Preview: Gulls Aim to Tame Iowa Wild in Back-to-Backs

Jan 12, 2024

By Morgan Korovec/SanDiegoGulls.com  

The San Diego Gulls welcome the Iowa Wild to Pechanga Arena San Diego Friday night for their first meeting of the season to launch their set of back-to-back games (7 p.m. PST). 

Entering tonight’s contest, San Diego is still fresh off an invigorating win Wednesday night over Coachella Valley, where aggressive play led the Gulls to come out on top in front of fans at home after an unexpected week off.   

With under a minute left in regulation, Glenn Gawdin sealed the Gulls’ 4-2 victory as he released a long shot down the ice and straight into the empty net.  

Tomas Suchanek picked up an assist on the game-winning goal for his first career AHL point and stopped 34-of-36 shots on the night for his fifth win of the season. 

Andrew Agozzino earned his seventh multi-point effort of the season, netting his eighth goal and tallying two assists to take the team lead in points (8-18=26) and assists.  

"It feels good to contribute, no matter what building it’s in," Agozzino said. "But when it’s at home, it’s always a little better feeling, in front of the home fans. So, it’s nice to get one at home, for sure."

Colton White recorded his first goal of the season in the matchup, while Jaxsen Wiebe scored his second goal in as many games.  

"We started off a little slow, but we still had our chances, and we were still generating a little bit," White said. "We just had to weather the storm they had in the first period and then once the second period rolled around, we got to our game a little bit quicker. 

"We’ll just have to continue to try and find some consistency."

Heading into Friday night’s fight, the Gulls will continue to go after consistency while looking to build momentum quick and bring aggressive play throughout to tame and grasp the win over Iowa, AHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild. 

For Iowa in their latest match, they dropped a 4-1 decision to Grand Rapids for the second night straight. 

As the Gulls are tackling their way over their learning curve, they will aim to replicate the hunting and enthusiastic energy they produced on the ice in their last contest. 

"The good thing is we don’t have to wait another week to play," head coach Matt McIlvane said. "We’ll have a great practice tomorrow and then we’ll get ready for Iowa."

The Gulls will run it back to the rink for more with the Wild tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 13 at 6 p.m. PST for San Diego’s Country Night at Pechanga Arena San Diego.