2025-2026 Game 05: San Diego Gulls at Henderson Silver Knights

Henderson, Nevada. Dropping a 3-2 decision in overtime the night before the San Diego Gulls were looking to coming away from their weekend away in Henderson by getting back to .500 with their second win of the season.

Konnor Smith was assigned back to the press box as Nik Brouillard moved back to defense whilst Drew Elliott drew in and was placed on the fourth line alongside Lindmark and Caulfield – the first game we have seen both Lindmark and Elliott in the lineup at the same time.

All other forward lines remained the same and defensive pairings interestingly remained the same with the Solberg and Luneau (as per the Gullsmin six – seveeeeeen reference yesterday) stayed intact.

Ville Husso was given the start with Calle Clang once again backing up.

Nathan Gaucher and Coulson Pitre were the only injuries with Konnor Smith, Ryan Lautenbach and Travis Howe the scratches.

First Period:

Without a doubt the Gulls did look like they had the extra step to start the game but some extra curricular activities as a result of bad blood carrying over from the night before disrupted the flow of the game and allowed the Silver Knights the games first Power Play as Tim Washe was called for boarding.

Killing the penalty the Gulls went right to the attack and came close on back to back chances created by the Pastujov line before both teams laid down a tightened neutral zone structure that resulted in a lot of bouncing pucks and some very unpretty hockey.

A tripping call drawn by Owen Lindmark gave the Gulls their first Power Play and one wondered if the leagues near worst Power Play could get any worse or would it finally start putting them in. Turns out the later would be correct as Yegor Sidorov was found with time and space in the bumper spot and able to rip his patented hard wrist shot by Henderson goaltender Cameron Whitehead. 1-0 Gulls.

Henderson came with an immediate push after the goal and controlled play for much of the next ten minutes before breaking through via their forecheck forcing a bad turnover in the Gulls zone as Nik Brouillard sent a pass toward a team mate that over-skated it and allowed for the Silver Knights to punch a loose puck by Husso. 1-1 tie game.

San Diego tried to retake the lead right after the goal but were caught with too many men up ice and a Silver Knights turnover took advantage of their lack of numbers via some nice passing to make it 2-1 Henderson just 36 seconds later. 2-1 Henderson.

The first period ending with San Diego frantically trying to force a late equalizer to salvage what had initially been a great start for them. Henderson taking a 2-1 lead to the first intermission with the Gulls ahead in shots 14-10 and the shot map showing the Gulls creating the better of the chances but Henderson capitalizing on mistakes.

Second Period: Henderson Silver Knights 2 – San Diego Gulls 1

The second began with little to no action as neither team really seemed willing to commit to opening the ice for a rush and counter rush.

With shots increasing by the barest of margins as time approached the midway point of the period the game started to feel a lot like the Colorado game earlier in the week – tight neutral zone checking and any rare odd numbered chance broken up before it could become dangerous.

As time passed over the midway point things finally started to open up with teams exchanging partial breaks but the score remained 2-1 as play entered the final five minutes of the middle frame.

The lack of love lost spilled over once again and matching minors were dished to both Tyson Hinds and the Silver Knights Mitch McLain.

San Diego could not take advantage of the extra ice allowed at four on four and as play returned to five on five the Silver Knights continued to frustrate the Gulls with their tight and heavy forecheck – getting a Power Play that then turned into a five on three advantage with a minute left to play as Justin Bailey was deemed to have tripped a Silver Knights player on the forecheck.

Ville Husso did well on initial chances but could not stop an open Raphael Lavoie with twelve seconds left in the period as the Henderson danger man found a soft area. 3-1 Silver Knights.

San Diego now down by two goals entering the second intermission after allowing the Silver Knights to dictate play for the last twenty minutes. Shots were 13-10 Henderson on the period to give San Diego the slim 24-23 margin overall. The shot map showing the Gulls deserved to be in the spot they found themselves in.

Third Period: Henderson Silver Knights 3 – San Diego Gulls 1

Starting the period still on the penalty kill things went from bad to worse as Lucas Cormier produced a highlight reel goal by rushing the puck himself from his own zone, through the neutral, into the Gulls zone and by all of the four man unit en-route to tucking it by Ville Husso on the backhand. 4-1 Silver Knights. Sigh.

Ill admit I completely lost interest in the rest of the game after the goal although the Gulls did manage to create some of the better chances they had all night but were just unable to pick their spot or were denied by the first year pro goaltender in the Silver Knights net.

Both Ryan Carpenter and Judd Caulfield got their sticks to a Tristan Luneau point shot off a face-off to make it 4-2 with 10:50 left in the game.

San Diego continued to press and looked the best they ever had for much of the next few minutes of play but another back breaking goal put San Diego down 5-2 after another Silver Knights player was allowed to skate around the Gulls defense and send a pass across the crease. 5-2 Henderson.

The remaining five or so minutes of the period seemed more a formality with some chippiness thrown in and penalties exchanged.

Henderson taking this one 5-2 to sweep the weekend and send the Gulls to a 1-3-1 record to start the season.

Post Game Notes:

Too Slow In Transition

The only thing I can see about why the Gulls are struggling on offense over these last few losses is the movement in transition is way too slow. Compared to their season opening win over Coachella Valley it feels like they are skating through sand as they come through the neutral zone. I get that in most part that is due to tactical deployment by more experienced and skilled squads than the Firebirds but even when the Gulls do manage to find time and space for a counter attack – they don’t really seem to be making the right decision with the puck and allow defenders to catch up and diffuse. It is incredibly frustrating to watch.

Storming Stian

Possibly the most fun part of today’s game was watching Stian Solberg clearly feast on the fact that he was getting under the skin of Raphael Lavoie. The Norwegian defender took every opportunity to make body contact and for the first time was getting the better of most if not all the stand up hits and reverse hits he threw. Thus the SOLBERG SMASH was born.

Early Indications Of New Look Divisional Opponents?

Another look at the Pacific Division standings shows that the Silver Knights are second in the division by both points percentage and points with the Eagles tops with ten points and an .833 points percentage. So is the Gulls recent losing streak just a result of coming up against the best in the division? I am nowhere near the best at accessing how much better or worse divisional opponents have gotten over the summer but it appears the Silver Knights have come ahead leaps and bounds. Colorado is always good – year in year out and that will likely never change and at this point it appears the Reign and Roadrunners are still just as competitive as they have always been also. That leaves Calgary, Bakersfield, Coachella Valley, Abbotsford, San Jose and the Gulls to battle it out for the final three spots.

Thankfully the Gulls next face the Barracuda and the Firebirds – who one would hope – are more evenly matched or more easy to overcome opponents because you can tell this team needs a much needed confidence boost and they need it soon.

Possible Help Coming?

Not that they need it with the current depth but Jansen Harkins was activated from IR today by the Ducks at the same time that Mikael Granlund left the game in Tampa Bay with a lower body injury. Chris Krieder is day to day with illness and Ryan Strome is on IR with an upper body injury. If Granlund and Krieder come back within the next week or so I believe the Ducks will have to send down a forward. Both Nikita Nesterenko and Sam Colangelo have been playing very well but they would be the only and obvious choices due to their waiver status. Having one of them would be an absolute boon to a Gulls team that has suddenly started struggling to score.