PST).