Gulls Ready to Wrangle Wild at Home

Jan 8, 2025

By Samantha Mason/SanDiegoGulls.com 

The San Diego Gulls are back at home and set to challenge the Iowa Wild for the first time this season tonight (7:00 pm PST; TV: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio: Gulls Audio Network).  

Over the weekend, San Diego hit the road to take on the Ontario Reign and Coachella Valley Firebirds. Although both contests resulted in a loss, the Gulls are ready to show the Wild what they’re capable of. 

"I think just changing our identity as a team, we want to be hard to play against, which I know Matt [McIlvane] has talked about a lot," said Sam Colangelo. "I think that ultimately drives our success. When a team is easy to play against it’s easier and more fun to play against, but we want to be harder to play against and give them less room out there."

Tonight’s contest marks the first of a five-game homestand at Pechanga Arena. It is also the first game the San Diego Gulls have played against a Central Division team this season.  

"Using Pechanga Arena to a home ice advantage has been a focus for us this season," said head coach Matt McIlvane. "It wasn’t years past and it’s something we have to regain. Our fans are excellent, playing in front of them is a lot of fun, and for our group to come out and be focused is the expectation."

After their contest against Iowa tonight, the Gulls will take on the Tucson Roadrunners in back-to-back contests this weekend (7 pm PST).