San Jose, - The San Jose Barracuda (39-24-2-2) fell 5–2 to the San Diego Gulls (32-23-8-4) on Tuesday afternoon at Tech CU Arena, despite outshooting their opponent 37–26.

San Diego struck early, opening the scoring just 2:10 into the game on a goal from Matthew Phillips (14). The Barracuda responded midway through the first period, as Oliver Wahlstrom (24) buried a power-play goal at 12:33, assisted by Colin White and Filip Bystedt. San Jose grabbed the lead later in the frame when Patrick Giles (10) tipped in a point shot from Nolan Allan 16:38, sending the Barracuda into the intermission ahead 2–1.

The game shifted in the second period, however, as the Gulls scored twice in a span of under two minutes. Sasha Pastujov (20) tied the game at 14:01 before Nathan Gaucher (13) netted the eventual game-winner at 15:54, giving San Diego a 3–2 lead heading into the third.

In the final frame, the Gulls added insurance on a power-play goal from Sam Colangelo (11) at 4:20. Despite continued pressure and a strong shot advantage, the Barracuda were unable to solve goaltender Calle Clang the rest of the way. Gaucher (14) sealed the game with an empty-net goal at 19:51.