The San Diego Gulls kicked off the 2025-2026 season tonight with a 5-0 win over the Coachella Valley Firebirds, marking the first time in Gulls AHL history that San Diego held their opponent scoreless in the opening game of the season
Goalkeeper City of Husso was the star of the night, stopping all 26 shots for the season-opening shutout. Husso has posted back-to-back season-opening shutouts and now has a total of sixteen AHL career shutouts, which ranks second among all active AHL goaltenders.
“It’s certainly a great start, we get the win straight away, but there is still a lot of work ahead of us and we have to build on that,” said Husso. “The guys did a great job, really good work today. We just have to keep building and getting better. That’s what it comes down to. And it’s a long, long season and we’ll get the first win.”
Ryan Carpenter in the first period the scoring opened with a goal. The goal was assisted by Nico Myatovic And Roland McKeown with only 22 seconds remaining in the period. The Gulls finished the opening frame with 18 shots on goal, compared to the Firebirds’ five.
San Diego increased its lead in the second period with a goal from Tim teahis first professional goal. Travis Howe And Noah Warren were credited with assists and thus achieved their first points of the season.
“It feels great,” Washe said. “I was excited when I saw it go in. I had a good angle. I was right there behind the net. I thought Howie had scored the ball too, but just tried to get it, and I was lucky that it went in.”
The Seagulls did not give up the action in the second period Judd Caulfield recording the team’s third goal of the match. McKeown recorded his second assist of the match and Stian Solberg his first recorded.
Sasha Pastujov, Matthew Phillips, And Jan Mysak formed a powerful trio in the third period. Pastujov opened the period with a goal assisted by Phillips and Mysak. Six minutes later, Phillips followed with a goal, assisted by Pastujov and Mysak, extending the Gulls’ lead to 5–0.
“Jan and Sasha have good chemistry, and we already knew that last year,” says head coach Matt Mcllvane said. “We’ve been learning it all season and then you add a guy like Matthew Phillips, who is potentially the most dynamic of the group, and they found something right away. It didn’t take long for that to become a success, and I can’t wait to see that continue to grow.”
The Gulls look to extend their success on Oct. 18 at Pechanga Arena San Diego, where they will take on the Henderson Silver Knights (6 p.m. PDT; TV: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio: Gulls Audio Network).
By Ashley Rubin/SanDiegoGulls.com
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