Gulls to Battle Barracuda
Mar 5, 2025
By Samantha Mason/SanDiegoGulls.com
The San Diego Gulls have flown north tonight, eager to challenge the San Jose Barracuda at Tech CU Arena (7 p.m. PST; TV: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio: Gulls Audio Network).
Last week, the Gulls saw the end of their exciting seven-game winning streak. Although they fell to Coachella Valley and Bakersfield over the weekend, they’re not letting these losses stop their momentum, as they are still 8-2-1-1 over their last 12 games.
"Extremely proud," said head coach Matt McIlvane. "We put ourselves in a situation where we have a hill to climb. What we did is we closed the gap. That’s what happened in that month. We’re extremely impressed with the resilience of our team. Even in the last game, running on fumes, being able to come from behind three times in a game to scratch and claw the game back to even. There’s so much to be proud of, individually for so many guys. But also, as a team, we set ourselves up to keep pushing."
It's also an exciting month for team captain Ryan Carpenter, who was named the AHL’s Player of the Month for February. He is the second Gull to earn this accolade for the 2024-25 season, after Sasha Pastujov was given the award for January.
In the month of February alone, Carpenter recorded 6-10=16 points, co-leading the league in scoring alongside Tristan Luneau (1-15=16), in 11 games. He has tallied 15 goals and 38 points and has skated in all 53 contests so far this season.
"It’s a huge honor," said Carpenter. "I think it’s a combination of finding some confidence and some rhythm with the guys I’m playing with but also benefitting from some of the guys I’m playing with, being in the front of the power play."
"For him to be the AHL Player of the Month, what a cool thing," added McIlvane. "He’s certainly a leader for us in that locker room, and to be able to contribute like that, it’s huge."
San Diego is eager to hit the ice and show San Jose what they can do again, as the Gulls are 3-1-1-0 against the Barracuda this season.
After their contest with San Jose, the Gulls will travel to Ontario to challenge the Reign on Friday night (7 p.m. PST).
