Last time these two clubs met, the Bombers were able to squeak-out a 3-2 home victory in Lakewood. Jiri Sykora made 39 saves on the night. Forward Nikita Korotkov tallied two goals to power the Long Beach offensive effort. The San Diego Gulls sit in third place in the tight Pacific Division early standings race with a 5-5 record. The Bombers are two points back, with 8, maintaining a 4-2 record. With four games-in-hand on the Gulls, the Bomb Squad will look to pull even with them in the points race, on Friday. The Gulls are 0-4 at home, while posting a stellar 5-1 road record. Their only loss came at the hands of the Bombers, back on September 29.

Long Beach lost their last game 5-3 in Valencia, and looks to get on a roll in the next three division games before hosting a strong Dallas Ice Jets team. After starting the season 0-5, the Gulls are rolling now, having won their last five games. This could be directly related to the production of veteran forward #7, Justin Lazalde. Lazalde has 11 points during the win streak, and has been held off the scoresheet just once. Goaltender, Reed Kinsey, is coming off a shut-out of the Bay Area Seals, and played strong in his last outing at Glacial Garden Skating Arena.

For the home team, they will look to Korotkov to kick-start the offense. He has three goals & three assists in his last three games, including a hat-trick in Valencia. Defenseman Stephen White scored a power play goal in his last contest, and will look to increase his offensive production. White is currently three points back of the WSHL Defensive Scoring Leader, having played three less games. He is also ahead of his scoring pace from last season (44GP: 22G, 24A), which led all Western States Hockey League Defensemen.

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