sjbarracuda.com photo: The San Jose Barracuda spent all night chasing the Stockton Heat around for the puck and got shutout for their efforts on Thursday night at SAP Center in San Jose

By Mathew T.F. Harrington

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Barracuda fell to Northern California rivals the Stockton Heat 4-0 Thursday night at the SAP Center after Stockton opened the game with a three-goal first period. Heat netminder Jon Gillies made 31 saves to shut out the Barracuda while Mark Jankowski (1g, 1a) picked up a two-point night for Pacific Division leader Stockton (13-5-1-1).  The regulation defeat was the first for San Jose (8-6-03) in five games.

“Our compete level stunk in the first,” said Barracuda coach Roy Sommer. “We drank the Kool-aid on everyone telling us how good we are. We forgot that the team coming in here is 7-2-1 in their last ten.”

Mantas Armalis started in net for the Barracuda but was chased after just 20 minutes, surrendering three goals on 17 shots.

“It didn’t work for all of us in the first period,” said Armalis. “I think we got distracted from what we had to do by all these small things that were going wrong.”

Troy Grosenick, making his first appearance since exiting the Barracuda’s November 22^nd loss to Bakersfield with a right leg injury, held Stockton scoreless over his two period, making 24 saves.

“I’ve been practicing for about a week now,” said Grosenick. “I felt pretty normal. Any time you come in like that you want to feel the puck as much as possible to start.”

“I thought the brightest spot in the whole game was Grosenick,” said Sommer. “I thought he came in and had a couple tough shots early in the second. He stood his ground.”

The Heat scored 3:34 into the game with Austin Carroll netting his first goal of the season in controversial fashion. The puck appeared to hit the netting, meaning the play should have been called dead. Barracuda coach Roy Sommer was given a game misconduct after arguing the call with the officials.

“I think everyone in the building saw it but the four guys on the ice,” said Sommer. “We had eight eyes on it and they missed it. Maybe I said one too many ‘F offs’.”

They added a pair late in the period with Jankowski scoring unassisted with 4:17 left in the period. A turnover on the blue line led to Hunter Smith goal just 45 seconds later for a 3-0 lead.

San Jose tried to counter, but ultimately were outshot by a slim 11-9 margin in the 2^nd period. The Barracuda held an 11-9 shot advantage halfway through the third, but finished with a 12-12 draw for a final total of 41-31 Stockton. The heat added an empty net goal with 37 seconds left on Hunter Shinkaruk’s goal.

One encouraging sign for Sharks fans looking to alleviate the recent scoring depth slump was the performance of Timo Meier. Despite not scoring, the Swiss forward still fired 9 shots on goal. The 20-year-old also avoided the penalty box, the most concerning aspect of his game after racking up 22 penalty minutes over his 14 games this year. The Sharks have failed to score 3-plus goals in 5 of their last 7 games despite amassing a 5-2 record over that stretch.

Last season the Barracuda dominated the Heat going 9-1-1-1 including a perfect record at home. This year, Stockton holds the advantage now 2-0 with 10 games left on the schedule.

“It’s a way better team,” said Sommer of this iteration of the Heat. “They’re structured. That’s the best team we’ve played so far without a doubt.”

For now, the Barracuda turn their attention to the San Diego Gulls for a pair of home games. After that, San Jose will host another four straight home games as part of the longest home stand of the season.

“We’ve got a big home stand ahead of us,” said Sommer. “We screw up in this home stand, we’re not going to get in the playoffs. That’s what you’re playing for right now and you’re playing two of the best teams in the Division. If you have that same start against San Diego you’re going to be asking me the same questions Saturday afternoon.”