The San Diego Gulls were one of the hottest teams in the American Hockey League prior to losses to Coachella Valley and San Jose this week.
Coach Matt McIlvane’s club will look to bounce back starting Friday night, when the Gulls open a weekend set at the Colorado Eagles.
The Gulls (14-9-6-2, 36 points) sit seventh in the 10-team Pacific Division, eight points behind first-place Colorado (21-7-1-1, 44 points). San Diego is 0-2 against Colorado this season.
Wednesday’s loss to San Jose came after a thrilling seven-round overtime shootout which ended with the Barracuda leaving Pechanga Arena with a hard-fought 3-2 victory.
The Gulls were unable to take advantage of an extended power play in the third period but forced overtime on forward Matt Phillips’ tally with 55 seconds remaining in regulation. By forcing overtime, the Gulls took a point in the standings.
“Yeah, it was huge,” said Phillips, who has eight goals this season. “I mean, obviously a disappointing result and pretty flat on the bench after a five-minute power play, but the message was just to kind of regroup and put that behind us. And we battled really hard to push it to overtime and had a couple of chances to win the game, but still, we’ll take the point.”
Thursday brought news that rookie defenseman Tim Washe was called up by the Anaheim Ducks. The 2025 Frozen Four champion out of Western Michigan scored a team-high 13 goals with 12 assists in 30 games with the Gulls.
Washe said he hopes to “just do all the things I was doing down in the American League, work hard and have fun” with the Ducks, with whom he spent two games last spring. “Try to enjoy it. It’s exciting for sure. Work hard, follow your instincts.”
Sockers hit the road
The Sockers (3-2-1, 10 points) open a five-game road trip Sunday at the Baltimore Blast (3-2-2, 11 points).
The Sockers had won three consecutive matches after an 0-2 start to the season.
Seals return home
The Seals (1-2) host the Toronto Rock (1-2) Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Pechanga Arena. The National Lacrosse League club is coming off a 15-11 home loss to Calgary on Saturday.
G League Clippers host Iowa
The Clippers (3-4) of the G League host the Iowa Wolves (4-3) Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Frontwave Arena. The Clippers are coming off a 126-125 win over Long Island on Tuesday.
On Thursday, the team acquired guard Hunter Sallis from Iowa in exchange for guard Isiah Brockington.
Mojo open home slate
The San Diego Mojo of Major League Volleyball opened the new season on the road against the Omaha Supernovas on Thursday night and will host the defending champion Orlando Valkyries on Sunday at 4 p.m. at Viejas Arena.
Sunday’s match will be televised locally on KUSI.
The Mojo will be led by first-year head coach Alisha Childress. The 2016 USA Olympic bronze medalist and MVL All-Star setter will work with rookie middle blocker Morgan Perkins, who led Texas A&M to the 2025 NCAA championship.