Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Barracuda were looking to win two games in a row, entering Saturday’s rivalry matchup against the Ontario Reign at SAP Center.

The Reign pretty much gave the Cuda a hard time in the first period.

The Reign went on an early power play for hooking against the Cuda’s Julius Bergman. Just three minutes in, Michael Mersch found the back of the net to give his team a 1-0 lead.

The Reign made it a 2-0 game after Kyle Bauman notched his first professional goal in his third AHL game so far this season. Bauman made a diving backhand flip on the puck, which made its way over the shoulder of Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau.

The Cuda cut the lead in half on Brandon Mashinter’s goal, his 16th on the season,

But the Reign quickly found a way to extend its lead to 3-1 with 4:34 left in the first. Matt Moulson found himself in the middle of the crease with the puck on his stick and put it in the net.

The Cuda trailed the Reign 3-1 at the end of the first. Shots were 16-9 in favor of San Jose.

Cuda’s Emerson Clark scored on the breakaway for his eighth goal on the season to pull his team within one just 3:08 into the second period.

From there, things started getting chippy between the two rival teams. Mersch and Kurtis MacDermid were not happy with each other, which led them to drop the gloves for an action-packed fight. In addition, Colby McAuley threw the puck into the empty net. The officials were perplexed at first, but then figured out to assess the appropriate penalties.

The Reign went on a 5-on-3 power play for two minutes. Ontario managed to redeem themselves as Philippe Maillet tallied a power-play goal, his 17th on the season, at the 11:37 mark. As a result, the Barracuda pulled Bibeau in lieu of Stephon Williams.

Justin Auger made it 5-2 Reign with 6:29 left in the second. Auger completed a stunning pass from Sam Herr in the far corner for his 10th goal on the season.

The Reign expanded its lead to 6-2 with 4:58 left in the second. Maillet dangled around the net and fed Sean Walker, who fired in a clean slap shot and subsequently picked up his sixth goal on the season.

Reign’s Bokondji Imama went to the box late in the second. Reign goalie Cal Petersen made a tremendous save on the penalty kill, but then the Cuda’s Rudolfs Balcers proceeded to score a power-play goal, his 18th goal on the season, to help his team cut the lead in half with 3:04 left in the second.

The Barracuda started to pave its way back into the game, but continued to trail the Reign 6-3 at the end of the second. Shots were 29-20 in favor of San Jose.

Austin Wagner beat Williams through the five-hole for his ninth goal on the season, giving the Reign a 7-3 lead with 1:13 left in the third period.

The Reign pretty much had this game from start to finish and the Cuda lost by a score of 7-3. Petersen finished with 33 saves for Ontario. Meanwhile, Bibeau made 10 saves and allowed five goals before being pulled in favor of Williams, who made eight saves and allowed two goals in relief of Bibeau.

Notes
Cuda starting lineup: Rudolfs Balcers, Rourke Chartier, Adam Helewka, Jacob Middleton and Tim Heed.

Reign starting lineup: Jordan Subban, T.J. Hensick, Kurtis MacDermid, Jonny Brodzinski and Austin Wagner.

Up Next
The Cuda host the Roadrunners Sunday at 3:00 pm PST.