Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By: Ana Kieu

Minor league hockey fans can rejoice as the San Jose Barracuda kick off the 2018 AHL season at SAP Center versus the Ontario Reign on Friday night.

Here’s everything to know about the rivalry matchup.

Friday’s meeting
Friday’s meeting marks the first of eight rivalry meetings in 2018. San Jose went 2-5-1-0 a season ago against the Reign and are 10-13-5-0 since the Pacific Division was established in 2015. Ontario is the only team San Jose isn’t .500 or better against all-time.

Frenemies
Former teammates and Calder Cup Champions with the Maine Mariners (AHL) during 1983-84, Roy Sommer and Mike Stothers have enjoyed a friendship off the ice and a heated rivalry on it since Stothers took over as the head coach of the Kings’ top affiliate during 2014-15, where he propelled the Manchester Monarchs to a Calder Cup Championship in his first year. Over five years, Sommer is 14-20-5-1 against Stothers’ teams.

Dynamic duo
The L.A. Kings re-acquired Peter Budaj from the Tampa Bay Lightning this offseason, pairing him with Cal Petersen as a one-two punch in the AHL. Budaj was the AHL’s Goaltender of the Year (Baz Bastien Memorial Award) in 2015-16 as a member of the Ontario Reign, leading the league in GAA (1.75), SV% (.932), shutouts (9), and wins (42). As a rookie 2017-18, Petersen, an AHL All-Star, went 4-0-1 against San Jose in five games.

Youth movement
The Barracuda open up the 2018-19 season as the AHL’s youngest roster with an average age of 22.7 years old, which is comprised of 10 rookies. Ontario is the AHL’s 20th youngest roster at 24.38 years old. 13 players on San Jose’s 25-man opening night roster skated in at least one game for San Jose last year.

Big trade
On June 14, Sharks GM Doug Wilson traded forward Adam Helewka to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for the 6-foot-5, 235-pound defenseman Kyle Wood. Two seasons ago, Wood was named to the AHL All-Rookie team after collecting 43 points (14 goals, 29 assists) from the blueline.

National pride
With the offseason signings of Vincent Praplan (Switzerland) and Lukas Radil (Czech Republic), along with the return of Barracuda captain John McCarthy, San Jose’s opening night roster will be comprised of three different skaters who competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.

If you bring your entire family tonight, then you won’t have to pay any fees and you can save $18 at the Threat Metrix Ticket Office. In addition, the Intermission Player Signings–presented by Will Party–will happen during the second intermission tonight. Barracuda players to be announced. Enjoy the game!