San Diego Gulls Bi-Weekly Report 1

By Thomas Harrington

The San Diego Gulls are off to a slow start, compiling a record of 1-3-1 through their first five games. They’ve played well enough to win more than one game, but the results just haven’t been there. In particular, they’ve struggled with the powerplay, only scoring twice with the man advantage. A better powerplay leads to a better outcome in at least one of their four losses.

The Gulls started the season off with one of their most dominant games of the past several seasons. They started the season on the road in Coachella Valley, taking on the Firebirds. San Diego had a dominant first period, but didn’t find the back of the net until there were 22 seconds left to go, when Ryan Carpenter scored. The Gulls finished the opening frame with 18 shots while only allowing five. They continued their strong play in the second, with Tim Washe scoring his first career AHL goal, and then Judd Caulfield picking up his first of the season. In the final period, Sasha Pastujov scored his first goal of the season and Matthew Phillips picked up his first goal as a member of the Gulls. Ville Husso stopped all 26 shots he faced, and San Diego won 5-0.

The Gulls then hosted the Henderson Silver Knights in their home opener. Henderson struck twice in the opening period, but Tristan Luneau and Caulfield tied the game in the second. The Silver Knights retook the lead before Carpenter scored late in the middle frame. Henderson scored the only goal of the third and won 4-3. San Diego then hosted the Colorado Eagles. The Eagles scored the only goal of the first, and that was the only goal of the game until Colorado scored into the empty net late in the third and won 2-0.

The Gulls then traveled to Henderson for a pair of games against the Silver Knights. Neither team scored in the first, but Henderson opened the scoring 45 seconds into the second. Jan Mysak and Roland McKeown both scored soon after that to give the Gulls the lead. The Silver Knights scored the only goal of the third period, and then found the only goal in overtime, giving them a 3-2 victory. In the second game against Henderson, Yegor Sidorov scored a powerplay goal in the first, but the Silver Knights scored twice about 30 seconds apart late in the period to take the lead. They then scored the only goal of the second with 12 seconds remaining in the middle frame. In the final period, Henderson made it 4-1 early, before Caulfield brought the Gulls back with two. The Silver Knights scored again and won 5-2.

San Diego will play six games over the next two weeks. They’ll start by hosting the San Jose Barracuda, and then traveling to Coachella Valley to face the Firebirds. The Gulls will then return home to host Colorado, and then go back on the road to visit Henderson. San Diego will finish things off by first hosting the Ontario Reign, and then traveling to Ontario to face the Reign the next night.

After playing in only one game, Ian Moore has already been called up to Anaheim. The only other defenseman who might get called up in the near future is Luneau, who has put up three points through the first five games of the season. Mysak and Pastujov have been two of San Diego’s better forwards, and Caulfield leads the team with three goals, but I’m not sure if any of them have played well enough to get the call yet. Despite only recording two points, I think Washe is more likely to get the call. He’s taken most of San Diego’s big draws and been a fixture on the penalty kill.

As has been the case for the past several seasons, San Diego is off to a slow start. The good news is that it’s still incredibly early and the Gulls can absolutely turn things around. However, that has to start sooner than later. If their record keeps getting worse through November, it will likely be another season without the Calder Cup Playoffs in San Diego.

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Oct 27th, 2025