Offense Missing as Gulls fall to Iowa

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AHL San Diego Gulls

Offense Missing as Gulls fall to Iowa

April 6, 2025 - American Hockey League (AHL)
San Diego Gulls News Release


The San Diego Gulls fell 5-1 to the Iowa Wild today in their final game of the weekend.

Roland McKeown scored his 14th goal of the season late in the third period. With that goal, McKeown now owns the record for most single season goals by a San Diego defenseman in Gulls AHL history passing both Nikolas Brouillard (2021-22) and Brandon Montour (2016-17) who had 13. McKeown's 14 goals are also tied for third most among league defensemen.

Sasha Pastujov returned to the lineup from injury today and tallied an assist in his first game back since Feb. 28 vs. Coachella Valley. Pastujov's 17-26=43 points rank third among Gulls skaters.

Ryan Carpenter collected his 27th assist of the season and has helpers in back-to-back games. Carpenter's 19-27=46 points rank second among all San Diego skaters and is good for first among team forwards.

Damian Clara made his first career AHL start today stopping 22-of-26 shots.

The Gulls remain on the road for another two games to close out this four-game road trip. They'll head to Bakersfield next to take on the Condors Friday, April 11 before meeting the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Sunday, April 13.

POSTGAME QUOTES ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚

SAN DIEGO GULLS ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚

Head coach Matt McIlvane ‚ ‚ ‚

On today's loss to Iowa

I really liked our start. I thought our first period was good. We were missing maybe a few direct plays, but the effort, the detail was really strong. Killing the 3-on-5 was huge, then we take one more penalty; let them through our line and they get rewarded. They get some momentum going into the first intermission. They get an early one in the second, and then again trying to finish a period. Chaotic play, broken sticks, guys' helmets fall off, and then we get the chance to make a play with a puck and it doesn't happen. You're going in with a 3-0 deficit but you still have some sort of belief that we can get it done. When we score with the empty net, we have an opportunity to keep the game going for ourselves and we give the puck back and allow another scoring opportunity. Bottom line is that it wasn't good enough to earn a result and it didn't happen today.

On Damian Clara

Solid, steady play. There are some things we'll look at from today and learn. That's a heck of a prospect for the Ducks' future.

On Roland McKeown's record goal today and his performance this season

He's a gamer. He shows up in big moments. He's not afraid of whatever's at stake in any moment of any game. He provides a great deal of leadership and character for our locker room. It's a tremendous honor that he's gotten.

On the message to his club going into these final 5 games

Let's see what happens tonight but just keep the fight going right to the very end. Bottom line. Keep the fight going.

Defenseman Roland McKeown

On today's loss to Iowa

I thought our compete was there. We had some chances. Probably gave up too many big ones to them, and those are the ones they scored on. It's been kind of an Achilles heel, the big chance that we're giving up, and I would have like to see that limited today, and they did score on those. And then it took us a while to generate or get our chances too, so that was kind of the storyline in the game for me.

On Damian Clara

A ton of talent. You can see it right away. High pick for a goalie, and he's a big guy. Looks confident out there. I thought he was showing really well.

On setting the Gulls' AHL record for goals by a defenseman

[Gulls GM Rick Paterson] in the summer we chatted, brought me here, and I've gotten a lot of opportunity. It's kind of cool to get the most goals as a defenseman in Gulls history. It's just shooting high percentages. I've gotten a lot of looks, and it's kind of the story I've told you before. I've tried to work on my one timer, hit the net and give it a chance, and that's kind of how it's gone.

On the message to the team following today

Go 5-0. Why not? Put pressure on [Bakersfield] and Tucson. All you can control is what you do and that's what we're looking to do.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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