SAN JOSE, Calif. (Oct. 3, 2026) – Playing in front of a sellout crowd of 4,329 at Tech CU Arena, the San Jose Barracuda (0-1-0-0) opened the 2026-27 season with a 5-1 loss to the San Diego Gulls (1-0-0-0) on Saturday afternoon. Ethan Cardwell scored San Jose’s lone goal, while Eric Comrie turned aside 28 shots in his Barracuda debut.

After a scoreless opening period, San Diego broke through at 15:39 of the second when James Hamblin finished a two-on-one setup from Stian Solberg moments after Solberg exited the penalty box. Comrie was sharp through the first 40 minutes, stopping 24 of 25 shots as the Gulls carried a 1-0 lead into the third.

San Diego broke the game open early in the third, scoring three times in a span of 3:57. Matthew Phillips doubled the lead with a power-play goal at 3:15 before Roger McQueen added another power-play tally at 5:53. Nico Myatovic made it 4-0 at 7:12, finishing a feed from Phillips and Hamblin.

The Barracuda continued to push and finally solved Gulls goaltender Laurent Brossoit at 15:18. Cardwell buried his first goal of the season on a breakaway after Andre Gasseau sprung him with a headman pass, earning his first career AHL point. San Jose pulled Comrie shortly after, but Solberg found the empty net at 16:07 to seal the 5-1 final.

Brossoit finished with 29 saves on 30 shots to earn the win, while Comrie stopped 28 of 32. San Diego went 2-for-4 on the power play, while San Jose finished 0-for-1. The Barracuda outshot the Gulls 16-8 in the third period but were outshot 33-30 for the game.

The two teams will meet again on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Tech CU Arena. Broadcast coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. on the Sharks Audio Network, SJBarracuda.com/listen and AHLTV on FloHockey. For tickets, visit SJBarracuda.com or call 408-999-5757.