2025-2026 Game 17: San Diego Gulls at Tuscon Roadrunners

Tucson, Arizona. After having their six game point streak snapped in a 3-2 regulation loss to Calgary the San Diego Gulls headed to Arizona in search of a spark to get them back in the win column.

With Ville Huss called up to Anaheim in response to an upper body injury to Lukas Dostal the Gulls recalled Tomas Suchanek who arrived in time to back up Vyacheslav Buteyets.

All other lines and pairings remained the same except Cal Burke drew back in to slot back in on the fourth line whilst Travis Howe sat out.

The defensive pairings from the last game remained the same.

Travis Howe and Roman Kinal were the only healthy scratches, Calle Clang still remained away from the team for personal reasons.

First Period:

The standard “first meeting between teams” feeling out process meant a slow start at first but as the Gulls settled in they started to dominate in chances and possession.

Tristan Luneau opened the scoring courtesy of a point shot that sailed into the Roadrunners net through multiple layers of traffic after some great work by the Mysak line to keep possession in the Tucson zone.  1-0 Gulls.

Tucson came back with an attempted response but were stifled by a very well organized Gulls defense cutting off shooting lanes and collapsing around their goaltender after every shot taken.

Carrying forward their attack the Gulls added to their lead as Roland McKeown created his own breakout and lead a three on two rush, finding room and driving down the left side, eventually heading across the Tucson net to try make a move around the goaltender. The rebound generated by the play was put away by the closely following Jan Mysak.  2-0 Gulls.

With less than 46 seconds left in the opening period the Roadrunners attempted a weak response but the Gulls continued to look dominant in defense as they took away passing lanes and zone entry opportunities to head to the first intermission up by 2-0.

Shots were 13-12 Tucson with the shot map showing the Gulls absolutely dominating the slot.

Second Period: San Diego Gulls 2 – Tucson Roadrunners 0

Starting the period well the Gulls started to find themselves in trouble as they allowed the Roadrunners to start to overwhelm them in their own zone.  

As the home teams slowly building momentum rose to a simmer the previously strict Gulls defense was broken as Buteyets had no chance on a snap shot from the near side boards that beat him top corner stick side.  2-1 Gulls.

San Diego tried to fight back but only really succeeded in earning a Power Play as Justin Bailey was tripped entering the Tucson zone.  Once again the Gulls man advantage failed to click – apart from one nice tic-tac-toe play that was denied at the last second.

The Gulls defensive woes resurfaced just at the wrong moment as a San Diego turnover saw the Roadrunners tie it up via a quick snap shot that beat Buteyets low glove side. Stian Solberg victimized by a bouncing puck.  2-2 tie game.

Just as it felt like the game might get away from them just as swift as the momentum was switching Sam Colangelo proved his timing for potential game saving goals once again as he settled a puck just enough on a breakaway chance forced by another bouncing puck that troubled the home team this time Gulls 3-2.

San Diego kept pressing while shoring up their defense as they took a narrow 3-2 lead into the second intermission.  Shots were 15-11 Tucson on the middle frame and 28-23 overall as the Roadrunners came back with a vengeance in the second frame.

Third Period: San Diego Gulls 3 – Tucson Roadrunners 2

It was an all out battle for the puck to start the third and as the bodies started to fly the soft areas started to open up with teams exchanging rush to counter-rush through the first five minutes of play.

After a mammoth almost ten minute sequence with no stoppages the Roadrunners emerged the initial victors in the battle to open the scoring in the third as Ben McCartney tipped a shot taken from the high circle that slipped under the right arm of Buteyets and into the net. 3-3 tie game.

As time pressed on into the final three minutes of play as the Roadrunners continued to press it seemed the Gulls were doing all that they could to secure a point a they defused attack after attack and did their best to get the puck back up ice.

In the final minute and a half a sudden Gulls intrusion into the Tucson zone and some good work albeit disjointed play by the forwards on the line saw Stian Solberg collect a loose puck near the blue line and immediately sent it on net. The puck finding its way past several pairs of battling players and into the Roadrunners net. 4-3 Gulls.

Tucson appeared to dispute the play but the FLO TV broadcast had lost audio at this point so it was unclear why.

With just over a minute left remaining the Roadrunners pulled their goaltender but the Gulls clogged every and any shooting lane while giving no quarter to whomesever might possess the puck. With less than ten seconds left some strong work saw Tim Washe and Sam Colangelo emerge with the puck for a two on nothing on the empty net. Washe eventually taking the spoils. 5-3 Gulls.

Post Game Notes:

How Did We Get Here?

The absolute worst case scenario has taken place over the last week. With Lukas Dostal already out and now placed on IR the Ducks second string Peter Mrzaek also went down with an injury during the week – prompting a call-up for Buteyets and leaving San Diego with just Tomas Suchanek. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue and if you had of asked me last year I would have said – no worries – Suchanek has got this. But given he has struggled to return to form this season and the fact that whoever backs him up is likely to be a mystery ECHL PTO signing it doesn’t lend a heck of a lot of confidence going forward until one of the Ducks goaltenders can get healthy. Added to this is the fact that if Husso plays ten or more games he will need to pass through waivers again…

Since This Game…

The Gulls have since been embarrassed 5-0 by the Firebirds at Pechanga in what I guess could be best described as revenge for the Gulls beating the Firebirds by the same score at their home opener in Coachella Valley. It also doesn’t feel great given the Firebirds are not quite the same team this year and shows the Gulls might be quite reliant on their goal-tending….

Standings Update

The Gulls are now tied for 7th in points percentage but are ranked 8th by regulation wins – holding a 7-6-5 record and a 0.528 points percentage. Only two teams in the Pacific are below .500 – the two teams below them in the form of Tucson and Abbotsford and it further proves how insanely competitive the Pacific is this season. If this keeps up for the entire season the playoffs are going to be very intense but perhaps the most exciting they have ever been.

Up Next

Next up the Gulls roll out the welcome mat for the Texas Stars – who currently sit 6th out of 7 in the Central and are 7-10-2 this season. The weekend match-up with the day off in between could be what the Gulls need to get back on track and perhaps give Tomas Suchanek the confidence he needs to get on a roll and carry this team like he did two seasons ago.