\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFeb 18, 2026<\/p>\n
By Ashley Rubin\/SanDiegoGulls.com\u00a0<\/p>\n
The San Diego Gulls look to\u00a0get their momentum back and take a win over the San Jose Barracuda tonight at Pechanga Arena San Diego (7 p.m. PST; TV: AHLTV on\u00a0FloHockey; Radio: Gulls Audio Network).\u00a0<\/p>\n
San Diego and San Jose have previously met up four times this season.\u00a0The Gulls are currently 2-0-1-1 against the Barracuda this season and 16-9-2-1 over the past five seasons. The\u00a0last time the teams faced off was on Jan. 7 when the game was sent into a\u00a0seven-man\u00a0shootout. The Barracuda\u00a0ultimately ended\u00a0up with the win, but San Diego still walked away with a point.\u00a0<\/p>\n
San Jose\u00a0is currently tied for the fourth place Pacific Division spot with 57 points. San Diego only trails the Barracuda by four points and has\u00a0remained\u00a0steadily in the\u00a0sixth-place\u00a0spot.\u00a0The teams hold similar records with the Barracuda posting\u00a027-15-1-2 while the Gulls have posted 22-15-6-3.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I think we just expect a high pace game,”\u00a0Sam Colangelo\u00a0said. “I know last year they were\u00a0really good\u00a0but this year\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0even better.\u00a0They\u2019re\u00a0better defensively\u00a0and are giving up a lot less.\u00a0We\u2019re\u00a0going to\u00a0try to put pucks in behind them, play a simple game,\u00a0and I think\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0have some success.”<\/p>\n
The Gulls have\u00a0been on a successful run\u00a0in their past five games. Prior to the All-Star break, San Diego beat out the Coachella Valley Firebirds, Ontario Reign, and Henderson Silver Knights. The team then went on to take a win over the offensive\u00a0powerhouse\u00a0Bakersfield Condors\u00a0on Friday\u00a0night\u00a0but fell just short of pulling off a sweep with their loss on Saturday.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite the loss on Saturday, San Diego did not\u00a0let up throughout the entirety of the game. The Gulls responded almost\u00a0immediately\u00a0to each of the\u00a0Condors\u2019\u00a0first three goals.\u00a0Justin Bailey\u00a0found his 16th\u00a0goal of the season, increasing his team-leading goal count.\u00a0Bailey is just\u00a0three goals short of matching his total\u00a0scored\u00a0last season.\u00a0Defenseman\u00a0Stian Solberg\u00a0also found the back of the net,\u00a0logging his\u00a012th\u00a0point of the season.\u00a0Judd Caulfield\u00a0found the most\u00a0success, netting two goals which\u00a0marked\u00a0his third multi-goal game of the season.\u00a0The\u00a0winger\u00a0has now surpassed his total points logged last season\u00a0with 28\u00a0and has found\u00a04-3=7 points in his past five games.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
“The guys were\u00a0focused\u00a0that\u2019s for sure,”\u00a0head coach\u00a0Matt\u00a0McIlvane\u00a0said. “There was a big will to be able to\u00a0get\u00a0our\u00a0goal accomplished\u00a0for the weekend.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0not easy being off for that long and then coming out and being focused. Bakersfield\u2019s got\u00a0so much fire power and being able to stifle it for the first game and then we can see\u00a0in the second game,\u00a0we\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0feel like we gave a ton,\u00a0but how opportunistic that team is\u00a0and how explosive they can be offensively. They certainly capitalized\u00a0on stuff that we gave them, but I liked a lot of parts of our game and there\u2019s great opportunities for learning.”<\/p>\n
San Diego has\u00a026 games\u00a0remaining\u00a0in the regular season, 12 of those being on home-ice. The team is looking for a playoff push\u00a0and\u00a0hopes\u00a0to make their first appearance in the playoffs since 2022.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Points are at a premium this time this season, so we’re making our push right now,”\u00a0Caulfield said. “Try to keep climbing in the standings\u00a0right now,\u00a0we’re\u00a0in a playoff spot, but\u00a0we’re\u00a0not satisfied with being sixth in the division. We got to keep climbing, and obviously we want to hold the advantage and keep climbing and potentially get that playoff bye in that first round.\u00a0That’s\u00a0our goal is just to keep winning games and keep stacking and get ready for that playoff style hockey, because we\u00a0can’t\u00a0just be satisfied with being the middle of the pack. We want to be the best team in the division, and we got to start right now.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Following\u00a0tonight,\u00a0the Gulls will head over to\u00a0Rockford for the first time\u00a0since 2023-24\u00a0where they will play a back-to-back series against the\u00a0IceHogs\u00a0starting\u00a0on\u00a0Saturday,\u00a0Feb. 21 at BMO Center.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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