SAN JOSE (Interstat) — Stian Solberg had a goal and two assists, Laurent Brossoit made 29 saves and the San Diego Gulls beat the San Jose Barracuda 5-1 on Saturday at Tech CU Arena in San Jose, Calif. The Gulls improved to 1-0. The Barracuda fell to 0-1. Attendance was 4,329. The game was the season opener for both teams.

Solberg, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound defenseman from Oslo, Norway, led San Diego with five shots on goal and two penalty minutes. Brossoit, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound goaltender, stopped 29 of 30 shots for the win. Matthew Phillips, a 5-foot-8, 160-pound forward, added a goal, an assist and seven shots. James Hamblin, a 5-foot-9, 185-pound forward, and Nico Myatovic, a 6-foot-2, 199-pound forward, each had a goal and an assist. Jett Woo, a 6-foot, 205-pound defenseman, had three shots and two penalty minutes, while Roger McQueen, a 6-foot-5, 197-pound forward, also scored.

San Jose received its lone goal from Ethan Cardwell, a 5-foot-11, 200-pound forward who had four shots and two penalty minutes. Eric Pohlkamp, a 5-foot-11, 200-pound defenseman, assisted on the goal and finished with three shots and two penalty minutes. Ryan Carpenter, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound forward, had an assist for San Diego. The Barracuda pressed at times, but Brossoit held them to one goal and San Diego’s defense cleared rebounds when needed. San Jose’s power-play chances did not produce another goal.

After a tightly played start, Hamblin opened the scoring at 15:39 of the second period, with Solberg and Myatovic assisting. The Gulls then broke the game open early in the third. Phillips scored at 3:15, with Anton Wahlberg and Solberg assisting. McQueen made it 3-0 at 5:53 from Carpenter and Sean Farrell. Myatovic pushed the lead to 4-0 at 7:12, assisted by Phillips and Hamblin.

San Jose answered at 15:18 of the third when Cardwell scored from Andre Gasseau and Pohlkamp. Solberg restored the four-goal cushion at 16:07 with an unassisted goal. The sequence capped a dominant stretch in which San Diego scored four times in the third period and controlled play after Hamblin’s breakthrough. San Jose’s best push came after Cardwell’s goal, but San Diego answered quickly and protected the lead over the final minutes.

Penalties shaped some of the early flow. San Jose’s Carson Wetsch received a high-sticking minor at 12:41 of the first, and Eric Pohlkamp took a delay-of-game minor at 13:05. Jett Woo and Donavan Houle each received roughing minors at the end of the first. Stian Solberg was called for roughing at 13:27 of the second. In the third, Cam Mitchell received a holding minor at 3:00, and Ethan Cardwell took a high-sticking minor at 4:22. San Diego’s penalty kill and Brossoit’s steady play kept San Jose from building momentum. San Jose finished with five minor penalties, while San Diego took two. The Gulls’ discipline in the final period helped them protect their lead.

The Gulls’ defense limited San Jose’s chances after the Barracuda’s goal. San Diego finished with a strong road performance in its opener, getting contributions from multiple lines. Solberg’s goal and two assists made him the top star for San Diego. Brossoit’s 29 saves gave the Gulls the foundation they needed, while Phillips’ seven shots helped drive the attack. Hamblin and Myatovic also provided balance, and McQueen’s goal added to San Diego’s depth. The Gulls won battles along the boards and forced San Jose to chase the game for much of the third period. Brossoit was steady throughout, and San Diego’s forwards supported the defense with backchecks. The Gulls sealed the win.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of San Jose 3, San Diego 2. Interstat’s ELO system had projected San Jose with a 60.4 percent probability to win.