The 2025-26 American Hockey League season is rapidly dwindling in the number of regular season games and each venture onto the ice is paramount to all teams wishing to continue their seasons in the upcoming Calder Cup playoffs.
While the AHL playoffs are generous – 23 of the 32 teams get in – the standings in the four geographic divisions remain tight enough to create drama. Three of the four division leaders have already clinched playoff berths while other teams have magic numbers to secure a postseason berth.
Friday the 13th would be unlucky for one of the teams skating in the March 13 AHL Pacific Division clash at Pechanga Arena.
It proved unlucky for the host San Diego Gulls, who are battling for the last playoff berth in the Pacific Division, and lucky for the Colorado Eagles, who are chasing the Ontario Reign for the top seed in the division playoffs.
It was closely contested at the beginning but lopsided at the end: 6-3 Colorado.
The Gulls scored first on a power play at 11:01 to take a 1-0 lead. Ryan Carpenter notched his 15th goal of the season, his 36th point, assisted by Tristan Luneau and Sasha Pastujov. The assist was the 20th for Luneau and the 28th for Pastujov.
San Diego goaltender Calle Clang made a sprawling save with two minutes to play in the period to preserve a 1-0 lead at the first intermission. The Gulls finished with a 10-8 edge in shots.
There were three goals scored in the second period, two by the Eagles and one by the Gulls for a 2-2 standoff through 40 minutes.
Valterri Puustinen tied the game, 1-1, at 6:21, unassisted. The Gulls took a 2-1 lead on a power play goal at 11:06 scored by Judd Caulfield and assisted by Yegor Sidorov and Roland McKeown. The visitors leveled the score at 2-all on a shorthanded goal by Alex Barre-Boulet, assisted by T.J. Tynan.
The goals were the 11th and 19th, respectively, for Puustinen and Barre-Goulet while Caulfield picked up his 15th of the season. McKeown notched his 17th assist while Sidorov recorded his 13th helper. Tynan racked up his 36th assist of the season.
Shots at the end of the second period were 21-18 in favor of the Gulls.
Both teams entered the third period skating down a man after roughing calls at the end of the second stanza. The Eagles scored an even strength goal 42 seconds into the period for a 3-2 lead. Jacob McDonald got his second goal of the season, assisted by Barr-Boulet (his 38th).
Clang was caught flat-footed in the net at 6:28 as Danil Gushchin netted his 16th goal of the season, assisted by Jayson Megna, who picked up his 26th assist of the season. The Eagles led 4-2.
Colorado went on the power play with a two-goal lead. The Gulls almost scored a shorthanded goal bu the Eagles came back with a goal just seconds after the San Diego penalty expired for a 5-2 advantage. Tristen Nielsen got the goal, his 22nd of the season, with an assist to McDonald. The goal came at 10:17.
After four consecutive Colorado goals, it was time for the Gulls to score as Pastujov registered an extra-attacker goal at 15:48 with Clang on the bench. The goal was Pastujov’s 14th of the season. Luneau recorded his 21st assist while Tyson Hinds netted his second.
5-3 Eagles.
Clang (22 saves) went to the bench at every opportunity to give the hosts an extra-man advantage. Colorado made the Gulls pay with an empty net goal at 17:57 by Sean Behrens, essentially the length of the ice. The goal was Behrens third of the season, assisted by Mark Senden (his seventh).
6-3 Eagles.
Game Two
The teams rematched on Saturday, March 14, with the Eagles holding a commanding 19-3-0-1 record against the Gulls over the past five years, 4-0-0-1 this season.
With the series switching to Colorado for two games to wrap up the teams’ four-game series, there was the ominous prospect of a four-game sweep by the Eagles that could severely damage the Gulls’ playoff chances, especially with San Diego holding a tenuous one-point lead in the standings over the Tucson Roadrunners for the division’s final playoff berth.
Given the third-period blowout in the series opener and three uncertain games ahead, Saturday’s rematch was heavy on defense with just 10 shots by both teams in the opening period — six by the Eagles and four by the Gulls.
Nikita Nesterenko gave the host a 1-0 lead early on with a deflection at 9:33 of the opening period, assisted by Coulson Pitre and Luneau. The visitors tied the score on a power play goal by Puustinen at 16:58 of the second period. Assists went to Barre-Boulet and AHL scoring ace T.J. Tynan.
But the Gulls came back to take a 2-1 lead at 10:18 of the third period on an opportunistic shot by Luneau.
The goal was Nesterenko’s fourth of the season while Luneau picked up his seventh tally to extend his point streak to seven games. Nesterenko picked up the assist on Luneau’s goal (his fourth of the season) for a two-point night while Luneau also logged an assist (his 22nd of the season) for a two-point night.
Tomas Suchanek stopped 28 of 29 shots to record his third victory of the season between the pipes.
The hosts swept the three star awards: Suchanek (first star), Luneau (second star) and Nesterenko (third star).
Colorado owned a 17-13 edge in shots through two periods and out-shot the Gulls 12-9 in the third period for a game-leading 29-22 advantage. The Eagles held the Gulls scoreless on three power play opportunities to keep the game close on the scoreboard.
But the visitors came up short trying the send the game into an extra period with the empty net in play in the final minutes.
The game ended with a melee at center ice between the teams. The Eagles obviously didn’t like losing to the Gulls.
Understandably, it was a huge win by San Diego.
“Honestly, (Tomas Suchanek) was incredible,” Luneau said. “He bailed us out a bunch of times. It was really a playoff effort. We talked about it a lot in the room, just showing up every game like it’s the playoffs and getting ready for that. Those are opportunities and I feel like we did that.”
The Gulls faced a Colorado power play entering the third period. Killing that was key to the victory.
“Just dig deep,” Luneau said. “Get through that penalty kill and then get back to our game as quick as possible was the message we brought in the room. Just stay on top of everything. Don’t give these guys any free opportunities to get some free looks at us and just play hard for the rest of the game.”
“The guys played amazing.,” Suchanek offered. “I think it was a big time win for all of us. We needed to prove ourselves and that we can win, and we did it today against a very good team. The guys played awesome.
“Starting from the D-zone, everybody was doing their job. They were blocking the shots. The forwards were doing what they were supposed to do. Then I was just hoping we’re going to put at least one in that third period, and they did, and I was so happy. It was my job to not let any other goals and we luckily did it.
“The fans were awesome and we wanted to win that for them too because they were very big support throughout the whole game, and we just wanted to bring the win for them.”
“I thought that the guys were very focused for the whole game,” San Diego head coach Matt McIlvane said.” Maybe it wasn’t as clean because of the back-to-back, but there was a lot to feel good about in this game.
“You go into the third period, and you’re on the kill. Our penalty kill has been strong the whole season and we’ve got a lot of confidence in the group that’s going to go out and have the ability to get the job done, and we certainly did.
“Our goalie was great. I think that there was a lot of mature effort. I think that the (Nathan) Gaucher line was extremely reliable for us. Our D-men were great as far as grabbing sticks and blocking some shots. So, it was a team effort to get that win.”
Game Three
The Gulls were still not out of the woods with the series moving to Colorado for the next two games and the Roadrunners (eighth place) threatening to catch them and the Henderson Silver Knights (sixth place) trying to place some distance between themselves and the Gulls.
Said McIlvane: “It’s not an easy place to play, but it’s not the time of year where you really care about where.”
The attitude the Gulls took into the St. Patrick’s Day contest proved to be a winning one: 6-5 in an overtime shootout.
The usual suspects took the spotlight.
Luneau moved his point streak to eight games with a power-play goal and an assist. He has posted 13 points (four goals, nine assists) and five multi-point games in that span, including three consecutive multi-point efforts (two goals, four assists, six points). He now leads all AHL defensemen in points since the All-Star Break (Feb. 13) and ranks tied for eighth among all skaters with 17 points (four goals, 123 assists).
Sam Colangelo set a single-game season high with three points (one goal, two assists), giving him 10 goals and 16 assists on the campaign. Colangelo now has points in back-to-back games (one goal, three assists). Over his last eight games, he has posted eight points (three goals, five assists).
Pastujov added his 15th goal and his 29th assist, a new AHL career high, for his 12th multi-point effort of the season, as he continues to lead Gulls skaters with 45 points this season (15 goals, 29 assists). Pastujov has posted 3-4=7 points in his last seven games.
Matthew Phillips picked up his 11th goal and team-leading 30th assist of the season to give him 11-30=41 points this season (11 goals, 30 assists). He has now eclipsed the 40-point mark for the fourth time in his AHL career.
Gaucher scored a shorthanded goal, his ninth goal overall this season. San Diego now has 10 shorthanded goals on the season which ranks tied for second in the league.
Ryan Carpenter earned his 22nd assist of the season, giving him six points (three goals, three assists) in his last five games.
Caulfield extended his AHL career-high in both points and assists with his 19th helper and 34th point of the season.
Cal Burke (his eighth) and Justin Bailey (his 14th) both picked up an assist while Suchanek made 24 saves in regulation and overtime to earn his second consecutive victory and fourth overall on the season.
The Gulls trailed by two goals with 1:48 remaining in the third period. But it was simply familiar territory.
Luneau scored a power play goal to trim the deficit to one goal. Bailey and Colangelo assisted. Pastujov scored the equalizer with 33 seconds to play.
The Eagles out-shot the Gulls 4-0 in the five-minute overtime period but could not post the OT win. Nesterenko, Colangelo and Carpenter all scored in the ensuing shootout.
“I think we’ve just kind of showed a lot this year that we’re never out of a game,” Colangelo said. “Obviously, you’re not trying to go into finding something in the third down a couple goals, but I think our six-on-five units, we’ve had a lot of success this year, a lot of chemistry. It’s been mostly the same guys, so we’ve been able to kind of build off of it game-by-game. And like I said, hopefully we’re not in that situation too many more times. But hey, you got to kill the Gulls … keep building period by period and never quit. I guess that’s where the kill the Gulls comes from. You have to kill them because we won’t quit.
“I think we’ve just kind of showed a lot this year that we’re never out of a game. Obviously, you’re not trying to go into finding something in the third down a couple goals, but I think our six-on-five units, we’ve had a lot of success this year, a lot of chemistry. It’s been mostly the same guys, so we’ve been able to kind of build off of it game-by-game. And like I said, hopefully we’re not in that situation too many more times. But hey, you got to kill the Gulls.
“They capitalized on their chances. But yeah, just keep building period by period and never quit. I guess that’s where the kill the Gulls comes from. You have to kill them because we won’t quit.
“Big time. I mean, anytime the penalty kill can chip in offensively. Every team has their top guys on the power play, and when you get scored on when you’re out there up a man, there’s no denying that it stings and gets you off your game a little bit. Our penalty kill has been unbelievable this year, obviously. I’m not on it, but it’s a pleasure to watch those guys go to work. They’re so connected. Matt (McIlvane) has been doing great things and great systems for us, and they do a great job and have 10 shorthanded goals. It’s incredible.
“The story of the game is resiliency and its character,” McIlvane assessed. “And it’s not uncommon for our group. We’ve shown our ability to do this, and this was a big moment to be able to step up and get that done.
“Past experience I think is a big thing. We know we can do it. We know we can come from behind. We’ve scored a lot of shorthanded goals, a lot of empty net goals and you know, they’re also brothers. There’s a real camaraderie in the locker room that they can really lean into in moments like this.
“you need great special teams to win on a daily basis. Our power play has been hot as of late and our penalty kill has been a staple of solid play for us the whole season. Anytime that they can get rewarded, it’s a big thing.”
Game Four
The Gulls headed into the series finale with at least a split. The Eagles put up two goals in the opening period but the visitors came back with one in the second period to trail 2-1 in a hostile environment. Pastujov scored for San Diego, assisted by Stian Solberg and Bailey.
But the hosts owned the third period with three goals, including a power play tally and empty net goals, to win 5-1 and cinch the series split.
The Eagles piled up a 42-27 shot advantage, including a 17-7 edge in the decisive third period.
The Gulls saw their season record dip to 27-20-8-4 with 12 regular season games left. The San Diegans hold a three-point edge on Tucson for the final playoff berth in the division and are three points behind Coachella Valley (sixth place) and four points behind Henderson (fifth place). The Gulls trail the Bakersfield Condors (fourth place) by six points and the third place San Jose Barracuda by 10 points.
The Gulls lost both games against Colorado by decisive margins but stayed close in grabbing their two wins in the series.
San Diego faces a key encounter Friday against visiting Bakersfield and Sunday against the Calgary Wranglers (ninth place, now 12 points behind the Gulls). The defending Calder Cup champion Abbotsford Canucks are a woeful 16 points behind San Diego and nearing postseason elimination.
The race at the top is not over with the Ontario Reign leading the Eagles by two points and San Jose by five points. Bakersfield is nine points out of first place but just four points out of third place.
The first-place finisher gets a bye in the division playoffs with No. 2 playing No. 7. No. 3 playing No. 6 and No. 4 playing No. 5.
The Gulls may have just saved their season with the split against Colorado, but they have to keep in going. If they suddenly idle, it could bite them.
“We’ve seen our team play real well,” McIlvane summed up. “We’ve seen also where a team like Colorado can take advantage of us if we have lapses in judgment and things like that. They’re a great hockey team, but there’s a lot of good hockey in the series from our team. I think there’s also takeaways about opportunities for us to get better.”
