Gulls Battle Silver Knights on Star Wars Night
Feb 17, 2024By Morgan Korovec/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls hit the rink prepared to defeat the evil empire Saturday night as they host the Henderson Silver Knights for the team’s annual Star Wars Night at Pechanga Arena San Diego (6 p.m. PST; TV: AHLTV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network).
Tonight’s themed spectacular will transport fans into a galaxy far, far away while benefiting Rady Children’s Hospital. The evening will kick off with a pre-game tailgate featuring over 50 of your favorite Star Wars characters, taking place from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the North VIP lot.
On the rink, Gulls skaters will defend the Galactic Republic, sporting specialty Star Wars-themed jerseys during the game.
San Diego hopes the force will be with them as they aim to bounce back following a 6-2 Valentine’s Day defeat to the San Jose Barracuda in their latest contest at Pechanga Arena, ending a three-game winning streak.
Wednesday’s game saw two Gulls capitalize on the power play, giving them each their tenth goal of the season. Leading all AHL defensemen in power-play goals, Olen Zellweger (10-22=32) recorded his fifth PPG on the campaign while Ben King (10-9=19) netted his third PPG of the season.
"I think just as a full team, we were kind of off our game," Josh Lopina said. "I think we played a little bit too passive. Definitely wasn’t us."
Taking advantage of a much-needed day off on Thursday and then a high-intensity practice on Friday, the Gulls are ready to march into battle with a fresh mentality. Approaching the final game of their regular season series with the Silver Knights, San Diego is hungry for their first win over Henderson, who sit just a few points ahead in the Pacific Division standings.
"We watched a lot of video, had a good hard practice, so I think we’ll get back to our identity," Lopina said. "It’ll be our focus on Saturday, right when the puck drops, high intensity, get back to our game. I think we corrected what we needed to, we’re ready to go.
"The big thing is don’t lose focus. Don’t lose our game mentality."
Henderson will also be looking to rebound tonight following a 4-0 defeat against the Coachella Valley Firebirds in their most recent matchup on Feb. 10.
"They’re just ahead of us in the standings, so, these games are huge," Lopina said. "Every game we’re going into, it’s playoff mindset. It’s important to play hard, have that playoff mindset because every game counts coming down the stretch here."
With Star Wars magic filling the arena, the Gulls are optimistic about re-establishing their hot streak and returning to their brand of hockey that’s earned them success thus far.
Following tonight, the Gulls get set to flock to Mechanics Bank Arena where they will take on the Bakersfield Condors on Tuesday, Feb. 20 (6:30 p.m. PST).