The San Diego Gulls are back in action tonight, kicking off a back-to-back set against the Abbotsford Canucks at Rogers Arena (7 p.m. PST; TV: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio: Gulls Audio Network).
It’s a matchup that’s starting to feel familiar-these two teams just faced off earlier this month, splitting a two-game series. Abbotsford took the opener 5-3, but San Diego responded with a gritty 1-0 shutout in game two.
Since then, the Canucks have gone 1-2 in their last three games. They’re still sitting 10th in the Pacific Division, but the margin between them and the next rung up isn’t huge-just five points. Head coach Matt McIlvane isn’t reading too much into their place in the standings, though.
“Abbotsford’s a team on the climb,” McIlvane said. “I know where they're at in the standings, but every time I look at them, I see the defending champions. There are the makings of that in that team, so that's the way we've got to prepare.”
For the Gulls, this weekend marks the second leg of a four-game road trip, and they’re coming in hot. After sweeping the Tucson Roadrunners, San Diego improved to 10-4-4-0 away from home-a road record that’s been a major factor in keeping them in the playoff mix. Their overall mark of 18-12-6-2 has them holding steady in postseason position with 44 points.
That Tucson sweep wasn’t just another pair of wins-it was San Diego’s first back-to-back series sweep of the season. The Gulls lit the lamp eight times across those two games and continued their dominance over the Roadrunners, now 4-0 against them this year.
A big reason for that success? Calle Clang between the pipes.
Clang got the nod in both games against Tucson and delivered, notching his third consecutive win. He’s now up to nine victories on the season, just two shy of matching his AHL career high of 11 from last year. His 2.23 goals-against average ranks sixth among qualified AHL goaltenders, and his .913 save percentage is good for 11th.
After the second win, McIlvane took a moment to check in with his netminder.
“I looked him in the eyes after the game, and I just want to see what he looked like,” McIlvane said. “He looked fresh enough and I asked him how did he feel?
He said he didn't have a ton of high-danger looks and wasn't scrambling. Sometimes you look at him and it's like, yeah, he can't go again.
But this was an opportunity to try it.”
That kind of trust between coach and goalie doesn’t happen overnight. It’s built game by game, save by save-and right now, Clang is earning every bit of it.
As the Gulls take the ice tonight in Abbotsford, they’ll be looking to build on that momentum. With playoff positioning on the line and confidence riding high, this back-to-back could be another key chapter in a season that’s starting to take shape.