Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Rourke Chartier isn’t Superman, but he was a super hero for 4,994 screaming kids on Cuda Classroom Day with his game-winning goal in overtime to give the San Jose Barracuda (23-22-3-3) a 2-1 victory over the Bakersfield Condors (21-21-8-1) and snapped the Cuda’s four-game losing streak on Friday afternoon at SAP Center.

Chartier’s heroics came after taking a feed from Adam Helewka and firing home a shot past Condors goalie Laurent Brossoit (6-5-3) into the back of the net at the 3:04 mark of the overtime period. Chartier has been playing some solid hockey for San Jose since coming off injured reserve, where he missed 30 games.

It looked like Bakersfield was going to spoil the party when they opened up the scoring just 11 seconds after the opening faceoff. Zach O’Brien won a battle along the left boards and was able to make a pass over to a wide-open Joey Laleggia in the middle of the slot. Laleggia skated in all alone on Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (15-11-2) and snapped a shot past Bibeau for his ninth goal of the season.

The Cuda had three chances to tied the game late in the first period. Helweka missed a penalty shot at the 14:45 mark. Caleb Herbert’s shot hit off the post with four minutes left in the first period. Brandon Mashinter received a gift from Brossoit when he turned the puck over right to Mashinter’s stick five feet to the left of the net, but the Cuda forward wasn’t able to cash in on his golden opportunity.

San Jose’s woeful power play would get them on the board in the secod period. Rudolfs Balcers received a pass from the behind the net and fed it out to an open Julius Bergman at the right point, who blasted a shot past Brossoit for his seventh goal of the season to tie the game up at 1-1. Calvan Fitzgerald also received the secondary assist at the 10:15 mark.

The third period featured a parade to the penalty box as both teams combined for nine penalties as things got chippy out on the ice. The Cuda squandered a 5-on-3 power play opportunity early on in the period when Caleb Jones and Brad Malone both went to the sin bin for high sticking 46 seconds apart. San Jose also couldn’t capitalize on the power play with just over two minutes to play in the third period when Bakersfield’s Eric Gryba was called for slashing.

Bibeau earned the win making 23 saves on 24 shots to snap his own personal losing streak. Brossoit suffered the tough luck loss, stopping 35 Cuda shots on 37 attempts.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was a dreadful 1/10 on the power play, while Bakersfield was just as ineffective, going 0/6.

This was the first annual Cuda Classroom Day. The game featured captain John McCarthy’s first game back with the Cuda since returning from the Olympics as a member of Team USA in Pyeongchang, South Korea. FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT! There were two fights in the first period. Emerson Clark and Even Polei scrapped two minutes into game. Jon Martin and Keegan Lowe dropped the gloves at the 8:35 mark of the first period.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda continue their four-game homestand when they take on their Southern California rival Ontario Reign on Sunday afternoon at the SAP Center. Face off is scheduled for 12 pm PT.