Gulls Win Season Opener
Published on October 3, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Last updated: October 3, 2026
Source: San Diego Gulls News Release
The San Diego Gulls opened the 2026-27 American Hockey League season with a 5-1 win over the San Jose Barracuda Saturday afternoon. The Gulls now own an 8-4-0-0 record in season openers in their AHL history and have won four of their last five (4-1-0-0).
Dave Manson earned his first AHL win in his Gulls head coaching debut. Manson has spent over two decades as a coach in the NHL, AHL and WHL, as the 2026-27 season marks his first at the helm.
Stian Solberg set an AHL career-high with 1-2=3 points, the first multi-assist game of his AHL career. Last season, Solberg ranked tied for fifth among AHL rookie defensemen with 12-12=24 points in 71 games.
James Hamblin scored the first San Diego goal of the season and added an assist in his Gulls debut. Hamblin posted an AHL career-high 27 goals last season with the Bakersfield Condors.
Matthew Phillips netted his first goal of 2026-27, a power-play tally, and added an assist for his first multi-point game of the season. Phillips is San Diego's lead returning scorer having posted 16-36=52 points last season.
Nico Myatovic posted his first two points of the season with a goal and an assist. Dating back to the end of the 2025-26 regular season, Myatovic has earned 3-5=8 points and three multi-point efforts in his last eight games.
Roger McQueen deposited his first goal of the season, the first power-play goal of his AHL career and second overall. McQueen posted 1-2=3 points in seven games to end the 2025-26 season.
Ryan Carpenter, Anton Wahlberg and Sean Farrell each earned their first assists of the campaign.
Laurent Brossoit stopped 29-of-30 shots, earning his first win of the season in his Gulls debut.
Ethan Procyszyn made his AHL debut.
The Gulls face the Barracuda tomorrow afternoon at Tech CU Arena to close out their season-opening back-to-back (3 p.m. PT). POSTGAME QUOTES SAN DIEGO GULLS Right wing Matthew Phillips
On earning a win on opening night
It was a good game. A lot of guys haven't played more than one game yet, but I think we started well. I think we had a slight dip in the second, but overall, I think there was a lot to like, and everyone was pretty predictable and played well.
On how the team has built chemistry in the past few weeks
Well, first of all, I think we have a really good group of guys. I think we already get along really well and enjoy playing and working with each other, so that's a huge part of it. I think we've done a lot of five-on-five drills in practice, and just drills that help us work as a unit. I think that helped us just kind of turn the brains off and play today.
On the power play today
We have a ton of talented players here, so you could probably write up 10 different power play units and they'd look good. We have a lot of smart players, so I think when you just combine hockey IQ, then find a way to figure it out.
On repeating today's success tomorrow
That's the challenge. It's going to be a lot harder. Obviously, I would imagine they're going to come out even harder tomorrow. And for us, it's figuring out what we can do better and keep pushing.
Center James Hamblin
On scoring in his first game with San Diego
It's great just to get out of the way. I think it was cool putting that jersey on. Definitely different, but I got used to it quick, and I'm looking forward to moving forward here.
On playing on a line with Matthew Phillips
I think we've had kind of a week or so to practice together and just get used to each other. I've played against him a ton in this league. I know how good of a player he is, and he's easy to just feed off. He works and he's so skilled. So, I look forward to playing with him.
On being hard to play against in today's win
I think it's just a mindset of being on your toes and not giving them space. I think that's a game that we want to play and we want to play with speed. So, if we can do that every night, that'd be great.
On Dave Manson earning his first win as head coach
I'm super excited for him. I think we all are. He is just so down to earth. He's a guy that you want to play for. I feel like everyone here feels like they'd want to run through a wall for him. So, we're super excited. You know we want to get more wins for him.
On the key to success for tomorrow's game
I think we know it's going to be harder tomorrow. Obviously, with how today was, they're going to come out a little bit harder. I think, like we talked about, with staying on our toes and not backing off, not letting them play their game just straight to our game and do the same thing we did tonight.
Head coach Dave Manson
On getting his first win as head coach
[It was] very good. That's a really good feeling. The guys worked hard all camp, and they were pushed, and responded here with a good win so, it's nice. Goalie was good on both ends. It's nice to get the first one out of the way.
On the effort from the team tonight
The coach always likes that when they're playing connected, but it is early. When the chips are down, guys are standing in front of pucks, and that's a big part of the game that people don't notice but is mired by the people within. We're going to need that moving forward because we have a lot of hockey left to play.
On scoring twice on the power play
I mean we're rolling right along, and we had a two-man advantage. San Jose did a real good job on the kill, and then kind of built some momentum off that, and so we kept plugging, kept working, and were able to draw a couple more, and then capitalize on them. So anytime you know your special teams can contribute like that, it's huge.
On the key to success for tomorrow's game
It's another game. They're going to be better. They're going to come with a bee in their bonnet, so we have to be ready for that. Again, we came here to work and play the right way, and that's what we'll continue to try to do.
American Hockey League Stories from October 3, 2026
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- Iowa Rallies from Three-Goal Deficit, Beats Texas, 4-3, in Shootout - Iowa Wild
- Ads Get Win in Season Opener - Milwaukee Admirals
- Cole Beaudoin Scores Three Points in AHL Debut as Wolf Pack Down Phantoms 5-2 - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Penguins Drop Opening-Night Overtime to T-Birds, 3-2 - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Gulls Win Season Opener - San Diego Gulls
- Bears Fall to Checkers 5-2 in Home Opener - Hershey Bears
- Barracuda Hooked by Gulls in Season-Opening Loss, 5-1 - San Jose Barracuda
- Romanov, Tynan Excel as T-Birds Steal OT Win in Wilkes-Barre - Springfield Thunderbirds
- Smith Nets Hat Trick, Checkers Beat Bears 5-2 - Charlotte Checkers
- He, DiVincentiis Lead Moose to Season-Opening Win over Chicago - Manitoba Moose
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- Wranglers Defeat Canucks in Home Opener - Calgary Wranglers
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