Gulls Soar into Playoffs with 7-3 Win over Condors
AHL San Diego Gulls

Gulls Soar into Playoffs with 7-3 Win over Condors

Published on April 11, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


The San Diego Gulls defeated the Bakersfield Condors 7-3 tonight at Dignity Health Arena. With tonight's win and a Tucson loss to Colorado, the Gulls have clinched the seventh and final Calder Cup Playoff spot in the Pacific Division, the fifth playoff berth in Gulls AHL history and first since the 2021-22 season. The Gulls (33-24-8-4, 78 pts.) can finish as high as fourth in the Pacific Division with a maximum of 84 points with three regular season games to play.

Damian Clara earned the first victory of his AHL career, stopping 36-of-39 shots in his first AHL start of the season after coming in from Brynas of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).

Matthew Phillips scored his 15th goal, his sixth on the power play, to move his point streak to four games (3-3=6). With 15-35=50 points, he now has a four straight fifty-point seasons in campaigns where he played a majority of the season in the AHL. He co-leads Gulls skaters in assists and ranks second in points.

Justin Bailey netted his team-leading 24th goal of the campaign, his fourth goal in as many games (4-0=4) and sixth in his last 11 games (6-3=9). He now has nine game-winning goals this season, which leads all AHL skaters. His 24 goals are fourth-most in a single season in Gulls AHL history.

Stian Solberg eclipsed the 20-point mark with his 11th goal (ENG, SHG) and 10th assist, giving him 11-10=21 points this season. He leads all rookie blueliners in goals and ranks tied for 11th in scoring. His is one goal shy of tying the team record for goals by a rookie defenseman (12).

Tristan Luneau earned a goal (ENG) and an assist, as he continues to lead all AHL defensemen in points (6-21') and assists since the All-Star break (Feb. 13). He ranks tied for fourth and third among all AHL skaters in each respective category.

Nathan Gaucher scored his sixth goal in four games, his 15th of the campaign. Over his last seven games, Gaucher has posted 7-2=9 points.

Nico Myatovic scored his seventh goal and earned his 12th assist, giving him 2-4=6 points his last five games.

Yegor Sidorov scored his 15th goal of the season to open the scoring.

Judd Caulfield crossed the 20-assist plateau for the first time in his AHL career with two helpers, giving him 21. Caulfield now has 17-21=38 points on the season, which extends his AHL career high.

Matt Basgall collected his first professional point and assist in his professional debut.

Sasha Pastujov tallied his 35th assist of the season, which co-leads Gulls skaters. Pastujov leads Gulls skaters with 21-35=56 points, which ranks tied for fifth in single-season points in Gulls AHL history. Pastujov has 9-10=19 points in his last 17 games since March 1. He ranks tied for eighth among all AHL skaters in points in that span.

Ryan Carpenter earned his 28th assist, giving him 2-6=8 points in his last eight games.

Roland McKeown picked up his 19th assist. He ranks second among Gulls blueliners in scoring with 5-19=24 points.

Jan Mysak earned an assist, his 13th of the season.

The Gulls return to Pechanga Arena San Diego for their penultimate home game of the season Wednesday night against the Tucson Roadrunners (7 p.m. PDT).

POSTGAME QUOTES

SAN DIEGO GULLS

Center Ryan Carpenter

On clinching a Calder Cup Playoff berth

I think just feels like a tight knit group. Guys play for each other. It was a couple weeks ago, that big Tucson game at home seemed to really propel us and give us some confidence and momentum. I think when guys play for each other in pro hockey, it's tough, right? Because guys want to make money, and guys want to be in the NHL, and everyone's in different spots in their career. So, when guys can try to put that aside and play for one another and have fun together, you tend to get the results. It seems like in my two years here, we have a close knit group, guys that guys that love playing for each other. And we needed some help tonight, Tucson lost in in overtime, but it was a great way for [Damian] Clara to get his first pro win. I was huge. He made some big saves for us, especially in the third and it was just a nice way to close it out.

On coming from behind to earn the win

We were happy with our first. We thought we could've had a couple bounces where we maybe could have had a lead. We're confident group. We were a lot happier the way we responded compared to the night before. We ultimately just wanted to play a more detailed game, a more 60-minute game. It was 2-1 early. It was nice to get one on the power play. It's a big, big play by [Matthew Phillips]. And then I think it just kept rolling from there. But I think it was, you know, a combination of guys getting to the inside, the hard areas. We just felt like we were a little bit harder tonight. Our D were getting shots through, and it was nice to get rewarded.

On preparing for the playoffs

I think anything can happen when you get in. I think these next three games, you want to keep building. You don't want to take your foot off the gas and develop bad habits going into the playoffs. So, yeah, it's nice to naturally, maybe take your foot off the gas, but we don't want to, so have a day off tomorrow and get back to practicing. We want to be able to catch some teams and move up in the standings and at the same time just build off of, you know, a better, full 60 minutes that we had tonight.

Head coach Matt McIlvane

On clinching a Calder Cup Playoff berth

We went into this year, and the thing we've kept saying is, we're a group of winners with something to prove. Earning the opportunity to play in the playoffs is a big step for everybody, and it's been a lot of ups and downs to be able to get here, but I think it's a cherry on top of all the growth that we've made as a club over the last bit. These guys, they've earned it.

On tonight's game

Good on [Yegor] Sidorov, he gets inserted back in and doesn't miss a beat, just puts that thing right up in the top corner. We got in a little bit of penalty trouble and just gave them some momentum at the end of the first, but it's just fun to watch the puck go in the net in the second period. Our traffic around the net is going to be something we're going to have to keep and build on. That was excellent. So, there's a lot that we did well in the second period, and being able to get rewarded like that, it's big time.

On the message for the team after tonight

I think the message is, thanks. There's a lot of people that put in a lot of work to have this accomplishment, and you enter the next round with a level playing field where everybody's got a shot and the only thing you can carry with you is the lessons that you've carried and learned along the way. So, we've had our fair share, and we're proud of our growth. We'll get an opportunity to enjoy this, and then we'll get back to work.

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American Hockey League Stories from April 11, 2026


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