Despite lodged in last place in the 10-team Pacific Division, the San Diego Gulls have consistent¬ly proven they can go toe-to-toe with the top teams in the division — and, in fact, the 32-team American Hockey League.
The Gulls captured three of six possible points in a recent three-game series against the division-leading Calgary Wranglers and pulled up close with 5-3 and 3-1 home ice setbacks to the Toronto Marlies, the No. 4 team in the Eastern Conference.
The Gulls first tangled with the Wranglers, the AHL affiliate of the NHL Calgary Flames, in a Jan. 18 game celebrating Lunar New Year. The Wranglers took a 2-0 lead in the divisional contest but the host Gulls rebounded to erased four separate Calgary leads in eventually absorbing a 6-5 overtime defeat.
The hosts rallied to lead 5-4 late in the contest on a shorthanded goal. The Wranglers weren’t finished, as it turned out, by tying the game, 5-5, on a goal with just 12 seconds remaining in regula¬ion. The Canadian visitors then capped their electric comeback with a goal just 47 seconds into the five-minute overtime period.
The series moved to Canada for the second and third matchups. The hosts stymied a determined Gulls effort with a 7-5 comeback win on Jan. 25. The Gulls carved out a 3-0 lead in the game but found themselves skating in a 4-4 deadlock by the end of the second period. The Wranglers scored twice to start the third period with a power play goal and shorthanded goal to assume a 6-4 lead.
The Gulls weren’t quite finished, however, as team captain Ryan Carpenter scored with 41 seconds remaining in regulation to bring the visitors to within one goal on the scoreboard. Calgary finally grabbed the victory on the strength of an empty net goal with a scant three seconds left. If there was a consolation, the Gulls out-shot the Wranglers 35-27, including 18-7 in the third period.
The Gulls finally got a bead on Calgary, the top team in the AHL standings, with a 5-4 overtime win on Jan. 26. The Wranglers led early by scores of 1-0 and 2-1 before the Southern Californians went ahead 3-2 through two periods. The Wranglers out-scored the Gulls 2-1 in the third period to force a 4-4 standoff on the scoreboard through regulation.
The Gulls got a measure of re¬enge as Tristan Luneau scored a power play goal 1:31 into overtime to net the game-winner. The Gulls out-shot the Wranglers in all three consecutive encounters.
“We were ready for a response,” San Diego coach Matt McIlvane said. “We felt like each time we played Calgary in the past week we’ve had chances to close out games. We’ve come up short, and so there’s a desperation within our group to go out and earn the result. It was a back-and-forth hockey game, it felt competitive. Both teams capitalized on power plays, in the end we got the one extra five-on-four, which was the difference.”
The Gulls returned to San Diego to host the Marlies on Jan. 29 and Jan. 31. An empty net goal decided the first match-up while Toronto tacked on a late goal in the rematch to expand on a tight 2-1 advantage.
The Gulls closed out the first month of 2025 with the AHL Player of the Month award for January — Sasha Pastujov. The 21-year-old right wing recorded six goals and 13 assists for 19 points in 22 games during the month. Included was an 11-game point streak, tied for the longest this season in the league. Pastujov has logged 29 points in 27 games for the Gulls to lead the team in scoring at the All-Star break.
Stars in their eyes
Sam Colangleo, a second-round pick (36th overall) by the NHL parent Anaheim Ducks in the 2020 Entry Draft, represented the Gulls at the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic Feb. 2-3 in Palm Desert, home of the Coachella Valley Firebirds. He participated in the all-star skills challenge and picked up one assist in the Pacific Division’s three mini-game contests.
Colangelo has recorded 27 points (16 goals, 11 assists) in 30 games with the Gulls this season and one goal in 12 games with the Ducks.
Second half jump-start
The Gulls (13-23-5-2) faced off the second half of their 2024-25 schedule with a pair of overtime games — a 3-2 loss to the visiting Firebirds last Friday and a 5-4 OT win in Ontario on Saturday.
Nikita Nesterenko earned first star with the OT winner against the Reign while newcomer Justin Bailey (acquired in a trade with San Jose on Jan. 22) was third star with a goal and assist.
