The San Diego Gulls are riding high and aiming for a sweep against the Rockford IceHogs at the BMO Center today. After last night's thrilling 5-4 win, the Gulls are looking to extend their all-time record against Rockford to an impressive 7-0-1-0.
Reflecting on the game, Sasha Pastujov emphasized the importance of building on their strong third period. "We’ll certainly watch the first, learn from it, and not let it happen again," he noted. "A strong start will be key."
Special teams were the stars of the show for San Diego, with both the power play and penalty kill operating at peak efficiency. The Gulls went a flawless 3-for-3 on both, boosting their power play percentage to 18.9% and penalty kill success to 84.2%.
Pastujov was instrumental, netting two power-play goals and extending his point streak to five games with a total of 3-5=8 points. Ryan Carpenter also shone, scoring the third power-play goal and marking his second consecutive game with a goal and an assist.
Pastujov highlighted the team effort: "We had good screens and winning puck battles. Without [Ryan] Carpenter winning every draw, we don’t get possession. Sam [Colangelo] and [Matthew] Phillips on the entries were great, and [Tristan] Luneau’s deception was key."
Stian Solberg had a standout night, recording his first career AHL multi-goal game, with his second goal securing the win. Solberg now has 8-6=14 points this season, surpassing last year's total.
Matthew Phillips reached a career milestone with his 200th AHL assist and added another, tying for the team lead with 25 assists this season. Tristan Luneau also contributed with two assists, bringing his season tally to 4-14=18 points.
Assistant coach Michael Babcock praised the team's effort: "We had tremendous puck speed, great puck support, and resiliency in winning our puck battles, especially leading to the first goal."
The victory improved the Gulls’ record to 23-15-6-4, putting them just three points shy of the fifth-place spot in the Pacific Division. A win today could be a crucial step in climbing the rankings.