2025-2026 Game 24: San Diego Gulls at Henderson Silver Knights

Henderson, Nevada. Fresh off their weekend split of a regulation win over the Silver Knights followed by a loss in the shootout, the San Diego Gulls headed to the desert to finish off the three game series.

Once again the coaching staff made no changes whatsoever to the line-up; going with the exact same forward lines and defensive pairings as the previous two games – the only change coming in net with Calle Clang getting the start in net.

Travis Howe and Roman Kinal were the only healthy scratches.

First Period:

The first started much like you would expect between two teams who have seen each-other twice in the last week, there was no feeling out process and it was all about exchanging chances through the first few minutes of play.

Justin Bailey was called for holding in the offensive zone to send the Gulls to the penalty kill early on. Killing the minor without allowing a shot on goal San Diego tried to swing right back to offense and started to get a small amount of flow going as time passed over the halfway mark before a tripping call sent them to a Power Play of their own.

Despite making some slight adjustments in the form of swapping Roland McKeown and Tristan Luneau between the two units the Gulls man advantage still looked largely average but did at least succeed in getting set in the Henderson zone on most attempts.

Ongoing uncharacteristic mistakes continued to plague the Gulls and they were lucky Calle Clang was on his game – as was evident on this breakaway save.

Some more bad passing and disjointed play saw the Silver Knights head to the first intermission with the lead in shots by a margin of 12 to 9. The shot map showing the Gulls did manage to generate one extra opportunity in the slot but the Silver Knights ultimately enjoying the larger amount of chances overall.

Second Period: San Diego Gulls 0 – Henderson Silver Knights 0

The Gulls lack luster play continued into the second period but a roughing call drawn by Yegor Sidorov saw San Diego head back to the man advantage.

Again unable to convert but getting some much better looks from both units it felt like momentum was slowly tilting in the Gulls favor.

As time eclipsed the halfway mark a flurry of chances including a two on one break with Matthew Phillips and Tim Washe finished in a Gulls Power Play as Phillips was roughly thrown head first to the ice after another barrage of shots by the Gulls in front.

Rinse repeat the above paragraph and as play returned to five on five things started to open up but no matter how close the Gulls got they could not find the back of the net and a counter rush the other way saw the Silver Knights open the scoring as well as send the Teddys flying for their own version of the charity toss event seen this week in San Diego. 1-0 Henderson.

San Diego kept their composure through the extended stoppage – going right back on the attack but were briefly halted by a tripping call assessed to Nathan Gaucher.

Killing the penalty thanks in large part to some strong saves from Calle Clang the Gulls were thrown off their game by some dirty after the whistle play from the Silver Knights – namely a cross check on Tyson Hinds that Roland McKeown took exception to.

As the Gulls headed to the second intermission down by one despite out-shooting the Silver Knights on the period 15-10 to lead 24-22 in shots overall. The shot map showing a similar array of opportunities for both squads but the home squad enjoying the better puck luck.

Third Period: Henderson Silver Knights 1 – San Diego Gulls 0

The first four minutes of play were about as interesting as watching paint dry as the Silver Knights successfully deployed a neutral zone choke while ensuring they had a man shadowing every Gull on ice at all times.

Justin Bailey drew a holding call as he twisted and turned away from his checker in the Henderson zone – the Gulls Power Play unit creating a grade A chance early through a simple jam play but the whistle blew before they could finish as the Silver Knights goaltender lost his helmet in the scramble.

Frustration for the Gulls boiled over as Sasha Pastujov was called for hooking and then Nik Brouillard was given a slashing call after touching up the play as the Silver Knights Joe Fleming did a very good job of selling the call as he approached Brouillard.

Despite some anxious moments in the final ten seconds the Gulls came away unscathed from the full two minute five on three disadvantage but as play returned to five on five the clock was now becoming their enemy with just six minutes remaining in the period.

Some four on four play after more post-whistle activities didn’t help the Gulls much either and as the Gulls finally got possession in the final minute of the game they could only really muster one offensive rush and opportunity with the extra attacker before the Silver Knights dived on pucks and slowed everything down to shut out the Gulls and send them to a regulation loss.

Post Game Notes:

In Need Of Some Inspo

After scoring 40 goals through 11 games for an average of 3.63 goals per game in November the Gulls have just 15 goals in 6 games for 2.5 goals per game thus far in December. The scoring drop-off has been concerning and in games like tonight’s – there have been no stand-out players up front; not even the Mysak line has been able to carry the load like they usually do. The Gulls need some sort of reset and they need it soon – hopefully the Christmas break will help to provide that. The only help they have coming will be in the form of Ville Husso eventually (hopefully – if he doesn’t play one more game in Anaheim he won’t need to clear waivers) and the Black Aces near the end of the season…

Early Black Ace Watch

Maxim Massé is having a year – his 45 points in 29 games has him third in scoring in the Q as he fights for the scoring title. The Ducks third round pick in 2024 is in his final year of Junior and will join the Gulls next season. The right shot winger would fit well with the left shot and equally electric Yegor Sidorov.

Sticking with the Q Emile Guite has 28 points through 26 games in his first post-draft season, the Ducks 2025 fifth round pick will stand to gain from the hole left by Massé graduating to the pro ranks next season.

On defense – Tarin Smith has 31 points in 30 games in the WHL – he is another player likely to join the Gulls full time next season but as I have mentioned previously; I would not put high expectations on him producing in the AHL right away. With both the Ducks and Gulls defensive depth as healthy as it is right now the Ducks may need to assess and move on from some players whose development has either stagnated or plateaued. Smith is expected to be in a similar vein to Olen Zellweger so I wouldn’t look for him to fill the hole left by Luneau when the Ducks eventually make room for him.

Meanwhile in Europe – Herman Traff – the player acquired in the Brian Dumoulin trade deadline deal last season has been making noise in the HockeyAllsvenskan – the AHL of Sweden. He has 27 points in 27 games, tied for fifth in the league. The Swedish Judd Caulfield could come over whenever the Ducks are ready to give him an entry level deal – which after this season’s results thus far; they probably should.

Standings Update

The loss drops the Gulls back down to seventh in the division by points percentage and tied for sixth in points but sitting in eighth by virtue of the regulation wins tiebreaker. The good news is they don’t see Henderson again until February in their final meeting of the season. With five games left in December they face a tough test in Calgary this weekend before hoping to get back on track against the likes of Bakersfield, Abbotsford and Tucson – all of whom have had similar hot and cold streaks this season.