Jan 9, 2026

By Ashley Rubin/SanDiegoGulls.com 

The San Diego Gulls took their first shootout victory tonight against the Pacific Division leading Colorado Eagles at Blue Arena, 5-4.  

The Gulls once again tied the game up in the final minute of regulation play as Justin Bailey found the net with just 26 seconds remaining in the final frame. After a scoreless overtime, Judd Caulfield was the only skater to score throughout the shootout taking the win for San Diego. The win marks San Diego’s first win at Colorado since March 2, 2022.  

“Well, there’s 60 minutes on the clock for a reason, so sometimes you have to use them all,” head coach Matt McIlvane said. “We’ve got a lot of resiliency in our team. We’re very aware that we’re capable of mounting comebacks and pushing games into overtime. We’ve done this multiple times throughout the course of the season. You don’t want to be in that situation. You want to be in control of the game, but the character that the guys showed to get to that point was excellent.”

It was a big night for Nathan Gaucher as he logged the first multi-goal game of his AHL career. He started the game off hot as he netted a shorthanded goal on a breakaway, putting the Gulls in the AHL-leading spot for shorthanded goals this season. The goal also marked the first shorthanded goal scored against Colorado this season. He logged his second unassisted goal in the third period, minimizing Colorado’s lead to one.  

“It just felt good,” Gaucher said. “It felt like our line played well. Set the tone in that third period by starting a period as well. I think there’s a couple cleanups we should do as a team. Don’t give them as much speed and odd man rush, but I think we did a good job of coming back and ended up with a win.” 

Special teams played a large role tonight as Nico Myatovic extended the Gulls lead in the first with a power-play goal with only 36 seconds remaining in the first period. Nikolas Brouillard and Bailey picked up assists on the goal. 

Calle Clang proved himself essential between the pipes once again. Clang saved 38-of-42 shots which kept the Gulls in the hunt. He also stopped all five shootout attempts. 

Sam Colangelo kept his point streak alive, which now extends to 2-6=8 points in seven games. His six-game assist streak is the longest by a Gull this season. 

San Diego looks to keep this momentum going as they finish this back-to-back out tomorrow night at Blue Arena (6:05 p.m.).