Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda (18-16-0-2) were finally able to take some revenge in their house of horrors known as the Valley View Casino Center as they escaped with a 3-2 victory over the San Diego Gulls (20-16-1-0). They snapped their nine-game losing streak in San Diego. It was their first regular season regulation win in San Diego since November 14th, 2015.

After allowing San Diego to score two unanswered goals in the third period to tie the score, the Barracuda didn’t take long to regain the lead. The tie would last just 16 seconds as Brandon Mashinter would get a gift from San Diego’s Brian Cooper whose backhanded attempt to clear the puck went right to Mashinter and he fired a shot in one motion past Gulls goalie Reto Berra (9-6-0) who wasn’t expecting the shot. The unassisted goal was his seventh goal on the season at the 5:38 mark to give the Barracuda a 3-2 lead.

San Jose took control of the first period as they outshot San Diego 18-8. Captain John McCarthy created one of the many scoring chances for the Barracuda when he created a turnover in the Gulls zone, but his shot was stopped by Berra. Barracuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (11-7-0) matched Berra a short time later making a nice save on a point blank shot attempt by Nic Kerdiles.

The Barracuda would cash in when Danny O’Reagan blasted a shot on goal that was stopped by Berra that created a rebound and a mad scramble in front of the net. Defenseman Redim Simek raced in from the blue line and scored his third goal on the season on a bang bang play snapping a shot past Berra at the 8:15 mark. Simek got off a big schneid as that was his first goal in the last 23 games. Filip Sandberg also received an assist on the play. It was the first time San Jose had a lead at the Valley View Casino Center this season.

In the second period, the Gulls controlled play as they put pressure on the Barracuda early in the period. Bibeau made a brilliant save on Kerdiles five minutes into the frame. San Diego forced the Barracuda in taking consecutive penalties just moments before the midway point through the period.

However, Marcus Sorensen would turn the tables on the league-leading Gulls power play when he scored a short-handed goal on a 2-on-1 break with O’Reagan. Simek joined the play and took a pass from O’Regan, but his shot attempt was blocked. Sorensen was able to corral the puck and snipe it past Berra for his sixth goal of the season at 8:49 mark of the second period for a 2-0 lead.

In the third period, the Gulls would breakthrough early as they were able to keep the puck inside the Barracuda zone after a failed clearing attempt. Kevin Roy came on a fresh line change and was able to snap home a shot past Bibeau for his seventh goal of the season at the 3:26 mark. Dennis Rasmussen and Julius Nattinen assisted on the goal.

Roy would score again just under two minutes later and tied the game on the power play at the 5:22 mark after putting home a rebound off a mad scramble in front of the net after a shot hit off the crossbar. Roy was able to beat Barracuda defenseman Paul Martin to the puck and net his eighth goal of the season.

The Gulls had a goal waved off by Kalle Kossila with 3:50 left in the third period as the referees ruled the puck never crossed over the line. They had a chance to tie the game late in the game when Simek went into the sin bin for tripping with three minutes left and had a 6-on-4 advantage when they pulled Berra for an extra attacker, but could not get the equalizer.

Bibeau earned his 11th victory of the season on 27 shots on 29 shots. It was his third straight win. Berra took the loss on 43 saves on 46 shots.

GAMES NOTES: The game was chippy throughout the game with lots of post whistle scrums. San Jose’s Brandon Bollig and San Diego’s Ryan White exchanged fisticuffs in the first period. San Jose went 0/3 on the power play, while San Diego was 1/5.

UP NEXT: The two teams will do it all over again on Saturday night from Valley View Casino Center. Faceoff is at 7pm.