sjbarracuda.com photo: San Jose Sharks forward Brandon Marhinter (53) battles for the puck with the Stockton Heat’s defenceman Josh Heatley (3)

By Marko Ukalovich

The San Jose Barracuda overcame a 1st period 2 goal deficit to roll past the Stockton Heat 6-4 in their season opener at Stockton Arena. Andrew Mangiapane blasted a slap shot past Troy Grosenick from the left wing on a three-on-two at 7:46 to break the deadlock. At 17:35, the AHL’s Rookie of the Year from a season ago Danny O’Regan evened the score on a backdoor tap-in after a perfect cross-ice feed from Filip Sandberg. 20 seconds later, Garnet Hathaway recaptured Stockton’s lead as he beat Grosenick with a backhand-to-forehand move on the breakaway.

In the second, the Heat extended its lead to 3-1 a minute and 59 seconds into the period as Mangiapane collected his third point of the evening by setting up Mark Jankowski on the power play. After that point, San Jose weathered four more Stockton power plays and O’Regan jammed home his second of the game to get the Barracuda back within one at 11:24. Rudolfs Balcers cashed in on a loose puck atop the crease at 13:15 for his first pro goal, tying the game on the power play after Gillies had initially denied O’Regan’s close-range hat-trick bid.

In the third, tied at 3-3, San Jose took its first lead of the night when Stockton failed to clear the puck from their own end, and Adam Helewka found Marcus Sorensen in the low slot at 6:07. At 5:43, Joe Cramarossa tied the score on a point-shot rebound, but Manuel Wiederer gave San Jose the lead back on the penalty kill as he picked off a pass and beat Gillies through the five-hole on a breakaway at 13:36. Helewka sealed the win with an empty-netter at 18:52.

Grosenick (1-0) earned the victory by making 23 saves on 27 shots, while Gillies (1-1) took the loss after allowing five goals on 26 shots.

NEXT UP: The San Jose Barracuda take on the defending Calder Cup Champion Grand Rapids Griffins in their home opener on Friday October 13th.