San Diego Ready for Last Ride at Home
Apr 20, 2024By Nick Aguilera/SanDiegoGulls.com
It’s been a turbulent seven months, but with one last game at Pechanga Arena San Diego this season, the San Diego Gulls are ready to give it everything they got for America’s Finest Fans against the Coachella Valley Firebirds tonight.
"When I signed on in San Diego, I heard a lot about America’s Finest Fans and they’ve been nothing short of that," head coach Matt McIlvane said. "They’ve been with us through the ups, through the downs, and there’s such a great fan base here that appreciates a group of guys here that go out and work. That’s what we’re looking to build, some consistency with that, and we’ll go show that to our fans one more time."
The Gulls will get Colton White back on the blueline tonight, marking his return from an upper-body injury. The veteran defensemen missed the last month with an upper-body injury.
"I’m excited,” White said. "It’s nice to be back with the guys… There’s a lot of work that went into it, and I’m excited to be back."
"He’s been a real stable defenseman for us throughout the course of the season," McIlvane added. "He can skate and move pucks for us. Happy to have him back in the lineup."
Tonight marks the first of back-to-back games with Coachella Valley to end the 2023-24 American Hockey League season. The Gulls have earned two wins in three games over the Firebirds at home this season, a 4-2 win on Jan. 10 and a 4-3 shootout win on March 6.
Andrew Agozzino enters tonight with a chance to make history, as the center sits with a franchise record-tying 61 points on the season. With a point tonight, he would surpass Sam Carrick’s 61 points in 2018-19 for the most in a single season by a Gull.
Alex Stalock should get the net for his final start of the season. In his last appearance, he earned an emotional shootout victory over his former club, the San Jose Barracuda.
The Gulls will wrap up the 2023-24 season in Coachella Valley tomorrow afternoon (3 p.m. PDT).