Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose Barracuda were back at it against the Manitoba Moose at Bell MTS Place. Both teams came from different standpoints; the Barracuda were looking to extend their win streak to four games, while the Moose were simply wanting to avoid a two-game losing skid.

John McCarthy was called for tripping, and Manitoba got a power play. The Moose got on the board 4:22 into the contest. Michael Spacek got a power-play goal. Sam Niku and Brendan Lemieux got the assists on Spacek’s opening goal.

Mike Sgarbossa found Chase De Leo in front with a great pass and he fired it in for a 2-0 lead at the 11:17 mark.

The Barracuda found themselves in a two-goal deficit after 20 minutes of play. The Moose were up 2-0 after the first stanza.

The Barracuda finally got on the board when Brandon Mashinter got a shot into the goal. The officials reviewed Mashinter’s play after the Moose called for a challenge for the net coming off. They confirmed it was a good goal and San Jose cut the Manitoba lead to 2-1.

Gus Young found Adam Helewka wide open, and the Barracuda tied the contest at two apiece.

Cavan Fitzgerald went to the box for interference. The Moose capitalized with the man advantage to regain the lead with their second power play of the day. De Leo’s one-timer found the back of the net for a 3-2 lead at the 13:27 mark. Buddy Robinson (former Barracuda player) and Cameron Schilling picked up the assists on De Leo’s go-ahead goal.

The Barracuda players racked up the penalties in the second stanza. Jon Martin was called for boarding, Brandon Bollig was given a delay of game penalty and Jacob Middleton went to the box for tripping. San Jose managed to kill off all their penalties and survived 5-on-3 hockey.

The animosity ensued as Julius Bergman dropped the gloves with JC Lipon with just 17 seconds left in the second. The Barracuda still trailed the Moose by one after 40 minutes of play. The Moose were up 3-2 after the second.

Peter Stoykewych’s point shot redirected in and off of Robinson for a quick goal in the third stanza, expanding the Moose’s lead to 4-2.

The Barracuda went on the power play due to a previous Moose penalty. Around the same time, there was another fight as Emerson Clark fought a Manitoba player. Both players went to the box for roughing.

The game resumed to even strength, but the fighting continued as Clark and Lipon showed signs of aggression with each other. Both players headed to their respective locker rooms and each received 10 minute misconducts.

Again, 5-on-3 hockey occurred after Mashinter sat out due to a bench minor. Nic Petan scored on the two man advantage to increase the Moose’s lead to 5-2. The Barracuda got another penalty–this time, Young for roughing–and the Moose remained on the 5-on-3.

The roughness continued as Martin and Francis Beauvillier had some words for each other. Both players got four minutes for roughing.

The Barracuda had a power play in the closing minutes of the game and pulled Antoine Bibeau for an extra attacker. There was 6-on-4 hockey, but San Jose didn’t get an empty-netter to get past Manitoba.

The Barracuda lost to the Moose 5-2. San Jose’s loss snapped their three-game win streak.

Notes
Barracuda starting lineup: Emerson Clark, Tim Clifton, Jon Martin, Jacob Middleton, Julius Bergman and Antoine Bibeau.

Up Next
The Barracuda return to action on Friday, January 5th against the Gulls at 7 pm PT.