Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose Barracuda and San Diego Gulls sequel was released Saturday at the Valley View Casino Center. In case you missed it, San Jose fended off San Diego’s comeback and escaped with a 3-2 victory last night.

The Barracuda’s starting lineup consisted of Rudolfs Balcers, Danny O’Regan, Marcus Sorensen, Jacob Middleton, Nick DeSimone and Antoine Bibeau.

The Barracuda’s Twitter account had some fun before the game. San Jose tweeted, “The national anthem is way more exciting when the audio and video don’t match up. #PregameThoughts.”

Former NHL player and first black NHLer, Willie O’Ree, did a spectacular job on his ceremonial puck drop.

It didn’t take long for the Barracuda to draw first blood, as DeSimone scored an early goal, just one minute into the opening period. Middleton and Filip Sandberg collected the assists on DeSimone’s goal.

The Gulls quickly responded with a game-tying goal from Nic Kerdiles. Kerdiles stood on the door step and banged in Dennis Rasmussen’s rebound for the equalizer.

The Barracuda-Gulls rivalry was in full effect, as Brandon Mashinter and Jaycob Megna dropped the gloves with each other for an action-packed fight.

Both teams were tied at one apiece after 20 minutes of play.

The Barracuda were apparently ready to rock in the second period. Meanwhile, the Gulls announced a scoring change: Rasmussen got credit for their first goal; the with assist came from Deven Sideroff.

Bibeau made a noteworthy save in the period, but did you expect anything less from this Barracuda goaltender?

The Barracuda took back their lead, 2-1, on the power play. Julian Bergman scores on a shot from the point. Sorensen and O’Regan collected the assists on Bergman’s go-ahead goal.

The Barracuda led the Gulls 2-1 after 40 minutes of play. Shots were 25-22 in favor of San Jose.

Bibeau came up big in the third period. Also, the Barracuda were a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. The Gulls guessed Bibeau was going to the AHL All-Star Game or something after witnessing Sam Carrick being denied on the breakaway.

The Barracuda had a huge opportunity on what turned out to be a wild power play. John McCarthy’s shot was denied and then Eric Fehr was denied on the other end.

The crowd in San Diego was reportedly loud and looking for a tie. In other news, O’Regan spent some time showing off his silky smooth handles behind the Gulls’ net.

The Gulls pulled their goalie Kevin Boyle for an extra attacker with 1:40 left in regulation. But their change didn’t help them out as the Barracuda escaped with a 2-1 win. The Sharks also beat the Penguins 2-1. That being said, it was a great day for both San Jose hockey teams.

Three Stars of the Game
1. Bibeau (28 saves)
2. DeSimone (1 goal)
3. Bergman (1 goal)

Notes
The Sharks recalled goaltender Troy Grosenick from the Barracuda.

SD Ducks Sled Hockey came out to the Gulls’ Diversity Night.

San Francisco 49ers assistant coach Katie Sowers attended the game.

Up Next
The Barracuda return to action when they host the Texas Stars Tuesday at 7:30 pm CT.