Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

With the San Jose Barracuda’s (27-24-4-3) playoff hopes hanging by a thread, Jacob Middleton gave his team a glimmer of hope with the game-winning goal on the power play in overtime to defeat the Tuscon Roadrunners (35-18-5-1) by a score of 4-3 on Tuesday evening at the Tuscon Convention Center Arena.

San Jose salvaged the last game on their four-game road trip, where they went 1-2-1 and snapped their three-game losing streak.

Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (19-13-3) started the rush when he outraced a Tuscon attacker to the puck after the puck was cleared out of the Roadrunner zone. Bibeau’s outlet pass went to Brandon Mashinter, who skated back into the zone and passed it over to Middleton, who fired a shot inside the right post past Roadrunner goalie Adin Hill (16-10-4) for the game-winning goal. The defenseman’s fourth goal of the season came at the 2:07 mark of overtime.

San Jose would draw first blood in the first period. Colby McAuley pounded home a rebound for his third goal on the season after a wraparound attempt by Rourke Chartier was saved by Hill at the 8:16 mark of the first period. Zach Frye received the secondary assist.

Mashinster would quickly make it 2-0 just 31 seconds later. Alex True sent over a pass to Mashinter down in the low slot and the veteran winger fired a spinning back-hander past Hill for his ninth goal on the season at the 8:47 mark. McAuley received the secondary assist for his first multi-point game of his career.

San Jose had a close call late in the first period when a shot from Tuscon’s Mike Sislo hit off the cross-bar, pinballed off of Bibeau that was rolling back toward the net until defensman Radim Simek rescued the puck out of danger before it crossed the goal line to keep Tuscon off the board heading into the first intermission.

Tuscon would cut the lead in half early in the second period. Dakota Mermis sent a pass to Sislo, who skated down the left side of the boards and was able to bury a shot just inside the right post past Bibeau’s short side. Sislo’s team-leading 23rd goal on the season came at the 3:18 mark.

The Cuda regained their two-goal lead back on the power play. Mashinter crashed the net putting a shot on goal that bounced off Hill. Manny Wiederer pounced on the loose puck and slammed home the rebound for his sixth goal on the season for the rookie forward at the nine-minute mark of the second period. Nick DeSimone received the secondary assist.

Joel Hanley cut the lead down to one goal early in the third period. Michael Bunting won a battle inside the Cuda zone, fed the puck over to Hanley who fired a shot past Bibeau for his first goal (and first goal in 93 games) on the season at the 4:42 mark.

The Roadrunners would get the equalizer when Carter Camper went coast to coast from his own zone, skated through the Cuda defense and snapped a shot past Bibeau with 1:17 left in the third period. It was his 15th goal on the season, including his 14th point in nine games since being acquired by Tuscon from the Cleveland Monsters at the trade deadline.

Bibeau responded with a nice bounce back game, making 31 saves on 34 shots.

Hill suffered his first regulation loss since the All-Star break, making 14 saves on 18 shots.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 2/5 on the power play while Tuscon went 0/3

Captain John McCarthy missed the game due to an upper body. Calvan Fitzgerald and Jeremy Roy were also injury scratches.

Mashinter hit the post on a breakaway shot seconds after Sislo’s goal.

Tuscon’s rookie sensation Nick Merkley was an injury scratch. Merkley leads the team with 11 power play goals.

Bunting now has eight points in seven games played against the Barracuda this season – (6G, 2A).

With the loss, the Roadrunners four-game winning streak, tied for their longest win streak of the season, was snapped.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda return home for a two-game weekend series starting on Saturday, March 24 as they play their final game of the season against the Ontario Reign at SAP Center at 5:30 pm PST.