Gulls Look to Sweep Roadrunners
Jan 21, 2026
By Ashley Rubin/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls are set for the second game of their back-to-back series against the Tucson Roadrunners tonight at Tucson Convention Center (5:30 p.m. PST; TV: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio: Gulls Audio Network).
The game tonight continues the Gulls’ second half of the season, an essential time for the team to stay in playoff position. San Diego is currently ranked sixth in the Pacific Division with a 17-12-6-2 record and 42 points. The team went into last night’s game with the least goals allowed per game at the midway point with 2.78 per game in the franchises 10-year history.
"I think that we know their game plan," head coach Matt McIlvane said. "I think we have a strategy, usually in a back-to-back, the way that you play with the puck makes the biggest difference that you don't put yourself in spots where you got to chase. I think that's got to be a huge point of emphasis for us."
The Gulls and Roadrunners faced off last night, resulting in an overtime win for the Gulls. San Diego is now 3-0-0-0 against Tucson this season and hold an all-time record of 39-27-3-3 over the team.
The overtime winning goal was scored by Nikita Nesterenko which marked his first AHL goal this season. Nesterenko returned to the Gulls on Jan. 15 and has appeared in three games so far. Justin Bailey tied the game up late in the third to mark his 13th goal of the season. Tristan Luneau and Sasha Pastujov both tallied assists on the goal. Nathan Gaucher logged his fourth goal of the season to get the Gulls on the board last night. Judd Caulfield tallied his 10th assist and 20th total point, leaving him just five points short of matching his total record last season.
While the Gulls have struggled slightly in game two of back-to-back games this season, they look to pull off a sweep tonight.
"Same thing, back and forth track meet game," Nesterenko said. "These guys are fast. They're going to come out right out of the gates. It's really hard in this league to get a sweep so, they're going to come out from the start pushing. We just got to match the energy and push right back."
San Diego will continue their four-game road trip with another set of back-to-back games starting on Saturday, Jan. 24 as they meet back up with the Abbotsford Canucks at Rogers Forum (7 p.m. PST).