By: Eric He

photo credit: San Jose Barracuda–SJ Barracuda played a close one on Friday with the Ontario Reign only to lose 3-2

A two-goal third period lead was not enough for the San Jose Barracuda as they fell 3-2 to the Ontario Reign on the road on Friday night.

With an empty net, Sean Backman evened the score at 2-2 for the Reign, firing a one-timer past Barracuda goaltender Aaron Dell at the 18:28 mark.

The game went to overtime, and Ontario’s Nic Dowd delivered the game-winner in the first shot of the extra session.

San Jose struck first with two goals in the first period. Karl Stollery scored five minutes into the game on a power play. Then, with six minutes to play in the period, Trevor Parkes deflected a shot into the net to give the Barracuda a 2-0 lead.

But it was not enough, as neither team scored in the second and the Barracuda could not hold on to the two-goal advantage.

The loss means head coach Roy Sommer will have to wait until Saturday for another chance at tying Fred “Bun” Cook for most wins in AHL history. Sommer currently has 635 wins.

The Barracuda are now 18-11-5-3 overall and 3-5 in overtime. They face the Reign again on Saturday night at SAP Center.